The Foreign Desk

As the Commonwealth Games draw to a close, and the Commonwealth heads of government meeting opens, Andrew Mueller asks if it is a happy family of democracies or just the ghost of a past empire. With Kwasi Kwarteng MP, Shruti Kapila, Bisi Alimi and Euripides Evriviades, the high commissioner of the Republic of Cyprus.

Donald Trump’s decision to send National Guard troops to the border with Mexico has provoked a mixed reaction. But, as our New York bureau chief Ed Stocker explains, he’s by no means the first US president to do so.

As the tariff spat between the US and China continues, Andrew Mueller asks if winning a trade war is even possible and, out of all the opponents in the world, why has president Trump chosen China?

Since Chinese president Xi Jinping asserted his power in the Communist party, the country has gone from strength to strength. But what does this mean for Taiwan and are Chinese power plays causing unrest on the island?

It would be wrong to describe anti-semitism as resurgent: it never went away. But it has become more voluble – and, in certain circles, more respectable. This episode looks at how the ancient conspiracy theory of furtive Jewish power has been amplified and legitimised by social media and by modern populism around the world, on the left and the right. Andrew Mueller is joined by Deborah Lipstadt, Daniella Peled and David Aaronovitch.

As a seemingly small on-field kerfuffle grips his home nation, Andrew Mueller asks why Australia is dropping its bundle over a scratched cricket ball.

For decades US schools have fallen victim to deadly attacks and nothing has changed. However after one of the more recent and most deadly the mood has changed – and it’s the pupils, not the politicians, who are leading the way. Could this finally mark a shift in attitudes? Andrew Mueller is joined by Alexandra Glorioso, Robert Spitzer and Columbine survivor Austin Eubanks.

A few months ago it was as though nothing would stop Shinzo Abe from becoming Japan’s longest-serving prime minister, a title he would gain in November 2019. But now there’s a scandal on the front pages and pressure is mounting within his own party. Kenji Hall ponders Abe’s political survival.

This weekend Russians head to the polls in what might be one of the least-contested presidential elections in history. Not content with fixing his own country’s election, Vladimir Putin has been making a habit of influencing others. So what should the international community be doing to try to stop this meddling – and what responsibility falls to social networks?

This past weekend Bolivians displayed a flag that stretched over 200km. Andrew Mueller explains why this has little to do with an attempt to break the world record for the biggest flag and rather more to do with a longstanding maritime dispute with Chile.