This week marked a year since Sudan’s descent into chaos: thousands dead, millions displaced and, per the UN, “one of the worst humanitarian disasters in recent history”. A sobering piece by Nesrine Malik, who was born in Sudan, called attention to how “the world has gazed with indifference upon this crucible of war” as other conflicts dominate global attention.
Tommy Nicol stole a car and was given an indeterminate “99-year” sentence. Six years later he ended his own life. Simon Hattenstone told Nicol’s story and explained how it serves as a devastating indictment of grotesque injustice. I found his story deeply distressing. These types of potentially unlimited terms, called imprisonment for public protection (IPP) sentences, were abolished in England and Wales in 2012, but there are still 2,852 people serving them, and no fewer than 90 have taken their own lives.
As the US finally approved a military aid package for Ukraine, Dan Sabbagh and Luke Harding spoke exclusively to the latter’s foreign minister, Dmytro Kuleba, who welcomed the aid package but said that allies need to increase arms production to help fight Russia.
Within hours of a controversial plan to send UK asylum seekers to live permanently in Rwanda passing through parliament, the death of a six-year-old girl and four adults in the Channel underlined what is really at stake. In Wimereux, France, Daniel Boffey met desperate young people undeterred by the Rwanda policy, while Rajeev Syal looked at how the Italian island of Lampedusa is expecting another terrible summer. Emily Dugan had an exclusive interview with a government whistleblower who claimed that Cabinet Office officials had referred to “bloody migrants”.
Waking up to birdsong is one of life’s joys. But what if one day you woke up and heard nothing? As our biodiversity crisis grows, the sounds of nature are fading away. The Guardian’s Soundscape series looked at what the disappearance of natural sounds tells us about the health of the environment. Sound feels like a gripping, disturbing new way to experience the loss of nature.
Trudi Warner is a 69-year-old UK climate activist who the government tried to prosecute for contempt of court for a lone, silent protest outside a jury trial. She spoke with Sandra Laville about the year she spent fighting off the case, which is quite astonishing in its detail.
In the Observer, Paul Lashmar and Jonathan Smith revealed that Conservative MP Richard Drax, whose family still owns a plantation in Barbados, was set to receive millions of pounds from the Barbados government for land they want to purchase for housing. The news outraged campaigners who believe Drax should pay reparations. The story led to the country’s prime minister reversing the decision.
Archie Moore, the Indigenous artist presenting Australia’s official entry in the 2024 Venice Biennale, spoke to Guardian Australia’s Indigenous editor Lorena Allam about his Golden Lion-winning installation kith and kin and how he drew on Guardian Australia’s database of Indigenous deaths in custody for his work.
Claudette Johnson has been nominated for the Turner prize, Britain’s most prestigious arts award, for work including a portrait of the African American slavery abolitionist Sarah Parker Remond, which was commissioned as part of the Guardian’s award-winning Cotton Capital series. Colonialism, migration, nationalism and identity politics are key themes in the 40th edition of the prize, which returns to Tate Britain for the first time in six years.
On Sunday, Coventry City experienced unmatched sporting delirium until … their last-second extra-time winner against Manchester United was ruled out by the video referee and they lost on penalties. Jonathan Liew beautifully captured the ecstasy and agony of the greatest ever FA Cup moment that wasn’t.
How do you force yourself to put your phone down and read more books? Sarah Phillips asked a group of librarians for their expert tips, which included creating a routine, keeping a reading diary and knowing when to give up – AKA “the 50-page rule”.
One more thing …This piece about Montenegro in the London Review of Books by Alexander Clapp was deeply fascinating, revealing the tiny Balkan state to be a wild mix of drugs, corruption and intrigue.
