Can blatant racism and shameless greed ruin the World Cup? Fans of the beautiful game and its history can take solace in the opening match at Mexico City's storied Azteca Stadium, the only venue to already host two World Cup finals.

Here in France, outrage over the apparent failure to stop the murder of 11-year-old Lyhanna. The suspect – a 41-year-old father of one of her schoolmates – had previously been flagged over suspected paedophile offences but was never questioned. We'll ask what went wrong and examine why a string of child abuse cases is forcing France to confront difficult questions about prevention, accountability and institutional failures.

It takes convincing these days to get China's leader to go abroad. Xi Jinping has just wrapped up what was only his first foreign visit of 2026. Why Pyongyang? It's hard to deduce from official readouts of that two-day state visit to neighbouring North Korea. Was it politeness after a pair of visits by Kim Jong Un to Beijing? Celebrations of the 65th anniversary of their mutual defence pact?

He believed those who insisted he could wrap it all up by end of March, long before the November midterms. If not, the off-ramp would be easy to find. But did Donald Trump factor in that his main ally in the war against Iran was also guearing up for a campaign. Benjamin Netanyahu is running for re-election.

Here's one for free speech absolutists to chew on: What should the French government do when the former head of Russian state television's French-language channel is offered a place of rank on an all-news station with a free-to-air broadcast license and she touts Kremlin propaganda lines with little or no pushback or fact-checking? Introducing Xenia Fedorova, who's just had her 10-year residency permit approved and who's become the darling of far-right shipping magnate-turned-media mogul Vincent Bolloré, the same Bolloré who’s swooped for French TV, radio, print and publishing outlets.

If the first thing Europeans think of when they fill up at the pump is Donald Trump's decision to attack Iran, it's little wonder that previously pro-MAGA populists are quietly distancing themselves from the president of the United States. In fact, Trump actively campaigning for Peter Magyar's rival actually helped Hungary's new conservative prime minister boot out Viktor Orban, his predecessor of 16 years. Magyar is hoping to cash in this week with a deal to unlock more than €10 billion in frozen EU funds.