CHEDISTON, England — When it came, the invasion was silent. Insidiously, its vanguard arrived in plain sight, indistinguishable from the native population. It spread over farmlands, across valleys and especially into the precious remaining forests, killing slowly and quietly. The ash is the fourth-most common species today and beloved by millions for its beauty, but it appears to be doomed thanks to an incurable blight.

LONDON — These are strange times for the British far right. As painful austerity fans surges in nationalism that are lifting their European counterparts' political fortunes, the UK's right-wing hardliners seem to be in disarray, fragmented by infighting and crackdowns by the authorities. That doesn't mean anti-fascist campaigners are celebrating. They warn that the murky world of the far right — home to a spectrum of beliefs ranging from fervent racism to mainstream views about exiting the European Union — is evolving into a new and ideologically dangerous force.

LONDON — When Mark Thompson quit as director general of the BBC earlier this year, he left the publicly funded broadcaster in such solid shape that he was able to parlay his success into a prized job at the helm of The New York Times. But several weeks later, his position as CEO of America’s paper of record appeared to face uncertainty thanks to a major sex scandal that’s cast the BBC’s future into doubt.