Middle East & Africa
The light continent
Private firms are driving a revolution in solar power in Africa
Unreliable grids and falling costs are persuading companies to go off-grid
War in the Middle East
Israel’s northern border is ablaze
Can it fight Hamas and Hizbullah simultaneously?
The rainbow nation’s election
A remarkable new era begins in South Africa
A national unity government can save democracy and the economy
Deal or no deal
The president of Somaliland is bargaining for recognition
But a war at home has not helped his case
Out of Africa
The deadly journey to the Gulf
Migrants from Ethiopia to Saudi Arabia risk drowning, extortion and violence
High kicks
Kung fu gives Africans their kicks
A rare soft-power export from China is spreading across the continent
A bridge too far?
Hamas and Israel are still far apart over a ceasefire deal
For all America’s optimism, the two sides look fundamentally irreconcilable
Slender hope
Who are the main contenders to be Iran’s next president?
After the death of the puritanical president, Iran’s reformists hope to win a slice of power
Alone with the hardliners
Benny Gantz and Gadi Eisenkot leave Israel’s war cabinet
Will this force Binyamin Netanyahu at last to decide to push for a ceasefire?
The lure of the Great Satan
The children of Iran’s revolution still want to go West
Some go to undermine the Islamic Republic; others to boost it
An Israeli ceasefire proposal
Joe Biden leaked Israel’s first plan to end the war in Gaza
But hardliners in Israel and Hamas may yet scupper it