Many had written off Marine Le Pen, said Katya Adler on BBC News. They thought the de facto leader of the far-right National Rally (RN) had run out of political road after being convicted in March 2025 of helping to embezzle more than €4 million in EU parliamentary funds, which the RN diverted to pay for its own staff.

And since her punishments include a five-year ban from holding office, it seemed likely that her charismatic 30-year-old protégé, Jordan Bardella, would have to take her place in the 2027 presidential election.

But Le Pen has a habit of defying the odds. And so it proved last week, when the Court of Appeal confirmed her conviction, but reduced her period of ineligibility to 15 months, allowing her to compete next April.

‘Risky gamble’

There was one large caveat, however: she would have to wear an ankle tag for 12 months as part of her three-year jail sentence, two of which are suspended. This made some doubt that she’d run. But just six hours after the ruling, Le Pen “came out swinging”. In a TV interview, she said yes, she would run for president, and no, she wouldn’t have to wear a tag, at least not until the Court of Cassation has ruled on her final appeal. Ever defiant, she has styled herself as “a phoenix rising from the ashes”.

Barring Le Pen from standing would have had “devastating consequences” for French democracy, said Jean-Éric Schoettl in Le Figaro (Paris). True, she has been convicted of wrongdoing, but even so, it should be left to the French people to decide whether they want her as president or not.

The judgment was a tightrope act, said Olivier Beaud in Le Monde (Paris). By reducing Le Pen’s sentence and letting her stand, the court has freed the judiciary from accusations of political meddling. But at the same time – and this is the really important point – it has upheld her conviction for a grave criminal offence.

Le Pen is not out of the woods by any stretch, said Julien Lécuyer in La Voix du Nord (Lille). Her “risky gamble” could backfire. The Court of Cassation has now said that it will rule on her case at some point before the election. If it upholds last week’s verdict, Le Pen could, in theory, be forced to wear an ankle tag on the campaign trail. Such physical proof of her criminality would be a godsend to her rivals.

Wingman Bardella

The RN is currently well ahead in the polls, said The Economist (London), but its path to the Élysée Palace faces pitfalls beyond the legal saga. One is the potential for infighting. Until his mentor’s sudden reprieve, the highly popular Bardella had assumed he was going to be the RN’s presidential candidate. So he has been pushing his own vision of the path the RN should follow, a path which differs from Le Pen’s. Being a more business-friendly politician, he balks at her plan to reduce the pension age for some workers to 60. Such differences will “inevitably strain” their relationship in the coming months, for all that Le Pen insists they are united.

Yet the truth is she cannot win without him, said Clea Caulcutt on Politico (Brussels). In what was “either a stroke of genius or a sign of desperation”, she had him constantly at her side last week. She was “all smiles” at the RN rally in La Flèche; he was “more stone-faced”, as if “adjusting to his new role as wingman”.

Le Pen’s candidacy sheds light on the “true nature” of the RN, said Le Monde. It’s a family concern. A Le Pen has stood in all but one election since 1972, the year her late father Jean-Marie founded what was then called the National Front. And the family retains its tight grip: Le Pen’s niece is her comms director; her brother-in-law is her main adviser.

The only thing different about the party today is Le Pen’s double conviction, which exposes the rot at the heart of it. So much for the RN’s old slogan “Clean hands and head held high”; so much for Le Pen’s 2013 proposal to give lifetime bans to politicians guilty of embezzlement. The RN poses a “serious threat” to France, and its opponents must wake up before it’s too late.

“Imagine the ecstasy Democrats felt when they first found Graham Platner,” said Carine Hajjar in The Washington Post. At last, a man who could help them win back the blue-collar vote: a charismatic, gruff-talking oyster farmer and combat veteran.

They were so excited to think his run for Maine senator might succeed, and deliver their party control of the upper chamber of Congress, that they dismissed a growing list of ugly revelations about him.

A gamble too far

That large Nazi tattoo on his chest? Platner didn’t know the skull motif had SS associations (though he apparently called it his “Totenkopf”). His history of bigoted comments on social media, and sexting of women? He’d been through a “dark period”, but had “grown”. The allegation of physical abuse from a (Republican) ex-girlfriend? Probably politically motivated. But a credible accusation of rape from a (Democratic) former partner finally tipped the balance – and, last week, Platner quit the race.

The Platner affair was a train wreck, said Perry Bacon in The New Republic, but that shouldn’t deter Democrats from seeking unconventional candidates who will make voters give them a second look. The party has to enlist support from outside its core base.

Platner was a gamble too far, but we know from the 2016 and 2024 elections what happens when Democrats run milquetoast candidates with “Republican-lite” policy platforms: they lose. The party needs new blood, said The New York Times. More importantly, though, it needs to define what it would do with power. It needs “a purpose” more than it needs charismatic outsiders.

Selected on ‘vibes’

The Democrats must take more care with recruitment, said Christina Cauterucci on Slate. Platner was enlisted by a political strategist called Daniel Moraff, solely on the basis of “vibes”. He had no track record as an official or an activist. There was minimal vetting. Voters wanted “real human beings”, Moraff insisted, not “vat-grown people”.

Yet the joke is that Platner’s rugged image is itself confected. He comes from an affluent family and attended a fancy prep school; his oyster farm’s main customer is his mother’s upscale restaurant. Genuinely working-class voters weren’t impressed by Platner: he polled poorly among them, and did much better among college-educated voters. This is a cautionary tale about treating “class signifiers” – a dense beard, tattoos and a grimy sweatshirt – as proof “of political merit”.

This dish felt like a permanent fixture on our menu during the late 1970s and early 1980s, says Rick Stein. I probably first had it in Paris, during one of our early trips, which would have been around 1978. When my then wife Jill and I were on holiday, we made a point of testing things out and picking up recipes and ideas for the kind of restaurant ours should aspire to be. When fish conservationists began discouraging people from fishing for skate, we discovered that ray was OK – so this dish was born.

Ingredients

• 4 skinned ray wings, about 225g each
• 15g nonpareilles capers in brine, drained and rinsed

For the court-bouillon

• 300ml dry white wine
• 85ml white wine vinegar
• 2 bay leaves
• 12 black peppercorns
• 1 onion, roughly chopped
• 2 carrots, roughly chopped
• 2 celery sticks, roughly chopped
• 1 tsp salt

For the black butter

• 175g butter
• 50ml red wine vinegar
• 1 tbsp chopped flat-leaf parsley

Method

• First, make the court-bouillon. Put all the ingredients into a large pan with 1.2 litres of water. Bring to the boil and simmer for 20 minutes. Set aside to cool, which will allow the flavour to improve before using.
• Put the ray wings into a large pan. Pour over the court-bouillon, bring to the boil and simmer the wings very gently for 15 minutes until they are cooked through.
• Carefully lift the ray wings out of the pan, leave the excess liquid to drain off and then place the wings on to 4 warmed plates. Sprinkle with the capers and keep warm.
• For the black butter, melt the butter in a frying pan. As soon as it starts to foam, turn quite brown and smell very nutty, add the vinegar, then the parsley. Let it boil down for a minute or so, until slightly reduced. Pour the butter over the ray and serve.

Taken from “The Seafood Restaurant Cookbook” by Rick Stein and Jill Stein, published by Jon Croft Editions at £35. To buy from The Week Bookshop for £31.99 (incl. p&p), visit theweekbookshop.co.uk or call 020 3176 3835.

You could have sworn you did not spend that much, but once again, you get to the end of the month, and the numbers in your bank account are not quite adding up. So, what gives? There is one easy way to get to the bottom of this mystery: expense tracking. By taking note of every time you spend throughout the month, you can more easily see where you might be overspending and where you might be able to cut back.

What are the benefits of tracking your spending?

Tracking your spending is effectively an exercise in attention. When you get into the nitty-gritty of your day-to-day expenditures, you can quickly start to see where exactly your money is going and identify patterns in your spending.

That noticing is only the first step, however — “pairing action with that attention is what really makes a difference,” said Nerdwallet. With increased awareness, perhaps you can figure out what is causing you to veer off budget each month and then make adjustments there. Or, maybe you will spot spending you did not even totally realize was happening, such as on subscriptions or other recurring purchases. Once you cut those out, you free up room in your budget to put towards building your emergency savings account, paying off debt or inching closer to your long-term financial goals.

Ultimately, “not only is tracking spending fundamental to understanding where your money is going, but it also ensures that your spending truly aligns with your goals and priorities,” said Daniel E. Milks, certified financial planner and co-founder of Fiduciary Organization, to Fortera Credit Union.

Is expense tracking the same thing as budgeting?

Expense tracking and budgeting certainly can go hand in hand, but they are not one and the same. Tracking your spending simply refers to the act of “monitoring where your money goes,” whereas “budgeting is more of a proactive approach to managing your money,” said Chase.

You can think of expense tracking as an information-gathering step, with the data you gather there informing the budget you create and adhere to.

How can you track your spending?

There are a number of ways that you can go about tracking your spending. The best option will be whichever feels easiest to you.

A “notebook or printed tracker,” for instance, can be “good for people who remember better by writing things down,” while a spreadsheet can work well for those who “like totals, categories and monthly comparisons,” said MoneyFit, a nonprofit financial education and counseling organization.

There are also a variety of budgeting apps and tools available. “For those who prefer the convenience of automation, linking checking and savings accounts to a budgeting app can often simplify the process,” said Milks to Fortera Credit Union.

This should be a golden age for the WNBA. The Indiana Fever’s Caitlin Clark helped push the league to new heights of popularity, and players are making more money than ever. But controversies are plaguing the league, Clark has become an unwilling symbol of racial polarization and GOP members of Congress are entering the fray.

‘Losing control of its story’

The House’s Republican Study Committee this month asked the WNBA to “investigate the on-court treatment” of Clark, said The Hill. The popular player has been “hip-checked, poked in the eye and struck in the throat” by other players in game action that has gone “far beyond routine physical play,” Rep. August Pfluger (R-Texas) said in a letter to league officials following a controversial flagrant foul on Clark by the Phoenix Mercury’s Alyssa Thomas.

It was the latest in a series of conservative complaints that “many WNBA players, particularly Black players,” are hostile to Clark, Bobby Burack said at Fox News. Clark has resisted being cast as an avatar in the culture wars. “People should not be using my name to push those agendas,” she said to reporters in 2024, per ESPN.

The WNBA is “losing control of its own story” to “right-wing grifters” who have taken hold of the narrative surrounding its most popular player, said Seerat Sohi at The Ringer. The league has become “fertile ground for these types of shenanigans” because it surged into popularity at the same moment the country became “embroiled in a cultural, political and legal fight over the role of women in society.” The players are “primarily Black, openly queer, politically outspoken” which makes them the “antithesis” of the “modern conservative project.” The people using the league to advance that agenda “understand the league’s power as a symbolic vehicle” better than the WNBA’s own leaders do.

‘Political football’

“This isn’t fun,” said Candace Buckner at The Athletic. Clark’s ascendance was supposed to be “magic” for sports fans “watching, celebrating and obsessing over women’s sports.” Clark instead is having the “least fun of all,” plagued by injuries and at the center of “rage bait” controversies like the Thomas foul. The “justifiable anger” over the incident sparked “racial attacks” and death threats against Thomas, set off a new round of controversy over WNBA officiating and even prompted commentary from President Donald Trump. It’s all a lot for basketball fans who “just want a little fun.”

It is “incredibly unfair” that Clark has become a “bit of a political football,” NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said Thursday at the Game Plan Summit, per ESPN. (The NBA founded and still owns a large stake in its sister league.) Clark is a “young woman who's trying to improve her game." The upside is that Clark has helped “significantly increase” the league’s popularity, said the outlet. The downside is that “race, officiating and politics” are dominating the conversation.

‘America’s trillion-dollar failure’

Ro Khanna at Foreign Affairs

The media’s Department of Defense coverage has “focused on military parades, high-profile firings and lectures about haircuts,” says Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.). A “less-acknowledged but just as worrisome development has been progressively undermining the U.S. military: Defense acquisition remains stubbornly slow and wildly over budget.” The Pentagon “needs to be as nimble as it is strong or it risks losing its ability to respond to global hot spots and to deter great-power conflict.”

Read more

‘When did sports get so loud?’

Ellen Cushing at The Atlantic

Baseball is “wall-to-wall stimulation,” and “in this way, baseball is explicitly following other sports, which were earlier to invest in state-of-the-art multifactor sound systems, huge screens and sophisticated lighting schemas,” says Ellen Cushing. Many organizations are “focusing not on season-ticket-holding diehards but on more casual fans who want a big night out, are willing to pay for it and may need to be guided through a game with aural or visual cues about how to feel at any given moment.”

Read more

‘I see my father in the fathers killed by ICE’

Ingrid Rojas Contreras at Time

“As a Latina, it is impossible for me not to see my father when I think of” the men killed by ICE, says Ingrid Rojas Contreras. “In them, I see men who wanted nothing but a better life for their children.” Families “like mine can’t help but feel their families’ pain.” To “grieve is to take stock of what we have lost, can lose and to spend time deconstructing the harmful narratives that cause our grief.”

Read more

‘How the networks handled President Trump’s speech about election integrity’

Tom Jones at the Poynter Institute

In the “days leading up to Thursday night’s address, there were questions about just how factual Trump’s address would be,” and “because of all the discourse beforehand, there were questions about whether or not TV networks would air Trump’s address,” says Tom Jones. It was “another night of networks trying to figure out how to cover a president who often makes claims that simply are not true or, at the very least, are misleading.”

Read more

The Trump administration has been on a crusade against clean energy, and the costs are adding up. The White House has spent billions to steer energy companies away from wind power while simultaneously increasing coal subsidies. U.S. taxpayers, meanwhile, are dealing with ever-rising electricity bills and gas prices. Critics say something has to give.

What did the commentators say?

Trump is “forcing higher bills” on American energy consumers, former Washington Gov. Jay Inslee said to The Guardian. The administration has “directly spent $2.7 billion of taxpayer money,” the outlet said, paying energy companies to “cancel a total of eight offshore wind projects” while at the same time “pouring $1.125 billion into boosting coal” by retrofitting and expanding capacity at older coal-powered power plants.

Those and other White House changes to energy policies “could lead to households paying an average of $460 extra per year for energy costs” by 2035, said Newsweek, citing a new report from think tank Energy Innovation. Administration officials dispute that estimate. Trump has “rolled back burdensome regulations and bolstered U.S. energy production to lower prices for American families,” a spokesperson said to Newsweek.

The president in 2024 “promised to cut electric bills in half,” said CNN. The Energy Innovation report shows that he is “doing the opposite.” Electricity bills have “spiked nationwide by 7.4% since last fall,” and more than a dozen states are experiencing “double-digit increases year-over-year.” The attempt to back a resurgence of coal will also prove costly. Coal power is “more expensive than natural gas and renewables,” which will result in “higher power bills for consumers.”

“The strangest part of Trump’s wind buyouts is the way it ignores the law of supply and demand,” Paul Wesslund said at the Louisville Courier Journal. It is “bad economics” as well as “bad politics” to respond to the nation’s growing energy needs by cutting supply and raising prices during an affordability crisis. Wind and solar farms “don’t need constant refueling” but do have “shorter construction times” that make it easier to bring new projects online “as fast as possible.” Trump’s logic in killing off such projects is “just a lot of hot air.”

What next?

More than 200 clean energy projects have been canceled since the start of 2025, said Fast Company. The thwarted production has cost roughly “half a million jobs” and tens of billions in lost growth and tax revenues. But the clean energy economy has not “come to a stop.” More than 90% of new power plants in 2025 were solar, wind or battery plants, and the number is expected to grow this year. Because of Trump’s crackdown, however, the “pace is much slower than it otherwise would have been.”

Green power sources will “continue to grow,” E2’s Michael Timberlake said to Fast Company. But White House energy policies will cause the U.S. to “miss out on a lot of investments and a lot of manufacturing opportunities.”

What happened

U.S. health officials have linked an ongoing cyclosporiasis outbreak to iceberg lettuce from Mexico that was sent to Taco Bell locations across five states. The supplier has not been officially named, but “two individuals familiar with the inquiry” told The Washington Post the company is Taylor Farms. At least 1,645 cases of the parasitic infection, which can cause explosive diarrhea, have been confirmed as of Friday, most of them in Michigan.

Who said what

“Do not eat shredded iceberg lettuce from Taco Bell locations in Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio and West Virginia,” the CDC said in a statement. Taco Bell itself has “taken immediate action” to “indefinitely” remove the lettuce from its nationwide supply chain, the company said in a press release.

What next?

The FDA said it had “increased screening at the border” for the “implicated” products and is working with the supplier to figure out if any contaminated lettuce remains on the market. Taylor Farms is “one of the largest producers of fresh lettuce and vegetables in the country,” serving many leading restaurant chains, The New York Times said. “Additional implicated brands, restaurants, retailers, or distribution channels” may yet emerge, the FDA warned.

What happened

President Donald Trump repeated his longstanding grievances about the security of the American voting system in a primetime speech Thursday. The president claimed, without evidence, that mail-in ballots are “inherently corrupt”; voting machines are “easily compromised”; China interfered with the 2020 elections; and 278,000 non-citizens registered to vote. He called on Congress to pass the SAVE America Act, a bill that would severely tighten ID rules for voters.

Who said what

These “unsubstantiated claims” are based on “incomplete” data with “no underlying evidence,” Bloomberg said. “All we got is more rehashed, debunked conspiracy theories,” David Becker of The Center for Election Innovation & Research told CBS News. The speech comes as Republicans are “facing the prospect of losing one or both chambers of Congress in ​November,” Reuters said.

What next?

The SAVE America Act “lacks the necessary support” to clear the Senate, NBC News said, but House Republicans want to “force the bill through” without Democratic support by weaving parts of it into a new reconciliation bill. It’s “far from clear” this legislation “will have enough support to pass,” The New York Times said.

What happened

Canadian wildfires have sent “massive plumes” of smoke “pouring over the border” into the U.S., CNN said. The combination of wildfires in Ontario and a “heat dome in the central U.S. spells smoky trouble,” with dangerous air quality for “more than 120 million people in the Midwest and Northeast.”

Who said what

In cities including Chicago, Cleveland, Detroit, Minneapolis and Toronto, air quality readings “surged to levels so dangerous” that one public health expert warned “nobody should spend time outside,” The New York Times said. Sensors across the upper Midwest on Thursday recorded the “worst air quality in North America,” with Chicago reportedly having the worst in the world.

The smoke “arrived in force,” National Weather Service Meteorologist Steven Freitag told The Associated Press. “It’s really pretty extreme levels.” And air in coastal cities like New York, Philadelphia and Washington, D.C., was also at “unhealthy levels,” said the Times.

What next?

The Midwest could “face weeks to months of continued smoke and flare-ups,” depending on wind patterns, said Brent Williams, the head of the University of Minnesota’s Soil, Water and Climate Department, to the AP. Republican lawmakers have meanwhile “threatened punitive action against Canada,” accusing its government of “mismanaging the wildfires,” said the Times. “I will be introducing a bill next week to sanction Canada and the responsible Canadian government officials for this atrocity,” said Sen. Bernie Moreno (R-Ohio) on X.

Pulling up at Son Xotano, after driving to the centre of rural Mallorca, feels a bit like arriving at a friend’s big place in the country that you have always been a little jealous of.

At the heart of this 12-century estate is a honey-hued manor, with pastel-blue wooden shutters and a sun-drenched terrace. A grand Mediterranean finca, it invites exploration.

In the grounds, a large pool is framed by striped sunloungers, cabanas and daybeds. The message to spend as much time as possible horizontal is a splendid idea. This is not a hotel for energetic daytime activities or rowdy nights at the bar. It is a place of calm, next to vineyards within a rural landscape where guests are encouraged to find a quiet corner, perhaps among the cypress trees or lavender, and slow right down.

Why stay here?

Son Xotano is one of the newest additions to the Annua Signature Hotels group founded by brothers Álvaro and Iñaki Sasiambarrena. Their philosophy is to create design-forward retreats across the Mediterranean, combining the natural surroundings and heritage of each property with high-end service and amenities.

It was on show from the start as we strolled up the path to check in to be greeted by a mass flutter of butterflies dancing around our ankles.

When choosing a place to stay, it is tempting to head to Mallorca’s dinking coastline, but head inland and the gentler pace is beguiling. And if you crave the beach or Palma’s twisty shopping streets, they are just a short, 25-minute drive away.

There are 22 rooms here, a variety of suites and doubles, with views of the gardens or countryside in the distance. Some come with their own private terrace or garden. There is no beige or grey palette here. Instead, our room was a delightful mix of soft creams and pastels, and on the wall behind the bed some specially commissioned artwork – a giant mural depicting trees and peacocks in vivid blues and greens.

All rooms come with air conditioning, coffee machine, safe, Wi-Fi, robes, slippers, Aesop products and a minibar. I needed to ask for a kettle and teabags, and there is no TV – but one can be wheeled in on request.

The shower was enormous. I popped my head into one of the bigger suites that had a free-standing bath, but one of the many delights of staying in such a unique building is that no two rooms are the same. All have the particular quirks – wooden beams or quaint tiny windows – of a centuries-old property.

Eating and drinking

Situated next to the pool and providing sustenance from early morning to late at night is the Son Xotano restaurant. Under the shade of olive and cypress trees, we started the day with breakfast – a huge buffet supplemented by table service. The fruit platters were a thing of beauty. As guests flop after a swim, lunch – from small plates to classics like salads and hamburgers – can be brought over.

In the evening the restaurant becomes the focal point of the hotel. As the sun sets tables are laid out on a terrace, or you can do as we did and choose a romantic table set apart among the trees. The menu features local, seasonal ingredients and is Mediterranean and Mallorcan with a contemporary approach. The porc negre loin had the crispiest skin and was delicious. Order a bottle of César wine – a lively dry white produced for the sister hotel in Lanzarote and only available through this collection of hotels.

Things to do

Yoga, massages, horse-riding and much more can all be arranged if you can drag yourself away from the pool. A car is definitely a good idea so you can explore nearby towns and beaches.

In Palma, wander the cobbled lanes of the Old Town and call in at the wondrous gothic cathedral. The island’s finest beaches are also within easy reach, from the sweeping white sands of Playa de Muro to the tranquil coves of Cala Tuent and Cala Deià, while the nearby Serra de Tramuntana offers some of Mallorca’s most scenic drives and hilltop villages, including Valldemossa and Deià.

Closer to the hotel, don’t miss the charming market town of Sineu or a wine tasting at one of the vineyards around Binissalem, Mallorca’s best-known wine region.

The verdict

If you are looking for an alternative to the coast and want to truly unwind, Son Xotano is a gem. Don’t expect a packed programme of activities – there isn’t even a gym.

You will, however, come away feeling relaxed and refreshed.

Jonathan was a guest of Son Xotano Hotel; annuahotels.com

“I’m sorry. but I’m unable to speak.”

Surrounded by concerned medics and supporters in Delhi, 59-year-old Sonam Wangchuk entered the 20th day of his hunger strike, scarcely able to move unaided.

Usually in the headlines for his climate activism, Wangchuk is “adding momentum” to youth-led protests on behalf of Indian students, said The New York Times. Instigated by the “joke” organisation the Cockroach Janta Party, the protest began after India cancelled its national medical college entrance exams following the questions being leaked. They demand “the reform of a soul-destroying education system”, said The Guardian as well as the resignation of the education minister, Dharmendra Pradhan.

‘Severe starvation’

Wangchuk is “one of India’s best-known public figures outside mainstream politics”, said The Independent. A mechanical engineer from Ladakh – a mountainous region in the Himalayas – he has dedicated decades to educational reform and creating sustainable technologies for mountain communities.

The most famous of his innovations is the “ice stupa”, which acts like an “artificial glacier” that stores water from the winter and is then used during the farming season in the spring. In 2018 he received the Ramon Magsaysay Award, “often described as Asia’s equivalent of the Nobel Prize”. His involvement in this movement has “transformed” a student-led protest into a “national issue, attracting politicians, academics, activists and public figures from across India”.

In his 20 days on hunger strike, Wangchuk has lost close to 9kg “from a body that was spare and lean to begin with”, said The Guardian. Doctors have warned that at this stage of “severe starvation” his body is breaking down fat and muscle, leaving him in a state of “extreme weakness, impaired brain function and electrolyte imbalance”. He is unable to walk to the bathroom 30 metres away without support and “speaks little to conserve energy”. But as crowds chant his name, he still appears “alert” and “calm”.

However, the weather is becoming a “defining feature of the protest”. As temperatures reach 37C, sweat “pours down” the faces of those in attendance, leaving clothes “drenched” and supporters “hot and bothered”. “A useless fan by his mattress does nothing to relieve the suffocating humidity.” Concern for his condition is “mounting”.

‘Defiant yet humorous’

More than 1,800 public figures have signed a statement urging Wangchuk to stop his strike, which he has “firmly rebuffed”, said India Today.

As a “first step” to potentially stopping his hunger strike, Wangchuk is demanding “accountability for the failures” of the education department, including reports that some students had taken their lives after the exam cancellation. He and his supporters have also demanded the resignation of education minister Dharmendra Pradhan, who has called the CJP protestors “the B-team of disruptive elements”. Organisers say they have received no formal response from Narendra Modi’s government.

A petition has been filed in the high court that would seek to “take him to a government hospital and force-feed him”, should his condition worsen, said the BBC. The document said the government was treating Wangchuk “like a hardcore criminal, terrorist or traitor to the nation” and was not concerned for his safety. On Thursday, the government responded by informing the Delhi High Court that it would “intervene if his health deteriorated”, said the outlet.

Wangchuk is continuing to strike a “defiant yet humorous note” despite his deteriorating health, said The Times of India. Addressing supporters, he said he would “stay alive by any means until July 20 so that I can march to Parliament with all of you” the date when the next parliamentary session begins. “If our march isn't successful by July 20, I'll come back as a ghost!”

Donald Trump used a prime-time address to the nation to allege Chinese interference in US elections in a move that looks to undermine voter confidence ahead of November’s midterms.

The White House released documents alleging that “over a period of years, starting during the 2020 election cycle” the Chinese government carried out “what is believed to be the largest compromise of election data in history, resulting in China’s illicit acquisition of 220 million US voter files”. Trump did not make clear, though, how the alleged Chinese activity could have helped Joe Biden win the 2020 presidential election.

“Raw intelligence obtained by the FBI in 2020, yet buried by rogue bureaucrats, stated that China's activities even included an attempt to manufacture illegal ballots for Joe Biden,” Trump said.

While China has denied the allegations, “none of the declassified information supports the claim that any previous election results – including the 2020 presidential contest that Trump lost – were manipulated by foreign interference or fraud in a way that would’ve changed the outcome”, said Marshall Cohen and Kevin Liptak on CNN.

What did the commentators say?

The speech “marked a striking effort by Trump to marshal the resources of the intelligence community to support his claims about election meddling and legislative agenda to tighten voter registration rules”, said Lauren Fedor in the Financial Times.

It’s true that “foreign powers do, in fact, try to influence American elections”, said Tom Nichols in The Atlantic. But that “was about all that the president – who seems shocked that other nations have preferences about who wins elected office in the United States – got right”.

The classified revelations, despite what Trump tried to claim, in fact “show that the intelligence community didn’t even agree” that China was fully engaged even in a more limited campaign of influence.

In his address Trump was plainly looking “to soothe his wounded ego over the 2020 election”. But he also might have “a darker motive”. In “attacking the integrity of American elections”, Trump could be seeking to delegitimise the upcoming midterms “and perhaps even create the predicate for interfering in them”.

In his address, Trump has “destroyed any confidence in the integrity of US elections for Americans inclined to believe him”, said Ed Kilgore in New York Magazine. In doing so he has set up “a certain challenge to any midterm results adverse to his party”. When Republicans “desperately needed him to make concrete proposals for improvements in living costs”, Trump instead “dragged the GOP down the election denial rabbit hole farther than ever”.

What next?

Republican politicians who would like the president to focus on the cost of living “have been wary of Trump’s unrelenting claims about flaws in the electoral system”, said the FT.

Senate majority leader John Thune “has resisted pressure from the White House to scrap Senate rules” in an effort by Trump to push through the Save America Act. This would require proof of citizenship to register to vote in federal elections, among other measures.

The accusations Trump made could also “complicate a fragile trade truce between the US and China”, said CNBC, while also “casting a shadow over Chinese President Xi Jinping upcoming visit to Washington” in late September.

“Westminster is reeling” from the news that, it seems, Ann Widdecombe was murdered, said Tim Shipman in The Spectator. “At this stage it is the done thing to urge people not to jump to conclusions” – but “the leaping has already begun”. Nigel Farage declared on Saturday that it was “premeditated murder”; Reform UK clearly believes she was targeted because she was its migration spokesperson.

Targeted attack

Devon and Cornwall Police had declared on Sunday that there was “nothing to suggest” the killing was “politically motivated”. On Monday, though, there was an about-turn. Counterterrorism police took over the investigation; a 28-year-old man, who had reportedly driven 300 miles from his home in Rotherham, South Yorkshire, to her village on Dartmoor on the day she died, was arrested. The crime was described as a “targeted attack”, perhaps linked to extremism. If the police don’t know what happened, said The Daily Telegraph, it’d “be better for them to say so”. Official speculation and obfuscation only fuels “mischief”.

Once again, MPs found themselves considering the question of their own safety, said Chris Mason on BBC News. The veteran Tory Sir Bernard Jenkin, recalling the deaths of Jo Cox and David Amess, claimed that as a member of Parliament “you are more likely to meet a violent death than a member of His Majesty’s Armed Forces or a member of the British police forces”. MPs need to remain both “accessible and safe”. This, today, is a massive task. Farage believes the Royal and VIP Executive Committee, which is responsible for MPs’ security, has not taken his own safety seriously enough. And Widdecombe’s death suggests that not only the 650 sitting MPs, but also former members, may need help

‘Parasocial fixations’

Her death is shocking, “not just for its brutality”, said Mary Harrington on UnHerd. It’s shocking because it highlights “how much better, kinder and more trusting a country Widdecombe believed Britain to be, than the place we actually live in”. She was a traditional “British battleaxe”: a staunch conservative who never shied away from controversy, but was open, warm and courteous to those with whom she disagreed.

Britain, sadly, has grown “more fractured, skint, alienated and online” than the world she grew up in. “Parasocial fixations” on public figures are more and more common; harassment, and serious violence, often result. This baleful trend seems to have pursued Widdecombe to her home in a sleepy Dartmoor village – the last place on Earth, you’d imagine, “something so horrifying might happen”.

Find out how closely you’ve been paying attention to the latest news and other global events by putting your knowledge to the test with our Quiz of The Week.

South Korea is having a moment. K-pop superstars BTS are one of the biggest bands on the planet while “KPop Demon Hunters” has racked up more than 500 million views as the most-watched film in the history of Netflix.

From kimchi to must-have skincare, we can’t get enough of all things Korean, evidenced by UK visitor numbers increasing 17% between 2024 and 2025. Now that figure looks set to rocket with Virgin Atlantic, the only British airline to fly to the country, having recently launched a daily, direct flight to Seoul from Heathrow. It puts the South Korean capital firmly on the city-break map, offering a thrilling mix of skyscrapers, temples, neon-lit shopping streets, easy-reach mountains and fantastic food.

Things to do

It is easy to feel bamboozled by options when you arrive in Seoul. The city is vast, a jigsaw of distinctive neighbourhoods spread over more than 200 square miles. Luckily, the Metro is easy to use and very efficient, and Ubers are cheap, though traffic can be heavy.

Get a feel for the city's history first by touring one of its five Joseon Dynasty palaces. The 14th-century Gyeongbokgung is the largest, with a traditional twice-daily changing-of-the-guard ceremony, but Changdeokgung is the loveliest, a UNESCO-listed former royal residence with a cherry blossom-filled secret garden. Admission is free if you come wearing traditional Korean dress, as many tourists choose to do. Afterwards, wander the narrow streets of nearby Bukchon Hanok Village, lined with traditional homes with curved tiled roofs, tea houses and craft shops.

If you come seeking trends, and shops, head to Hongdae shopping district packed with department stores, street food stalls and entire shops filled with photo booths and props to pose with. Make a beeline for the flagship Olive Young store, the country’s biggest cosmetics retailer, where there’s a whole wall devoted to sheet masks, testing stations and a vending machine that doles out free skincare samples.

Myeong-dong is even hipper, with cat cafés, independent boutiques, galleries and bars. Book a slot at Colorize to try out the TikTok trend of having your colours analysed to discover which suit you best, or sign up for a K-Pop dance class near Hongik University to rate your chances of making the next BTS video.

Over in Gangnam, there are upmarket stores, a sprawling underground mall, the 8th-century Bongeunsa Temple and a giant golden statue honouring “Gangnam Style”, the famously catchy song about the area.

For a total change of pace, it’s worth taking a day trip to the DMZ, the 160-mile Demilitarized Zone that separates North and South Korea. It’s around an hour from Seoul, through rigorous passport checks, walls of barbed wire and signs warning of possible landmines in the area. Only pre-booked guided tours are allowed, which include a walk along the mile-long Third Infiltration Tunnel, an eerie, narrow underground passage carved into the granite 73m below ground. Discovered in 1978, it was built by North Korea for up to 30,000 soldiers an hour to pass through and potentially launch a surprise attack on the south.

From the adjacent Dora Observatory, it’s even possible to look into North Korea itself, spotting military watchtowers, the skyline of Kaesong city, a solitary tractor working the fields and a huge flag billowing in the wind on one of the world’s tallest flagpoles. More sobering still, in the DMZ’s small museum, it’s possible to sit down with a North Korean defector to learn how they escaped the country and what life was really like there.

Eating and drinking

Need a quick meal in Seoul? Look no further than the humble 7-Eleven stores all over the city. Many of these have huge (and cheap) eat-on-the-spot food options, including fresh kimbap, design-your-own ramen, kimchi-flavoured everything and even bento boxes, plus sitting areas to wolf it down.

Check out chimaek – chicken and beer – shops for crispy Korean fried chicken. There’s a whole street of them in Myeong-dong or for an elevated take on the classic, head to Kyochon Pilbang in Itaewon – if you can find it. Pull on the large paintbrush hanging on the wall close to Itaewon station to gain access to this unmarked speakeasy-style basement restaurant, where chicken is served with sauces you can paint on with the supplied paintbrush.

Korean BBQ has to be tried at least once. In Bongsan in Seogyo-dong, there are built-in barbecues in the middle of tables for diners to grill their own beef brisket, wagyu and pork belly with sides, sauces, yet more kimchi and shots of soju, a vodka-style spirit made from fermented rice. Don’t wear your best clothes though, the smell lingers long after dinner. Afterwards, stroll the busy surrounding neon-lit streets for caricature and portrait shops, karaoke bars and ice-cream parlours, including the popular 32 Parfait, known for its whopping 32cm soft-serve cones.

Where to stay

The design-driven Mondrian Seoul Itaewon is a trendy spot with a buzzy hotel entrance full of locals having coffee, a second-floor lobby inspired by a fairy-tale forest with towering plants and illuminated swings hanging from the ceiling, and an outdoor pool overlooking the city. Standard rooms are small but sleek in shades of grey with dark wooden furniture and statement armchairs. Don’t miss the rooftop bar with its panoramic views of Seoul. Namsan Botanical Garden and the lively Itaewon-dong strip, with its restaurants and clubs, are both within walking distance.

Siobhan Grogan was a guest of Virgin Atlantic and Mondrian Seoul Itaewon. For more information, go to English.visitkorea.or.kr

“The godfather of Chinese contemporary art”, Ai Weiwei is also an activist who has, over decades, “documented the failures and excesses” of the Chinese Communist Party, said Tim Smith-Laing in the Financial Times.

He has been imprisoned, kept under house arrest and, eventually, exiled. Earlier this month, for a one-off performance piece at his new show in Manchester’s Aviva Studios, Ai re-enacted a full 24 hours of his 81-day detention inside a replica cell.

‘Best at enormous scale’

“This is an artist for whom risk has real meaning. His courage and achievements are nothing short of extraordinary,” said Smith-Laing. So I walked into the cavernous hall where “Button Up!” is being held “ready to be moved and awed”. Instead, “I found myself mostly unmoved and underwhelmed”.

Everything is on a vast scale. The giant mural “History of Bombs” is made up of 3.5 million Lego bricks. The sculpture “La Commedia Umana” is a chandelier made from 2,000 pieces of glass, shaped like human body parts. The room is “like something out of Piranesi’s prisons: indescribably vast, its ceiling and far walls disappearing into darkness and simultaneously crammed and scattered with objects that were all out of scale”. But big art is not necessarily good art.

Ai’s art always works “best at enormous scale”, said Eddy Frankel in The Guardian. It’s most effective when “blown up, expanded, shoved in your face”. And, in this sense, the artist doesn’t disappoint. Spread across one wall is “a giant inflatable dinghy” filled with figures in lifejackets. It’s not a good-looking piece of art, “but it makes a point, and makes it loudly”: if you think you can ignore the refugee crisis, think again.

‘Heavy-handed’ symbolism

Elsewhere, “house-sized flags” sewn from hundreds of thousands of buttons represent the emblems of the multinational alliance – Britain, the US, Japan, France, Germany, Italy, Russia and the Austrian-Hungarian empire – that invaded China in 1900. The flags hang heavy, as if “weighed down by history and its continuing impact”. “Not everything here is that good, sadly.” There are some questionable exhibits and, at many moments – with Lego bombs or the migrant boat on Hokusai’s great wave – “the symbolism is so heavy-handed it feels as if Banksy did it”.

Ai “has never excelled in nuance”, said Cal Revely-Calder in The Telegraph, and the work on show is certainly anything but subtle. Sometimes, this works: the most “affecting” thing here is a serene re-creation of a Ming-era temple, reconstructed in its entirety. But all too often the effects are “superficial and brief”.

Throughout, Ai rails against “the murky legacies of the West”, and his sallies on big topics such as “colonisation, refugees, war” are presumably intended to make the visitor “feel guilt”. Yet his work lacks any “second dimension”, and its worthy messages frequently come across as simplistic. “Meaningful politics seems to escape Ai Weiwei. So does meaningful art.”

Aviva Studios, Manchester. Until 6 September

In his 1960 novel “Rabbit, Run,” John Updike wrote that growing up means joining, whether you like it or not, a “sky of adults” that hangs over the next generation. The messy, confusing, glorious process of becoming an adult has been the backbone of countless wonderful movies, with some of them, like the underrated 1986 drama “Lucas,” currently lost to the streaming world. While everyone surely has their favorite, these eight beautiful films capture the highs and lows of moving from one phase of life to the next.

‘Breaking Away’ (1979)

In “Breaking Away,” Dave (Dennis Christopher) is a recent high school graduate in Bloomington, Indiana, who becomes obsessed with becoming an Italian cycling champion and passes himself off as an exchange student to his crush, a college student named Kathy (Robyn Douglass). He convinces his townie friends, including Mike (Dennis Quaid), to join him in an informal cycling competition against a group of privileged University of Indiana students.

The friends, all in the process of figuring out who they want to be, spend their last summer together training for the thrillingly staged race. A “treasure,” the film is a “wonderfully sunny, funny, goofy, intelligent movie that makes you feel about as good as any movie in a long time,” said Roger Ebert at the time. (Prime Video)

‘The Breakfast Club’ (1985)

In “The Breakfast Club,” a group of suburban Chicago high school malcontents from rival cliques, including a bullying John (Judd Nelson) and the stuck-up Claire (Molly Ringwald), are forced to spend a long Saturday detention together, supervised by vice principal Mr. Vernon (Paul Gleason). They are tasked with writing an essay about who they think they are, which they delegate to the group nerd, Brian (Anthony Michael Hall), and over the course of the day everyone, including the overbearing authority figure, gets a chance to share and humanize their struggles. Director John Hughes’ “simple, one-location talkie” brings Generation X’s “submerged angst to the surface” in a movie that is “still the definitive ’80s teen movie,” said Simon Crook at Empire. (Netflix)

‘Stand By Me’ (1986)

The beloved “Stand By Me,” based on a Stephen King novella, follows 12-year-old Gordie (Wil Wheaton) and three of his friends, Chris (River Phoenix), Teddy (Corey Feldman) and Vern (Jerry O’Connell), as they take an unauthorized hike searching for the body of a missing teenager. Narrated by a grown-up Gordie (Richard Dreyfuss) decades later, director Rob Reiner’s film is a masterclass in atmosphere and character-building. Met with underwhelming reviews when it was released, “Stand By Me” has “aged into a staple of youthful nostalgia for its deft straddling of the line between childhood and adulthood,” said Charles Bramesco at Rolling Stone. (MGM+)

‘Mermaids’ (1990)

Cher plays Rachel Flax, a single mom raising two daughters, 15-year-old Charlotte (Winona Ryder) and her younger sister, Kate (Christina Ricci). Rachel is a free spirit who has moved her kids around every time a relationship goes south, and the film opens with a move to a small town in Massachusetts.

Rachel dates a shoe store operator named Lou (Bob Hoskins), while Charlotte nurses a crush on her handsome young school bus driver and flirts with Catholicism to the chagrin of her Jewish mother. Narrated by Charlotte’s “droll inner monologue,” it is a “fun, heartfelt, well-directed film that still holds up pretty damn well” decades later, said Nadine J. Cohen at The Guardian. (MGM+)

‘Pariah’ (2011)

Adepero Oduye is Alike, a 17-year-old girl whose conservative parents’ marriage is falling apart around her in their Brooklyn apartment. Alike knows she’s a lesbian but hasn’t told anyone, including her father, Arthur (Charles Parnell), a police officer, and her mother, Audrey (Kim Wayans). Her best friend, Laura (Pernell Walker), is already out, and helps Alike navigate the minefield at home, as Alike explores her identity and ultimately faces a heartbreaking choice.

A tremendous turn from the then-unknown Oduye helps carry this quietly powerful film. It’s a “tender, sporadically goofy, yet candid examination of emergent identity,” making it the “finest coming-of-age movie I've seen in years,” said Ella Taylor at NPR. (Netflix)

‘Boyhood’ (2014)

There may never be another film like director Richard Linklater’s stunning ‘Boyhood.” Linklater followed the same group of actors over the course of 12 years, with a total of just 39 days of filming. Mason (Ellar Coltrane) is 6 when the film begins as his dad (Ethan Hawke), a musician, splits from his college professor mom (Patricia Arquette). Lorelei Linklater, the director’s daughter, plays Mason’s older sister, Samantha.

In a series of vignettes, we see Mason growing up, his dad stumbling toward maturity and a more consistent presence in his life and his mom moving around Texas and seeking stability and happiness. Through its unique structure, this “beautiful, simple and ambitious film” lovingly “creates the closest thing to a real experience as few motion pictures ever have,” said Brian Eggert at Deep Focus Review. (Netflix)

‘Moonlight’ (2016)

The haunting masterpiece by director Barry Jenkins (“The Underground Railroad”) follows a young Black Miami man named Chiron through three distinct phases of his life. As a lonely, bullied elementary student he’s played by Alex R. Hibbert and goes by Little. His mother, Paula (Naomie Harris), is a drug addict and Little falls under the tutelage of a drug kingpin named Juan (Mahershala Ali) and his girlfriend, Teresa (Janelle Monáe).

Ashton Sanders plays Chiron as a high school student who develops a taboo romantic relationship with Kevin (Jharrel Jerome); Trevante Rhodes is Chiron as a fully grown man who goes by Black, who follows in Juan’s drug-dealing footsteps and reconnects with Kevin (André Holland). A “moving and mysterious” film, it is “about masculinity, the wounds and crises of which are the same for all sexualities but conditioned by the background weather of race and class,” said Peter Bradshaw at The Guardian. (Hulu)

‘Eighth Grade’ (2018)

Director Bo Burnham’s “Eighth Grade” stars Elsie Fisher (“The Bear”) as Kayla, a shy 13-year-old who produces a YouTube show whose only fan seems to be her awkward single father, Mark (Josh Hamilton). Anchored by an extraordinary performance from Fisher, the film’s centerpiece is a pool party thrown by the popular Kennedy (Catherine Oliviere), where Kayla sees her crush, Aiden (Luke Prael).

It is both a universal story about trying to fit in and also a quietly searing commentary about the Gen Z milieu, including active shooter drills and ubiquitous smartphones. Burnham’s film “reflects arguably the worst stretch of growing up in America’s education system,” said Andy Crump at Paste magazine, but is nevertheless “compassionate, radiating retroactive kindness for the children we all were to soothe the adults we are now.” (Prime Video)

Based on the Kei car – Japan’s smallest motorway-legal vehicle – the Super-N has been part-developed on British roads and, at just 3,599mm long, it’s the marque’s smallest car in the UK, said What Car? The electric motor delivers just 63bhp in regular driving mode, and it takes 14.5secs to get from 0-62mph, but push the purple boost button and a total of 94bhp is unleashed, allowing you to do 0-62mph in a “more respectable” 10 seconds.

A virtual seven-speed gearbox, coupled with a “futuristic four-cylinder sound”, gives the Super-N “proper character”, said Top Gear. It’s easy to drive smoothly and, though the 128-mile WLTP range isn’t huge, you’ll get nearer to 200 miles in the city, so it’s efficient too. With a low centre of gravity, the car is pretty agile on the road; suspension is on the stiff side and there’s a bit of body roll, but the steering has decent feel.

With four seats, the “characterful” Super-N is “surprisingly spacious”, said Auto Express. There’s no underfloor storage, and the boot is a tiny 162 litres, but the “magic seats” go flat, giving a whopping 967 litres. And while there is a lot of scratchy plastic, the things you touch “feel more premium”. The front seats are comfy with good visibility. There’s only one trim; the standard kit includes two screens, rear camera and Bose stereo.

A succession of contenders has tried to depose Benjamin Netanyahu, who has led Israel nearly uninterrupted since 2009, and now, a man who “lost his son in Gaza” is “coming for” the veteran, said The Telegraph.

Gadi Eisenkot has been described as a “stocky newcomer“ and a “teddy bear with a steel spine”. Israeli politics is a complex web but if the pundits and polls are correct, he could also be described as “prime minister“ by the end of October.

Working-class roots

He was “born into the Israeli working class” from which the right-wing Likud has “traditionally garnered so much support”, said the broadsheet. He was one of nine children in a Jewish family of Moroccan descent, part of a “historically marginalised minority” in Israel, said the Times of Israel.

He joined the military as a private soldier in the Golani infantry brigade and became the most senior officer. His “most controversial moment” came in 2016 when a combat medic killed a Palestinian terrorist who had already been wounded and didn’t pose a threat. In a “politically charged tribunal”, the Israeli military, backed by Eisenkot, tried and convicted the medic for manslaughter.

After retiring from the military, he entered politics in 2022, and briefly held a role in Netanyahu’s coalition, before forming his own party Yashar, which means “honest” in Hebrew.

His youngest son, Gal, 25, was killed in Gaza in 2023. He also lost two nephews during the invasion that followed the 7 October attacks.

Dangerous challenger 

He has “emerged as the most dangerous challenger” to the “veteran” prime minister after his party became the largest in the opposition bloc hoping to replace Netanyahu ahead of elections which will take place by 27 October.

A poll in the Maariv newspaper, put Eisenkot ahead of Netanyahu for the first time, another found that 41% of voters thought Eisenkot would make a more suitable prime minister, against 40% for Netanyahu.

A razor-thin lead but commentators “increasingly believe” that he “could be the one” to break Netanyahu’s “voodoo-like grip” on the premiership with an attack from the “security-orientated centre”.

His “lack of showmanship” gives many the impression he would be an “authentic” and “strategic” leader. Dr Maoz Rosenthal, a Jerusalem-based political analyst, told The Telegraph that “many” of those who are “fed up” with Netanyahu “kind-of like this old general” who “hesitates before he speaks” and who “wants to be sure of what comes out of his mouth”.

Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef, the spiritual leader of the ultra-Orthodox Shas Party and an influential figure in Israeli politics, suggested that Shas could “be open” to joining a government led by Eisenkot, said the Jerusalem Post.

“We are in a secular country ... There are those whom I don’t believe will repent,” said Yosef in a filmed speech. “There’s no chance [Netanyahu] will repent. Eisenkot might repent”.

Across the country, people have been up in arms about the increasing ubiquity of AI data centers, but now a proposal to build a massive AI plant just steps from the Nashville Zoo has brought the subject of animal rights into the fray. As people in Nashville propose ways to stop the data center’s construction, the affected zoo animals could present a new wave of backlash against artificial intelligence.

‘Disrupt the environmental conditions’

The proposed data center, built by the Atlanta firm DC BLOX, would be located about 50 yards from the boundary of the Nashville Zoo, officials told NBC News, or just half a football field away. The zoo is “vehemently opposed to having a data center so close to animals” because the “noise could disturb its residents,” Nashville Zoo President and CEO Rick Schwartz said to NBC.

For many, the “focus of the brewing anger is how it might affect the zoo’s most endangered or prized species,” said The New York Times. Much of the concern involves the facility’s clouded leopards, a threatened species that represents one of the “crown jewels of the zoo’s conservation program.” The clouded leopard breeding enclosure would be “about 320 feet from the proposed data center’s property line.”

Officials are “particularly concerned about the potential effect of light and noise from the data center, given that animals are more sensitive than humans,” Dr. Heather Schwartz, who oversees animal health at the Nashville Zoo, told the Times. The noise could “disrupt the environmental conditions critical not only for the clouded leopard breeding program but for the more than 3,000 animals that call the zoo home,” said CNN. The facility has launched a petition to stop the data center, which currently has over 500,000 signatures.

Demanding stronger regulations

Some are worried that a data center near the Nashville Zoo could spark a larger trend, and these data centers “can have real consequences for animals,” said animal news platform The Animal Reader. Such locations near populated areas have “cooling equipment, backup generators and bright security lighting” that “can disturb wildlife, especially nocturnal animals such as bats, owls and insects,” especially in areas with large animal populations.

This has made the zoo a new focus of the political fight against data centers. After the plan was announced, an “unprecedented crowd” showed up to Nashville’s planning commission meeting as “hundreds of residents turned out to oppose data centers,” said The Tennessean. Numerous speakers “urged city leaders to slow the industry’s expansion, adopt stronger regulations and stop a proposed South Nashville data center project next to the zoo that critics say is far larger than originally disclosed.”

The fight is the “latest example of data centers getting pushback in communities nationwide, as neighbors say they don’t want to live near them or object more broadly to the direction of the tech and AI industries,” said NBC. But even amid a “bipartisan push for regulation, as well as lawsuits and opposition to tax breaks,” DC BLOX is not backing down. “We look forward to working with local officials, community members and the Nashville Zoo to minimize local impacts and to assure that there will be no health risks to residents or animals,” the company told NBC.

‘The International Criminal Court, an imperfect but essential safeguard against impunity’

Le Monde editorial board

International justice is “not perfect, and at times those who uphold it may undermine it,” says the Le Monde editorial board. This does “not justify the all-out offensive launched by United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio against the International Criminal Court (ICC).” Washington has “consistently campaigned against an institution established to limit the principle of national sovereignty — a principle often invoked by perpetrators of the gravest crimes, whether heads of state or political leaders, to escape prosecution.”

Read more

‘Yemen is edging closer to renewed confrontation’

Ahmed al-Shalafi at Al Jazeera

Yemen is “slipping out of its fragile de-escalation and back into the heart of regional tensions,” says Ahmed al-Shalafi. An incident “involving the Iranian aircraft that entered Yemeni airspace was not merely a dispute over a flight.” It “exposed the extent to which the war in Yemen has become intertwined with the confrontation between the United States and Iran, and raised an old question in a new form: Can Yemen remain outside any broader regional escalation”?

Read more

‘Brace yourself for the AI public relations blitz’

J.B. Branch at the Chicago Tribune

While “some AI products have proved fun or useful, Americans are increasingly suspicious of the technology as a whole,” says J.B. Branch. But the “tech bros see it as nothing more than a serious public relations problem. So get ready for the rehabilitation campaign.” Americans “shouldn’t buy that narrative,” as companies “cannot spend two decades building social media platforms that fuel misinformation, destabilize institutions and harm children, and then expect approval for a new technology that will hyperscale these problems.”

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‘Trump’s DOJ is now targeting The New York Times for basic reporting’

Shirin Ali at Slate

Donald Trump is “angry with The New York Times again and has deployed his usual tactics, weaponizing his position of power to take the newspaper to court,” says Shirin Ali. Journalists “often use anonymous sources in order to report on sensitive information, as well as to protect the identities of sources, who often risk their jobs and safety.” But the “Trump administration, though, has been one of the most aggressive and antagonistic in U.S. history against journalists.”

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Polls matter, but the stock market might be President Donald Trump’s favorite barometer of success. “Everybody’s profiting” when the markets rise, he said to reporters recently. But that’s not quite true. Rising stock prices are nonetheless a consolation for the president, and shaky market responses to controversial policies have spurred him to shift course on tariffs and war with Iran.

‘Economic pressure’

The president “considers market reaction a key measure of success,” said The Washington Post. The metric helped launch the now scuppered attempts to end fighting with Iran. Markets have reacted badly to surges in fighting — the S&P plunged Monday after the U.S. reimposed a blockade on the Strait of Hormuz — but “every time we talked about the possibility of peace, the stock market shot up like a rocket ship,” Trump said to reporters last month as he explained his attempts to reach a deal.

Most presidents “play down the idea that they are susceptible to economic pressure” when making foreign policy, the Post said. But Iranians decided that Trump’s devotion to Wall Street and its negative reaction to the Strait of Hormuz closure “gave them leverage” to take a harder line and extract concessions, Brookings Institution’s Suzanne Maloney said to the outlet.

Trump’s close attention to stock indexes “risks conflating the fortunes of ‌financial markets with the broader experience of U.S. households,” said Reuters. Roughly 40% of Americans “do not have money in the markets.” And the markets do not measure the health of private firms or small businesses that serve as the “backbone of the U.S. labor market.”

The stock market has grown by $15 trillion since the president began his second term, though that is mostly held by the richest 1% of the country. A poor response to Trump policies seems to matter mainly “when corporate or financial interests are at stake,” Groundwork Collaborative’s Alex Jacquez said to Reuters.

‘Not the litmus test’

The president’s new “Trump accounts” for newborns are expected to draw more young Americans into “long-term wealth-building” through stock markets, said Yahoo Finance. But the markets are “not the litmus test the American public wants” from the presidency, Ali Vitali said at MS NOW. Trump’s recent financial disclosures revealed “billions in wealth growth for the president and his sons,” but the voters “standing at gas stations” and paying higher prices at the pump probably find it “unfair.”

Stock investors have figured out to “pounce” when Trump shows signs of “buckling” on unpopular decisions, Katie Martin said at the Financial Times. Still, the bond markets that buy and sell federal debt are telling a different story about Trump’s policymaking. U.S. bonds have “never recovered from the drop in price” they experienced at the start of the Iran war. And there are signs that “large, conservative investors” are “reducing their exposure to risks around U.S. institutional credibility” and moving to Canadian and European bonds instead. That means American officials “will have to work a little harder” to keep attracting the bond investors they need to “balance the books.”

What happened

More than 100 wildfires are burning out of control in Canada this week, sending plumes of smoke south across the border to blanket parts of the Northeast and Midwest and turning skies orange. Poor air quality triggered health warnings across multiple states including New York, Michigan and Massachusetts. In Canada, Toronto’s air quality briefly registered as the worst of any city in the world.

Who said what

The “primary health concern” with wildfire smoke is fine particulate matter, which can “bypass the body’s defenses” when inhaled, Canadian physician Dr. Farhan M. Asrar said at The Conversation. The “best thing to do” is to keep a close eye on the air quality in your area, Heatmap News said. This summer’s wildfire activity in Canada is “nowhere near the hyperactivity of 2023,” CNN said, but “planet-heating fossil fuel pollution is increasing the chance of prolonged smoke seasons.”

What next?

Forecasters expect air quality to remain poor across the Midwest and Northeast on Thursday and possibly Friday. It’s “too early to determine the weekend outlook,” The Wall Street Journal said.

What happened

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Wednesday that the Pentagon will introduce testosterone screenings for soldiers over the age of 30. The screenings will be available to troops under 30 by request, and any soldier found to have lower testosterone levels will have the option to undergo hormone treatment. The new policy is designed so soldiers “have the right testosterone levels to operate at” their “absolute best,” Hegseth said in a video on X captioned “The High-T Department of War.”

Who said what

The secretary’s messaging “blends known science” on testosterone with “broader and less substantiated claims,” The Associated Press said. The new policy shows the secretary “takes direction from the far corners of the manosphere,” Rep. Chrissy Houlahan (D-Pa.), an Air Force veteran, told the AP. Hegseth “did not address” whether the “thousands” of women who “serve in frontline combat roles” would also be “subjected to hormone testing,” Politico said.

What next?

The screenings will be “conducted annually as part of service members’ periodic health assessments,” said Task & Purpose. But Hegseth has not disclosed when the screenings will begin.

Incoming prime minister Andy Burnham has called for a “serious review” of MPs’ security following the death of Ann Widdecombe. Police said the Reform UK spokesperson and former Conservative MP died in a “targeted attack” in her home in Devon on 8 July but are still working to find a motive. A 28-year-old white British man has been arrested on suspicion of murder and a terrorism offence. “Politics has darkened in the last decade,” said Burnham, and protections for politicians may need to be “increased further”.

‘More dangerous than ever’

It is an “unfortunate statistical fact” that MPs are now “more likely to meet a violent death” than a member of the Armed Forces or police, Conservative MP Bernard Jenkin told the Commons on Monday. Others recalled the murders of Labour MP Jo Cox in 2016 and Conservative David Amess in 2021.

Reform UK has said its MPs are particularly at risk, pointing to 1,577 recorded threats against leader Nigel Farage since February, including 597 death threats, predominantly on X. Many MPs blamed social media for “contributing to an atmosphere where violent language and abuse had been normalised”, said BBC political editor Chris Mason. They said “it felt more dangerous than ever”. The death of Widdecombe highlights the “breadth of the challenge the authorities face in assessing the threat to those in public life”.

‘Increasingly perilous time’

There has already been a significant expansion of security measures for MPs in the decade since Cox’s murder. Personal protection has improved, while “security is visibly tight in Westminster, with armed police patrolling the parliamentary estate”, said The Guardian’s Alexandra Topping. But this has done little if anything to stop the scale of threats against MPs, having the knock-on effect of discouraging people, “particularly women and people of colour, from entering politics in the first place”.

In this “increasingly perilous time, criteria for granting protection to politicians, inside and outside parliament, must be more flexible”, said The Times. This will in all likelihood mean “more bodyguards, more cameras”, all of which cost money. “But if that is the price of democracy, then so be it.”

This article first appeared in The Week’s Politics Unspun newsletter.

What happened

Todd Blanche, President Donald Trump’s nominee for attorney general, faced five hours of intense questioning on Wednesday from both Democratic and Republican lawmakers during his confirmation hearing. GOP Sen. John Cornyn of Texas “raised serious questions” about Blanche’s involvement in creating a now-defunct $1.8 billion “anti-weaponization” fund for Trump’s allies, The New York Times said. Democrats “seized on” his oversight of the Justice Department’s “sloppy redactions” in its release of the Jeffrey Epstein files, The Washington Post said. At one point Blanche, currently the acting attorney general, accidentally said he was the president’s lawyer, a “job he had earlier in his career,” Politico said.

Who said what

“President Trump trusts me to give him counsel,” Blanche told Senator Chris Coons (D-Del.). “Counsel does not mean I’m a yes man.” Democrats on ⁠the Judiciary Committee are united in their opposition to Blanche’s appointment, so “even one Republican committee vote against him would be enough to sink the nomination,” the Post said. “I continue to have some concerns,” Cornyn told reporters afterwards. Blanche’s gaffe about still being Trump’s lawyer “could haunt him,” Politico said.

What next?

Several witnesses are expected to testify Thursday about Blanche’s character, including Epstein accuser Liz Oyer, whom Blanche fired from her post as DOJ pardon attorney. The Senate Judiciary Committee could vote on Blanche’s confirmation as early as July 30. Committee chair Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) said “he’ll be confirmed probably the last week before we go on August recess.”

“I wanted to walk out of ‘Life Support’ many times,” said Danny Leigh in the Financial Times, and “I mean that as the highest recommendation.” This “essential” documentary, told from the perspective of international doctors who volunteered to help civilians in Gaza between October 2023 and September 2025, offers a rare glimpse into life – and death – in the besieged enclave.

It is particularly vital considering that, since the war began, no independent foreign journalists have been allowed into Gaza. Using interviews and video footage, director Daniele Rugo weaves together the testimonies of surgeons, paediatricians and other medical staff as they confront “nightmarish wounds” in hospitals that double up as shelters, while bombs fall. In its “stark simplicity” it is “deeply racking”.

Doctors tend to be careful with their words and don’t reach for “overstatement or exaggeration”, said Cath Clarke in The Guardian. But their “measured accounts of hell on earth” make this “devastating film almost unbearable to watch”. The doctors pay tribute to their Palestinian colleagues, who work marathon shifts, often while grieving personal losses. One surgeon takes sitting-down breaks during an operation to avoid blacking out from hunger. Another brings her teenage children to work, reasoning that, if they die, they will die together.

We see “the erosion of life” in Gaza first-hand, said India Lawrence on Time Out, from the “heartbreaking footage” of people relaxing and lounging under beach umbrellas in 2022, to the nightmarish reality of life in wartime. There is no dramatic climax, just the slow, relentless descent towards Gaza’s “total devastation”. “Life Support” is “not a happy watch”, but it is “an urgent and essential piece of reportage”.

“Here we are again,” said John Nugent in Empire. Since 2010, Disney has produced more than 20 remakes “adapting old, animated material into shiny live-action form” – more than one a year. But few have used source material so recent – “or seemed so pointless” – as “Moana”.

‘Shot-for-shot remake’

It is practically a “shot-for-shot remake” of the 2016 animation, which was a “high point” for Disney. Once again, we are in ancient Polynesia, as Moana, a spirited chief’s daughter, goes on an oceanic quest to save her dying island of Motunui, enlisting the help of the narcissistic demi-god Maui.

But whereas the animated version was “fun, funny” and had “fantastic music”, this feels “flat”. It barely counts as live-action, either: a good two-thirds or so is animated, with the CGI often retaining a “cartoon aesthetic”, in a way that feels “awkward” and jarring next to flesh-and-blood actors. At one point, a character marvels at a “sacred place” surrounding them, while pointing to what is plainly a green-screen studio.

‘Exquisite form of agony’

“You will wonder why they bothered to make a replica,” said Brian Viner in the Daily Mail, “except insofar that you won’t wonder at all.” Disney can “hardly be bothered to conceal the fact that their overwhelming priority is to generate dollars”.

There are, though, “flickers of warmth”. Catherine Laga’aia is “engaging” as Moana, and creates “a lively chemistry” with Dwayne Johnson, reprising the role of Maui.

Johnson’s performance is “oddly lacklustre”, said Kevin Maher in The Times, and his wig is ridiculous – he looks like a “demented extra from ‘Hairspray’”. Lin-Manuel Miranda’s songs remain catchy, but mostly the film provokes only “an exquisite form of agony”.

The blowing up of the Nord Stream gas pipeline in the Baltic in September 2022 “has been called the greatest act of sabotage in modern times”, said Robert F. Worth in The New York Times. In one blow, the explosions ended Germany’s energy dependence on Russia – where the gas originated – and “set off a year-long argument about who was responsible”, with Russia, the US and Ukraine all identified as possible culprits.

Partly thanks to a “meticulous German police investigation, and partly because of some very dogged reporters”, we now know that Ukraine’s SBU intelligence agency was responsible. Their motive was to “stop Germany from feeding Russia’s war machine with billions of dollars in annual gas payments”.

Bojan Pancevski, a US-based reporter who “spent years untangling the plot”, has now written a “spectacular book” about the bombings, which reads like a “police procedural”.

The team of divers – four men and one woman – who headed to Germany’s Baltic coast had “possibly the daftest cover story in the history of espionage”, said Colin Freeman in The Telegraph. If stopped, they were “ready to claim that they were making an aquatic-themed pornographic film”. But they weren’t, and “the bombs went like clockwork”, damaging three of the four pipelines beyond repair.

Because the pipelines lay 80 metres below the surface, beyond the reach of “even the best-trained special-forces divers”, the organisers recruited “civilian deep-sea divers” from Ukraine’s Black Sea diving fraternity, who practised for months in disused Ukrainian quarries. They escaped from Germany by van, and only one has been arrested (he’s to stand trial in Germany later this year).

These days, it is common for current affairs to be trumpeted with the phrase “reads like a thriller”. “‘The Nord Stream Conspiracy’ genuinely does.”

Just days away from her expected departure, Rachel Reeves defended her legacy to the “great and the good of the City” in the annual Mansion House speech, said the Financial Times.

Her “valedictory” address claimed successes in reduced government borrowing and lower NHS waiting lists. “Loud applause and even whoops of support from guests” indicated support from the finance sector, too, even if possibly not reflected across the country.

But many in the audience were preoccupied by one question: “who would be in charge of the UK’s fiscal policy next week”?

What did the commentators say?

“Farewell, Rachel Reeves, the blubbing chancellor who made us all cry,” said James Moore in The Independent. According to most polling, she is by far the “most unpopular chancellor on record”. She may have resisted “juvenile attempts” to tax the billionaires advocated by many in her party, but she opted for “one of the worst possible means” to raise funds, in hitting employers with higher National Insurance.

But by far her “darkest legacy” is the “million young people not in education, employment or training”. Ultimately, despite a handful of isolated wins, Reeves has “rarely shown the kind of bravery or instinct needed for this great office”.

Reeves’ record is the worst of “any chancellor of modern times”, said financial columnist Matthew Lynn in The Telegraph. In her Mansion House speech, she primarily presented herself as the only person who could provide stability. “The trouble is, none of it was very convincing.” The economy’s “stagnant” growth only looks “tolerable” in the context of poor performances from other G7 countries, unemployment is on the rise, and debt has “soared” to close to “100% of GDP”. Given her shortcomings, her belated attempts to appeal to Andy Burnham’s regime were “cringey” at best. “It was an embarrassing end to a dismal chancellorship.”

“Barely a sector has escaped unscathed” from Reeves’ “duplicity”, said Alys Denby in CityAM. The first, and telling, blow was her “acrobatic triangulation” over the definition of a tax on “working people”, breaking her manifesto pledge by freezing thresholds. She will be remembered for “dissembling, breaking promises and making Brits poorer”.

Not everyone will be glad to see the back of Reeves, said Politico. Her tears in the Commons once sent financial markets “spiralling”: “now they’re the ones sobbing”. She is uniquely “friendly to the City”, typified by her “smoked salmon offensive” of holding regular breakfasts with City chiefs in the run-up to the 2024 election. With uncertainty over her successor, “things can only get worse” for the financial elite.

A “fair assessment” of Reeves’ tenure in No. 11 “would not be wholly negative”, said The Times’ editorial board. “She has a couple of sizeable achievements to her name.” She relaxed some of the “onerous” regulation on businesses, made reforms to the London Stock Exchange and “consolidated” the “fragmented” pensions industry. “Regrettably”, however, Reeves’ negatives “outweigh the positives”. Labour may have inherited a “sizeable fiscal problem”, but with Reeves’ “disastrous” first budget, they “exacerbated it”.

What next?

Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood is likely to become Reeves’ successor when Burnham’s cabinet is announced on Monday, said the Financial Times. Mahmood is on the right of the Labour Party and is viewed as a “tough operator and capable minister”, overseeing “contentious” immigration reforms. Since the reports broke, the markets have “responded positively”. Speaking on Wednesday, Burnham said that he might “ask for a little bit more” in tax, and refused to rule out a wealth tax. Whatever the selection, the future chancellor’s “big task” will be to frame a convincing autumn Budget.

“Dare I suggest there are the seeds here for a comeback” for Reeves, said Moore in The Independent. The UK is in a “precarious predication fiscally”, and we “shouldn’t underestimate” Reeves’ standing with the markets. If the Burnham project goes “horribly wrong”, he may find himself calling on someone to “steady the ship”. “The record shows that Reeves can take the blows. She could do it her way.”

Florida has executed the oldest prisoner in its history, the latest in a spate of capital punishments against elderly death-row inmates.

Dennis Sochor was 74 when he was pronounced dead on Tuesday. He was convicted of killing Patricia Gifford in 1982, hours after meeting the 18-year-old at a party. The US Supreme Court rejected his final appeal without comment, said The Guardian.

Sochor is the second of three Florida inmates over the age of 70 to be executed within five weeks. The executions have drawn attention to the ageing death-row population in the US, as well as Florida’s status as the foremost death penalty state.

A spate of executions

Florida, known as the Sunshine State, is considered “a mecca for senior citizens”, said The Hill. But it has shown “no compunction about carrying out executions of elderly death-row inmates”.

In October last year, Florida executed 72-year-old Samuel Lee Smithers for the 1996 killings of two women. He was the oldest person to be executed in the state since the US reinstated the death penalty in 1976. Last month, Dusty Ray Spencer, just a week younger than Sochor, died by lethal injection. The 74-year-old had been convicted of stabbing his wife to death in 1992.

Florida is also preparing to execute its first octogenarian later this month. Dominick Anthony Occhicone, who killed his ex-girlfriend’s parents in 1986, turns 81 next month, after his scheduled execution. If his execution goes ahead, he’ll be the second-oldest known inmate put to death in modern US history, after 83-year-old Walter Leroy Moody Jr. in 2018.

Florida has carried out 10 executions this year, more than all other US states combined. Unlike many states, in Florida the state governor has “practically sole discretion” when it comes to deciding whether, and when, the death penalty is applied, said The Associated Press. About half of its 242 death-row inmates have “exhausted their appeals” and could see their death warrant issued at any time. Three of them, not including Occhione, are over 80.

A rapid acceleration

Donald Trump is one of the death penalty’s “most outspoken champions, making it a cornerstone” of his agenda, said The New York Times. And “nowhere has the president’s vision been pursued more relentlessly than in Florida”, thanks to the “unusual concentration of power” in the office of Republican governor Ron DeSantis. In 2025, a record 19 of the 47 executions that took place in the US were in Florida: more than under any other Florida governor since the death penalty was reinstated in 1976 after a four-year nationwide moratorium.

DeSantis has “offered little public explanation” for this acceleration, after “years of relative inactivity”. The governor “makes execution decisions behind closed doors”, so there is “no way to know what criteria” he uses. “He could be deciding who is next to die by throwing darts at a list of names,” said Maria DeLiberato, attorney with the ACLU’s Capital Punishment Project, “or spinning a roulette wheel.”

But Florida isn’t the only state “killing the old and infirm”, said The Hill. Death rows across the US are “filled with old people”. And more are being executed than in the past. The average age of inmates executed in the US has increased from 36 in 1977 to 52.3 in 2024, according to the Death Penalty Information Center.

The ageing population also creates new challenges for the penal system, with inmates who have spent decades on death row “sometimes developing medical conditions that can complicate efforts to execute them”, said the AP. Occhicone, the 80-year-old facing execution later this month, has multiple health problems and “needs help getting in and out of the shower”.

Some question “the humanity of administering capital punishment” to prisoners who might soon die naturally. For others, it shows how “lengthy appeals” and reviews designed to prevent an innocent person being executed “can also delay justice”.

Japan is to open its first centralised intelligence agency since the Second World War in the face of increased security threats posed by China, Russia and North Korea.

With pacifism enshrined in its post-war constitution and culture, Japan has for decades had to rely on co-operation with US military intelligence support. Now Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi has described the reforms as a “first step” towards strengthening the country’s independent espionage capabilities.

How will it work?

Legislation that passed the upper house of Japan’s National Diet in May creates two new bodies: a National Intelligence Council, which acts as the government’s command centre for intelligence gathering and analysis, and a National Intelligence Bureau, which is responsible for operations.

Japanese leaders have “privately approached partners such as the US, Australia and Germany in recent months for advice on technology, staffing and priorities,” said The New York Times.

The idea is that the two new bodies will improve Japan’s intelligence abilities “by strengthening coordination, reducing interagency barriers and ensuring that intelligence products better meet policymakers’ requirements”, defence expert Sanshiro Hosaka told Al Jazeera.

To allay public concern that intelligence gathering could be used for political advantage, supplementary resolutions have been passed “to ensure personal information and privacy are not unnecessarily infringed”, said Japan’s national broadcaster NHK. The amendments also specify that the government “should not gather information in a way that undermines political neutrality”.

Why now?

Japan’s intelligence system has “long been fragmented, with defence officials, diplomats, the police and others collecting and analysing information without sharing intelligence across departments”, said the NYT. “That has left the country especially vulnerable to espionage and foreign interference.”

To make matters worse, Japan also lacks an anti-espionage law, which has made it relatively easy for foreign intelligence activities to go unpunished. “Japan has had enough of being a ‘spy paradise’,” said Philip Shetler-Jones and Masashi Umehara from the Royal United Services Institute think tank.

The Trump administration’s repudiation of long-standing allies has revealed the dangers of over-reliance on US intelligence sharing. With the reform of its intelligence system, Japan’s approach to security is “becoming more self-reliant and autonomous”.

How are Russia and China operating in Japan?

Russian and Chinese operations within Japan have increased in recent years. In 2024, cybersecurity research group Citizen Lab exposed a so-called “paperwall” of Beijing-run websites disguised as Japanese-language news sources to spread pro-China disinformation.

The Russian military, meanwhile, has taken advantage of lax espionage laws to establish a secretive intelligence unit in Tokyo known as the 20th Directorate. “Posing as diplomats or businesspeople, its officers work to buy or steal battlefield technology and smuggle it into Russia”, said The New York Times. The NYT cited Ukrainian government estimates that 90% of Russian missiles and drones used in Ukraine contain Japanese components.

Waterfalls are a gift of both sight and sound. They look magnificent, elegantly cascading into canyons and tumbling roughly over cliffs. The steady din of rushing water and booming splashes only adds to their beauty. These awe-inspiring waterfalls are reminders of how, sometimes, Mother Nature loves to show off.

Ban Gioc-Detian Falls, China and Vietnam

These multi-tiered falls straddle the border between China and Vietnam, surrounded by lush greenery and towering karst hills. Visitors can take in the calming sight from land, or hop on a bamboo raft and see it from the river below. On the Vietnam side (Ban Gioc), several smaller waterfalls to the side add to the majesty.

Havasu Falls, Arizona

This legendary waterfall, which “topples off fiery red rock and drops into a turquoise pool,” is so vibrant it almost doesn’t look real, said Travel and Leisure. It is on the Havasupai Reservation near the Grand Canyon, and to get here, you must have a permit, book a stay at the Havasupai Campground or Havasupai Lodge and then hike (or helicopter) in. Havasu Falls is the star of the show, but the nearby Navajo Falls, Mooney Falls and Beaver Falls are “similarly spectacular.”

Helmcken Falls, Canada

You’re going to want to see British Columbia’s Helmcken Falls during the summer and winter, when it shines in two incredibly different ways. During the warmer months, the water freely cascades down, as expected. Once the temperatures drop and days get shorter, the falls become “truly epic,” said the BBC. As the water tumbles over into the canyon, a “huge cone of ice begins to form,” creating an “awe-inspiring structure” that over the winter can grow to “almost half as tall as the waterfall itself.”

Iguazu Falls, Argentina and Brazil

You hear Iguazu Falls before you see it. The “low, thunderous rumble” rises from “deep within the jungle,” signaling that just around the bend the incredible falls await, said Travel and Leisure.

Hundreds of cascades, “some gentle and ribbonlike, others violent and towering,” make up the falls, and the sight is a sheer “spectacle.” If you have time, view Iguazu from both the Argentinian side, where an “incredible” network of walking paths drops you off close to the falls, and the Brazilian side, which provides a “panoramic view from farther back.”

Kalandula Falls, Angola

The roaring Kalandula Falls are considered sacred, a place where locals once performed rituals to ask the gods for health and wealth. Today, visitors come to witness the majesty of one of Africa’s largest waterfalls by volume, tucked far from the beaten path. To get here, you’ll have to hike down a rocky trail that snakes past the mighty Lucala River.

Kuang Si Falls, Laos

Kuang Si Falls starts off easy, with shallow pools that spill into wider pools. From there, the main waterfall brings the drama, with a 200-foot drop. During the dry season, visitors can cool off by swimming in the turquoise waters. If you don’t want to get wet, there are several bridges and viewing platforms to soak in the gorgeous views of the water and surrounding forest.

Langfossen, Norway

Wild and rugged Langfossen drops more than 2,000 feet, crashing down the mountainside and under the E134 highway. This is one of Norway’s tallest waterfalls, and while most others in the country are used for hydroelectric power generation, Langfossen is still in its natural state. Visitors can take a strenuous hike up an old farm path to be close to the waterfall and soak up panoramic views of the surrounding fjords and mountains, or marvel while on a boat ride across the fjord.

Seljalandsfoss, Iceland

Seljalandsfoss offers a rare opportunity to walk behind a waterfall. A path takes visitors around the back of it, into a small cave; tread carefully, as this area can be wet and slippery. Seljalandsfoss’ “beautiful high falls” are a sight to behold from the front, tumbling down over a “rocky scarp into a deep, green pool,” said Lonely Planet. North of Seljalandsfoss is its sister waterfall, Gljúfrabúi, which “gushes into a hidden canyon.”

Sutherland Falls, New Zealand

It takes “some effort” to reach Sutherland Falls, but your reward for making the trek is “jaw-dropping” views of the natural wonder, said Afar. New Zealand’s tallest waterfall is close to Milford Sound in Fiordland National Park, and “intrepid” hikers can reach it via the 33-mile Milford Track. Otherwise, book a helicopter tour to get an aerial look at Sutherland, which “escapes through a gap in a glacial cirque” before plunging more than 1,900 feet over three cascades.

Victoria Falls, Zambia and Zimbabwe

The Lozi name for Victoria Falls, Mosi-oa-Tunya, translates to “the smoke that thunders” and aptly describes the loud and misty scene. The falls change “dramatically” over the year, and are at their most “powerful” after the summer rains, when “enormous clouds of spray” carry over the gorge, “drifting across the surrounding rainforest,” said Forbes.

When the water levels are lower, the falls look “clearer,” and it’s easier to “better appreciate the geological scale” of the area. This is also your chance to take a “high-adrenaline” swim in Devil’s Pool, a natural pool right on the edge of the falls on the Zambian side.

Wailua Falls, Kauai

You don’t have to go far to get to Wailua Falls. This double-tiered waterfall can be seen from the road, making it accessible for those who can’t hike or have small children in tow. Set amid lush tropical foliage, Wailua is the quintessential Hawaiian waterfall, and likely looks familiar to fans of 1970s television — it appeared in the opening credits of “Fantasy Island.”

Australia and Fiji have agreed a new defence alliance, the latest in a series of regional pacts that could significantly alter the Pacific’s defence landscape.

In a “surprise move”, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and his Fijian counterpart, Sitiveni Rabuka, elevated diplomatic ties between the two countries to a “formal treaty”, said The Guardian. The Ocean of Peace alliance, which will in the future be open to other Pacific nations to join, aims to bolster regional security and “limit China’s influence”.

The Vuvale Union

For 75 years, Australia had just two formal alliances – with the US and New Zealand under the ANZUS Treaty, signed in 1951. But recently, it has been “racing to shore up defence ties with its Pacific neighbours”, said the BBC, to counter China’s “military expansion”.

In October, Canberra signed a defence deal with Papua New Guinea – the most populous South Pacific nation – granting it access to PNG’s military facilities and troops.

At the end of June, after “months of negotiations”, Albanese also signed Australia’s long-awaited treaty with the South Pacific island of Vanuatu. Called the Nakamal Agreement, it “recognises Australia as Vanuatu’s primary policing partner”, and prevents any other nation from establishing a military base there.

The latest Australia-Fiji pact, the Vuvale Union, is more significant than previous deals because it includes a mutual defence agreement, committing each country to come to the other’s aid should there be the threat of an armed attack. It also offers closer military cooperation, including planning, exercises and intelligence sharing.

It is open for other Pacific nations to join, although at first Australia would “likely only look to extend the treaty to Pacific nations which maintain a standing military”, said ABC News: New Zealand, PNG and Tonga.

New Zealand will consider joining, Prime Minister Christopher ‌Luxon said on Thursday. The country has only one formal ally, Australia ​, although it is part of the Five Eyes intelligence sharing group (Australia, UK, US and Canada are the others) and it is “a key partner of Nato”, said Reuters.

Has Fiji picked a side?

China has “sharply criticised” some of Australia’s recent agreements, accusing Canberra of using them as a “geopolitical tool” to keep Beijing out of the Pacific, said ABC News. But Rabuka said he did not believe that either Australia or Fiji would have to deal with “severe pushback” from China, but that they will “welcome the understanding that is between Australia and Fiji", he said.

Those remarks were “telling”, said The Conversation. Rabuka stressed that the alliance threatens neither country’s relationship with Beijing, but a leader “does not repeatedly reassure a country that a treaty is not aimed at it unless everyone understands it is”, and is to some degree a sign to the region to see whether “Fiji has picked a side”.

Hours after the pact was signed, China test-launched a long-range ballistic missile with a dummy warhead into the Pacific Ocean. Beijing described it as “routine”, part of the country’s annual programme, but the launch provoked an angry response in Canberra, which accused China of destabilising the region. Ultimately, the test “underscored the need for Pacific Island countries to collectively think through their defence and security arrangements”.

President Donald Trump may continue his rhetoric against Greenland, but a different Arctic land 1,200 miles away, Svalbard, faces similar pressure from other countries. With increasing influence from China and Russia, the Norwegian territory could end up playing an outsize role in global affairs.

What’s happening in Svalbard?

The island is subject to a 1920 treaty that allows people from 49 nations to live and work there without a visa, largely for scientific research. Svalbard has since become the “planet’s leading hub of Arctic science and a rare site of international cooperation,” but this also collides with “increasingly fractured international relations and countries’ quest for influence in the fast-warming Arctic,” said CNN.

China and Russia have been working in Svalbard and established research stations that “provide a gateway to Arctic influence,” said CNN. Due to its abundant natural resources, Svalbard has become a “pawn on Russia’s chessboard,” said France24. And Russia hopes that controlling more of Svalbard will allow it to dominate the nearby Bear Gap, one of the “key maritime routes through which Russian naval vessels and submarines can move from their Arctic bases into the North Atlantic,” said Al Jazeera.

China’s hold on Svalbard is not as strong as Russia’s, but it still maintains a presence. In the nation’s 2018 strategy outline for the Arctic, China “called itself a ‘near-Arctic state’ and repeatedly referred to Svalbard,” said CNN. The country also has “plans for a ‘polar silk road,’ an infrastructure and shipping corridor across the top of the world.” China also has several research stations in Svalbard, including a major testing station on Spitsbergen, Svalbard’s only permanently populated area.

What’s next for Svalbard?

Some are worried that Svalbard’s use by other countries will embolden authoritarianism, as Russia and China will “likely work toward common ends in the development of future Arctic governance,” said The Arctic Institute. Norway’s response “may determine if Svalbard maintains its status as an international research hub or becomes defined by its importance in global trade and military security.” Norway also has its own plan to “mine a huge stretch of Arctic seabed around Svalbard and beyond for critical minerals.”

When it comes to war, the 1920 treaty “prohibits the construction of military bases and fortifications” on Svalbard. However, the article in the treaty that prohibits this is only one sentence and states Svalbard cannot be “used for ‘warlike purposes,’ leaving much room for interpretation,” said The Arctic Institute. Russia has recently been using Svalbard as a “gray zone” for military testing, and the “utilization of these methods is becoming more concentrated on Svalbard as the Arctic Circle captures evermore geopolitical attention.”

Norway seems to be pushing back against Chinese and Russian provocation. In 2022, the government “changed voting rules to prevent non-Norwegians from voting” in Longyearbyen, the capital of Svalbard, said CNN.

And some of the pushback has also been symbolic. This year, two granite Chinese lions were removed from the research station on Spitsbergen. There’s “no Chinese research station on Svalbard,” said Eivind Vad Petersson, the state secretary in the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, to CNN. There’s a “Norwegian research station with Chinese tenants. That’s a distinction with a difference.”

‘Maui residents are trying to rebuild. Let them.’

Jonathan Helton at The Washington Post

Almost “three years after wildfires engulfed Lahaina, Hawaii, rebuilding continues to move at a glacial pace,” says Jonathan Helton. Not a “single business destroyed in the fires has been rebuilt, and just two commercial permits have been issued.” Some “well-meaning state and county land-use, zoning, permitting and historic-preservation laws — passed over decades — have caused reconstruction to move at a crawl.” Lawmakers have “tried to cut through the most damaging regulatory strictures with piecemeal waivers.”

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‘Minneapolis residents don’t want police drones spying on us’

Meredith Aby, Sana Wazwaz and Michelle Rennie at The Minnesota Star Tribune

What “do you call an AI-powered drone in the hands of the government, with the power to be deployed upon complaints of any ‘suspicious person’ — a drone that records their data, and can be retained by our government”? say Meredith Aby, Sana Wazwaz and Michelle Rennie. It “sounds to us like the textbook definition of Orwellian surveillance — and it’s exactly what might happen in Minneapolis.” This is “not only politically naive but also tone deaf.”

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‘Tackling the annoyance economy is an easy way to win voters’

Neale Mahoney and Chad Maisel at Newsweek

Democrats “running for president will woo voters with sweeping policy plans — on housing, health care, corruption and more,” say Neale Mahoney and Chad Maisel. Those “problems are real, and big solutions are desperately needed.” But “ambitious leaders are missing something hiding in plain sight: All the everyday hassles that steal our time and make life harder than it should be.” What “started with airlines and banks has metastasized into nearly every corner of daily life.”

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‘The Supreme Court could eventually decide if Kalshi is just sports gambling’

Matt Stieb at Intelligencer

There is “good news for people who dislike the gambling-ification of seemingly everything in America: Kalshi could be in trouble,” says Matt Stieb. A federal judge “ruled against the leading prediction market, determining the State of New York has the authority to regulate sports betting on the website, even up to the point of banning it altogether.” Prohibition “would be a serious blow for Kalshi as it tries to expand amid the loose regulatory environment of the Trump administration.”

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With President Donald Trump’s refusal to either sign or veto a landmark bipartisan housing bill, the legislation automatically became law last week, and political analysts are hopeful the bill will help ease the pain of America’s nationwide housing crisis. But while experts laud Congress’ joint efforts to address the problem, the average American may not feel relief for years.

What did the commentators say?

The bill has a number of provisions that seek to “remove barriers to building homes, lower housing costs and shift greater control over housing to the local level,” said Time. One of the main goals is to increase the overall availability of houses, largely by mandating that the government “offer guidance on how communities could best reform zoning and land-use policies to reduce barriers to housing development.” Environmental reviews of housing construction will also be streamlined.

It also widens the definition of manufactured houses, which are “built entirely in factories before being transported to their sites,” said Time. The expanded definition will “‘unlock’ a segment of the housing market by making it cheaper and easier to mass-produce such homes,” Francis Torres, the housing and infrastructure director at the Bipartisan Policy Center, told Time. The current supply is “really not matching the growing and changing demand,” said Geoff Smith, the executive director of the Institute for Housing Studies at DePaul University, to WTTW.

The bipartisan nature of the bill, which easily passed both the House of Representatives and the Senate, “reflects both parties’ concerns with rising housing costs nationwide and shows that political compromise is still possible in Washington,” said The Dallas Morning News editorial board. If properly implemented, it has the potential to “modernize federal housing programs, streamline regulations and encourage innovation.”

But the effects of the bill may not be so profound for those in the worst financial situations. It will likely have a “fairly limited impact on affordability for the lowest-income folks in the country,” said Shamus Roller, CEO of the National Housing Law Project, to PBS News. The provisions “aren’t the kinds of sweeping policy changes many affordable housing advocates say will help dramatically reduce housing costs,” like major tax reforms and government-subsidized housing investments.

What next?

The legislation may take time to be effective because “many pieces of the legislation will require implementation from the now-diminished” Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), said PBS. About 32% of HUD’s workforce has left the agency since September 2024, according to the nonprofit Partnership for Public Service, which could make it hard to bring some of the bill’s provisions to life. As of 2024, no states in the U.S. had an adequate supply of affordable housing for low-income renters, said the National Low Income Housing Coalition.

So even as many are hopeful about the new promises, some “immediate relief may not come just yet for homeowners and renters,” said Yonah Freemark, a housing research associate at the Urban Institute, to CNN. The bill creates a “situation where not only will the federal government have to make changes, but then state and local governments also will have to make changes and then businesses, developers and the like will have to make investments, which itself takes time.”

If you ask any gamer what the best game ever is, the answers will vary. Over time, video games have evolved from simple pastimes enjoyed by children to vehicles for layered storytelling with lush graphics that transport players. So what qualifies as the best may be more complicated in an era when games can rival movies in quality. Still, some of these titles have yet to be knocked off their top spots.

Tetris (1989)

Alexey Pajitnov’s puzzle game, as simple as it is, has had millions of fans around the world who know that the “simple act of turning geometric shapes and fitting them together” is “at once stimulating and meditative,” and the “drive to beat a high score could be a lifelong fixation,” said Rolling Stone. For 40 years, the “act of placing Tetrominoes has been iterated to exhaustion,” with multiple crossovers in popular media. The game continues to stand the test of time. Whether you’re “playing an older monochrome version on Game Boy” or using a VR headset to “gaze into surreal worlds as you chase a higher score,” Tetris is “still Tetris.”

Super Mario World (1991)

As a “character and a franchise,” Mario has been at the “forefront of just about every innovative leap in gaming,” said Rolling Stone. There are many Mario games, but Super Mario World is the “perfect sweet spot.”

Its “tight controls and inventive level design” are the “gold standard that others have been chasing for decades.” There are a “whole bunch of reasons” for Super Mario World’s “iconic status,” said GQ. Not only did it launch with Nintendo’s SNES console, but it also featured a “joyous abundance of platforming trickery” and an “effervescent soundtrack that absolutely slaps.” Plus, we got the “debut of a charming green dinosaur called Yoshi.”

Metal Gear Solid (1998)

People have different favorites in this series, but the original release of Metal Gear Solid “set the blueprint” for what the franchise “grew to become in later years: prescient, politically infused stories met with supernatural, fourth wall-breaking sequences,” said Rolling Stone.

The “stealth gameplay and clever enemy AI” were impressive, pushing audiences to “think on their toes to outwit potential threats.” Beyond the “cat-and-mouse bits,” there was a “deeper soul to everything in the game.” Inventive moments in the game became “historic emblems that shaped not just the series” but also the “unique elements video games can offer as a medium.”

The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (1998)

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild may have shaken up gaming when it was released for the Nintendo Switch, but there is another Zelda game that stands out as the series’ crown jewel. The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time is “indisputably one of the greatest games ever made,” said IGN.

Not only did it “redefine action/adventure games,” but it also “completely changed the way the industry thought about 3D combat and exploration.” This version of Zelda “took what was great about its predecessors” and “expanded on those themes and ideas exponentially.”

Halo: Combat Evolved (2001)

Microsoft needed a “killer app” to ensure that the original Xbox would “make a strong impression on gamers,” and it got one with Halo: Combat Evolved, said SVG. A sci-fi first-person shooter with an “epic campaign mode and frenetic multiplayer,” the game introduced players to the “iconic protagonist Master Chief.”

25 years later, it still “ranks highly among the best Halo games of all time.” The start of a “long-running franchise” that also heralded the “arrival of the Xbox,” Halo: Combat Evolved “shook up the industry.”

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim (2011)

Skyrim captured both “hardcore and casuals” with its “streamlined role-playing design,” said GQ. Its “snowy mountain peaks” are an “incredible discovery space with 100s of hours of quests and secrets” and — “like all Bethesda games” — thousands of “fan-made mods created entire new quests and systems” to “elongate the game’s life for over a decade.”

Although The Elder Scrolls has been a “highlight of roleplaying games for years,” it wasn’t until the fifth installment that its “deeply mechanical vision of first-person fantasy broke through into the mainstream,” said Rolling Stone. Skyrim is “one of the few games that lives up to the premise that no two play-throughs will ever be the same.”

Grand Theft Auto V (2013)

The fifth entry in the Grand Theft Auto franchise has had a “profound effect on video games as a whole,” through its “staggeringly realistic open-world design” and “eclectic mix of storytelling and goofiness,” Rolling Stone said. To this day, the game has a thriving “online ecosystem” that encourages “everything from role-playing as cops and robbers to pulling off a daring casino heist.”

The single-player campaign is “revolutionary on its own,” but GTA Online “spread the game’s influence further” and helped “define the idea of a live-service multiplayer.” With its “timely commentary” and an “unstoppable multiplayer machine,” GTA V has “easily secured its spot among the greats.”

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt (2015)

Full of “weighty choices, complex side quests,” and a “cornucopia of deadly monsters,” The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is probably “as close to the perfect fantasy role-playing game (RPG) as we’ve gotten,” Rolling Stone said. With its “shockingly dense open world” filled with “threads to unfurl,” it’s a game that “refuses to hold your hand.”

The Witcher 3 is “rarely easy,” but its challenges demand that “players meet the game on its own footing,” said Rolling Stone. By doing so, audiences will find “one of the richest stories in all of gaming and an unforgettable role-playing experience.”

Disco Elysium (2019)

Despite being a more recent game, there is “nothing else quite like Disco Elysium,” said IGN. The 30-hour story at the core of the game, which remembers your choices, is a “unique blend of noir detective fiction, traditional pen-and-paper RPGs” and a “large helping of existentialist theory.”

Its “twisting plot,” cast of memorable characters, and “sheer depth of choice” combine to create an “experience that begs to be savored in a world riddled with crime, poverty and violence,” said IGN. Somehow, it manages to “make all of this fun” and, “surprisingly often, funny.” A “gorgeously designed isometric RPG,” Disco Elysium is “truly a unique experience,” and one that will “surely live long in the memory of any who have for many years to come.”

Elden Ring (2022)

Elden Ring is the newest game on the list, and although it’s “built off the bones of the Dark Souls series,” it remains an incomparable gem, said Rolling Stone. Developer FromSoftware’s “chilly open-world fantasy,” partly conceptualized by Game of Thrones writer George R. R. Martin, is “dripping with gothic style.”

FromSoftware games are “notorious for their unrelenting difficulty,” but Elden Ring’s “pivot from smaller, puzzle box-like catacombs” to a more “languidly paced sandbox adventure” makes “every encounter feel more alluring.” Elden Ring’s unfriendly world, teeming with enemies, is the most “beautifully depressing space you’ll ever want to occupy for a hundred hours or more.”

This year, the world’s largest performing arts festival will stage 3,649 shows from 71 countries across 258 venues, culminating in a “mammoth” 53,884 performances, said Annie Lewis in Luxury London.

The festival has helped turbocharge the careers of Rowan Atkinson, Steve Coogan, Judi Dench and countless other names in the creative industries, and gives newcomers the chance for their big break. Here’s all you need to know about the nation’s favourite celebration of the arts.

What is the Fringe?

The event began unofficially in 1947 as an addition to the Edinburgh International Festival, set up to celebrate European culture after the Second World War. Eight small theatre companies made the trip to the capital that year to perform after the main festival closed, and the official Fringe Festival Society was created in 1958.

Now in its 79th year, the Fringe has “become so vastly bigger that it’s no longer the fringe of anything”, said Andrzej Lukowski, theatre editor at Time Out. It always runs for three weeks in August – this year from 7 to 31 August – though in reality shows will often preview on a day or two before the official start.

Why go?

“Truly, all human life is here,” said Tristram Fane Saunders in The Telegraph. Nowhere else in the world would you find performances of “Endometriosis: The Musical!”, “Robot Wars with Roombas” or “Chekhov in Flemish Sign Language”. Some of the biggest names in the comedy industry continue to return, with Frank Skinner, Nish Kumar and Catherine Bohart, James Acaster and Sara Pascoe all making appearances this year.

But the main appeal of the Fringe is that it’s not “awash with big names”. This is the place where people “go to see the comedy stars of the future before they’re famous”. Traditionally, many of the performances have been free, operating a pay-as-you-feel policy. If ticketed, shows are generally under £20 across the city's theatres, pubs and streets.

There are many other fascinating festivals in the city running at the same time. There’s the aforementioned Edinburgh International Festival and the “hugely popular” Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo, which involves a “series of fancy military parades”, said Lukowski in Time Out. If any more reason is needed to flock to the city, the Edinburgh International Film Festival, Edinburgh Art Festival and the Edinburgh International Book Festival are taking place close by.

What should you see?

“Comedy is king,” said Saunders in The Telegraph. Perhaps the festival’s most “controversial” stand-up show this year will be Amanda Knox’s “Cartwheel”. Wrongfully convicted in 2007 of the murder of Meredith Kercher, Knox wrestles with how to “explain her life-story to her young daughter”. Tickets are also almost sold out for “rising star” of “Saturday Night Live UK” Ania Magliano and her show “Peach Fuzz”, as well as previous Edinburgh Comedy Award winner Ahir Shah, “one of the most intelligent voices in stand-up”, back with “Golden”.

There’s a “great mix” of “returning shows, debuts and even some world premiere runs” in drama too, said Kevin Quinn in Edinburgh Evening News. Director Emma Howlett’s “ambitious” female-led “The Plot” is a tragi-comic “fast-paced, imaginative exploration of power, truth and the stories” set in the aftermath of the Gunpowder Plot. Writer and actress Hannah Reilly’s acclaimed “Roleplay” also serves up a “bold, provocative and darkly funny” depiction of a “broke feminist podcaster who rebrands as a provocative ‘slutfluencer’ in pursuit of fame”.

This week’s question: A New York artist collected and sold garbage from outside Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce’s wedding at Madison Square Garden. The trash, which was encased in plastic cubes and hawked online at $25 apiece, was quickly snapped up by Swift fans. If an art museum were to stage an exhibition of Swift and Kelce’s wedding trash, what would the show be titled?

How to enter: Submissions should be emailed to contest@theweek.com. Please include your name, address, and daytime telephone number for verification; this week, please type

‘Wedding trash” in the subject line. Entries are due by noon, Eastern Time, Tuesday, July 21. Winners will appear on the Puzzle Page of the July 31 issue and at theweek.com/contest. In the case of identical or similar entries, the first one received gets credit. All entries become property of The Week.

Click or tap here to see the winner of last week's contest: Giraffe story

What happened

China on Tuesday reported “one of its lowest quarterly growth rates in decades,” the Financial Times said. From April to June, the world’s second-largest economy grew just 4.3% compared to the same period last year — below economists’ projections of 4.5% and down from 5% growth in the first quarter.

Who said what

This is a “rare admission of economic weakness for China,” CNN said. Despite “surging exports buoyed by the AI boom,” the country still faces a “weak domestic economy and sluggish consumer spending,” The Wall Street Journal said. “Tensions with trade partners, including the U.S. and the European Union,” also remain, CNBC said. Focusing heavily on exports while domestic demand falters is “really quite unsustainable, to be frank,” Alicia Garcia-Herrero, an economist with financial firm Natixis, told CNN.

What next?

Such “disappointing growth” is likely to fuel calls for government stimulus measures, “including a policy rate cut,” CNBC said. The ruling Communist Party’s policymaking body meets later this month and the “extent of the slowdown will likely dominate the agenda,” said Bloomberg.

What happened

Health officials are investigating whether restaurant chain Taco Bell “played a role” in the ongoing multistate outbreak of cyclosporiasis, The Washington Post said Tuesday. The foodborne parasitic infection can cause explosive diarrhea and is suspected to have sickened nearly 7,000 people across at least 34 states.

Who said what

Salad greens could be a “potential source for this outbreak,” Michigan’s health department said in a statement. But no “specific food item” has yet been confirmed as the culprit, said the U.S. Centers for Disease Control. The public is “largely flying blind” about what foods to avoid, CBS News said. Taco Bell said it has started “voluntarily and temporarily” removing some ingredients from select restaurants “as a precautionary measure.”

What next?

Taco Bell said it will continue to “closely monitor the situation and follow the guidance of public health authorities.” The CDC is analyzing lab data “to find a signal connecting the cases,” said Gwen Biggerstaff, deputy director of the CDC’s division of foodborne, waterborne and environmental diseases. Reports of new cyclosporiasis infections will likely continue through August, she added.

What happened

The Trump administration on Tuesday ordered Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents to suspend most vehicle stops after two fatal shootings by federal officers in the past week. The deaths of Johan Sebastian Duran Guerrero in Maine and Lorenzo Salgado ⁠Araujo in Texas “brought to at least seven the number of people shot dead” during ICE enforcement operations since January 2025, Reuters said. An unnamed 28-year-old Mexican national also died Tuesday in Florida after being struck by a tractor-trailer while reportedly fleeing ICE agents.

Who said what

“In the United States, in 2026, whether someone runs or complies with ICE, death is a very real possible outcome,” Florida Immigrant Coalition spokesperson Adriana Rivera said. Pausing vehicle stops “could hamper the agency’s ability to increase arrests,” said The New York Times, at a time when ICE faces “increasing pressure to deliver on the president’s promise of mass deportations.” The pause applies solely to ICE’s Enforcement and Removal Operations and “not Homeland Security Investigations, which primarily handles criminal investigations,” CBS News said.

What next?

The stoppage is expected to be temporary while ERO officers “receive additional training on vehicle-stop tactics,” CBS News said. President Donald Trump also contradicted the stoppage, saying the stops should continue. “We CANNOT give up one of ICE’s most important and effective Crime Fighting tools, THE TRAFFIC STOP!” he wrote on social media.

Billed as a coronation, the change in prime minister is “unfolding more like a royal wedding”, said Zoe Williams in The Guardian. “You feel an ambient duty to spectate and even celebrate, but you’d be mad not to stay sceptical”.

Andy Burnham is set to be the seventh prime minister in a decade, having surpassed the “magic number” of 323 Labour MP nominations, making it “mathematically impossible” to challenge him.

The result was “never in doubt”, said The Times. However, he may be in a position of strength, but “beneath the surface there are already seething resentments and jockeying for position”.

What did the commentators say?

It’s hard to shake the feeling that Britain has “fallen prey to some national sickness”, said Tom McTague, editor of The New Statesman. We cling on to the “giants” of the distant past in “Attlee and Churchill, Macmillan and Thatcher”, but our post-Brexit politicians “barely seem to register”. It is up to Burnham to change that. Above all, he needs to create something, anything, “new and memorable” from what has been a “fevered, amnestic past decade”.

Burnham may turn out to be a “lucky prime minister”, said The Times editorial board. Embracing AI in its nascent stages could be “genuinely transformative” for the country’s fortunes. Immigration under “tough” Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood is “beginning to come under control”, and despite being unpopular, Rachel Reeves’ tax rises could “ensure a falling budget deficit” in future. If he can make a bold “pro-business gesture”, such as opening up the North Sea, he could definitely “repair the damage of the last two years”. “There is hope.”

It is precisely Burnham’s ability to inspire such hope, regardless of his lack of policies, that is his “key asset”, said Robert Shrimsley in the Financial Times. Politics requires a “feel for the country, the ability to tell a story and carry people with you”, and Burnham undoubtedly has a “genial public persona”. Personality stirs voters most deeply, and Burnham represents someone, like Boris Johnson and Nigel Farage, who would “at last listen to those who feel neglected and failed by politics”. Often overlooked, inspiring hope is neither common nor a “nice-to-have, it’s an essential aspect of leading”, and few before have had it.

It is clear that the “charming and combative” Burnham has cause for optimism, said The Economist. A lot is in his favour, such as “decent ideas” to devolve power and reform property taxes, and his win in Makerfield showed a rare “appealing audacity” on a local and national level. But backbench MPs have “gained a taste for rebellion”, and Burnham has “yet to set out a convincing programme to fix Britain”. If the former mayor believes an “easy manner or an ability to skirt elephant traps is enough” he is mistaken.

What next?

The MP for Makerfield will “have his work cut out for him”, said Bloomberg’s editorial board. His headline mission thus far to devolve power to other English regions could succeed if done “prudently”, but “will take years to bear fruit”. He faces much more “immediate” priorities of stimulating growth and “curbing Britain’s swollen welfare bill”.

He must also initiate “transparent” reforms to VAT, council tax and business rates, while reducing regulatory burdens, expanding apprenticeships, and improving transportation and housing. He will take office with “advantages Starmer never possessed. For the country’s sake, he can’t afford to squander them.”

Because of his “lack of a personal mandate”, Burnham’s appointments will prove pivotal, said associate editor, politics Andrew Rawnsley in The Observer. Of those, the most “ferocious jockeying for position” lies in the appointment of chancellor, perceived to be a “case of Ed Miliband versus Anybody But Ed”.

More widely, surrounding himself with economists Jim O’Neill and Andy Haldane, as well as arch-Blairite James Purnell, shows a “pragmatic preference for smart people with an interest in getting stuff done”. Team Burnham have likened their task to “rebuilding an aircraft while it is in mid-flight”. There will be “much turbulence to master” to avoid “plunging” from the sky like his six post-Brexit predecessors.

If you’re feeling overwhelmed by the tomes piling up on your bedside table, try reaching for a novella instead. These slim, punchy books can be finished in a single day – and might just reignite your love of reading. Here are some of our favourites.

Assembly by Natasha Brown

Inspired by her career working in finance, Brown’s thrilling debut is just a hundred pages long and “written in vignettes that leave a lot of white space on the page”, said The Guardian. The story follows a young Black woman who “seems to have it all”: a great job, money, and a “loving, liberal, generationally wealthy boyfriend”. But simmering beneath the surface is a “desperate rage” at the racism and misogyny she navigates every day.

Lolly Willowes by Sylvia Townsend Warner

This “deeply strange” novel begins “conventionally enough”, with a quiet young woman leaving London to start afresh in a rural village, said The Guardian. But Townsend Warner “gleefully” changes tack when her heroine, Lolly Willowes, becomes a witch. “Smashing together” an array of genres from folk horror to nature writing, it’s a short but mighty book that helped cement its author as “one of the true originals of 20th-century English literature”.

Orbital by Samantha Harvey

Harvey’s “otherworldly” 140-page novel scooped the Booker Prize in 2024, proving longer doesn’t necessarily mean better, said Good Housekeeping. Set aboard the International Space Station, her “gorgeously written” book follows six astronauts orbiting Earth over 24 hours. Filled with beautiful prose and breathtaking imagery, she offers an “intriguing perspective on the human race’s treatment of our planet”. It’s a must-read.

Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan

Set in a small Irish town in the 1980s, this is a “quiet but deeply moving” story, said Daisy Lester in The Independent. It follows a “duteous father” who is confronted with the harrowing treatment of unmarried young women at the hands of the church at one of the country’s infamous Magdalene Laundries. “Haunting yet hopeful”, I devoured the entire book in “one short afternoon, but have been reflecting on it for far longer”.

Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys

Rhys’ “chilling, dreamlike” prequel to “Jane Eyre” explores another side to Charlotte Brontë’s “madwoman in the attic”, said Adrienne Westenfeld in Esquire. We meet the white Creole heiress, Antoinette Cosway, in Jamaica years before the events of Thornfield Hall. Isolated and lonely, she is soon “driven to despair” by the cruelty of her new husband Edward Rochester. Rhys’ book is just 176 pages long; packed with “gorgeous imagery and turbulent emotions”, it will roll over you like a “hazy island fever dream”.

Who Will Run the Frog Hospital? by Lorrie Moore

Moore expertly captures “female adolescence and the intensity of its friendships” in her “luscious and funny” book, said The Economist. The action follows Berie as she looks back at the “small, wild joys of her teenage years”, and tries to figure out how her life has become so “staid and unfulfilling”. She begins to see the “mockery and rebellion” she and her best friend had loved as “callow answers to teenage insecurities” – but her story still “vibrates with regret for what she has lost”.

Netflix’s announcement last year it had green-lit a new adaptation of Laura Ingalls Wilder’s classic book series immediately ruffled feathers. Podcaster Megyn Kelly issued a stark warning for the streaming giant on X: “If you woke-ify ‘Little House on the Prairie’ I will make it my singular mission to absolutely ruin your project”.

Now, that adaptation has arrived and, unsurprisingly, not everyone likes it.

‘The reboot that nobody needed’

Few things offer a more “sobering barometer of the current state of our politics” than how the “Little House on the Prairie” reboot became a “battle in America’s ongoing culture wars” before a cast had even been announced or anyone had watched it, said Jason Kyle Howard in Politico.

It’s a “particularly striking example” of how popular entertainment is politicised “precisely because” the original – in this case NBC’s version from the 1970s – is seen as “decidedly non-political” and has been enjoyed by fans of “all political stripes”. Ronald Reagan famously loved the show.

Those of us who watched the original will remember it with “misty-eyed nostalgia”, said Anita Singh in The Telegraph. This is the “reboot that nobody needed”. Created by Rebecca Sonnenshine, who brought in female directors for each episode of the first series, it includes “sympathetically portrayed” Native American characters who “take up a lot of screen time”.

The basic story remains intact: the Ingalls family “head out west to establish a new life on the prairie”, navigating a series of challenges and dangers along the way. As viewers, we’re invited to “envy” the pretty scenery and simpler way of living; the production design “fits neatly into the Instagram aesthetic” and the women’s immaculate dresses have echoes of a tradwife fantasy. It’s hard to “shake the feeling” that the show has been made for an audience with “short attention spans and a desire for social media likes”.

“Netflix did indeed woke-ify ‘Little House on the Prairie,” said Rebecca Onion on Slate Magazine. It makes a “deep bow to contemporary concerns about the politics of the source material”. Among the Ingalls family’s new friends are a Black couple and a French Canadian woman who “wears trousers and practises free love”. The streaming giant’s take with its “sassy and resourceful Ingalls sisters” and “full cast of multicultural” friends feels “sanitised in a way that’s sure to annoy ‘Little House’ purists”.

‘Gentle but gripping’ new take

“Is this ‘woke-ifying’?” said James Poniewozik in The New York Times. “Call it what you want”, but failing to feature Native American characters would have been a “conspicuous choice in an era of rich Indigenous stories like ‘Reservation Dogs’”. Using multiple voices to explore the story’s “underlying conflicts” is the “most interesting aspect of a familiar series”.

The “worst people you know” will likely complain the reboot is “woke”, said Daniel Fienberg in The Hollywood Reporter. That’s because the Black doctor who featured only “briefly” before has been turned into a fleshed-out person with a “love interest and backstory”, and Indigenous characters have been introduced to “articulate the discomfort of being forced off their land in the name of Manifest Destiny”. If that makes it woke then “so be it”, but I’d like to point out the Ingalls remain the show’s “undisputed heroes” who are “fundamentally decent and empathetic people”.

Does the reboot get into the “racial-ethnic offences Wilder allegedly committed while writing her many books?” said John Anderson in The Wall Street Journal. “No.” But, like the books, it does explore the “well-founded fear that settlers had about the Native Americans around them, and the oblivious attitude of the pioneers toward the people they were displacing”.

Remaking the “beloved tale” was “always going to be a risk”, said Rebecca Nicholson in the Financial Times. But Sonnenshine has “navigated this potentially fraught undertaking with skill”. Cleverly, she lets audiences “take what they want” from the show, whether that means “indulging in the fantasy of living off the land or baulking at the show’s grittier truths”. Either way, it’s a “gentle but gripping” update.

Data from more than 747,000 participants has been made available to scientists and doctors, creating an unparalleled genomic and electronic health record database “powering next-generation discoveries” in so-called “precision medicine”, the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the US medical research agency, has announced.

What is it?

Precision medicine, as defined by the NIH’s National Human Genome Research Institute, is an “innovative approach that uses information about an individual’s genomic, environmental and lifestyle information to guide decisions related to their medical management”.

Generally considered analogous to “personalised medicine” or “individualised medicine”, its goal is “to provide a more precise approach for the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of disease”.

What are the obstacles?

In theory, “therapies targeted to a person’s genetic make-up should be more effective and have fewer side effects”, said the BBC’s David Cox. But in practice, personalised medicine has in the past proved “erratic and expensive”. Another problem has long been that it “requires people to trust governments and companies with their genomic data, while the regulatory environment around medicines is ill-equipped to cope with therapies that are designed for just one person”.

That is the “paradox at the heart of precision medicine,” said NIH director Jay Bhattacharya. “To tailor treatments to individuals, you actually need very large populations to uncover the patterns that connect genetics, lifestyle, and the environment to health outcomes.”

What conditions could benefit from it?

NIH’s All of Us data has already fuelled more than 1,400 peer-reviewed publications across the US and around the world. Recent related breakthroughs range from a first-of-its-kind clinical genetic test predicting inherited risk of heart disease to the development of a low-cost prostate cancer risk model.

In a small-scale trial in California, people with early-stage dementia were given bespoke treatment plans targeting their personal nutritional deficiencies, ongoing infections and environmental exposures, which saw their symptoms improve.

A new “groundbreaking” genomic test could see millions of women with breast cancer spared debilitating chemotherapy, following the results of a trial that could “transform healthcare guidelines worldwide”, said The Guardian.

And in April, The New York Times reported on the story of KJ Muldoon, born in 2024 with an incredibly rare enzyme deficiency. In the space of just six months, a team at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and Penn Medicine designed a personalised therapy that was able to correct the single misspelled letter in his DNA using gene-editing technology. It was perhaps the “most important medical story of the decade”, said the paper.

AI modelling has also made analysis of huge datasets cheaper and more efficient. A recent study in the Annals of Medicine and Surgery suggests this is already having an impact on a range of critical specialities, including cardiology, infectious diseases, and oncology where machine learning models are able to analyse new sets of biomarkers so enabling “ultra-targeted therapies that strike tumour-specific mutations with remarkable precision”.

Even in psychiatry, AI is increasingly being used to predict treatment resistance for antidepressants well in advance. “This is the future of tailored, bespoke medicine,” said Forbes.