The Debate

How did an argument in Khartoum between two rival generals drag Sudan into civil war and push it to the brink of a repeat of the Darfur genocide of two decades ago? It has not happened yet, but the stage is certainly set in El Fasher, the west's only city still in the hands of junta leader Abdel Fattah al-Burhan but besieged by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) of Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo – aka Hemedti.

Hemedti's RSF is the offshoot of the Arab Janjaweed militias that two decades ago slaughtered upwards of 200,000 Masalit, Fur and Zaghawa civilians. After 2005, there were mea culpas and pledges to never again to allow a repeat of the 21st century’s first genocide.

Fast forward to 2024 and the international community has a chance to do just that. And yet, its gaze is elsewhere.

Why? And why, after a year of fighting, is there no end in sight for the people of Sudan?

Produced by Alessandro Xenos, Rebecca Gnignati and Juliette Brown. 

Watch moreSudan, a forgotten crisis the world must pay attention to

Concerns over "too much screen time" for youngsters are nothing new. In pre-internet days, young people sometimes saw their TV viewing curtailed as a punishment. But it's now been three decades since mobile phones went mainstream, and nearly two since the advent of the tablet and the smartphone. Many teachers and psychiatrists link long hours of scrolling and exposure to violent and pornographic images, as well as cyberbullying, anxiety and sleep deprivation among a generation whose attention span has shrunk.

We ask about a panel that has just submitted recommendations to France's president, starting with a ban on smartphones for under-13s. What's the right measure in our connected world? What responsibility for parents, teachers and the tech giants whose entire business model rests on keeping us on our screens as long as possible? Can curbs really be enforced? 

Produced by Alessandro Xenos, Rebecca Gnignati and Juliette Brown. 

For the first time since November, could there finally be a respite in Gaza? As warring parties and negotatiors shuttle through Cairo, we try to see through the smokescreens and the mixed messages if the stars are truly aligning. Beyond a swap of Israeli hostages for Palestinian prisoners, it's tough at face value to comprehend indirect talks between two sides whose official line is the elimination of the other. The US Secretary of State has hinted at a grand bargain from which a truce graduates into a full-blown rewrite of 75 years of Israeli-Palestinian relations.

The first step would be a ceasefire. And as interested third parties like the US and Egypt feel the pressure over a war that's in its seventh month, what do they need to do to help get a deal over the line?

Produced by Alessandro Xenos, Guillaume Gougeon and Imen Mellaz.

The expression went viral in the 1960s: generation gap. Those in power had fought in World War II and were shocked to see college students in the US rebel against the call to serve their country and go to war. How much has the current movement on college campuses exposed a new generation gap? Will the consequences be as far-reaching? For the first time since the Vietnam War, Columbia University brought in police to break up a pro-Palestinian encampment, sparking further sit-in protests across the US.

We ask about the students' calls for a ceasefire and for some, a boycott of Israel along the lines of the 1980s movement to divest from apartheid-era South Africa. Will a seemingly endless war in Gaza tear the American left apart, the way the Vietnam War did?

And what about this side of the Atlantic? Students here, too, are divided. Many also perceive Israel not as David but as Goliath. How should the legitimate fears felt by both Jews and Muslims that the eruption in the Middle East will lead to unbridled intolerance going mainstream be addressed? 

Produced by Alessandro Xenos, Rebecca Gnignati and Imen Mellaz.

In 2017, France’s new president went to Paris's Sorbonne University to defend Europe’s strategic autonomy. Since then, there's been Covid and Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Now, ahead of June's EU elections, Emmanuel Macron was back with an update. 

"Everything that is strategic in our world, we have delegated. Our energy, to Russia; Our security – for several of our partners; not France, but several others – to the United States. And other critical interests, also, to China. We must take them back. This is what strategic autonomy is about," he declared.

So how has Europe met those challenges so far? What to make of Macron's call for an acceleration of a common defence and industrial policy and his claim that energy transition is compatible with growth and the polls? After all, this was a campaign speech, what with Marine Le Pen’s far-right National Rally ahead with nearly one-third of voter intentions, double those of Macron’s centrists.

Produced by Alessandro Xenos, Rebecca Gnignati and Juliette Brown.

Is it a spiraling superpower showdown or a glorified trade negotiation? The US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is kicking off a three-day visit in China’s economic capital, Shanghai. Unlike during the Cold War, when exchanges between the blocs were anecdotal, today it's the world's two biggest powers at the table – powers whose biggest trading partners happen to be each other.

Ecuador's new president is on a winning streak, with the recapture of the alleged leader of the Los Lobos gang coming hot on the heels of a referendum giving Daniel Noboa a mandate to get tougher on drug cartels.

Will it be enough to dissipate doubt over Ukraine's ability to hold out in a war of attrition with Russia? After months of delay, the US House of Representatives has finally approved a $60 billion military aid package for Kyiv. Overruling the objections of Republican hardliners, Speaker Mike Johnson praised lawmakers who came together to "answer history's call". That said, he also conferred first with Donald Trump.

A world record of 969 million citizens are called to the polls for what some see as a referendum on one man. India is about to embark on the world's biggest election, staggered over seven weeks, with Narendra Modi’s Hindu nationalist BJP expected to extend its solid lead in parliament. Modi has been pointing to a decade of unprecedented growth and power for a nation courted by the West and beyond.

Ukrainians wonder if there's a double standard. An international community that comes together to fend off Iran's attack on Israel can't increase its air defence commitments in time to defend against Russian air strikes, such as the one that took out the Trypilska thermal power station last week. We ask if Volodymyr Zelensky is right, and whether EU leaders gathered at a summit in Brussels need to treat Iran and Russia as one common foe, particularly given how close the pair have drawn in the past two years.