David Levene

Record-low Danube water levels in Hungary have exposed the historic Rock of Starvation and large stretches of riverbed, while drought and extreme heat have destroyed crops, threatened wildlife and disrupted energy supplies. The shutdown of all but one Danube-cooled nuclear reactor has contributed to water and electricity pressures, leaving some towns dependent on emergency bottled-water deliveries. Farmers, municipal workers and residents in places including Pócsmegyer, Szentendre, Budapest and Paks describe severe agricultural losses, unsafe river conditions and worsening access to drinking water. The crisis is presented as part of a broader human-caused climate trend, with residents fearing that drought will return and intensify in coming years.

Glyndebourne is staging Monteverdi’s 1607 opera L’Orfeo for the first time in a new production directed and designed by William Kentridge. Set around 1920 and inspired by Ovid and Rainer Maria Rilke, the production uses an artist’s studio, charcoal drawings and video projections to explore music and art as forces capable of creating worlds and transforming lives. Kentridge gives Eurydice greater agency through movement, while Jonathan Cohen conducts the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment on period instruments. The co-production will later travel to Greek National Opera in Athens and New York’s Metropolitan Opera.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy says Russia is losing the initiative despite continuing heavy attacks, and argues that Ukrainian drone strikes, battlefield resistance and growing international isolation are weakening Moscow’s position. He accuses Vladimir Putin of lying about the war and rejecting negotiations, while warning that Russian attacks on Ukrainian cities continue to kill civilians. Zelenskyy calls for more European and US air-defense support, particularly Patriot systems, and for a European effort to develop alternatives. He says Ukraine is prepared to share its advanced drone-warfare expertise with NATO and European partners, seeks funding to create a professional contract army, and hopes sustained pressure will make Russian society recognize the costs of the war. He also discusses strained but ongoing diplomacy with Donald Trump, a meeting with Roman Abramovich, and his close relationship with King Charles III.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told The Guardian that he plans to invite King Charles III on a state visit to Ukraine, potentially as early as 2026. Zelenskyy described his relationship with the king as close and said Charles had continued to support Ukraine, while withholding further details about the proposed visit.

In a Guardian video interview following talks in London with Keir Starmer, Emmanuel Macron and Friedrich Merz, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says Russia is losing the initiative and is not winning the war. He argues that Vladimir Putin’s influence is waning, claims Ukraine’s military position is its strongest in more than two years, and urges Europe and the wider world to remain united in supporting Ukraine.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says Ukraine and the United Kingdom need each other in the war against Russia and stresses the importance of their close bilateral ties. He criticizes decisions by some Reform UK councils to remove Ukrainian flags, calling them a small mistake that could damage a major friendship.

Former health secretary Wes Streeting discusses his resignation from Keir Starmer’s cabinet, his views on Andy Burnham, where he believes Labour has gone wrong, and his vision for a future leadership bid to replace Starmer as prime minister.

A year of photographs and reporting follows the veterinary teams at London and Whipsnade zoos as they anaesthetise, diagnose and treat animals ranging from lions, rhinos and gorillas to dormice, frogs and venomous snakes. The work requires highly specialized coordination among vets, nurses, keepers, pathologists and external experts, often under significant safety pressures. The Zoological Society of London’s 200-year history of veterinary innovation is linked to its broader conservation role, including captive breeding, disease research, reintroduction programmes and postmortem investigations. The story emphasizes that zoo medicine combines animal welfare with scientific research, producing knowledge intended to protect endangered species in the wild.

A photo gallery captures backstage moments, red-carpet arrivals, presentations, rehearsals and performances at the 2026 Olivier Awards. Highlights include Rosamund Pike winning best actress, Rachel Zegler winning best actress in a musical, Arti Shah and James Hameed jointly winning best actor in a musical, and Danielle de Niese receiving the award for outstanding contribution to opera.

The feature examines the technical artists, engineers, scenic painters and designers who created memorable visual effects for four London theatre productions ahead of the 50th Olivier Awards. Les Liaisons Dangereuses required a nearly five-metre-wide chandelier containing 144 electric candles, while Romeo & Juliet centres on a mechanically operated bed that functions as both a bed and a tomb. John Proctor Is the Villain conceals an LED disco floor beneath a vinyl-covered stage, and The Authenticator features a huge, weathered mansion equipped with traps and secret compartments. The productions illustrate how detailed engineering and scenic craftsmanship shape atmosphere, storytelling and audience impact.

A photographic gallery documents political cartoonists Martin Rowson and Ella Baron working in their studios. Rowson discusses his traditional use of pencils, pens, brushes and paper, while Baron explains her use of a Wacom Cintiq tablet and the flexibility of digital drawing. Both describe the speed, messiness and creative decisions involved in producing political cartoons, including Baron's interest in exposing weaknesses in Donald Trump's public image.

Royal Stoke University Hospital is operating at its highest pre-critical-incident pressure level, with all 1,178 usable beds occupied, patients treated in corridors and ambulances queueing outside the emergency department. An unusually early flu surge has coincided with a five-day resident doctors’ strike, worsening staffing and discharge problems, although respiratory consultant Ashwin Rajhan says flu admissions in the region have recently plateaued. Staff are using rapid discharge planning, community response teams, virtual wards and other measures to free beds, but patients remain delayed in critical care and assessment units. Workers describe a year-round “permanent winter” in the NHS, with finite capacity, technical and staffing obstacles, and difficult decisions about both current and future patients.

The Royal Opera House is reviving Andrei Șerban’s 1984 production of Puccini’s Turandot, its longest-running staging, with performances scheduled through 4 February. The production emphasizes vivid spectacle through elaborate sets, costumes, masked dancers, a large chorus and a striking green-painted executioner, while a Guardian photo essay documents rehearsals and backstage preparations. The current cast shares the roles of Turandot, Calaf and Liù, with Daniel Oren conducting. The piece also examines the opera’s grand themes, its famous Nessun Dorma aria, Puccini’s unfinished score and Franco Alfano’s conventional completion, as well as the work’s problematic Western “orientalist” conception of imperial China.

A Guardian investigation examines the Free Birth Society, a multimillion-dollar business promoting childbirth without medical assistance. The investigation links the organization to dozens of cases involving maternal harm and infant deaths worldwide, explores why some women are drawn to its ideas, and reports that medical professionals consider its claims about childbirth dangerous.

Pulitzer-winning photographer Lynsey Addario revisits five defining bodies of work covering Iraq and Afghanistan, Darfur, Libya, Ukraine and the intersection of war with family life. Her photographs document battlefield injuries, civilian deaths, displacement, humanitarian crises and the experiences of women and children, while her reflections address the personal risks and emotional costs of working in conflict zones as a parent. The piece also promotes the documentary Love+War, available on Disney+ and National Geographic from 7 November 2025.

Communities living near Delhi’s enormous Bhalswa landfill have become dependent on the waste mountain for their livelihoods while suffering from its severe pollution, foul odors and health risks. The landfill’s scale and visibility underscore Delhi’s ongoing failure to manage its waste.

The manosphere attracts young men not only through misogyny but through promises of wealth, self-improvement, status, belonging and validation of male anxiety. Analysis of 642 Andrew Tate videos found that wealth and success appeared far more often than discussion of women, while visual imagery repeatedly emphasized cigars, sports cars and muscular bodies. Experts and interviews link the appeal to economic insecurity, unattainable provider expectations, loneliness, dating-app rejection and rising anxiety. Paid courses and dating advice can exploit these vulnerabilities, leaving followers poorer, more isolated and more resentful, while algorithms may move users from ordinary searches about fitness, careers or relationships toward extremist content. Effective responses should address underlying social and economic conditions, provide spaces for honest dialogue and connection, and challenge platform incentives that reward addictive and polarizing material.

English National Opera opens its 2025–26 season with Julia Burbach’s contemporary production of Rossini’s La Cenerentola, conducted by Yi-Chen Lin and starring ENO debutants Deepa Johnny and Aaron Godfrey-Mayes. The staging combines modern settings with magical elements, including white mice, a ghost, a pumpkin and a glass slipper, while using an all-male chorus dressed as royalty across the centuries. The production presents Cinderella as witty and resilient, gives greater emotional context to the stepsisters, and uses a new English translation by Christopher Cowell. It arrives as ENO manages major funding cuts, staff losses and an uncertain future for its London base.

The Together for Palestine concert at London’s Wembley Arena drew 12,500 people and more than 70 performers to raise funds for Palestinian medical and humanitarian charities. Organized by Brian Eno, the four-hour event combined performances by Palestinian and international musicians with testimony from aid workers, journalists and medical professionals describing the devastation in Gaza. The concert’s political message condemned the failure of world leaders to protect Palestinians, while its diverse musical program emphasized the resilience and continuing vitality of Palestinian culture.

Prince Harry visits Kyiv to promote the Invictus Games Foundation’s sports-based rehabilitation programs for Ukrainian veterans, whose numbers have risen sharply during the war with Russia. He is warmly received by wounded service members and civilians, visits a missile-damaged government building and a memorial to fallen soldiers, and emphasizes purpose, community and respect for people with disabilities. Harry also discusses his wish to spend more time in the UK, his relationship with King Charles, his legal action against Associated Newspapers and his decision to speak publicly about his family, arguing that truth and accountability must precede reconciliation.