FOREIGN AFFAIRS MAGAZINE: The latest issue features ‘How (Not) to Fight and Economic War
Who Will Determine the Fate of the Islamic Republic?
A War’s Unintended Consequences—for Iran, the Middle East, and the Global Order
How America and Israel Can Shape a New Middle East
A Field Manual for a Ruptured World
THE GUARDIAN WEEKLY: The latest issue features ‘Holier than thou’ – How Trump and Vance met their match in the Pope…
The Trump administration’s efforts to validate their incoherent war on Iran with some sort of Christian moral authority have led to a few, shall we say, interesting moments recently.
After bizarrely berating Pope Leo XIV as “WEAK on Crime, and terrible for Foreign Policy”, Donald Trump posted (and later deleted) a meme of himself as a Christ-like figure healing the sick. The self-styled “secretary of war” Pete Hegseth then confused what he evidently thought was a biblical passage with a bastardised version of a speech from the Quentin Tarantino movie Pulp Fiction.
Perhaps most damagingly of all, the vice-president, JD Vance, took Leo’s carefully considered thoughts on the concept of the “just war” as an opportunity to lecture the pope on theology.
Spotlight | Starmer and the scandal of Mandelson’s vetting
The British prime minister came under huge pressure to resign this week over what he knew about Peter Mandelson’s appointment as UK ambassador to the US, even though he had failed Foreign Office security vetting. Pippa Crerar, Jessica Elgot, Paul Lewis and Kiran Stacey spearhead our coverage
Science | The magic of mushrooms
Fungi play a key role in ecosystems and storing carbon, so African scientists are championing the preservation of “funga” as much as flora and fauna, writes Whitney Bauck
Feature | When older relatives lurch to the far right
It starts with a “back in my day” nostalgic meme – then suddenly your elders are sharing AI-generated “boomerslop” and repeating conspiracy theories … Simon Usborne speaks to families dealing with rightwing political rifts
Opinion | Our governments are woefully underprepared for the AI revolution
Every wave of new tech has come with a doomsday scenario. But governments just aren’t planning a human response on the scale required, warns Larry Elliott
Culture | How the female gaze caught the attention of film, TV and fiction
From passionate romantasy novels to premium television dramas, culture is bringing the agency, desires and interior lives of women to the fore. It’s proving good for business, but is this a permanent revolution, asks Deborah Linton
Iran said it had attacked and seized two cargo ships near the Strait of Hormuz, state media reported. Both sides were seeking to exert control in the waterway.
A new law forces Ukrainians in the captured regions to get Russian title deeds or risk losing their homes.
After months of impasse because of objections from Hungary’s prime minister, Viktor Orban, E.U. ambassadors took a critical step toward disbursing the money.
THE SPECTATOR WORLD: The latest issue features ‘Holy War’ -The truth about Trump’s battle with Pope Leo…
Donald Trump’s latest clash with the Catholic Church stunned even the most hardened veterans of culture-war X. According to the President of the United States, the Chicago-born Pope Leo XIV, the conspicuously holy spiritual leader of 1.3 billion people, is “WEAK on crime and terrible on foreign policy.” He also claimed that, “If I wasn’t in the White House, Leo wouldn’t be in the Vatican.”
Geostrategists used to fret over the “Eastern Question” or the Maginot Line or the Missile Gap. Today there is no doubt that the overriding geostrategic question of our day is whether the President of the United States is playing with a full deck. With the US-Israeli war on Iran failing, and depleting much of both
Vice President JD Vance was set to return to Pakistan for peace talks, U.S. officials said, though Iran has not confirmed that its negotiators will attend.
The Navy destroyers enforcing a blockade of Iranian ports carry weapons fielded after a U.S. warship was attacked and nearly sunk more than 25 years ago.
Republicans have built a small advantage from the gerrymandering clash so far, but Virginia voters could change that.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi reversed limits on arms exports as Japan faces rising threats from China and unpredictability from its main ally, the United States.
An Iranian official vowed retaliation for the U.S. attack on a vessel near the Strait of Hormuz. But Iran’s president said the war “benefits no one,” as an American delegation prepared for more talks.
The war in Iran and its energy bottlenecks hit the Asia-Pacific hard, and scenes of crisis there indicate that problems are multiplying and spreading.
The government will debut a system to repay importers two months after the Supreme Court struck down tariffs at the heart of President Trump’s trade policy.
New documents reveal what professors did to help Jeffrey Epstein get inside the university’s gates.
Ukraine is using unmanned ground vehicles armed with bombs, guns or rockets to carry out attacks and keep its soldiers out of harm’s way.
President Trump said the officials would arrive Monday evening in Pakistan, which has been mediating negotiations. The Strait of Hormuz remained largely closed on Sunday.
Iran’s government could emerge from the conflict with a blueprint to keep adversaries at bay, regardless of any restrictions on its nuclear program.
As Democrats try to find a way back to power in Washington, some see tax cuts as a quick and easy way to address affordability. The wonks are freaking out.
The military said it would tighten its grip on the waterway until the U.S. ended its blockade of Iranian ports, adding to the uncertainty over the strait.
Separate from the regular Iranian Navy, with boats that often go more than 115 miles per hour, it’s what a retired U.S. official calls a “disruptive force.”
The successor to Venezuela’s captured president, Nicolás Maduro, is purging the people who kept him in power.
COMMENTARY MAGAZINE: The latest issue features ‘Anti-Americanism Is a Disease‘ – Patriotism is the Cure by Charles Fain Lehman
Think what you will about Donald Trump; no one can deny his flair. Take, for example, a segment of his State of the Union speech earlier this year. “I’m inviting every legislator to join with my administration in reaffirming a fundamental principle,” Trump said. “If you agree with this statement, then stand up and show your support: The first duty of the American government is to protect American citizens, not illegal aliens.”
The U.S. can win without Iran acknowledging it lost
In 1976, a national celebration kindled my lifelong love of America. Can you imagine that today?
The 10-day truce removes a major obstacle to U.S.-Iran peace talks. Hezbollah, the Iran-backed militia, did not say whether it would accept the deal.
President Trump said on Thursday that he might travel to Pakistan if a deal to end the war was signed there.
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