The political leaders of the US, UK and Russia are 78, 62 and 72 years old respectively, but the trio are bucking a global trend of younger politicians taking office.

"Across continents," said the Times of India, a "fresh wave" of youthful leadership is "surging" and "defying stereotypes" while "injecting new energy" into the political scene. Here are five leading the way.

Kristrún Frostadóttir, 36
Frostadóttir (pictured above) last year became Iceland's youngest-ever leader and the world's youngest serving head of government. Her election also marked the first time that her country had a female prime minister and a female president – Halla Tómasdóttir – at the same time.

Ibrahim Traoré, 36
Traoré has been the interim leader of Burkina Faso after seizing power in the September 2022 coup d'état that ousted his fellow military officer Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba. "I know I'm younger than most of you here," he told government officials as he took office.

Daniel Noboa, 37
When he took office at the age of 35, Noboa became the second-youngest president in Ecuador's history and the youngest to be elected. A 25-year-old supporter told Al Jazeera that Noboa's 2023 election was a "triumph for the youngest".

Milojko Spajić, 37
The Montenegrin prime minister took office in October 2023, having entered politics as  minister of finance after the 2020 election. The focus of his campaign to become PM was a promise to raise the minimum wage and increase minimum pensions.

Gabriel Boric, 39
A former student protest leader, Boric became Chile's youngest-ever president at the age of 35 in December 2021, after he defeated a far-right candidate. Boric was seen as a youthful moderniser, winning "on a promise to turn Chile into a greener, more egalitarian 'welfare state'", said Agence France-Presse.

The youngest leaders ever
Jean-Claude Duvalier was just 19 when he became president of Haiti in 1971. The youngest president in US history is Theodore "Teddy" Roosevelt, who was thrust into the hot seat in 1909 at the comparatively ancient age of 42. As for the UK, William Pitt the Younger became the world's youngest ever prime minister at the age of 24 in 1783.

A bitter battle is raging within Nigel Farage's Reform UK, culminating in the suspension of one of the party's five MPs, Rupert Lowe.

The party whip was withdrawn from the MP for Great Yarmouth following allegations of "serious bullying" in his parliamentary office and of "threats of physical violence", now reported to the police, against the party chair, Zia Yusuf.

The allegations surfaced shortly after Lowe criticised Farage and the party leadership in a Daily Mail interview, describing Reform under Farage as a "protest party led by the messiah". Lowe has now threatened to "take legal action" for his "political assassination".

'Chopped off at the knees'
I'm "acutely aware", wrote Farage in The Telegraph, that "the public does not like political parties that engage in constant infighting". Reform has been devoting time to "building a unified national party", but now, thanks to Lowe "unloading a barrage of criticisms against our operations and its main actors, that sense of unity has been dented".

The party has appointed a top barrister to "conduct an independent inquiry", Farage said, because "to ignore such allegations" would be "inconceivable".

Farage's critics will view all this as "Ukip folklore" unfolding again, said Patrick O'Flynn in The Spectator: a "politician in a Farage party becomes so popular as to threaten his supremacy and then gets chopped off at the knees".

But "this is more than just a clash of personalities", said the BBC's Chris Mason. "There are differences of policy instinct between the two men." While Lowe has "advocated mass deportations", for example, Farage "doesn't think that is practical or popular".

'Success limited by ego'
To some politicians, the Reform fallout seemed inevitable. In a post on X in the run-up to last July's election, Tory peer and columnist Daniel Finkelstein said that "Farage should hope that he is the only Reform MP elected", because "if there are two or more of them, the Reform parliamentary party will split at some point".

Finkelstein's prediction was "based on a record of success limited by ego", said John Rentoul in The Independent. This spat has shown that, for "all his undoubted skills", Farage's limitations "are just as important", meaning "the chances of a two-term Labour government have increased – slightly but perceptibly".

This year's tasty menu of food and drink festivals in the UK should whet the appetite of even the fussiest of foodies. Here are five coming soon.

Easter Food Festival, Broadstairs, Kent
Promising a "basketful of foodie treats" and "egg-citing activities for the whole family", Broadstairs Food Festival will be held from 18 to 20 April. The line-up features 100 local producers. Many of the family-friendly activities are free to attend, and the bandstand offers a packed programme of musicians.

Spirit of Speyside Whisky Festival, Scotland
With almost 500 events across 89 venues from 30 April to 5 May, this is one of the world's largest whisky festivals. Highlights include a foot-tapping ceilidh and a painting-and-tasting session by the sea.

Foodies Festival, nationwide
If you're after a "jam-packed schedule", stop by at one of this year's Foodies Festival venues across the country from May to August, said The Telegraph. "Dubbed 'gastro-Glastonbury'", it's the UK's largest food and drink celebration, mixing big names with local artisans, street-food traders and other food and drink producers.

Pub in the Park, Marlow, Bucks
The riverside town of Marlow will be hosting chefs including Tom Kerridge and Raymond Blanc from 15 to 18 May. Enjoy an "unforgettable gastronomic journey" on a tapas and wine cruise down the river and music from the likes of Sophie Ellis-Bextor and Billy Ocean.

Malton Food Lovers Festival, North Yorkshire
Known as the "Food Fest of the North", Malton Food Lovers Festival showcases Yorkshire's finest produce and cooking. From 24 to 26 May, the event is set up in the style of a giant street party, with lots of activities to entertain young foodies, too.

There's Never Been a Better Time to Be Anti-American
Adrian Wooldridge on Bloomberg
"British tabloids have tarred and feathered" J.D. Vance, Canadians are booing the US national anthem, and in Panama they are "burning US flags", writes Adrian Wooldridge. No wonder American travellers are being advised on "how to navigate hostility abroad". When anti-Americanism last surged, during the War on Terror, defenders could at least point to the US as a force for global stability, free-market capitalism and "liberal democracy". This time, "those justifications are turning into dust".

'Ceasefire' is a hollow word for Palestinians – the killings, displacements and denial of aid continue
Nesrine Malik in The Guardian
Six weeks into the Gaza ceasefire, "it's clear that it would more accurately be called a 'reduce' fire", writes Nesrine Malik. The continued killings are part of a "grim record" of hundreds of ceasefire violations by Israel's military. By denying aid, Israel is "using food and civilian relief as a political tool", while in the West Bank, a "slow but grinding assault" is "unfolding". This "bloody and suffocating" ceasefire "should not mislead anyone".

Monopoly without the money? There's an app for that
Srinidhi Balakrishnan in the Financial Times
That players "metamorphosise into a burly club fighter" from the moment a "Monopoly board unfolds" is "essential to the game's appeal", writes Srinidhi Balakrishnan. But a new digital version replaces "stacks of crumpled physical cash" with a mobile app. This might mean "a lot less cheating" but "wholesome fun" has been swapped for a "flashy, modern exterior". For parents, the Monopoly of the future "will no longer work as a form of screen-free entertainment".