“Love is a force – and when it’s unleashed, it can actually have a powerful effect in the real world.”

After surviving a horrific assassination attempt, Salman Rushdie writes not just about death, but about life and love in his new memoir Knife. I spoke with him about it.

.Anne Applebaum, staff writer at The Atlantic, tells Walter Isaacson how U.S. aid to Ukraine will change the military and psychological dynamics of the war. “The Russians are… suddenly facing a much steeper uphill path,” she says.

The UK Labour Party is “prepared to recognize a Palestinian state… [while] Israel’s got to be secure and feel safe,” says shadow foreign secretary David Lammy. “We do need a ceasefire, we need those hostages to come out, the aid has got to flow in.”

“When western democracies appear divided, really polarized, that can only benefit our fundamental opponents… in very autocratic countries,” says UK shadow foreign secretary David Lammy – and suggests he is less worried than some about the possibility of a second Trump term.

As the US approves a major aid package for Ukraine and the UK announces a 2.5% defense spending target, UK shadow foreign secretary David Lammy says “we must stand with Ukraine… Biden is absolutely right: when America is strong and allies are strong, the free world is strong.”

nytimes.com/2024/04/22/cli…

Now that aid is finally getting to Ukraine, what will the future look like? A cautionary tale from Moldova: nytimes.com/2024/04/23/opi…

“Since April 2 we had not heard his voice… Tragically, we found out he had been on a hunger strike since April 5”. After Azerbaijan took over Nagorno-Karabakh, fmr. leader Ruben Vardanyan was arrested on terrorism charges and his son David alleges “a complete lack of

“We just want to give him a dignified burial”.

Overwhelming grief as a mass grave containing over 300 bodies has been uncovered at Nasser hospital in Khan Younis, Gaza.

Nada Bashir reports

UNRWA has 'a very strong, solid, and quite extensive set of rules... more than any other UN organization,' says Catherine Colonna, who led the independent review of UNRWA's neutrality. 'Nevertheless... so many challenges for neutrality arise that some improvement may be needed.'

Remembering Terry Anderson, a reporter who demonstrated immense bravery in the face of war. He was held hostage by Hezbollah for almost seven years. Terry has died aged 76. I spoke to him and his daughter Sulome back in 2016.

“You'll likely see a shift of population in the U.S. over the next couple of decades northward... and that means a potential revitalization for a lot of those communities.” Abrahm Lustgarten tells me how the climate crisis is reshaping America and how migration can be a positive thing.

“It’s a huge worry… Defense is going to be the first priority of the next political institutional cycle in Europe...it’s simply the realization… that our continent is at war”. Nathalie Tocci tells me what America’s European allies are most concerned about a second Trump term.

“It’s a reminder of the chaos premium that Donald Trump brings with him into American politics… that [he] doesn't appear to have any actual principles to help guide and anticipate his decisions.” Kori Schake 🌻🇺🇦 @kschake.bsky.social gives her take on Trump’s criminal trial and how it’s viewed abroad.

Diplomacy abandoned, and the aborted nuclear deal that could have reshaped the Middle East: from the Amanpour Archive this week, my conversations in 2015 with the key players at the center of the landmark nuclear accord.

“Fighting for freedom makes us feel everything deeper, everything more emotionally.” Ukrainian maestro Oksana Lyniv, who leads Metropolitan Opera’s Turandot, tells me how her passion for conducting is shaped by the war in her homeland.

It’s the world’s biggest democratic exercise. Nearly a billion eligible voters in India go to the polls over the course of six weeks, as Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeks a third term. Will Ripley explains what’s at stake.

“It's a serious misjudgment to say that Russia doesn't matter.” I ask Britain’s ex-spymaster John Sawers if far-right Republicans are falling victim to Putin’s propaganda. “If you're looking at the next decade or two, the real security threat comes from Russia,” he warns.