Guardian Weekly

The Guardian Weekly magazine is a round-up of the world news, opinion and long reads that have shaped the week. Inside, the past seven days' most memorable stories are reframed with striking photography and insightful companion pieces, all handpicked from The Guardian and The Observer.

Editor’s notes

Global report • Headlines from the last seven days

Global report • United Kingdom

Reader’s eyewitness

SCIENCE AND ENVIRONMENT

‘We found no trace’ • Using manual tools and their bare hands to clear rubble strewn with unexploded bombs, Palestinians begin the immense task of trying to find their loved ones’ remains

Homecoming • In ‘hostages square’, joy is met with cautious hope

‘Like a juggernaut’ • Speed and momentum kept the pressure on both Israel and Hamas

Free speech • How the global protest movement met repression and resistance

A small town making big headlines around immigration

Trump card • European allies rally to antifa ban

Rhapsody in russet

Is London really in the grip of a crime wave? • The perception is that phone snatching and watch theft are rife in the capital – but some offences are dropping

Soil secrets Ancient plants and seeds come back to life • A wetland restoration has lead to astonishing discoveries as scientists have been able to resurrect fleas and plankton

Has the rock star president played his final encore? • Despite facing election defeats and scandal, Javier Milei took to an arena stage in Buenos Aires for a concert, telling his fans ‘I’m human’

Still appetite for a military coup despite guilty verdict

Town tries to call time on gen Zers’ use of their smartphones

Stylists offer advice and a listening ear as well as a trim

Microplastics unwrapped Could particles be reshaping our bodies? • Plastics are found in our blood, brains and guts – and while the long-term effects are still unclear, there are simple ways to reduce exposure

Shutdown • Democrats hold firm as Republican anger grows

Peace prize may offer indemnity for Machado – but at a cost

On the trail of the great book heist • Up to 170 valuable Russian classics were stolen from European libraries. Were petty criminals or bigger forces behind the crime?

‘I THOUGHT NOTHING COULD SCARE ME’ • Nobel laureate Malala Yousafzai on bravery, breakthroughs, growing up, getting cynical – and the dramatic fallout from smoking a bong while at Oxford University.

Nesrine Malik • The enablers of Gaza’s hell can’t now pose as its saviours

Helen Pilcher • Animal language is far more complex than we can ever imagine

Simon Tisdall • France is not alone in its crisis of political faith. Just look around

The GuardianView • Gen Z protests across the world share more than just an interest in anime

Opinion Letters

Taking a gamble • Colin Farrell and Tilda Swinton talk risk, addiction and Fabergé eggs on the set of their casino film Ballad of a Small Player

Alternative view of an alternative decade • At New York’s Whitney museum, the exhibition Sixties Surreal finds ways to highlight the less dominant artistic forces of the revolutionary era

A musical full of heart and hope • Its first production 40 years ago was critically panned, but Les Misérables continues to enthral and delight theatregoers – and outlive the original critics

Reviews

Jilly Cooper 1937-2025 • Her romances were so outrageously readable that she created her own category, bewitching generations of readers

Life before fame • A masterful portrayal of Tennyson before the poet became a Victorian celebrity

Soviet sisters • A personal and political history of Russia brings...