THE GUARDIAN WEEKLY: The latest issue features ‘Up In Flames’ – Are we ready for the age of global wildfires?

Across the globe, wildfires are on the move. Acrid smoke from huge Ontario fires choked major cities across Canada and the US last week, while in western Europe, France, Portugal and Spain have each been torched by a record-breaking number of blazes for this time of year.

In the UK, parched conditions after a hot dry summer have helped fuel blazes from national parks to cities. Last weekend, firefighters were tackling a blaze on Arthur’s Seat, the volcanic outcrop in the middle of Edinburgh. The week before, dozens of crews were confronted by a wildfire in north-east London.

Because of the climate crisis, fires are burning simultaneously in more places around the world – and they are often hotter, less predictable, and greater in number. For our big story, Ajit Niranjan surveys what seems to be a new normal and considers the impossible decisions specialist fire crews are making when multiple fires are burning in different parts of the world.

In Australia, bushfires have always been part of the country’s landscape. Graham Readfearn talks to some of those who have learned to live with the ever-present danger and asks what they can teach others in this rapidly changing world.

Spotlight | Trump is risking midterm disaster. Why?
Less than a month after hailing a ceasefire, Trump resumed strikes on Iran – a move experts warn could prolong the war and hurt Republicans in upcoming elections. Robert Tait asks what is going on

Science | Is the world facing a male reproductive crisis?
Reports of falling sperm counts and testosterone levels have fuelled fears over chemicals, pollution and modern lifestyles. Hannah Devlin investigates

Feature | The business of rewilding
Intensive farming has all but destroyed England’s ancient woodlands and freshwater wetlands. On a farm in Lincolnshire, a radical aristocrat hopes to show there’s money in protecting nature. Patrick Barkham went to find out

Opinion | What’s left after this World Cup? A kind of messy hope
Kazakhs cheering Uzbeks, Bengalis wild for Argentina … This tournament was once a playground for nationalism. Now it shows how flimsy that allegiance is, argues Jonathan Liew

Culture | All shook up: the return of Alabama Shakes
With Brittany Howard at the helm, the American three-piece band are back with a new album railing against the state of the US in 2026. Dave Simpson caught up with them

THE GUARDIAN WEEKLY: The latest issue features ‘Andy Burnham’s path to No 10″…

Andy Burnham is to become Britain’s seventh prime minister in a decade, having secured the Labour leadership with the landslide support of his party’s MPs.

The former Manchester mayor is now set to replace Starmer as Labour leader on Friday before walking through the doors of No 10 and becoming prime minister next Monday.

For our big story this week, Daniel Boffey looks at how Burnham charted the route from school politics to No 10, while Jessica Elgot runs through the bulging in-tray awaiting him when he steps into the new role. And Gaby Hinsliff examines how the PM-in-waiting might fare on the global stage, asking whether, unlike Keir Starmer, he has the skills to deal with Donald Trump.

Spotlight | A revolution in ruins
Discontent with Venezuela’s Trump-backed government is mounting as Chávez heirs struggle to respond to the earthquake disaster, writes Tom Phillips

Science | We’re going on a water bear hunt
Scientists hope DNA sequencing tardigrades – tiny yet virtually indestructible creatures – could help us understand the secrets of their superpowers. Patrick Barkham reports

Feature | The battle of the Bell hotel
Tim Burrows visits the town of Epping in Essex to hear from local people about the impact of last year’s far-right protests that centred on a hotel housing asylum seekers

Opinion | The real source of Trump’s power exposed
The Nato summit showed the US president’s willingness to violate all norms, rules and laws – and leave everyone else to pick up the pieces, argues Robert Reich

Culture | Never-ending story
With Christopher Nolan’s take on the Odyssey set to break box office records, Charlotte Higgins asks why a poem from 600BC holds a vice-like grip on pop culture