“We have brought clay and made a figurine and are planning to stick uguressa thorns and other poisonous thorns into it… I will murmur a spell… We have prepared an offering to the demon Mahasona. The figurine is in there. We hand it over
Former US president Barack Obama has accused Donald Trump’s administration of economic
The audience gathering at Berlin’s Haus des Rundfunks on a Friday evening
When an earthquake struck northern Venezuela on 24 June, several 12-storey apartment
Money, technological success and the promise of personal freedom have failed to
Sri Lanka
by Our Correspondent in Colombo Former Sri Lankan president Ranil Wickremesinghe has warned that Sri Lanka risks losing its place in the emerging international order unless it accelerates technological modernisation, expands its
Sri Lanka is unlikely to pursue new barter trade arrangements in the foreseeable future as its tea-for-oil agreement with Iran approaches completion, with the Sri Lanka Tea Board citing exporters’ liquidity concerns, bureaucratic delays and limited commercial interest in government-managed
Sri Lanka plans to replace the existing net-accounting system for rooftop solar electricity consumers with a mechanism that offsets generation against consumption in real
Sri Lanka has suspended the formal declaration of newly identified forest reserves in the Northern Province until outstanding land ownership and boundary disputes are
DEFENCE AND DIPLOMACY
Ukraine’s campaign of long-range strikes against Russian military and industrial targets has expanded rapidly, with specialised drone units using increasingly sophisticated weapons, intelligence networks and detailed mission planning to hit facilities deep inside Russia and Russian-occupied territory. One of the units at the centre
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un made an unannounced visit to the
Sri Lanka’s luxury property market is attracting renewed investor interest, with Chinese-backed
When Ayumi’s two daughters left home, the 62-year-old resident of Kawasaki began
EDITORIALS AND EDITOR'S PICKS
Sri Lanka Guardian Essays
Peter Thiel is right to remind us that institutions established in the name of protection can become instruments of control. He is not, however, justified in treating resistance to technological acceleration as presumptively equivalent to opposition to civilization.
WORLD
With 10 days remaining before the United States midterm elections, election officials, voting rights advocates and legal experts are warning that President Donald Trump’s efforts to undermine confidence in the electoral system could intensify if the results favour the Democrats. Although courts have repeatedly
Narges Mohammadi, the Iranian human rights activist awarded the 2023 Nobel Peace
Milan deployed 500 paratroopers to reinforce security across the city centre on
Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva declared himself confident of victory
BUSINESS AND FINANCE
MOST RECENT
Moktar is 21, a university student from a modest Tunisian family, and one of thousands of young people who feel that France has closed the door on their future. He lives with
More
With 10 days remaining before the United States midterm elections, election officials, voting rights advocates and legal experts are warning that President Donald Trump’s efforts to undermine confidence in the electoral system
More Narges Mohammadi, the Iranian human rights activist awarded the 2023 Nobel Peace Prize, says decades of repression have failed to extinguish demands for democracy, equality and freedom in Iran. “Iranian society no
More
The cancellation of a book launch in Madrid has exposed a growing challenge for literary publishers: how to verify the human origins of unpublished works as artificial intelligence becomes more difficult to
More
Wall Street’s focus is shifting from how quickly artificial intelligence will expand to whether the companies building its infrastructure can generate enough profit to pay for it. After years of strong stock
More
“We have brought clay and made a figurine and are planning to stick uguressa thorns and other poisonous thorns into it… I will murmur a spell… We have prepared an offering to
More
by Our Correspondent in Colombo Former Sri Lankan president Ranil Wickremesinghe has warned that Sri Lanka risks losing its place in the emerging international order unless it accelerates technological modernisation, expands its
More
Microsoft researchers have developed an artificial intelligence system that diagnoses patients by working through medical cases step by step, achieving more than twice the accuracy of general physicians in solving complex diagnostic
More
The release of You Can See Everything, a film documenting the final weeks before Elizabeth Holmes went to prison in 2023, has returned the disgraced entrepreneur and her failed blood-testing company, Theranos,
More Milan deployed 500 paratroopers to reinforce security across the city centre on Saturday as Italian authorities prepared for possible renewed unrest following a demonstration against the cost of living that descended into
More Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva declared himself confident of victory on the eve of the country’s presidential runoff, rallying supporters in Rio de Janeiro as he prepared for a closely
More
France’s escalating unrest is intensifying investor concerns over public finances and economic growth, as the government faces mounting pressure to deliver budget savings amid political divisions and further planned demonstrations. The yield
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Venezuela’s oil production reached 1.252 million barrels per day on 23 October, its highest level since 2019, according to state oil company Petróleos de Venezuela (PDVSA), as the government advances an energy
More
Peru’s mining investment rose 42.7% year on year to $4.813 billion between January and August 2026, driven by increased spending on infrastructure, mine development and processing facilities, according to figures released by
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US President Donald Trump has signed an executive order directing federal agencies to reduce certain mortgage costs, including through the automatic cancellation of mortgage insurance for eligible future borrowers and a permanent
MoreARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
The cancellation of a book launch in Madrid has exposed a growing challenge for literary publishers: how to verify the human origins of unpublished works as artificial intelligence becomes more difficult to distinguish from conventional writing. Donde el agua trabaja, a novel by Peruvian
Wall Street’s focus is shifting from how quickly artificial intelligence will expand
Microsoft researchers have developed an artificial intelligence system that diagnoses patients by
Companies and governments worldwide scrambled to secure systems running the PHP programming
Interviews
HEALTHCARE AND SCIENTIFIC RESEARCHES
The release of You Can See Everything, a film documenting the final weeks before Elizabeth Holmes went to prison in 2023, has returned the disgraced entrepreneur and her failed blood-testing company, Theranos,
Scientists have mapped the human brain’s insular cortex, or insula, in unprecedented detail, identifying distinct regions associated with pain, internal bodily sensations and higher-order cognitive processes. The findings, published in Nature, suggest that this relatively inaccessible part of the brain
The United States has recorded 4,410 confirmed measles cases in 2026, more than double the total reported throughout 2025 and the highest level of
Google is expanding access to an experimental artificial intelligence system designed to analyse planetary data, identify public health risks and support disaster preparedness, after
BOOKS & REVIEWS
Money, technological success and the promise of personal freedom have failed to deliver happiness to the billionaire family at the centre of Philipp Oehmke’s new novel, Papenburg. In a review published by
Pooneryn Terror Attack offers a compelling account of a pivotal battle in Sri Lanka’s civil war, exposing both the LTTE’s strategic planning and the vulnerabilities of the defending forces. Yet its commemorative
D.L. Hughley’s memoir challenges the comforting idea that success liberates us from our beginnings. Through fractured family relationships, racial disadvantage, fame, infidelity and the demands of fatherhood, he confronts the unsettling possibility
Greg Steinmetz’s The President and the Oligarch revisits the struggle between Andrew Mellon and the political forces challenging his economic vision, revealing how the language of prosperity and fiscal responsibility can conceal
HISTORY
