CATEGORIES

'So afraid' - After floods, Libyans pick up the pieces

Almost two weeks after the Libyan port city of Derna was devastated by floods, Hassan Ben Faid sat on the floor of a secondary school classroom that will, for the foreseeable future, be his home. A pen in hand, he started drawing his house and then, stroke after stroke, the rising levels of water, the dead and the drowning.

Awkward allies: the far-right Russians fighting on Kyiv's side

Notorious former football hooligan Denis Nikitin runs a controversial unit that is actively engaged alongside Ukrainian forces

'I will never go back' - Death stalks the exodus of refugees

The day the shelling began, Genadi Hyusunts had just taken his four-day-old son home from the hospital.

A new take on Neanderthals

They have long been derided as a knuckle-dragging species, but new discoveries are setting the record straight about the stereotype of Homo neanderthalensis, as well as teaching us about ourselves

Inside the mind of Elon Musk

David Runciman spent the summer following all the same Twitter/X accounts as its billionaire owner, the world's richest man. This is what he discovered ...

'There's an oily smell' - Belgrade's problem with filthy air is proving hard to shift

When the Prime Minister Džemal Bijedić promised to clean Yugoslavia's air at a conference in Belgrade in 1974, a reporter from the New York Times wrote that there was little hope of early relief for residents, who felt the pollution was getting worse. \"The choking, sulphurous atmosphere of Belgrade and several other major Yugoslav cities reddens eyes, shreds nylon stockings and ruins pianissimo passages in the concert hall because of the nearly continuous coughing it causes in audiences,\" the writer said.

Action stations - What can be done to combat air pollution in Europe?

While air pollution is largely invisible, the health implications of breathing tiny PM2.5 particles is increasingly well-known.

Choke point

An exclusive Guardian investigation has found that Europe is facing a serious public health crisis, with 98% of people living in areas with toxic air linked to 400,000 deaths a year. What can be done to address the problem?

Back in the sweet spot

After decades of turmoil, the original Sugababes have reunited-and this time they're not going to let anyone stand in their way

'I want this to hit people in the gut'

Chris Ofili on his epic response to the Grenfell tragedy-placing an artist who died at its centre

America needs fresh leaders - Biden and Trump should bow out

Joe Biden has many reasons to be grateful he is not a member of Britain's ruling Conservatives, but one in particular stands out. When a Tory prime minister is polling badly, looking jaded and in danger of becoming a liability or a joke, they don't mess about.

Wedge issue

From eating plastic-wrapped slices as a child to hobnobbing with the owners of cheese caves, Grace Dent can track her life through the creamy, fatty, salty bliss of her favourite comfort food

'You may have been poisoned'

Independent Russian journalist Elena Kostyuchenko's reporting on the invasion of Ukraine led to an assassination order being issued. Then came a mysterious illness ...

Slump in demand for coca pushes families to the brink

Noralba Galvis usually returns home to her village in the Colombian jungle with fresh supplies of rice, meat, salt and other foods stuffed into bags. But today, as the 40-year-old steps onboard a boat for the two-hour journey home along the Putumayo River, she carries just a single cardboard box.

Found in translation

The act of expressing yourself in a second language can lead to a more considered thought process, improved adaptability and less anxiety

How a singer beat prejudice by nurturing his voice

There's a painful scene in the new Netflix drama Can You See Us? when the protagonist, Joseph, is attacked by men who pin him down and hack at his leg with a knife.

Once bitten Snack foods on the rise in Africa and Asia

Ultra-processed foods are taking hold in lower-income countries as experts warn a disease toll is sure to follow

Treasures of the high seas

Signing of global treaty is a timely opportunity for governments to act in the interests of marine life

One year on Young Iranians keep flame of freedom alive

Young Iranians have taken their protests against the authoritarian regime underground one year on from the death in custody of a 22-year-old woman detained for allegedly wearing the Islamic headscarf incorrectly.

Rocket men What we learned from Putin-Kim summit

The US dismissed the meeting of pariah state leaders as 'desperation' - but there are fears over what it could signal

Rise and rise of the Tony Blair Institute

With more than 800 staff in 40 countries, is the former prime minister now more powerful than he was in No 10?

Straw polls The populist challenge to Europe's institutions

The shape of three European governments could be decided by the performances of or populist, anti-establishment far-right parties in elections in the coming weeks, as the continent's fractured political landscape continues to splinter.

At the ready Two nations' different responses to natural catastrophe

Two disasters struck this month: the earthquake in Morocco and devastating flooding in Libya. At least 2,900 people are known to have died in the 6.8-magnitude earthquake that struck in Morocco's High Atlas mountains on 8 September, and the authorities say the toll will rise.

Falling apart The climate crisis met a failed state-and disaster ensued

When the climate crisis meets a failed state, the outcome is the kind of disaster that has unfolded in Derna.

'I expected to die'

Journalists on the ground in Derna say reporting on the flooding disaster has been a harrowing experience and one that has deeply affected people

Tangled up in blue

A former minister exposes the 'shameful state' of Britain's Tory administration in this brilliant account of dysfunctional rule

Is Elon Musk really the guiding force the world needs right now?

When Elon Musk posted a personally crafted 280-character “ peace plan ” for the war in Ukraine last October, a Ukrainian diplomat offered a carefully considered review. It ran to two words: “ Fuck off”.

Les mots perdus

Proust, ChatGPT and the case of the forgotten quote In search of a passage among the French writer's voluminous work, I turned to AI to help me find it. The results were instructive - just not about Proust

'Something happened'

FIRST THERE WERE THE BEWILDERING DNA TEST RESULTS, THEN THE LONG-FORGOTTEN FERTILITY BLOG-AND A DISCOVERY THAT WOULD CHANGE THE LIVES OF TWO FAMILIES FOR EVER

Activists hail abortion ruling but warn of lack of access

Human rights activists in Mexico have welcomed a historic ruling by the country's supreme court that decriminalises abortion, but warned that the historic decision will not automatically make terminations accessible for all Mexican women.