While the wars raging in Ukraine and Gaza have dominated global news agendas for months turning into years, relatively little attention has been paid to the ongoing civil war in Sudan – which for many western media outlets remains out of sight and largely out of mind.
This can’t be said of the Guardian’s Mark Townsend, who has reported tirelessly on the effects of the war between the Arab-led Rapid Support Forces and Sudanese military since it broke out in April 2023. It’s a conflict that has been characterised by repeated atrocities, forcing millions from their homes and causing the world’s largest humanitarian crisis.
In April this year, just as a British-led conference was being held in London to explore how to end the war, one such atrocity was unfolding in Zamzam refugee camp in North Darfur. Details were at first sketchy, but only now – thanks to the piecing together of intelligence reports and witness testimony – can it be revealed what happened during the attack on the camp by RSF forces and why it was not stopped.
As Mark’s remarkable account reveals, the 72-hour rampage in April may have taken the lives of more than 1,500 civilians in one of the most notorious war crimes of Sudan’s catastrophic conflict.
Five essential reads in this week’s edition
The big story | The ruins of Gaza, as seen from above Guardian international correspondent Lorenzo Tondo joins a Jordanian military airdrop for a rare chance to observe a landscape devastated by Israel’s offensive. With photography by Alessio Mamo
Science | The truth about sunscreen Too much exposure to the sun has traditionally been seen as a danger. Now claims that sunscreen is toxic flood the internet. Our science editor, Ian Sample, weighs up the evidence
Interview | Demis Hassabis, the cautious AI optimist The head of Google’s DeepMind tells Steve Rose how artificial intelligence could usher in an era of ‘incredible productivity’ and ‘radical abundance’. But who will it benefit?
Opinion | The world is in flames. But I’ve found some hope amid the gloom Columnist Jonathan Freedland makes a moral case for escapism, as a means of retaining the ability to see the world – and the people – around us
Culture | The films that capture a nation’s soul What single film best represents a nation? Twelve writers choose the one work they believe most captures their home’s culture and cinema – from a bold cricket musical to a nine-hour documentary, gritty crime dramas to frothy tales of revenge
THE NATION MAGAZINE: The latest issue features ‘Zohran Mamdani’s New York’ – “To fight for working people must also mean fighting for their quality of life”
COMMENTARY MAGAZINE: The latest issue features ‘Board Games’ – The Supreme Court has outlawed counting by race in college admissions. Here’s how universities might try to defy the ruling and keep affirmative action without admitting it.
The Supreme Court has outlawed counting by race in college admissions. Here’s how universities might try to defy the ruling and keep affirmative action without admitting it. by Naomi Schaefer Riley
Fleeing lawmakers in Texas are unlikely to stop Republicans from redrawing the state’s congressional maps, but their effort has offered a rallying cry—and a reminder of the Democratic Party’s weaknesses. By Jonathan Blitzer
How an Ultra-Rare Disease Accelerates Aging
Teen-agers with progeria have effectively aged eight or nine decades. A cure could help change millions of lives—and shed light on why we grow old. By Dhruv Khullar
How Much Is Trump Profiting Off the Presidency?
An honest accounting of our Executive-in-Chief’s runaway self-enrichment. By David D. Kirkpatrick
Images of starving Palestinians have appeared with increasing insistency across the world’s media over the past few weeks. Deciding whose child and which picture best illustrates the territory’s slide into famine is a grim task. Five-year-old Lana Salih Juha, on this week’s cover, weighed just 8kg when this photograph was taken in Gaza City on 28 July.
As Malak A Tantesh reports from Gaza for this week’s big story, Lana’s parents are among many inside the territory forced to watch children waste away as deliberate aid restrictions from Israel mean hunger is becoming a killer. It was, as Malak reports, a week when two milestones were reached: a Palestinian official record of 60,000 deaths and the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification, a group of UN and aid organisations, stating that the whole population of 2.2 people were now living in a state of famine.
Five essential reads in this week’s edition
Spotlight | Transatlantic barbs traded over social media safety The UK’s new law restricting under-18s’ internet access has only just come into force but already US tech giants and rightwing commentators are bolstering Nigel Farage’s efforts to turn restriction into a free speech issue, reports Dan Milmo
Environment | The best job in the world Matthew Jefferyexplains to Donna Ferguson how he became Cambridge University’s first expedition botanist since Darwin and how he prepared for his new post
Feature | Has nature writing strayed off the path of success? In the footsteps of the controversy over The Salt Path, Alex Clark explores how, despite public appetite, memoirs of redemption through the natural world may have reached journey’s end
Opinion | A good jigsaw is simply champion Why did the Lionesses bring Lego, sourdough starters and a puzzle or two to the Women’s Euro 2025? Because they are perfect ways to build mental resilience, explainsAmy Izycky
Culture | AI rescues Woody Guthrie’s basement tapes The legendary folk singer’s daughter and granddaughter tell Dave Simpson how they became custodians of his vast archive, including tracks that have now been released
News, Views and Reviews For The Intellectually Curious
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