The World This Week

It’s been a week of global upheaval and fragile progress – from a historic prisoner release and tentative ceasefire in Gaza, to the dramatic fall of Madagascar’s president amid a military rebellion. In the US, political tensions deepen as yet another Trump critic faces federal charges, raising fresh questions about the weaponisation of justice. In the UK, espionage concerns escalate as MI5 names China a "daily threat" after a collapsed spy trial sparked controversy at the highest levels. Plus, is the internet dominated by bots instead of humans?

Produced by Gavin Lee, Siobhan Silke, Alessandro Xenos and Guillaume Gougeon

In a week that marked the second anniversary of the Gaza war and saw a breakthrough in peace talks, a ceasefire was agreed upon on Thursday. This agreement should lead to the imminent release of the 48 hostages still held by Hamas, in exchange for nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners. Israeli troops are also expected to withdraw to an agreed line.

President Trump is flying out to Egypt to personally sign the deal, which he is widely credited for, before heading to Israel to mark the moment the captives are freed, expected early next week. Are we witnessing the beginning of the end of the war?

It’s also been a week that saw another French Prime Minister bite the political dust. Macron loyalist Sebastian Lecornu took on the seemingly poisoned chalice just last month. On Monday – 27 days later – he resigned, becoming the shortest-serving PM in the history of the Fifth Republic. The man nicknamed “the Pickle” couldn’t get France out of one.

President Macron has now burned through five PMs in two years. Rather than trigger elections to break the deadlock, he’s fallen back on his previous choice by bringing Lecornu back again.

Finally, this week also saw the announcement of the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize, awarded to Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado, currently in hiding. The panel praised her “tireless work promoting democratic rights for the people of Venezuela” and her bravery in standing against the authoritarian regime of President Nicolas Maduro.

This week, US President Donald Trump declared "eternal peace for the Middle East" was within reach as he stood side by side with the Israeli prime minister to unveil a new plan for Gaza; the EU talked about its defence response to suspected Russian violations of NATO airspace, and parallel protests erupted in Morocco and Madagascar, organised anonymously on online platforms like TikTok and Discord. 

In a week of coordinated, choreographed diplomacy, a number of Western leaders formerly recognised Palestinian statehood. Benjamin Netanyahu said the move rewarded terrorism, insisting there would never be a Palestinian state. Meanwhile, Russian violations of NATO airspace have been a dominant theme of the UN summit. And former French president Nicolas Sarkozy was sentenced to five years in prison. He's been found guilty of criminal conspiracy in a case dubbed the Libya Connection. 

This week has seen major upheavals on the global stage: Trump’s lavish and unprecedented UK state visit offered a boost to embattled Prime Minister Keir Starmer, while the US grappled with political fallout and free speech debates following activist Charlie Kirk’s assassination. Meanwhile, Israel faced a damning UN report accusing it of genocide in Gaza, charges it strongly rejected, and France was rocked by mass strikes against austerity as President Macron contended with both political unrest and a bizarre defamation case targeting his wife.

Produced by Gavin Lee, Henri-Pierre Mafulu and Guillaume Gougeon.

This week has seen another changing of the guard in the French government. Former defence minister Sébastien Lecornu has assumed the role of French prime minister. In the US, conservative activist Charlie Kirk, a close ally of President Donald Trump, has been shot dead by a sniper as he spoke to students at Utah Valley University. And an unprecedented Israeli attack on Hamas's negotiating team in Doha has left international observers asking if Israel has crossed a red line in its ongoing war.

In this edition of The World This Week: China's military parade to mark the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II sees President Xi Jinping, Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korea's Kim Jong Un side by side; former Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro is back in court on charges of trying to violently overturn the 2022 election result; and Germany's former chancellor Angela Merkel reflects on her country's policies during the 2015 migrant crisis.

In this edition of The World This Week: Is Donald Trump's 50-day deadline to Vladimir Putin "Much ado about nothing?", the Afghan leak and the UK superinjunction, plus why did Israel bomb Damascus?

In this edition of The World This Week: US President Donald Trump appeared to lose patience with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin over the war in Ukraine; Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu nominated Trump for a Nobel Peace Prize; and French President Emmanuel Macron made a three-day state visit to the UK.

It's been a grim, record-breaking week for Ukraine, with Russia unleashing an unprecedented wave of missiles and drones, including decoys to overwhelm air defences. Amid the chaos, Trump seemed equally thrown: confused by Putin, then reversing course to reinstate military aid to Kyiv after pausing it just last week. Washington is now dangling sanctions as the carrot turns to stick in ceasefire efforts.

Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has nominated Trump for a Nobel Peace Prize. But what about a ceasefire in Gaza? Can Trump put pressure on Netanyahu to end the war?

Finally, it's been pageantry over politics as the Macrons embarked on a three-day state visit to the UK. Kicking off with cocktails at Windsor Castle "The Entente" – a symbolic mix of British gin and French pastis – the visit marked a reset in post-Brexit ties. There were toasts with the king and Prime Minister Keir Starmer, a nuclear cooperation deal and a plan to stop migrant crossings. Macron couldn't resist a little "I told you so" on Brexit.

Produced by Gavin Lee, Rebecca Gnignati, Guillaume Gougeon and Laura Burloux. 

This week, the war in Gaza appeared to get closer to a 60-day truce. The past seven days also saw a corruption trial facing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu postponed by an Israeli court. The move came hours after US President Donald Trump took to social media, claiming the case was a witch hunt and would interfere with the Israeli prime minister's urgent diplomacy to negotiate a deal for Gaza.  

While diplomats talked up a chance for a ceasefire, Israeli fighter jets significantly increased their missile fire across the strip. 

Since Saturday, at least 300 Palestinians have died, according to the Hamas-run health authorities, with a beachside cafe that’s been seen as a rare place for respite destroyed, killing dozens of people. Israel says Hamas militants were the target. 

Meanwhile, the UN's special rapporteur for the occupied territories Francesca Albanese delivered one of the most damning assessments of Israeli actions in the conflict so far, repeating her stance that a genocide is taking place, which Israel vehemently denies. Going further, Albanese – an independent expert appointed by the UN to investigate human rights issues – labelled the global companies who deal with Israel as complicit, and called the sole provider of aid, the Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, nothing but a death trap. The US government is calling for Albanese to be dismissed, calling her anti-Semitic. 

Stateside on Independence Day, Trump signed his self-titled "One Big Beautiful Bill", with critics calling him a reverse Robin Hood.

We also take a look at what's behind the sentencing of French-Algerian writer Boualem Sansal in Algiers. His five-year jail term was upheld on appeal this week.

Produced by Gavin Lee, Charles Wente, Henri-Pierre Mafulu, Aurore Laborie and Laura Burloux.