It’s been a week marked by major geopolitical, legal and public health developments across several fronts. In Washington, the Trump administration has indicted 94-year-old former Cuban president Raúl Castro over alleged murder and conspiracy to kill US nationals, linked to the 1990s downing of two civilian aircraft — a move officials describe as long-delayed justice, but which critics see as part of a wider push on regime change. In Beijing, President Vladimir Putin made a rare visit to meet Xi Jinping, with carefully staged ceremony and renewed pledges of “unyielding relations”, while Ukraine reported continued deep-strike drone operations inside Russian territory.
The World Health Organisation has also declared a Public Health Emergency over a fast-moving Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where more than 130 people have died amid ongoing conflict and rising tensions around containment efforts.
In other developments, Air France and Airbus have been found guilty of manslaughter over the 2009 Flight 447 crash, while there has been international condemnation over Israel’s treatment of activists detained during a Gaza-bound aid flotilla. In the tech world, Elon Musk has lost a court case against Sam Altman, and Bulgaria has claimed its first ever Eurovision win.
Produced by Gavin Lee, Alessandro Xenos, Antonia Cimini, Guillaume Gougeon and Laura Burloux
