Mara Budgen

Head International Editor

I have several passions: discovering new cultures, learning languages, exploring nature, climbing and eating well, of course. I studied in the United Kingdom, have worked in Italy and traveled in Asia, Africa and Latin America. Sometimes I get dizzy because I can’t stay still. I still want to see the world and discover different lifestyles, because diversity is what fascinates me most.

Favourite quote: “Do not ask who I am and do not ask me to remain the same” (Michel Foucault)

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What Shinzo Abe leaves behind for Yoshihide Suga, Japan’s new prime minister

Yoshihide Suga is Japan’s new prime minister. Following Shinzo Abe’s resignation, what legacy does the nation’s longest serving leader leave behind?

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Kamala Harris, the progressive prosecutor is Biden’s vice-presidential candidate

The second black female US senator could become the first black female vice-president. Kamala Harris is Joe Biden’s choice for the presidential ticket.

Japan leads the way in accessible tourism

Disabled travellers need not fear Japan. Accessible Japan founder Josh Grisdale tells us about his commitment to opening the country’s doors to everyone.

Tokyo 2020, Japan hopes to host revival Games as Olympic preparations continue

Will Tokyo 2020 be the revival Games? Much uncertainty remains but preparations haven’t stopped as Japan remains committed to hosting the Olympics.

The Omo Valley, where life flows with the river

The tribes of the Lower Omo Valley in Ethiopia live in close contact with nature and the river they depend on. We explore how their ancestral ways of life are being threatened by the impacts of a mega-dam, climate change and a booming tourism industry, in this exclusive reportage.

As Tokyo 2020 is postponed the Olympic flame stays in Japan as a symbol of hope

Japan lights the Olympic flame in a key ceremony in the lead-up to Tokyo 2020. Neither it nor the IOC want to give up on the event, though postponement is being considered. Within four weeks the world will know the fate of this year’s Games.

London Rebelling, the video. Activists tell XR’s story during the International Rebellion

The International Rebellion took place in 60 cities around the world between 7 and 20 October 2019. Extinction Rebellion activists tell their stories from London, the heart of the radical, nonviolent environmental movement, in a video.

After 500 years, we won’t stop resisting. The Piaçaguera indigenous fight for land and identity in Brazil

The voices of native Brazilians outside the Amazon are rarely heard. We speak to Lucca Messer, whose documentary on the Piaçaguera indigenous portrays their plight – then and now.

LifeGate PlasticLess reaches the UK, the first rubbish bin of the sea is installed thanks to Whirlpool

The UK welcomes LifeGate PlasticLess, the innovative project against plastic pollution that has already swept over Italy. Portishead receives its first “rubbish bin of the sea” thanks to Whirlpool.

Heather Mills on why you don’t believe in climate change if you’re not vegan

She healed completely by becoming vegan over 25 years ago following an accident that cost her her leg. We met Heather Mills at Seeds&Chips, where she told us about her pioneering food company VBites.

Season’s greetings, the Banksy mural in Port Talbot transforms snowflakes into air pollution

Snowflakes can be deceiving. Banksy transformed them from a marker of winter festivities into a symbol of the plague of air pollution in his mural Season’s greetings in Port Talbot, Wales.