Innholdsfortegnelse for 26 September 2025 i Guardian Weekly

The Guardian Weekly Founded in Manchester, England 4 July 1919 Vol213 | Issue№ 13 Guardian Weekly is an edited selection of some of the best journalism found in the Guardian’s digital editions in the UK, US and Australia, and the Guardian newspaper in the UK. The weekly magazine has an international focus and four editions: global, Europe, Australia and North America. The Guardian was founded in 1821, and Guardian Weekly in 1919. We exist to hold power to account in the name of the public interest, to uphold liberal and progressive values, to fight for the common good, and to build hope. Our values, as laid out by editor CP Scott in 1921, are honesty, integrity, courage, fairness, and a sense of duty to the reader and the community. The Guardian is…

A wave of international recognitions of a Palestinian state prompted bitter and almost unanimous condemnation across the political spectrum in Israel, uniting political foes and, analysts said, potentially reinforcing the ruling coalition’s grip on power. The UK, Portugal, Australia and Canada formally recognised a state of Palestine on Sunday while France followed suit on Monday. Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel’s prime minister, called the moves an “absurdity” and a “reward for terrorism”, while Israel’s president, Isaac Herzog, said the “forces of darkness” would be emboldened. Opposition leaders have used similar language. Yair Lapid, who heads the centrist Yesh Atid party, described “a diplomatic disaster, a bad move and a reward for terror”. But there was little prospect of Israel’s government changing course as a result of the recognitions, experts said. “This will…

In the emotionally and politically charged days since the killing of Charlie Kirk, the conservative youth activist who was a close ally of Donald Trump, one statement has loomed large. Last Monday, the US attorney general Pam Bondi said that the Trump administration would “absolutely target” those who espouse “hate speech” about Kirk. Unlike in much of the rest of the world, hate speech is protected under US law unless it incites imminent violence or constitutes a true threat. But that did not deter the nation’s top law enforcement officer, who also suggested that a print shop employee who refused to print flyers memorialising Kirk could be “prosecuted”. Since Kirk was shot dead earlier this month, the US has been gripped by a bitter debate about the relation between political…

‘We can’t eat. We can’t sleep. We have been locked up in this place for more than a month. Some people expect to be forced on to a plane to France today. Nobody wants to go. For us, this is a disaster.” The man speaking, Fessahaye, is an asylum seeker from Eritrea who fled indefinite military conscription in his home country, and walked through the Sahara before being tortured and enslaved in Libya. He eventually crossed the Mediterranean and reached Europe. From France he travelled to the UK in a small boat. “This place” is Brook House immigration removal centre near Gatwick airport. It is one of two UK centres, along with Harmondsworth, near Heathrow, where an estimated 92 people who recently arrived on small boats have been detained in…

Protest movements in Sri Lanka and Bangladesh inspired young Nepalese to vent their anger on the country’s leaders Across Kathmandu, the acrid stench of smoke still lingers. Singha Durbar, the opulent palace that housed Nepal’s parliament, stands charred and empty, its grand white columns turned a sooty black. The home of former prime minister KP Sharma Oli – who until recently seemed to have an unshakable grip on power – is among those reduced to ruins. He remains in hiding, his location last week still unknown. They stand as symbolic monuments to the week that Nepal’s political system was brought crashing down at the hands of a leaderless movement led by young people who called themselves the gen Zs, referring to those aged between 13 and 28. Earlier this month,…

Mexico has declared war on one of its deadliest foes – but not one of the country’s many powerful drug cartels. Rather, it has doubled down on its battle against a more silent killer: sugary drinks. “We want people to stop drinking so much soft drink,” said President Claudia Sheinbaum bluntly at a news conference this month. The country’s 2026 budget, unveiled last week, proposed to nearly double the tax rate on sugary drinks from 1.64 pesos (9 cents) per litre to 3.08 pesos per litre. The move has sparked fierce debate in Mexico, with some welcoming the initiative as a genuine attempt to tackle an epidemic of obesity – and others viewing it as a boldfaced money-making scheme. Mexico is one of the world’s top consumers of sugary drinks,…

What was going through the mariners’ minds, embarking on a voyage they must have feared they would not survive? What had driven them to accept such a mission? The answers to those questions, like the identities of the sailors, remain a mystery to Brazilian police. What investigators are certain of is the purpose of the vessel: a dungeon-like “narco-submarine” that they say was days away from starting a hellish three-week odyssey across the Atlantic carrying hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of cocaine to Europe. “You could pay me as much money as you liked and I confess I wouldn’t go … on such an insane journey,” said Fernando Casarin, the federal police chief whose special forces recently captured the narco-sub on the eve of its departure from the Amazon.…

Something is happening, and we see it on both sides of the Atlantic. On the surface, it is about flags, identity and political allegiance. But to me, as an American living in Britain, recent events reveal something deeper: both our societies are normalising hate and othering in ways that corrode not only our politics but our souls. The something is aggressions and micro-aggressions: a coarsening of everyday encounters. I have snapshots. Recently, at a celebrated creative hub in London, I twice endured blatant bias. My guests and I – the only all-Black table in the room – were left in the dark, literally. As night fell, every other table was given a lamp except ours. When I raised it with management, I was interrupted, dismissed and told it was an…

My friend Caroline, who recently shamed me by ordering 10 sachets of mayonnaise with her fish supper, is fond of mocking my love of what she terms “dry food”. I don’t want vinegar on my chips, brown sauce on my bacon bap or ketchup with my steak – but I will admit to a crispy chilli oil fixation. This vivid red, oily muddle of dried chilli flakes, chewy garlic crisps and chopped peanuts, which originates from Guizhou in south-western China, has the same intensely savoury heat that I love about mustard, but with added textural thrills. I’ll spoon it on scrambled eggs, salad, pasta – nothing is safe. My habit has been exacerbated by recently testing recipes for the homemade variety, not that there aren’t excellent ready-made options (Lao Gan…

1 UNITED STATES Trump pushes unscientific autism and Tylenol claim Donald Trump unveiled highly contentious conclusions about the causes of autism, together with a push for research purporting to find a possible “cure” for the condition. Trump announced that pregnant women should limit their use of acetaminophen, usually branded as Tylenol in the US or paracetamol elsewhere, which he claimed increases the risk of autism in children when it is used by pregnant women, an assertion hotly contested by scientists and contradicted by studies. Flanked by the health secretary, Robert F Kennedy Jr, the president declared: “Taking Tylenol is not good … All pregnant women should talk to their doctors about limiting the use of this medication while pregnant.” Later, he reinforced the comment, saying: “Don’t take Tylenol. There’s no downside.”…

Abu Said, a barber, was busy. It was a week-end and though the narrow streets of al-Am’ari camp were hot and quiet, his shop was crowded. Everyone in al-Am’ari, on the outskirts of Ramallah in the occupied West Bank, knew that the UK, France, Portugal and Canada were about to recognise a Palestinian state, following formal recognition of Palestine by more than 140 other countries. “It is perfect. Even if it is very late coming, it means they have recognised the rights of the Palestinian people,” said Abu Said, who did not give his full name for fear of harassment or detention by Israel’s security forces. But although there was universal welcome for the move, there were significant reservations, too. Abu Said said: “It is not enough to recognise in…

Hours before the sun rose over the Arizona desert, tens of thousands of mourners snaked through the Valley toward the State Farm stadium in Glendale – where the conservative activist Charlie Kirk was lionised as a “prophet” for the streaming era and a defender of free speech, martyred in the line of duty. The memorial was part spiritual revival, part political rally. Mourners observed the red, white and blue dress code, filling the at-capacity venue with stars, stripes and Maga hats. Vice-president JD Vance memorialised Kirk, his friend and the founder of the youth activist group Turning Point USA, as one of the most pre-eminent voices on the American right. Inside the stadium, emotions were already raw when Erika Kirk, Charlie’s widow, took to the stage. She inhaled deeply and…

Murder of Ukrainian MP is seen as part of a covert battle being waged by both Moscow and Kyiv amid the wider war Dressed all in black and wearing a yellow helmet, the man on the bike looked like just another food delivery driver, one of hundreds crisscrossing the city of Lviv with a big yellow box on his back. This courier had no meals to deliver, however. Instead, he lurked on a quiet side street, waiting for a balding 54-year-old with cropped grey hair at the sides and black-rimmed spectacles to appear. The man on the bike had studied the target’s movements in previous weeks, and was expecting him to emerge from his apartment building on to the street and head to the gym. When he did, the fake…

Fifty years ago, on the day Papua New Guinea gained independence from Australia, a young law student lowered the Australian flag and raised Papua New Guinea’s for the first time. The 22-year-old, Arnold Amet, had spent the preceding years active on his university campus, debating the merits of independence, petitioning future leaders to abandon the British monarchy, and imagining what it might mean for his people to finally govern themselves. Then, in September 1975, national sovereignty became real. Standing at the centre of Sir Hubert Murray Stadium in the capital of Port Moresby, Amet was overcome by emotion. “That was an exciting, memorable time,” recalled Amet, who would go on to become the chief justice of Papua New Guinea and today serves as the country’s US ambassador. “I don’t think…

The dodo has long been a byword for eradicated species. Now a ‘de-extinction’ firm wants to recreate gene-edited versions of the flightless bird Since its demise in the 17th century, the dodo has long been synonymous with extinction. But thousands of dodos could soon again populate Mauritius, the species’ former home, according to a “de-extinction” company that has announced a major breakthrough in its quest to resurrect the flightless bird. Colossal Biosciences said last week that it had succeeded in growing pigeon primordial germ cells, precursor cells to sperm and eggs, for the first time. This is a “pivotal step” in bringing back the dodo, which was a type of pigeon, for the first time in more than 300 years, according to Colossal. The Texas-based company, which has made splashy…

Recently, I took the well-worn journey from London to Knowsley in Merseyside. My uncle picked me and my toddler up from the station and as we turned on to the motorway, I saw St George’s flags hanging over us from the sides of bridges. Union jacks circled the roundabout just before we turned off to go to my auntie’s house. Knowsley is Labour’s fourth-safest seat in the UK, but it felt like a newly minted Reform constituency. I was updated on various family milestones – a house sale had gone through, a baby bump was starting to show, the poor dog was on its last legs. The BBC News at Six played images of migrants huddled on inflatable boats sailing across the Channel. The next day, we drove past large…

Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook are the genial odd couple whose podcast, The Rest Is History, became the world’s biggest of its kind. What’s their secret? We’ve moved towards more storytelling … We try to put the drama back in How does one measure success? For Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook, the historians behind the hit podcast The Rest Is History, it could be the number of unexpected and overly familiar conversations with strangers. On a holiday in Bulgaria, Holland was wandering around a secluded monastery when someone called out: “Love the podcast!” Sandbrook is used to getting weird looks from fans who find it hard to compute that the man in front of them is one half of the soundtrack to their dog walks and commutes. “The weirdest thing…

One of the fascinating things about working as a psychotherapist is having the opportunity to observe how many of our problems involve us getting in the way of ourselves. The difficulties we encounter are frequently the result of self-sabotage, and managing them often requires doing our best not to give in to every impulse. To lose weight and keep it off, to climb out of debt, to find meaningful work, to maintain happy relationships: all demand postponing our immediate desires. Delaying gratification has been a useful tactic for aeons. But why does so much of modern life seem to involve swimming upstream? Why is it that following our instincts often seems to land us in so much trouble? A central idea in the field of evolutionary psychology is that of…

REFORM UK Farage immigration plan draws broad condemnation Nigel Farage faced cross-party condemnation after threatening hundreds of thousands of legal immigrants with deportation by pledging to abolish the main route towards permanent settlement in the UK. The Reform UK leader was roundly criticised over the principle and practicality of his proposals, with Labour figures accusing him of seeking to “break up families” and “foster division”. On Monday, Farage claimed the policy was aimed at stopping 800,000 people from becoming eligible for indefinite leave to remain (ILR) between 2026 and 2030. Farage said this group – which he called the “Boriswave” because they arrived under post-Brexit changes made by Boris Johnson – tended to be young and low-skilled and were “going to be a huge burden on the state” by claiming…

France and Saudi Arabia convened dozens of world leaders in New York on Monday to rally support for a two-state solution, with several of them formally recognising a Palestinian state, a day after Australia, Canada, Portugal and the UK made their own formal declarations. Why are more countries recognising Palestinian statehood? The coordinated action is part of an attempt to preserve and nurture the vision of a two-state solution in which the state of Palestine coexists next to Israel. It also represents a rebuke to Israel and the US for the relentless assault on Gaza and an objection to the annexation of the West Bank. There are genuine fears that Israel is about to annex the West Bank or make Gaza so uninhabitable that Palestinians are forced over the borders…

Rafie Nadi, 23, was rescued off Spain’s coast after nearly two days floating with only an inflatable ring and flippers For more than 40 hours he floated in the Mediterranean, buoyed only by an inflatable ring and flippers. Gripped by fear, Rafie Nadi, 23, was kept from slipping under by a jumble of hopes. Five years earlier, he had set off from Egypt to help provide for his family; now he prayed he would finally make it to Europe and live to see his mother again. His rescue in July made headlines around the world. Dehydrated, exhausted and his skin burning from overexposure to sun and seawater, he could be seen in video clips collapsed on a ship’s deck, barely able to move, after he was pulled from the water…

Could these cherished insects be outcompeting their wild cousins for pollen? A radical experiment aimed to find out Off the coast of Tuscany is a tiny island in the shape of a crescent moon. An hour from mainland Italy, Giannutri has just two beaches for boats to dock. In summer, hundreds of tourists flock there, hiking to the red and white lighthouse on its southern tip before diving into the clear waters. In winter, its population dwindles to 10. The island’s rocky ridges are coated with thickets of rosemary and juniper, and in warmer months the air is sweetened by flowers and the gentle hum of bees. “Residents are people who like fishing, or being alone, or who have retired,” said Leonardo Dapporto, associate professor at the University of Florence.…

There is a secret industry that generates billions of dollars a year. Its workers are bright, industrious and completely anonymous. Their job is writing essays for students – in the UK and elsewhere – to help them get good degrees. These are “shadow scholars”, highly educated Kenyans who earn a living by working for essay mills. They are contracted to ghostwrite essays, PhD dissertations and other academic papers for students across the world, who pay a fee then pass off the work as their own. Kenya has been identified as a hotspot of the practice, with an estimated 40,000 ghostwriters working in Nairobi alone. They are the subject of a new film that talks for the first time to the young Kenyans who may be writing an essay or dissertation…

Zohran Mamdani has had to overcome a lot during his campaign to be New York City’s next mayor. His age, relative lack of experience and his self-stated democratic socialism could have held him back. Yet the 33-year-old, a relative unknown 12 months ago, has become the favourite to win the election in November. One thing still looms over Mamdani, however: he has terrified some traditional big-money Democratic donors and real-estate tycoons by promising to freeze rent prices and raise taxes on the wealthiest 1% of New Yorkers. Such promises prompted elites to spend millions during the Democratic primary, which didn’t work. Mamdani coasted past Andrew Cuomo, the former New York governor. But the rich aren’t done yet. Some of the city’s wealthiest landlords and business people gathered with Cuomo this…

Britain has made its point. We can do the past. The rest of the world may be more powerful and richer than we are, but only Britain can embody statehood in a banquet. Only Britain can force the titans of the digital age into white tie and tails, and reduce a US president to quivering admiration. The question is: where now? Donald Trump’s itinerary mostly avoided central London. He did not go near Downing Street, let alone address parliament. Imagine a state visit to the US that did not include the White House or the Capitol. Last week was all soft power and flattery. It probably did more for British tourism than for steel tariffs or pharmaceuticals. Yet as I watched the golden carriage trundle through an empty Windsor park…

The cuckoos and swifts are long gone, while the swallows are gearing up to head south, as the remaining house martin stragglers see off their second and third broods at Fairy Hill. It has been a good year. The highlight: 40 hirundines hawking flying ants in early August, and a single female sparrowhawk cruising through the throng with neither species batting an eyelid. As one group of birds leave, there is great anticipation for an influx of redwings, fieldfares and waxwings from “up north”, not least because the hawthorns, rowans, rosehips are bent double with the weight of this year’s berry crop. It was thought at one time that the northern birds could somehow sense a glut in the UK. More likely it is a poor berry crop in Scandinavia…

Across 1 Damages – panto incomes (anag) (12) 9 Essential oil made from roses (5) 10 Workshy underachiever (7) 11 High time? (4) 12 Lazy, like a 10 (4-4) 14 Where two sides meet (6) 15 Just (6) 18 Block (the view) (8) 20 The two of them (4) 22 Find one on the road to Canterbury (7) 23 Wake-up call? (5) 24 Self-determination (12) Down 2 True oil (anag) – it’s unusual, statistically (7) 3 Bit, body or car? (4) 4 One fails to appear (2-4) 5 (It’s) of theoretical interest only (8) 6 Caused annoyance (5) 7 Oranges and Lemons, for instance (7,5) 8 A done deal (4,8) 13 Sign of sorrow (8) 16 Everyday (7) 17 Shrewdness (in business?) (6) 19 State which is neither liquid nor…