This week brought frantic peace manoeuvres over Ukraine, as a leaked 28-point plan triggered emergency talks and a swift Geneva rewrite, with President Trump quietly shelving his ultimatum while Kyiv grappled with a corruption scandal. In West Africa, Guinea-Bissau plunged into turmoil after a sudden military coup left President Embaló claiming he had been deposed. Nigeria declared a national emergency after the worst mass school kidnappings since Chibok, as pressure mounted from Washington. Meanwhile, Rachel Reeves’ tax-raising budget in the UK sparked a full-blown political pantomime, drawing furious fire from the opposition.