Juliette Gash

The second round of voting takes place on 24 April

French presidential election: What you need to know

Today's vote in France will determine whether the pro-European centrist President Emmanuel Macron or the far-right, anti-immigration Marine Le Pen runs the European Union's second-largest economy for the next five years, writes Juliette Gash.

Analysis and Comment • 24 Apr 22

Some electoral leaflets of the French presidential candidates

Déjà vu? Macron and Le Pen forecast to battle it out

French voters head to the polls on Sunday in the first round of a two-round presidential election, the second vote taking place two weeks later.

Analysis and Comment • 07 Apr 22

EU, Chinese leaders meeting for no ordinary summit

European and Chinese leaders are to meet at a virtual summit this morning against the backdrop of the war in Ukraine.

World • 01 Apr 22

Palestinian flags stand in the Jordan Valley, West Bank (File image, Getty)

Israel accused of practicing apartheid in Palestine

Israel has again been accused of practicing apartheid in the occupied Palestinian territory (OPT), this time by the outgoing UN Special Rapporteur for the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territory occupied since 1967.

Analysis and Comment • 30 Mar 22

Why Vladimir Putin's war has not been swift

Military experts say there are several factors at play: including the use of young, inexperienced conscripts by Russia.

Ukraine • 10 Mar 22

Noor Mukadam attended Our Lady's Grove school in Goatstown when she lived in Dublin

Man sentenced to death for murder of Noor Mukadam

A Pakistani man has been sentenced to death in Islamabad for the murder of Noor Mukadam, who spent over a decade in Ireland while her father served at the Pakistani Embassy in Dublin.

World • 24 Feb 22

Four Israeli soldiers stand behind razor wire near the Palestinian village of Bil'in in the West Bank

Human rights groups back Amnesty's 'apartheid' report

Fourteen human rights organisations based in Israel have come to Amnesty International's defence, after the NGO was sharply criticised in some quarters for its claim that Israel is imposing a system of apartheid on Palestinians.

World • 08 Feb 22

The cover of the graphic novel Maus by Art Spiegelman

US school's banning of Maus: 'It's kids that suffer'

One Tennessee school's decision to ban the graphic novel Maus has attracted a vast amount of commentary, and not without consequence, writes Juliette Gash.

World • 05 Feb 22

Taiwan Air Force fighter jets during a military drill in Chiayi, Taiwan, in January

Why is China conducting military flights near Taiwan?

Taiwan lives under the constant spectre of invasion by China, and the final quarter of 2021 saw a massive spike in Chinese incursions into Taiwan's air defence identification zone.

World • 29 Jan 22

The Taiwanese Representative Office in Lithuania, which opened in November

Taiwan and Lithuania forge ties despite China pressure

Taiwan and Lithuania have become strange bedfellows despite China's warnings to the European nation last year. So how did this seemingly unlikely relationship develop, and why is China now putting pressure on Lithuania?

World • 13 Jan 22