Returning to Israel and Palestine after 13 years was an unsettling and rather depressing experience, as I write here. I would agree with those who told me that the only chance for a lasting peace now is one that is imposed from the outside.

Quite the saga. Russian influence operations in Kenya are real. Whatever the Russian embassy says, it appears Lyapin was working under Russian diplomatic cover to lure Kenyans onto the battlefield with false promises of lucrative civilian jobs.

Seventeen of the 27 EU member states have paid more to Russia in energy sales since 2022 than they have contributed to the Ukrainian war effort. https://t.co/eFcMCu1ksn

Power has been cut to the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant for the past 10 days, raising the risk of a nuclear accident. But perhaps something else is afoot, with Russia preparing to steal Europe's largest nuclear power plant from Ukraine. An interesting report.

My piece on him can be found here:

How it is possible that Kenyan police a) kept the man suspected to be the most prolific serial killer in the country's history in a cell with people held on minor immigration offences and b) allowed him to escape? Nothing about this story makes any sense...

I spoke to people who knew him. One told me that in the past two years he had come home with two, maybe three women but on each occasion they saw the woman leave again in the morning. /2

I visited the house of Collins Jumaisi. To suggest that he killed 40 women in that tiny room in a crowded bloack with paper-thin walls and no neighbour ever heard anything stretches belief. As neighbours told me "in a place like this you cannot keep secrets". /1

I wondered if this would have further implications- and whether it there were geopolitical motives behind the kidnapping

Jair Bolsonaro has recently been sentenced to over 27 years in prison What does that tell us about the possible fortunes for other political leaders, and where does Brazil go from here? @RolandOliphant is joined by @adrianblomfield to discuss ⬇️ https://t.co/6bdu181QdX

Trump's periodic rhetorical shifts on Ukraine seem to mean little beyond a desire to generate coverage and project unpredictability. The reality is that he has been remarkably consistent on Russia by not taking a single concrete step against Putin.

Netanyahu has spoken of Israel embracing autarky and becoming a “super-Sparta” - yet Israel is deeply plugged into global supply chains, which gives Europe leverage, while Gulf states are increasingly anxious about Israel’s military hegemony in the Middle East.

Michelle Bolsonaro tells us that she will “rise like a lioness” to defend Brazil’s conservatives, claiming that her husband’s conviction was engineered by an authoritarian state. She hints at a run for office and indicates support for Trump tariffs.

If this is some random spot check and not something targeting South Americans why not get the captain to announce to passengers that there will be a random spot check and please have your passports ready so things work smoothly?

Flew to Brazil and border police charming and welcoming. Flew back to Heathrow and 15 unsmiling border police at end of tunnel checking passports and belittling people for not having passports open (as if they know). Why treat guests in the UK with such hostility?

A Chinese mining company kidnapped representatives of Rendeavour in DRC today, including Tatu City Kenya director Preston Mendenhall, a company rep tells me. Rendeavour, Tatu’s developers, has a project near Lubumbashi. The employees were threatened with violence but later freed

Donald Trump makes peace-making look so easy

Cármen Lúcia: "Escrevi 396 páginas, mas não vou ler, não se preocupem." Cutucando o voto de 14 horas do Fux?

Eduardo Bolsonaro tells us his father’s trial is a “farce”, a view echoed by Silas Malafaia, his powerful evangelical adviser whom we also speak to for this piece looking at the extraordinary coup attempt Brazil’s ex-president is accused of plotting.

The attack in Qatar fulfils the greatest fear of many Gulf officials I spoke to in June. Even while privately welcoming Israel’s attack on Iran, some said they now regarded Israel as the greatest threat regional stability and spoke of their fear of an attack on Doha.