On first hearing, it is a position that sounds reasonable. “When our share of global emissions is less than 1%,” Rishi Sunak argued when he was the UK prime minister in 2023, “how can it be right that British citizens are now being told to sacrifice even more than others?” Sunak is not the only … Read more
What was it like? Is the question I am often asked when I return from working in Ukraine, where I have been travelling regularly since 2022. There’s an understanding implicit in the question that the answer will not – not quite – lie in the accumulation of reporting. For good reasons the reporter keeps her … Read more
Why should a surge in sexually transmitted infections (STIs) in Europe be a concern across Africa or for people who don’t consider themselves to be at risk? Because it points to a bigger problem: the ease with which drug-resistant infections are now spreading, and not just in hospitals but within the community too. The speed … Read more
On the face of it, Ireland behaves like a good European by being a staunch advocate of human rights and a beacon of progressivism on the western edge of the continent. But there is one vital area in which its record is less than perfect – one that should cause concern when the Irish government … Read more
Abdul Ahad Momand, Only Afghan to Fly in Space, Is Dead
In Accra, Europe finally showed up to a conversation it can no longer avoid. For four years, the global movement for reparative justice has been gathering political momentum across Africa and the Caribbean, from Nairobi to Bridgetown, from Accra to Addis Ababa. Yet the very European states whose wealth and global standing were built through … Read more
1. What training my chaotic dog taught me about power, control – and human beings ‘Controlling a dog, like controlling a small child, requires a mixture of training, routine, incentives, rewards and physical constraints.’ Illustration: Anaïs Mims/Guardian Design double quotation markWe are all familiar with the cliches of Britain as a ‘nation of animal lovers’, … Read more
When I first moved to England, nearly two decades ago, I was invited to attend a talk in London on “the future of British identity”. It was a heated debate from the start, and it became all the more intense when the subject of putting colonial history in the school curriculum was raised. The two … Read more
Humans are vulnerable in water. Beaches have red flags; swimming pools have flashy warning signs to remind us of our vulnerability when we just want to cool down in the midst of a searing heatwave. Pool rules are essential, especially when children are around, or tourists who don’t know about the local safety measures. With … Read more
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/audio/2026/jun/26/brexit-an-oral-history-podcast