Lindsey Hilsum , International Editor

The UK has announced that it will send 440 more troops to serve in Afghanistan, bringing the total number of its troops there to more than a thousand. The government made the announcement ahead of discussion at NATO about its military deployments in Afghanistan, which continues to be plagued by Taliban attacks. The extra troops…

Ethiopia and Eritrea have officially ended their “state of war”, declaring a new era of friendship and peace. Leaders from both countries embraced on the tarmac of Asmara airport and agreed to resume trade, economic and diplomatic relations. A border war at Badme broke out between the two countries in 1998, leaving some 80,000 people…

He’s allowed women to drive for the first time, but is that just the beginning? Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman calls himself a reformer who’s challenging the old conservative orthodoxy and creating a modern Muslim state. But the country remains an absolute monarchy with limited freedom of speech. We are in Riyadh, where the…

Women across Saudi Arabia have been celebrating being able to drive for the first time after the world’s only ban was overturned – describing it as a historic moment, finally abolishing a glaring symbol of repression. But despite the euphoria, some female activists who campaigned against the driving ban are still in jail.

Markets have tumbled for a second day after President Trump threatened to impose more tariffs on Chinese goods worth $200 billion. In response, Beijing has accused the United States of “blackmail” and warned it would take “comprehensive measures”. That could affect major US companies operating inside China and the global economy.

China has accused the United States of launching a trade war, after President Trump declared he would impose tariffs of 25% on Chinese imports worth $50 billion. Beijing immediately threatened to respond in kind, to defend its national interests. This was after the US imposed steep tariffs on steel and aluminium from Canada and the…

How does today’s meeting compare with other peace summits between world leaders? Think Nixon in China, or Reagan and Gorbachev. But North Korea is not a great power, just an impoverished country with a nuclear weapon and a history of cheating on diplomatic deals. So was this the beginning of a real shift in world…

The US-led coalition showed scant regard for civilian lives in the Syrian city of Raqqa, Amnesty International has declared, claiming its air assault last year “killed hundreds and injured thousands of civilians”. The coalition has dismissed Amnesty’s claim as “grossly inaccurate”, saying IS fighters had used civilians as collateral damage.  

When someone comes to you and says here’s an order for your killing, do you say: “I’m thinking about the media’s reputation! Let me be killed”? That was the question posed by unrepentant Russian journalist Arkady Babchenko, who has faced widespread criticism for working with the Ukrainian authorities to fake his own death. The plan…

Yesterday it was all off. But today President Trump’s planned summit with North Korea’s Kim Jong-un could be back on again after he said he was “talking to them now”, declaring “everybody plays games”. Twenty four hours, it seems, is a very long spin cycle in international relations, Trump style.

Next month’s summit with the North Koreans was supposed to be a foreign policy triumph for President Trump. He said his threats of military action, often in tweets aimed the leader he mocked as “little rocket man”, coupled with sanctions, had driven Kim Jong-un to discuss abandoning his nuclear ambitions. But today – after the…

The United Nations is holding a special session of its top human rights body tomorrow to discuss the killing of scores of demonstrators by the Israeli Defence Forces at the Gaza border fence. Today another country followed the United States by opening its embassy in Jerusalem.

While hundreds of Palestinians are mourning their dead, life for most Israelis has largely been unaffected by the Gaza protests. And support for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s hardline stance against unrest in the enclave remains strong.

Hagai El-Ad is executive director of the human rights organisation, B’Tselem.

The anger and consequent bloodshed in Gaza was in response to events in Jerusalem.