‘Poor people don’t have friends’: A Pakistani widow’s life
Zubeida lives in a village, works for families who live abroad and cleans their vacant homes, where birds come to nest.
Category Archives: Features
Battling bulldozers: Cairo’s historic necropolises under threat
Ancient mausoleums, the homes of some of Cairo’s poor, are threatened by development projects in the City of the Dead.
Iran has a hypersonic missile. What does that mean?
Iran has dismissed scepticism over its development of hypersonic missiles, which could reach Israel in seven minutes.
Greeks welcome continuity in Erdogan’s re-election in Turkey
Erdogan's rhetoric may be unfriendly towards Greece, but his predecessors were outright dangerous, many Greeks say.
Beirut’s Sursock Museum reopens three years after port blast
The palatial modern art museum was badly damaged in the explosion that rocked the Lebanese capital.
Old is gold: Can ageing spark a surprise economic boom?
Health, tech and saved wealth could turn an ageing workforce from an economic challenge into an advantage, say experts.
Greek NGO leads ‘crazy’ bid to rid Mediterranean of plastic waste
A fifth-generation fisherman finds an innovative way to remove and recycle plastic waste from the Mediterranean Sea.
Residents brace for Sudan army’s recapture of Khartoum from RSF
Analysts suggest the Sudanese army pulled out of ceasefire talks to launch a major offensive to retake the capital.
‘We need peace’: M23 war displaces DRC residents yet again
For thousands of people in the eastern DRC, displacement in the latest M23 onslaught is another test of survival.
A ‘Russian love affair’: Why South Africa stays ‘neutral’ on war
South Africa's stance of neutrality in the Russia-Ukraine war has been at variance with its Moscow ties. Why is that so?
How Putin’s taste for jail jargon changed Russia
Growing up in St Petersburg, Russia's leader was fascinated with prison songs and sambo, a form of wrestling.
Could AI carry out coups next unless stopped now?
Experts fear the misuse of AI to destabilise economies and governments. Industry can't be trusted to regulate itself.
The activists confronting period taboos in Pakistan
Facing threats and alienation, women push for menstrual awareness in a country where women’s health taboos limit rights.
The Aleppo electronic artists using music to heal in Gaziantep
Artists recreate Aleppo nightlife to bring Syrians and Turks together and as a way to process war and earthquake trauma.
Dutch Caribbeans to sue Netherlands for climate crisis failure
A group of Bonaire residents threaten to sue the Dutch government for failing to protect the island from climate change.
Four Filipinas sue diplomat employers in Switzerland for slavery
Four Filipina domestic workers sue diplomat employers in the EU's latest case of exploitation in diplomatic households.
How inflation made West Africa’s prized jollof rice a pricey meal
Inflation driven by economic instability, fallout from war in Ukraine and COVID have made jollof rice an expensive meal.
What’s the secret behind the K-drama wave — and will it crash?
Stories that resonate globally and have a female gaze are driving success, but an addiction to big money poses risks.
In Cape Verde, birthplace of morna, ideas and music collide
Praia's annual music expo provides an opportunity for West African music industry stakeholders to explore new frontiers.
Hiroshima survivors warn G7 leaders about using nuclear bombs
As G7 summit kicks off, survivors of the 1945 atomic bomb caution world leaders about the human cost of nuclear weapons.