We published some alarming stories this week on the reality of global heating. First, temperatures at the north pole soared more than 20C above average last Sunday, crossing the threshold for ice to melt. Then, renowned climate scientist Prof James Hansen published a new paper arguing the pace of global heating has been significantly underestimated and that the international 2C target is “dead”. Then, it was confirmed that last month was the warmest January on record, news that has mystified scientists. In the US, scientists are bracing for the worst as Donald Trump purged mention of the climate crisis from government websites, and targeted wind and solar energy, much to the delight of big oil.
We covered the horrific news that hundreds of women were raped and burned alive during the chaos after a Rwandan-backed rebel group entered Goma in the Democratic Republic of the Congo last week. Jakub Krupa expertly led readers through the news of a mass shooting at an education centre in the Swedish city of Örebro in his new daily news blog, Europe Live.
Josh Halliday reported on the declaration by an international panel of experts that Lucy Letby, the nurse convicted of killing and deliberately harming babies at an English hospital, is the victim of “one of the major injustices of modern times” after they found no evidence she murdered or harmed any babies. Ian Sample’s breakdown of the evidence in each case made for grim reading and Emily Dugan looked at what might come next for Letby. Columnist Gaby Hinsliff outlined the complexities and societal stakes for the final outcome of the case.
Anna Isaac revealed that one of the world’s most famous financiers, the late Sir Evelyn de Rothschild, stands accused of exploiting his position at the bank that bears his name by sexually abusing women who worked with him in the 1990s. Having repeatedly refused to answer specific questions about his conduct, the bank subsequently admitted to staff that De Rothschild left in 2004 after a complaint about sexual misconduct.
John Harris has been asking: can Trumpism happen in Britain? Reporting from the town of Rugeley in Staffordshire for his column and this Anywhere but Westminster video, John asked locals whether the idea of a Trumpist leader would appeal in places where “the quiet privations and disappointments of 21st-century English lives have opened people to the specious promises of hard-right populism”. He called them Anglo-Trumpers.
Five years on from Australia’s catastrophic Black Summer bushfires, photographer and Mallacoota resident Rachel Mounsey revisited those who lost their homes and much more. Meanwhile, Joe Hinchliffe visited the town of Ingham in north Queensland, where a once-in-a-generation flood trapped residents and left them fearing for their safety and livelihoods.
English cricket’s much-derided Hundred competition has become, to the surprise of many fans, the focus of £100m+ bids from Silicon Valley and India. Jonathan Liew captured a surreal auction for teams that have only existed for a few years. In the Premier League, Marcus Rashford joined Aston Villa after a dizzying fall at Manchester United. Barney Ronay reflected on the potential – and risks – of a move that would have once been unthinkable.
In 2015, Australian Jo Nemeth made the decision to close her bank account and live without any money at all. Nearly a decade on she told Louise Southerden why she’s never felt so secure. Meanwhile in Wales, Steven Morris visited an off-grid community who are fighting a legal battle to keep their home.
I loved Saturday magazine’s bold and beautiful photograph special on the images that changed the way we see our bodies, with an elegant introduction by Jess Cartner-Morley and pictures by the likes of Man Ray, Richard Avedon and our own Murdo MacLeod; Jess’s piece on the Trump White House’s style; top hoteliers’ tips on creating dreamy conditions for a good night’s sleep; and Lisa Allardice’s exclusive, fascinating interview with Nobel literature prize winner (and South Korean heroine) Han Kang. One of this week’s long reads, Helen Gordon’s tale of the meteorite hunters tracking down a rock that landed in a small English village, was a delight. And don’t miss this picture essay by Mischa Haller, with words by Tim Jonze, of British 90s ravers unwilling to let the night end and hanging out on beaches, in kebab shops and outside tube stations piled with the next day’s papers.
One more thing … The first episode of Miss Austen, the new BBC series about Jane Austen’s sister Cassandra – who infamously destroyed Jane’s letters – was an absolute pleasure from beginning to end, and I was delighted to read in Lucy Mangan’s gorgeous review that the whole series is just as good. (I particularly loved Lucy’s description of Keeley Hawes’s “customary controlled, unshowy magnificence”.)
