Sonya Wilson explains why wonder is at the heart of her novels Spark Hunter and The Secret Green.
Last winter, about halfway up a small, damp slope in the Paradise Valley, I saw some steam rising from a lump of moss.
There was much to read in the papers last Monday, the 7th of July. Three stories caught my attention.
US President Donald Trump has threatened to impose “severe” tariffs of up to 100% on Russia’s trading partners unless a deal is reached to end the Ukraine conflict within 50 days.
Trump issued the warning on Monday during a meeting with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte in the Oval Office.
Ukraine will receive its first batch of long-range missiles financed by Germany by the end of July, a top German general has said, acknowledging that Kiev’s battlefield situation is deteriorating.
Western nations’ hegemonic aspirations and dismissal of Russia’s security concerns have led to the ongoing standoff between Moscow and the West, President Vladimir Putin said in an interview released on Sunday. Ideological differences are only a pretext to advance the West’s geopolitical interests, he claimed.
US President Donald Trump has pushed back against claims of a cover-up in the Jeffrey Epstein case, defending his administration’s handling of the release of files related to the disgraced financier and convicted sex offender’s death in jail.
On June 22, 2025, South Korean presidential spokesperson Kang Yu-jung announced that President Lee Jae-myung would not be participating in the NATO summit scheduled for June 24–25 in The Hague. She referred to domestic priorities and the escalating uncertainty in the Middle East as reasons for the decision.
