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Operation Vivaldi: success of Ukraine’s counteroffensive shows it has learned to manoeuvre on a drone-filled battlefield
Russia’s drone and missile attacks on Ukraine’s population and infrastructure continue to dominate coverage of the conflict. But on the ground, Ukraine has been making significant, if still limited, gains.
Councils that restrict harmful advertising won’t lose out on profits
For cash-strapped councils, turning away much-needed income by restricting adverts for junk food, fossil fuels or other harmful products might seem like a policy they can ill afford.
Early flu season: why you should get your jab sooner this year
Data from the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) shows more flu activity in September than in the same month of the past four years. However, flu is still circulating at relatively low levels in the community. If cases continue to rise over the coming weeks, this would suggest the flu season is starting earlier than usual.
French school protests: a rite of passage – and the result of genuine concerns
Across France, school students have taken to the streets to protest about teacher shortages, dilapidated school buildings and long school days. While the tradition of student protest has long roots in France, the country’s current fiscal crisis combined with entrenched structural problems with teacher recruitment, sickness absence and a backlog of school maintenance means this is unlikely to be something the current government can easi
I work for a major insurer. Much of my industry is fudging the numbers in the face of the climate crisis | Anonymous
Insurers are taking on more risk than they should. If – or when – a major disaster hits, the catastrophe will have far-reaching consequences, says an anonymous modeller and whistleblower
Can memoirs ever tell the whole truth?
In July 2025 a literary scandal erupted when The Observer journalist Chloe Hadjimatheou claimed that Raynor Winn, author of the award-winning memoir The Salt Path, had omitted significant facts and invented key parts of her story. This much-loved account of Winn’s transformative and healing coastal walk with her terminally ill husband after they lost their home, had recently been made into a film.
This civil war on the British right is a charade – its politics are more united than ever | Jonathan Liew
Don’t be fooled by its bickering leaders. Their calibrated fake fighting will probably end in coalition, says Guardian columnist Jonathan Liew
Palantir is worming its way into the British state – it’s time to curb this controversial US company’s influence | George Monbiot
Tom Watson has said ‘mob rule’ must not decide public contracts. Perhaps he should take a look at his new employer, says Guardian columnist George Monbiot
Brexiters can’t cope with the fact that Putin was cheering them on | Rafael Behr
Russian meddling probably didn’t affect the referendum result – but the Kremlin’s motives for wanting to undermine the EU still matter, says Guardian columnist Rafael Behr
What happens in your brain when you can’t stop laughing?
Do you remember the last time you were laughing and simply could not stop? Perhaps it was a situation when you should not have been laughing at all.
How the ‘geopolitical stigma’ associated with Putin’s Russia is affecting ordinary Russians
Russia’s international standing collapsed within weeks of its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Sanctions swept across Russian banks, businesses and political elites, while western companies exited the country en masse. For those living inside Russia, it was the everyday, tangible shifts that made this feel real.
Here’s how to find the learning strategy that makes AI work for you
Generative AI can explain a difficult concept, solve a problem, correct a sentence or produce an answer in seconds. That creates enormous opportunities for learning.
Chronic pelvic pain treatment should focus on quality of life, not pain alone
For many women living with chronic pelvic pain, finding an explanation for their symptoms can take years. Getting a diagnosis may bring some relief, but treatment does not always bring an end to the pain. Even when symptoms improve, their effects on sleep, work and everyday life can continue.
Cecilia Vicuña’s radical eco-feminist vision comes to London
Living Threads at Whitechapel Gallery is the first major UK exhibition of eco-feminist activist contemporary artist and poet Cecilia Vicuña.
Spider-Man’s 1,000th issue: the enduring appeal of the tortured Hamlet of superheroes
This autumn marks a special occasion in the Marvel universe: Spider-Man, perhaps the most popular superhero of all time, has reached issue #1,000 in the comics series.
Life in Gaza after 12 months of ‘ceasefire’
It’s one year since the US-brokered ceasefire for Gaza formally came into effect. On October 9 2025, Hamas handed over the 20 remaining hostages and the bodies of four Israelis who had died while being held captive. In return, Israel released almost 2,000 Palestinians held in Israeli jails.
How electric vehicles could help pollinators find flowers again
A hidden threat is making it harder for bees, butterflies and other pollinators to do their job: air pollution is scrambling the floral scents they use to find flowers.
Air conditioners contribute to climate change – this 40-year-old treaty aims to limit the harm
A decade ago, the international treaty that shapes what’s inside our cooling systems was amended to favour gases that contribute less to global warming.
First case of teeth growing out of an eye socket – what you need to know about ‘ectopic teeth’
A 16-year-old boy in India has had a tooth removed from his left eye socket, between the eyelid and the eyebrow. He had noticed a painless swelling for about a month, but was only taken to hospital when two hard, whitish points began poking through. A scan revealed a fully formed canine tooth – an extremely unusual example of an ectopic tooth.
Inside two prison systems: why Denmark and the UK punish so differently
It has been said that a society should be judged not by how it treats its outstanding citizens but by how it treats people who break the law.
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