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The Diplomatic StandoffThe BRICS alliance of major developing economies has failed to issue a joint statement after their two-day meeting in India, amid internal divisions over the Iran war which is affecting several members. India, which currently chairs the alliance and hosted the foreign ministers' meeting in New Delhi, acknowledged that "there were differing views among some members" regarding the conflict in the Middle East.Regional Fractures Over Iran ConflictIranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi urged BRICS member states to condemn what he described as "violations of international law by the United States and Israel." The war has intensified tensions between Iran and its Gulf neighbours, including Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, a fellow BRICS+ member.Without directly naming the UAE, Araghchi told a news conference that a BRICS member had blocked parts of India's statement. Iran repeatedly targeted its Gulf neighbour following the outbreak of the war on February 28, reportedly striking the UAE more than any other country involved in the conflict, including Israel.The UAE representative, Minister of State Khalifa bin Shaheen Al Marar, rejected Araghchi's remarks, accusing him of attempting to justify "terrorist attacks" against the UAE and other Gulf states. Al Marar said Iran had launched approximately 3,000 attacks on the UAE using ballistic missiles, cruise missiles and drones.Areas of Global Governance ConsensusDespite the divisions, India's statement highlighted areas of consensus among BRICS members, including calls for reforms to global governance institutions, such as the United Nations and the Security Council. The bloc reiterated its longstanding demand for greater representation of Global South countries within international institutions, reflecting its broader push for a multipolar world order.Middle East and African ConflictsThe foreign ministers also discussed Israel's genocidal war on Gaza. They agreed that Gaza was an "inseparable part" of any future independent Palestinian state, stressing the importance of unifying the enclave with the occupied West Bank under the governance of the Palestinian Authority. However, the statement noted that one unnamed country had expressed reservations about certain aspects of the section on Gaza.The group further called on all parties to respect the ceasefire in Lebanon, which critics have denounced as a halt in hostilities in name only. Without singling out a specific country, the ministers condemned the use of economic sanctions as a form of coercion.Sudan was also on the agenda. The African country remains in the grip of what the UN has described as the world's worst humanitarian crisis. Ministers called for an immediate ceasefire, saying that only a peaceful solution through dialogue could bring a lasting end to the civil war, which began more than three years ago. They also warned that Sudan could become fertile ground for what ministers described as "extremism" and "terrorism".Post-War Syria TransitionAlso discussed was the situation in Syria, which is recovering from the civil war that effectively ended in December 2024 following the overthrow of longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad. India's statement called for a peaceful and inclusive political transition. The parties further stressed the importance of eliminating what they described as "foreign terrorist fighters" in Syria, saying they pose a security threat to both the country and the wider region.

Marc Guéhi's FA Cup Journey Marc Guéhi’s whirlwind 12 months in the FA Cup: captaining Crystal Palace to glory at Wembley last season, experiencing the competition’s greatest shock via the holders’ third-round elimination at sixth-tier Macclesfield and, on Saturday, aiming to claim the trophy again when Manchester City face Chelsea. The Defender's Story Guéhi’s character, alongside his stellar talent, has driven his rise, after rejection at Chelsea. After progressing through the west London club’s ranks, Guéhi made two League Cup starts in the autumn of 2019 – against Grimsby and Manchester United – before being loaned to Swansea in January 2020 and the following season. An £18m transfer to Palace followed in July 2021. The Impact of Guéhi's Journey Guéhi is asked whether the Cup final is a chance to show Chelsea they were wrong about him. He says: “That’s not my mentality. I completely understand people that have that thought process but I’ve got nothing but gratitude towards Chelsea. Going there from such a young age, I am super grateful to the coaches, and the players I played with. And, to have been given the opportunity to play for the club, a couple of times.” The Future Outlook Guardiola may depart in the summer and the captain, Bernardo Silva, and John Stones are leaving. Guéhi, in his modest way, is reluctant to say whether he will become one of the leaders.

Surge in Hiscox Shares Signals Takeover RumorsOn Friday, Hiscox stock leapt to an all‑time high, climbing as much as 15.3% to £18.90 per share after a report that Canadian insurer Intact Financial Corp is exploring a purchase of the Lloyd’s‑of‑London‑listed group.Intact Financial Explores Acquisition of HiscoxAccording to the Insurance Post, Intact Financial Corp, a major property‑and‑casualty insurer, is assessing a potential takeover of Hiscox. The bid aligns with Intact’s strategy to expand its commercial lines, and its chief executive has publicly expressed admiration for the British insurer.Share Price Jump Quantifies Market ReactionShare increase: up to 15.3% on the dayNew price level: £18.90 per share, a record highMarket context: follows similar spikes in other UK targets such as Tate & Lyle (45% rise on a £2.7bn offer) and Intertek (mindful of a £10.6bn EQT proposal)Foreign Bids Fuel a New Wave of UK Takeover ActivityThe Hiscox episode underscores a broader trend of overseas investors targeting UK‑listed firms, attracted by comparatively lower valuations. Recent examples include:U.S. food‑ingredients group Ingredion offering £2.7bn for Tate & LyleSwedish private‑equity firm EQT proposing a £10.6bn deal for FTSE 100 testing company IntertekThese moves suggest heightened confidence in the UK market’s upside potential despite broader economic uncertainties.What the Next Weeks May Hold for Hiscox and the FTSEIf Intact formalises an offer, shareholders will need to evaluate the premium against Hiscox's current valuation and strategic fit. A successful bid could accelerate consolidation in the European commercial‑lines insurance sector, while a rejection may keep the FTSE 100’s takeover momentum alive as other foreign suitors continue to scan the market.

The LeadPunk, intellectual, feminist, theorist, brave as hell, vulnerable, funny—Valie Export was a hero to many women. Since the 1960s, she was driven by a fierce conviction that art and media would play an essential role in women's liberation: that women must picture their own reality in the name of social progress. In Women's Art: A Manifesto (1972), she wrote that women must "use art as a means of expression, so as to influence the consciousness of all of us". What she demanded was revolution.The Revolutionary Art of Valie ExportI keep returning to her work. Can't stay away. Her work was heavy with explicit threat and pain, and she made evident the violence of forcing women's bodies to inhabit structures that were not designed for them. For the 1973 performance Hyperbulia she crept naked through a corridor of electrified wires, exposing herself voluntarily to shocks. Her 1976 photocollage The Birth Madonna shows a woman positioned like a Renaissance Madonna seated on a drying machine from which spews a bloody towel—it still provokes shock.Challenging Societal ConstraintsExport spoke with tremendous clarity about her work and the ideas underpinning it. Her father died during the war, and she was sent to a convent with her two sisters while their mother worked as a primary school teacher. The first of her many expulsions came aged 10 when she was discovered exploring the nun's living quarters. Her experience of girlhood was of constraint—of having little or no control over her own life.In 1967, aged 27, she swapped her married name Waltraud Höllinger for the moniker VALIE EXPORT. A play on a cigarette brand, written in capital letters, it was a decisive rejection of patriarchal structures. She would be known neither by her father's name, nor by her ex-husband's.The Power of PerformanceHer work was intended to explode the structures containing her—in cinema, in art and in the wider society. In Action Pants: Genital Panic (1969) she walked along the rows of a Munich art cinema with her exposed pubic region level with punters' faces, and plastered the walls of Vienna with posters of herself in crotchless trousers holding a gun.For Tap and Touch Cinema in 1968, she constructed a theatre in a box strapped to her chest, with people on the street invited to reach into the darkness and touch her breasts while she watched them. Documentary of the performance exposes the shifting power dynamic between Export and the men who accept the invitation. It was brilliantly subversive and unsettling.More recently, her 1968 performance From the Portfolio of Doggedness has drawn attention—during which she led Peter Weibel crawling through the streets of Vienna by a dog lead. Weibel was dressed in a business suit, a disturbing echo of the commuters milling around him.A Lasting Feminist LegacyHer 1972 manifesto described how the spark kindled by women's art might ignite far-reaching social change. It concludes by stating the importance of documenting and honouring the life and work of those who had come before, as we must now do hers. "The future of women will be the history of woman."I grieve her in the most selfish way: there were so many things I wanted to ask her about. Having survived decades in which women's art was marginalised and ignored, she had so much to tell us. Like a fool, I kept delaying a planned interview. Now it's too late.

Rian Brazil's Sonic Journey Rian Brazil, a Brighton-born producer, has had his track played by Björk while DJing at the Venice Biennale. His music masterfully blends earworms from the UK underground with deeply vulnerable vocals. The Engine Heartbreak EP Brazil's forthcoming Engine Heartbreak EP features a range of sounds, from drum’n’bass love-songs to gospel-inflected tracks and glitchy electronica. His real name, Brazil, weaves a sonic world that's both addictively online and yearning for real-life connection. This Week's Best New Tracks Jorja Smith – What’s Done Is Done: A song-of-the-summer contender with a heavily bassy beat and UKG influences. Helado Tropical – Tocando: A sweet guitar and lo-fi fuzz track about a slipping relationship. Show Me the Body​ – No God: A brutally funky, danceable hardcore punk track rejecting religion. The Avalanches – Together (ft Nikki Nair, Jessy Lanza and Prentiss): An electro-pop candyland track with a camera shutter beat. Overmono – Lockup: A masterful inversion of bass-driven tech-house with chaotic detail. Alys(alys)alys – Effervescence: A perilous, bassy track with splintered vocals and overwhelming drums. Ivy Knight – Beacon: A beautifully produced track with crisp acoustic guitar and amorphous bass. Playlist and Subscription Subscribe to the Guardian's rolling Add to Playlist selections on Spotify or transfer it to Apple, Tidal or other services.

The Regulatory Shift at Heathrow Heathrow could be forced to allow other companies to design and build its third runway and new terminal after the UK aviation regulator argued that rival bids could keep construction costs down. A long-awaited review by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) proposes changes to the regulatory model that governs how Heathrow runs and covers its costs. Competitive Construction Model These changes include making the operator seek bids from other businesses to design, build and operate parts of the long-delayed expansion project at Europe's busiest airport. The CAA stated this approach "would allow for direct competition between Heathrow and an alternative developer … [that] could encourage competition and efficiency." Radical Terminal Proposal The CAA's most radical suggestion, which would require special approval from the government, would allow another developer to tender to build and run their own terminals at Heathrow, similar to a scheme at JFK airport in New York. This represents a significant departure from the traditional model where a single operator controls all aspects of airport operations. Timeline and Current Status Last November ministers backed Heathrow's plan for the runway to be up and running by 2035, over the rival proposal submitted by Arora Group. The airport operator is still seeking formal planning approval to start construction by 2029. Earlier this month, Philip Jansen, Heathrow's new chair, moved to open talks with airlines and Arora Group's chair, Surinder Arora, to attempt to progress plans amid a row over costs. Financial Pressures and Cost Concerns British Airways dominates Heathrow, accounting for more than 50% of slots, and Luis Gallego, the chief executive of BA's owner, International Airlines Group, has said the cost of the third runway and associated works must be capped at £30bn. Heathrow is considered to be Europe's most expensive airport, and in March the UK aviation regulator rejected its plans to significantly raise its landing fees to fund a multibillion-pound upgrade. Key Financial Figures: Heathrow's proposed cost cap: £30bn Arora Group's alternative scheme: £25bn Target operational date: 2035 Planned construction start: 2029 (pending approval) The Competitive Landscape Arora has been promoting his own £25bn expansion scheme and is part of Heathrow Reimagined, which also includes BA and Virgin. This group is campaigning to drastically reduce the costs of operating at the airport. "Two years ago competition at Heathrow wasn't on the cards and now is very much alive and kicking because the case for change is so strong," said Arora, the founder of Arora Group. Regulatory Challenges The CAA acknowledged there could be difficulties in implementing a model allowing rival bidders. "This model could encourage competition and efficiency," the regulator said. "Nonetheless, there would also be some complications in implementing such a model. It would be important to ensure that an approach involving the build, operation, ownership of assets and direct competition with Heathrow worked in a way to further the interests of consumers across the whole airport." Heathrow's Response Heathrow warned that the proposals could "undermine efforts" to expand the airport and produce growth. A Heathrow spokesperson emphasized: "Economic growth is key to tackling the cost of living crisis. We have a clear plan to invest billions of pounds of private capital to upgrade and expand the UK's hub airport – creating jobs and growth across the country." Future Outlook The proposals mark a significant shift in how Europe's busiest airport might be developed, potentially introducing a more competitive model similar to other international airports. The outcome will depend on government decisions and how effectively the CAA can balance consumer interests with operational efficiency. Heathrow, owned by a consortium led by French company Ardian and including sovereign wealth funds of Qatar, Singapore and Saudi Arabia, will likely continue to advocate for its current expansion model while navigating these new regulatory pressures.

Explosive Demonstrations in La Paz Highlight Deepening CrisisDemonstrators led by mining groups and rural unions clashed with police in Bolivia’s capital, with small explosions heard as protesters attempted to breach the presidential palace. The protest underscores mounting public anger over an economic downturn that officials describe as the worst in decades.Mining Unions and Rural Groups Ignite Streets with DynamiteOn May 14, 2026, miners detonated sticks of dynamite in the heart of La Paz, a tactic meant to amplify their demands for fuel subsidies, welfare benefits, and agrarian reform. Earlier that day, a delegation of about 20 miners met with President Rodrigo Paz at the presidential palace, while Economy Minister Jose Gabriel Espinoza pledged “open dialogue.”Economic Strains Underpin the UnrestNatural gas production has plummeted, turning Bolivia from a major exporter into a net importer of oil and gas.Dwindling foreign‑currency reserves have triggered soaring inflation and chronic supply shortages.Citizens face long queues for fuel; hospitals report shortages of oxygen and medication.Previous road blockades by miners, farmers, teachers, and rural workers set the stage for today’s escalation.Political Repercussions for President Rodrigo Paz’s AdministrationThe protest adds pressure on the centre‑right leader elected in October 2025 on a promise to reverse the economic tailspin. While officials, including Public Works Minister Mauricio Zamora, reject calls for resignation, opposition figures blame former President Evo Morales for stoking dissent. Morales, currently facing an arrest warrant for statutory‑rape allegations, continues to mobilise rural support via social media.Outlook: Potential Escalation or Dialogue?With miners poised to resume blockades and the government refusing to step down, Bolivia faces a volatile weeks‑long standoff. If dialogue on fuel subsidies and agrarian reform materialises, tensions may ease; otherwise, further protests could spread, threatening regional stability and deepening the economic crisis.

On Thursday the Trump administration announced an additional $1.8 billion in humanitarian assistance for the United Nations, positioning the pledge as evidence of a push for greater fiscal efficiency and transparency.Trump Administration Unveils $1.8 Billion UN Humanitarian Funding BoostThe new commitment is framed as a reform‑driven effort to ensure American tax dollars are used more effectively in crisis zones worldwide.Funding Gap: $1.8 Billion Versus Historic $17 Billion Peaks$1.8 billion new pledge (2026)Fiscal year 2022 humanitarian aid peaked at $17 billionDecember 2025 “anchor commitment” of $2 billion was part of a “humanitarian reset” memorandumOECD estimates a 56.9 % decline in U.S. development assistance for 2025 versus 2024U.S. has paid only $160 million of nearly $4 billion in UN member‑state arrearsPolicy Shift: From Broad Aid Commitments to Targeted CutsThe $1.8 billion pledge follows a broader pattern of reductions, including the December 2025 anchor and the July 2025 shutdown of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). Critics argue that these cuts weaken global human‑rights monitoring and disaster‑response capacity.Human Rights Watch labeled the retreat an “autocrat’s dream,” warning that reduced funding hampers documentation of abuses and protection of at‑risk communities.Future Outlook: UN Funding and U.S.–UN Relations Under TrumpWhile the administration touts the new aid as a step toward reform, UN Secretary‑General Antonio Guterres has rejected conditions on overdue dues, emphasizing that assessed contributions are non‑negotiable. The ongoing tug‑of‑war suggests future U.S. contributions may remain contingent on reform demands, potentially straining multilateral cooperation.Analysts expect continued scrutiny of U.S. aid levels, possible legislative pushback in Congress, and heightened diplomatic pressure from the UN to restore full funding.

The Lead A new round of negotiations between Israel and Lebanon will take place on Thursday and Friday to save a fragile ceasefire – repeatedly ignored by Israel – which is set to expire on Saturday. The Event Details The process has deeply divided Lebanon, a country which does not recognise Israel, with President Joseph Aoun and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam supporting direct negotiations. Hezbollah and their allies, including Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, prefer indirect talks. Some of the same officials who attended the previous negotiations will be at the third round – including the US ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee – with diplomatic and military representation from both sides expected, according to Lebanese media. The Key Players Involved Lebanon is set to be led by Simon Karam, a Lebanese diplomat appointed by Aoun, while Lebanon’s ambassador to the US, Nada Hamadeh Moawad and Deputy Chief of Mission Wissam Boutros, who were both in previous meetings, will also likely attend. A new addition to the negotiators’ list will be Lebanon’s Military Attache to Washington, General Oliver Hakme. Israel’s ambassador to Washington, Yechiel Leiter, will be joined by Brigadier General Amichai Levin, head of the Israeli army’s Strategic Division, and Deputy Advisor to Israel’s National Security Council, Yossi Draznin. The Impact Analysis The country is divided over the prospect of direct negotiations, all the way up to the governmental level. “The country’s president, prime minister and speaker of parliament – all hailing from different religious sects according to Lebanon’s confessional system – cannot agree upon a framework, or even an ultimate objective to the talks,” Souhayb Jawhar, a Lebanese journalist and analyst, wrote for the Middle East Council on Global Affairs. Analysts say that ultimately, Israel is trying to use its power and influence in order to force Lebanon to bend towards its regional goals and interests. The Prediction Israel is expected to reject the proposal of a ceasefire as wants to continue attacks on Hezbollah assets in Lebanon, resulting in four children killed or injured a day since another ostensible truce was declared on April 16. It also seeks the disarmament of Hezbollah, while some Israeli officials are seeking the annexation of southern Lebanon.