Rich Cousins

Permafrost contains about 1,500 gigatons of carbon, roughly three times the amount stored in all living vegetation, and is increasingly threatened by warming, heatwaves and wildfires. Climate professor Gustaf Hugelius explains that thaw can trigger local irreversible tipping points as melting ground ice creates thermokarst landscapes that continue releasing carbon dioxide and methane for decades or centuries. An estimated 200–300 gigatons of CO2 equivalent could be released this century under warming of 1.8C–3.6C. Methane creates a stronger short-term warming effect, while carbon dioxide persists longer. Some thaw is already unavoidable, but rapid emissions cuts could preserve large areas of Siberian and Canadian permafrost; each degree of warming avoided could save about 4 million square kilometres. The economic damage, particularly to Russian infrastructure and energy production, is expected to outweigh any limited benefits from expanded agriculture or resource access.

The Guardian presents a ranked list of the 100 best novels published in English, based on votes from authors, critics and academics worldwide. Toni Morrison’s Beloved ranks second, while George Eliot’s Middlemarch takes first place; the list also includes translated fiction and works spanning multiple periods and literary traditions. The Guardian later amended the ranking after a data-processing error, adding Albert Camus’s The Outsider at No 71, correcting My Ántonia’s position to No 78 and removing The Go-Between.

Gemma Correll recounts how lifelong anxiety, depression, panic attacks and agoraphobia intensified in 2018 while she was living in Oakland, leading to a diagnosis of panic disorder. She uses the imaginary theme park Anxietyland to describe experiences such as dissociation, depression and the fear of panicking. Alcohol first appeared to offer relief, including during an earlier crisis at Cambridge, but ultimately became a harmful coping mechanism. Giving up alcohol did not resolve every problem, but Correll describes it as an important first step.

Manchester’s Hulme Hippodrome, built in 1901 as a variety theatre, once hosted performers including Harry Houdini, Stan Laurel, Morecambe and Wise, Shirley Bassey and numerous touring circus acts. After becoming a bingo hall, social club, church and squat, the listed building is now boarded up, badly deteriorated and accessible mainly to pigeons. The Save Hulme Hippodrome campaign wants to restore it as a community-owned theatre and cultural hub with training, employment and social facilities. Supporters, including the Theatres Trust and local political representatives, warn that replacing cultural spaces with housing would erode community identity. The property has changed hands amid proposals for apartment redevelopment, while the current owner has not disclosed plans, leaving campaigners concerned that neglect could ultimately justify demolition.

St Tyfrydog’s, a medieval Grade II*-listed church on Anglesey, closed in 2020 after dwindling attendance and has since suffered leaking roofs, collapsed floors and advancing ivy. The National Churches Trust says declining congregations, poverty and costly repairs place many British churches—especially rural and deprived-area churches—at risk of closure. Despite this, churches remain important historic landmarks and community hubs, hosting food banks, support groups and local activities. Friends of Friendless Churches has taken ownership of St Tyfrydog’s and plans to spend about £350,000 on repairs, after which the building will remain open for Christian and community use.

Wildings, Newport’s long-established family department store, closed in January 2019 after 144 years as online shopping, out-of-town retail parks, parking problems and the decline of the city centre undermined its viability. After its sale, the derelict building was converted into an illicit cannabis farm containing more than 3,000 plants worth an estimated £2m; two Albanian men were later sentenced for producing the drug. The building was subsequently used as an improvised skate park by urban explorers. Newport’s wider high street has suffered extensive vacancy and loss of major retailers, although residents retain affection for its Victorian architecture and commercial past. The building’s current owner plans to retain a ground-floor shop and create 20 flats above it, reflecting a broader shift from retail space toward residential redevelopment.

Guardian Australia journalist Graham Readfearn tests the effects of future heatwaves in a University of Sydney climate chamber simulating the higher temperatures and humidity expected in a rapidly warming climate. At 43°C with sticky, humid air, the experiment demonstrates the escalating physical strain that extreme heat can place on humans.

Over the next 20 years, an estimated $5.4 trillion is expected to pass from Australia’s baby boomers to their beneficiaries. Economists warn that this unprecedented transfer of wealth—particularly through expensive housing—could deepen inequality, restrict social mobility, weaken faith in Australia’s fair-go ethos and potentially erode trust in democracy.

A diverse group of 18 Muslim New Yorkers—artists, writers, organizers, lawyers, strategists, funders and musicians—describe a city undergoing a cultural and political shift amid Zohran Mamdani's mayoral rise. Their prominence is presented as a response to post-9/11 Islamophobia and the movement for Palestinian rights, with figures including Hala Alyan, Mahmoud Khalil, Arooj Aftab and leaders of Acacia, Papi Juice and Pillars Fund highlighting new forms of community, political representation and creative expression. The profiles also address Gaza, immigration threats, NYPD surveillance and queer Muslim identity, while emphasizing New York as a site of solidarity, belonging and growing Muslim influence.

More than 295,000 incidents of physical violence and aggression against NHS staff were recorded by 212 trusts in England between 2022 and 2025, with annual cases rising to 104,079, or about 285 a day. Nearly 24,000 alleged sexual assaults and harassment incidents were also recorded. Nurses, doctors and managers describe attacks, racist and sexual abuse, serious ward disruption and the isolation of patients with complex mental-health needs amid shortages of secure specialist beds. Unions and staff say official figures understate the problem because incidents are underreported, while causes include long waits, NHS staffing and funding pressures, conspiracy theories and inadequate mental-health provision. The Royal College of Nursing is calling the situation a national emergency, and evidence from previous inspections suggests many trusts may be breaching workplace-safety duties. The government and NHS England have pledged stronger reporting, training, guidance and penalties for perpetrators.

Anthropic chief scientist Jared Kaplan says governments and society may have to decide between 2027 and 2030 whether to allow AI systems to train and improve successor systems without direct human involvement. He warns that recursive self-improvement could produce an intelligence explosion with major benefits for biomedical research, productivity, health and cybersecurity, but could also cause humans to lose control or enable dangerous power grabs and misuse. Kaplan expects AI to perform most white-collar work within two to three years and says the competition among Anthropic, OpenAI, Google DeepMind and others is accelerating rapidly. Anthropic supports policymakers becoming more informed about AI’s trajectory, although the company has faced accusations from Trump administration adviser David Sacks that its regulatory advocacy is self-serving.

Between 500 and 1,000 women are on death row in at least 42 countries, most commonly for murder or drug trafficking. Five cases from the United States, Iran, Indonesia, Tanzania and Pakistan show how child abuse, domestic violence, coercion, poverty, mental illness and intellectual disability are often disregarded in capital trials. The article highlights prolonged solitary confinement, torture allegations, poor legal representation, mandatory death penalties and politically motivated prosecutions, while noting that several countries have not carried out executions for years despite maintaining death sentences.

Donald Trump’s first 100 days of his second presidency are portrayed as an unusually rapid and disruptive effort to reshape the US government and its global role. His administration has strained alliances, imposed volatile tariffs that triggered market turmoil, expanded immigration arrests and deportations, suspended refugee resettlement, targeted pro-Palestinian protesters, and pursued controversial changes to birthright citizenship and civil-service protections. Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency drove sweeping federal cuts, including attacks on USAID and other agencies, while executive orders and alleged defiance of court rulings intensified concerns about the rule of law. The administration also restricted press access and public broadcasting. Protests, Democratic opposition and lawsuits have slowed some initiatives, but the article concludes that the consequences of the policies may continue to grow domestically and internationally.

Alexandra Bitušíková recounts how the informal Not in Our Town movement mobilised volunteers in Banská Bystrica to expose Marian Kotleba’s extremist ideology, promote voter participation and unite democratic forces behind Ján Lunter, who defeated Kotleba in the 2017 regional election. The movement has since resumed activism in response to Robert Fico’s increasingly pro-Russia and anti-EU government, organising weekly protests and coordinating with groups such as Peace for Ukraine. Despite threats against activists, it continues to argue that face-to-face engagement, civic education and collective action are essential to resisting extremism and defending Slovakia’s place in Europe.

Donald Trump has selected nominees and senior advisers for most major cabinet and White House positions ahead of his return to office in January 2025. The choices include loyalists and figures aligned with his priorities on tariffs, immigration enforcement, deregulation, fossil fuels and executive control, alongside several business leaders and media personalities. Key appointments include Marco Rubio as secretary of state, Scott Bessent at Treasury, Pete Hegseth at Defense, Robert F Kennedy Jr at Health and Human Services, and Susie Wiles as the first woman to serve as chief of staff. Pam Bondi replaced Matt Gaetz as attorney general after Gaetz withdrew amid allegations of sexual misconduct, while other assignments remained subject to Senate confirmation or further changes.

Twenty-four actors, directors and writers select festive films for an advent-calendar countdown, mixing established Christmas classics with unconventional choices that are merely associated with the season. Their recommendations range from It’s a Wonderful Life, The Snowman and Miracle on 34th Street to darker or nontraditional options such as Christmas Evil, Phantom Thread, The Dead Zone and Gone With the Wind. Across the selections, Christmas viewing is linked to nostalgia, family traditions, emotional release, social themes and the desire for films that offer warmth without avoiding darkness or complexity.

Kraftwerk’s 1974, 22-minute song “Autobahn” transformed electronic pop by turning car sounds, synthesizers, vocoders and motorik rhythms into a futuristic musical journey. A drive from Bonn through Cologne, Düsseldorf, the Ruhr region and on to Hamburg traces the song’s industrial and pastoral inspirations, while examining the band’s reinvention from experimental krautrock duo to electronic pioneers. The feature credits producer Konrad “Conny” Plank with a crucial but inadequately rewarded role, explores the autobahn’s complicated relationship with German history, and shows how Kraftwerk’s music and imagery influenced artists and genres from David Bowie and Brian Eno to techno, new wave and electronica.

Republicans secured a governing trifecta in the 2024 US elections by winning control of the House and Senate alongside the presidency. Republicans finished with 220 House seats to Democrats’ 215 and held 53 Senate seats to Democrats’ 47, including independents who caucus with Democrats. All 11 gubernatorial races were called, leaving Republicans with 27 governorships, Democrats with 23 and other parties with none. The page maps results across all 50 states and explains how House, Senate and gubernatorial elections work, with results reported and called by the Associated Press.

Prominent figures from music, film, television, sport, literature, journalism, science and fashion share advice that shaped their lives. Their lessons range from pursuing ambitions and persevering through rejection to adapting to change, managing anger, setting boundaries, accepting uncertainty, slowing down and maintaining humility. The contributors broadly present good advice as empathetic guidance that preserves personal agency rather than unwanted instruction or control.

Undocumented communities and immigrant advocates fear that Donald Trump will implement his pledge to carry out the largest mass deportation in US history. The proposed campaign could require new detention infrastructure, military involvement and hundreds of billions of dollars in public spending, while separating mixed-status families and placing DACA recipients, Haitian migrants, asylum seekers and refugees at greater risk. Legal organizations are preparing court challenges to policies including the possible return of Remain in Mexico, the termination of DACA and renewed travel restrictions.