THE ECONOMIST MAGAZINE: The latest issue features ‘Degradation in progress’…
What the degraded institution means for America
Earth is absorbing a lot more sunshine
America’s president looks bereft of good options for solving the stand-off in the Gulf
Antagonism between the sexes does nothing to address China’s demographic problems
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
THE ECONOMIST MAGAZINE: The latest issue features ‘The man who would change Russia‘…
A leading oligarch speaks out, warning of the looming disaster facing his country
The grubby scheme contains the seeds of a good idea
Andy Burnham’s plan is no way to ease the housing crisis
One simple vaccination may dramatically reduce the risk of dementia
Stop lowering the age of criminal responsibility
THE GUARDIAN WEEKLY: The latest issue features ‘A Load of Hot Air’ – Trump and America at 250….
In case you missed Donald Trump’s triumphalist address marking America’s 250th anniversary, you weren’t alone. Lightning storms caused by an extreme heatwave sent the Washington crowds scattering and delayed the US president’s address by four hours – but it was still a trademark piece of Trumpian dystopia, a highly politicised polemic that followed on from a white nationalist march on the streets of the capital.
David Smith’s brilliant feature essay this week reveals how the US president has hijacked the country’s milestone anniversary and turned it into a joyless, farcical series of largely self-serving events. And from Moscow to Mexico City, there’s a terrific reported feature from our correspondents around the globe on how the world views America at 250 in the age of Trump.
Spotlight | At the ayatollah’s funeral, Iranians call for revenge
Crowds swelled through Tehran as mourners dressed in black carried flags proclaiming: ‘We will rise’, reports diplomatic editor Patrick Wintour
Environment | The changing symphony of Britain’s dawn chorus
The country has lost an estimated 73 million wild birds from its landscape over the last 50 years, but a new project aims to recreate their sound. By Sandra Laville and Madeleine Finlay
Feature | Morality and the machine
Since 2017, philosopher Iason Gabriel has worked at Google DeepMind, trying to anticipate – and think through – the impact of AI. But as commercial and geopolitical pressures escalate, can ethicists make any difference, asks Robert P Baird
Opinion | Thank heavens for the pope
In a political wasteland dominated by billionaires, war criminals and mega-corporations, the head of the Catholic church is a rare figure of moral leadership, argues Simon Tisdall
Culture | An invitation you can’t refuse
Director Olivia Wilde and co-star Edward Norton talk to Catherine Shoard about The Invite, their new movie about marital bed death that is the season’s buzziest, funniest release
THE ECONOMIST MAGAZINE: The latest issue features ‘America at 250’
Restlessness is what prevents the republic from sinking into stagnation
Fable is free. But the technology desperately needs better regulations4 min read
Both have much to gain from being less belligerent
The government’s response has been dire. Its patron has a duty to help
THE GUARDIAN WEEKLY: The latest issue features ‘Britain’s Lost Decade After Brexit’…
It’s neatly ironic that the 10th anniversary of the Brexit vote should have been marked this week by yet another prime ministerial resignation.
The two things aren’t directly related – the intense pressure put on Keir Starmer to step down was partly down to his own political flaws. But the rise in the polls of Reform UK, Nigel Farage’s populist rightwing party that morphed out of the Brexit-obsessed Ukip, was a key factor.
The fact that the country is now set for its seventh prime minister in the decade since Brexit speaks volumes. The vote in 2016 to leave the European Union deeply fractured Britain, a country that remains volatile and impatient for change to this day.
Change has come to the UK as a result of Brexit – only not for the better, as senior economics correspondent Richard Partington explains for our special report this week. We revisit the buildup to the vote as key figures at the time recall how it shook the country’s politics. And there’s even a quiz to test your memory of the more arcane sideshows of it all.
Spotlight | Iran’s regime survived the war. Will it make peace with its people?
If the conflict with the US and Israel triggered a rare moment of solidarity in the divided country, many doubt it will be used for reform, reports Saeed Shah
Spotlight | Why did Somali children become targets of US drone strikes?
Six months ago, at least 12 people, including eight children, died during a US attack. The US has never admitted the civilian deaths. Mark Townsend pieces together what happened that day
Environment | The online archive sharing scientific knowledge with everyone
The Biodiversity Heritage Library is an invaluable online archive of historic texts on species living and lost supplied by the world’s leading museums and universities. Now its future is in doubt. Donna Ferguson reports
Opinion | There is still hope for international law
Even in this age of global rupture, do not despair: developments in Ukraine and Iran show that the military superpowers are not getting it all their own way, argues Nathalie Tocci
Culture | Why time is still on Keith Richards’ side
At 82, the Rolling Stones guitarist is still hale and hearty, enjoying life as a great-grandad and jousting with Mick Jagger like old times. Ahead of a new Stones album launch, Alexis Petridis caught up with him
THE ECONOMIST MAGAZINE: The latest issue features ‘America’s AI power grab’ – Anthropic and the geopolitics of frontier models….
Its government is now the gatekeeper to frontier models—and most compute
The peace deal is all carrot and no stick
Patients benefit from faster, cheaper treatments, wherever they are invented
Family-run conglomerates make the stock market a tricky place to invest
Claudia Sheinbaum must be doing something right. With a consistent approval rating of around 70% since becoming Mexico’s president in 2024, the former climate scientist – and protege of her predecessor, Andrés Manuel López Obrador – is the world’s most popular leftwing leader. She is also the first female leader of one of Latin America’s most macho countries.
Yet despite her soaring popularity, driven in part by major universal healthcare reforms, there is a curious tension between Sheinbaum’s disciplined, scientific approach to governing and the messy, often violent politics of modern Mexico. Her handling of the country’s ongoing crisis of disappearances, the continuing influence of organised crime and the rising presence of the army in national life are all issues she has faced criticism over.
The big story | Counting the cost of the war on Iran
With a peace deal expected to be signed later this week, Oliver Holmes examines the human, economic and environmental toll of a conflict that appears to have achieved nothing
Science | How the loss of wild bees impacts human health
Crops and flowers rely on them for survival, but wild bees are declining – and crucial nutrients will go missing from our diets as a result. Gloria Dickie reports
Feature | How personal taste fell out of fashion
Our favourite music, clothes and books used to be markers of individuality – but algorithms have made us all sheep. Rachel Aroesti meets the style rebels fighting back
Opinion | If Kyiv has really got Putin on the run, he won’t accept peace meekly
Don’t expect the Russian president to pursue peace, says Simon Tisdall – instead, he could continue to expand the war beyond Ukraine’s borders, with dire risks for us all
Culture | The revolutionary art of David Hockney
Guardian critic Jonathan Jones pays tribute to the artist whose work was a feast of visual pleasures
FOREIGN POLICY MAGAZINE: The latest issue features ‘the End of…The U.S.-Israel alliance…Neo liberalism…Trans-Atlanticism…Climate Politics…The United Nations…Asylum…Political parties…Chinese growth…Morality…The future….
How the rules of both entertainment and soft power are being rewritten
He must swallow his pride and accept a deal worse than the pre-war status quo
Kevin Warsh, the unlucky new chairman, has seen his case for lower interest rates disintegrate
It is suffering economic costs for its industrial dominance
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