Middle East & Africa
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High kicks
Kung fu gives Africans their kicks
A rare soft-power export from China is spreading across the continent
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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
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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
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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?
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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
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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
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Avocado paradise
Why avocados are driving another sort of green economy in Kenya
A clement climate at high altitudes and an entrepreneurial spirit are giving Kenyans a fruitful future
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Shooting for the hoops
The National Basketball Association is making a big bet on Africa
The world’s second-favourite sport is taking off on the fastest-growing continent
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Long talk to freedom
South Africa’s future is in the hands of a divided ANC
The party is debating whether to embrace populism or pragmatism
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One step closer
Talk of war between Israel and Lebanon is growing
Israel and Hizbullah would still prefer to avoid one, but that is getting ever harder to do
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Elections in the rainbow nation
The failing ANC is rejected by over half of South Africa
The country now faces its biggest test since the end of apartheid
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Last stand in Darfur
A battle rages for a key city in Sudan’s ravaged western region
The civil war’s outcome may be affected by it