In his fortnightly column MARK SEDDON reflects on the death of Major Oak and why such ancient trees matter to us
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Obituary: Efua Dorkenoo
Anti-FGM campaigner and writer (1949-2014)
The world’s largest communist party marked its 105th birthday this week — and remains true to its principles and firm in its course, says OLIVER VARGAS
The left has become too reliant on persuasion and too detached from the workplaces and communities it seeks to represent, argues NICK TROY
RAMZY BAROUD highlights how Israel’s ambassador sought to shut down UN officials documenting sexual violence and abuses against Palestinians
The US-Israeli conflict with Iran has had far-reaching consequences, including a boost to Pakistan’s regional standing, argues ROGER McKENZIE
The recent heatwaves revealed how ill-prepared Britain remains for a hotter future – and how unequal the ability to cope with it has become, write ROX MIDDLETON, LIAM SHAW and MIRIAM GAUNTLETT
The drive to strengthen European defence is reshaping relations between France, Germany, Italy and Britain, says NICK WRIGHT
EFUA DORKENOO, who died of cancer in London last Sunday, will be remembered with respect and gratitude for many things, but most of all for her many years of hard-headed and deeply committed campaigning to erase the cruel scourge of female genital mutilation (FGM), which even now blights the lives of — or kills — millions of girls and young women across the globe, year on year.
Striking in both her physical presence and her wider influence, Dorkenoo’s sway and work to stop FGM came to span much of the globe.
In the past year she saw both massively increased concern to address FGM in Britain, and, just a week before she died, the formal launch of the African-led movement, The Girl Generation: Together to End FGM, of which she was programme director.
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