Whether it’s bloodshed at Glastonbury or starving people on benefits, their ‘irony poisoning’ seeps obscene ideas into the range of the possible

Imagine the furore if a Guardian columnist suggested bombing, say, the Conservative party conference and the Tory stronghold of Arundel in Sussex. It would dominate public discussion for weeks. Despite protesting they were “only joking”, that person would never work in journalism again. Their editor would certainly be sacked. The police would probably come knocking. But when the Spectator columnist Rod Liddle speculates about bombing Glastonbury festival and Brighton, complaints are met with, “Calm down dear, can’t you take a joke?” The journalist keeps his job, as does his editor, the former justice secretary Michael Gove. There’s one rule for the left and another for the right.

The same applies to the recent comments on GB News by its regular guest Lewis Schaffer. He proposed that, to reduce the number of disabled people claiming benefits, he would “just starve them. I mean, that’s what people have to do, that’s what you’ve got to do to people, you just can’t give people money … What else can you do? Shoot them? I mean, I suggest that, but I think that’s maybe a bit strong.” The presenter, Patrick Christys replied, “Yeah, it’s just not allowed these days.”

George Monbiot is a Guardian columnist

On Tuesday 16 September, join George Monbiot and guests as they discuss the forces driving climate denialism, live at the Barbican in London and livestreamed globally. Book tickets here or at Guardian.Live

Internet Watch Foundation verified 1,286 AI-made videos in first half of year, mostly in worst category of abuse

The number of videos online of child sexual abuse generated by artificial intelligence has surged as paedophiles have pounced on developments in the technology.

The Internet Watch Foundation said AI videos of abuse had “crossed the threshold” of being near-indistinguishable from “real imagery” and had sharply increased in prevalence online this year.

Viking North at Yorkshire Museum features UK’s largest exhibition of Viking-age artefacts, including era’s ‘cheap’ jewellery and evidence of slave-owning

When Anglo-Saxons buried their jewellery in an attempt to keep it safe from marauding Vikings, it is unlikely they envisaged their treasures would be dug up a millennium later and studied by their descendants.

Nor would they have expected the items to sit alongside everyday objects owned by their Scandinavian oppressors as part of the largest exhibition of Viking-age artefacts in the UK, aiming to tell the story for the first time of the invaders’ power base in the north of England.

This year’s French photo extravaganza showcases stunning images from across Latin America. There’s also selfie addicts, anonymous fetishists and a pharmacist taking pictures of his customers without their consent

Artists have always been fascinated with imagining the invisible – but few have taken it quite as far as Musuk Nolte. The 37-year-old Mexican photographer has spent a decade working with the Indigenous peoples of the Peruvian Amazon region – and found inspiration there by taking ayahuasca with a shaman called Julio.

Nolte tells me he first took ayahuasca when he was five years old – with his mum, an anthropologist who studied the psychedelic brew. The powerful hallucinogenic visions he experienced while with the Shawi community in their ancestral homeland, the Paranapura basin, have been translated into a series of images titled The Belongings of the Air, presented as small suspended light boxes, glowing like fireflies in a darkened room. They are unconventional documents, not showing the Shawi directly but reflecting the Shawi cosmovision. Pulsating with flashes of bright white light, the images have an allegorical tenor: we move with quickened breath from the intimate to the epic, from a woman and child washing clothes in a river to a closeup of a man’s ear, to the blazing eyes of a big cat, to a dazzling constellation of blurry silver flecks. This latter image was created by photographing rows of candles lit for forcibly displaced relatives whose whereabouts remain unknown. The feeling it stirs is one of the universe melting.

The British Beer and Pub Association calls for help to cut pub costs with 378 pubs in England, Scotland and Wales likely to call time this year

British pubs will close down at the rate of one a day this year, the industry’s trade body has warned, blaming high business taxes. At the same time, the hospitality sector has called on ministers to tackle “eye-watering” costs.

The British Beer and Pub Association (BBPA), which represents more than 20,000 pubs in the UK, said it expects 378 to close this year in England, Scotland and Wales, at a cost of 5,600 jobs.

Not many salads come with a byproduct that can be transformed into a delicious cooling drink

It is the time of year when the fruit syrups get moved to a more accessible shelf at our local supermarket. They have a range of eight to 10 flavours, but the two that dominate are mint and orzata, luminous green and cloudy white syrups respectively, that need diluting with fizzy water and maybe topping up with ice. I have mentioned orzata here before, how popular it is in Italy and how the name means a drink made from orzo (barley), and also how at some point the barley was replaced by almonds; then, at another point, the almonds were replaced by deacidified benzoin, which is a balsamic resin obtained from trees of the genus Styrax from south-east Asia. Deacidified benzoin is actually delicious and I become dependent on orzata at this time of year, and the sound of the ice clanking against the side of the glass as I walk my cold, cloudy drink back to my hot desk is the sound of summer.

However, I have always wondered what orzata made with orzo is like. And finally an opportunity presented itself when, having lifted cooked barley out of the pan with a slotted spoon, I was left with a pan of cloudy water at the back of the stove. I would have thrown it away, if I hadn’t had a glass of orzata on the go. Straight from the pan, the barley water tasted like milk diluted with water, thin porridge and a mouthful of soapy bath water. Undeterred, I consulted Mrs Beeton, who has it in her cooking for invalids section and suggests adding just lemon zest. Then I looked at the ancient Roman guide Apicius, who suggests boiling it with prosciutto and adding pepper. I found my answer on an Italian website called Agrodolce and drained the water, strained it, sweetened it with caster sugar, added a strip of lemon zest, then, for an aesthetic transformation, poured the whole, cloudy lot into an Ikea glass bottle with a stopper. A few hours later, I mixed 50% barley water with 50% fizzy water and added ice and, I have to say, it was fantastic. Yes, ever so slightly soapy still and reminiscent of porridge, but above all like barley, barley sugar and lemon drops, soft, cold and clinking.

I worked for the author of The Talented Mr Ripley in her final months. She was so mean and secretive, I imagined she wanted to kill me

I first read Patricia Highsmith’s novels in the autumn of 1994. I was 20 and living in a room in her house in Tegna, Switzerland, that was plastered with bookshelves full of her first editions, organised in chronological order. Pat was 73 and knew she was about to die; she had been, it was rumoured, diagnosed with cancer or some other terminal disease. I was trapped in her world with her, trembling. She had weeks left to live and had spent so much time writing about how to get away with murder. I fantasised that she might try to kill me.

The story of how I ended up in that house begins a few months earlier, in Zurich, with me on a blue tram, on my way to dinner at the house of Anna and Daniel Keel, a couple I’d grown friendly with. Anna was a brilliant painter for whom I had been modelling since I was 17. Her studio smelled like oil paint, instant coffee and the brine in which floated the mozzarella balls that she ate while working. She was a genius. Anna’s husband, Daniel – or Dani, as we called him – was a book editor and the founder and owner of Diogenes Verlag, a Zurich-based publishing house that was (and still is) a major publisher of European fiction. He was brutally honest but had kind eyes and piles of books that he used as furniture.

Three decades on, as leaders deny what happened, remains of the thousands killed continue to be identified and buried

Three decades after genocide was committed in the middle of Europe, memories in the rest of world are beginning to fade, helped along by a relentless effort by the perpetrators and their allies to cover up evidence. But the sprawling murder scene in the hills and fields around Srebrenica continues to cough up its bones.

In the town of Bratunac, 6 miles (10km) north of Srebrenica town, a group burial was performed recently of victims’ remains that had been identified over the course of the preceding year. Imams gathered from across the country to pray before a line of six coffins draped in the blue and gold Bosnian flag.

At least 10 people killed and 100 young people arrested since protests began in west African country in June

On the night last month that he and 34 other young people were arrested in the Togolese capital, Lomé, for coordinating an anti-government demonstration, Bertin Bandiangou said gendarmes beat him with ropes and slapped him. The next morning he was tortured while a commanding officer filmed proceedings.

He was lucky to get out alive: at least 10 people have been killed by security officials since protests began in June calling for the resignation of the small west African country’s president, Faure Gnassingbé.

Many households would descend into chaos without somewhere to jot down work commitments, after-school activities, birthdays, holidays, anniversaries … But do you run the planner, or does the planner run you?

Our wall planner is pinned on to a large cork board in the kitchen. Structured month by month in rows, it is parma violet, coral pink and butter yellow, and huge – a good metre long, almost the size of the table beneath it.

I bought mine online after a friend, who keeps hers Blu-Tacked by her front door, told me half-jokingly: “It’s the only thing between me and a divorce.” Ours is not quite so important. Still, as I wield my felt-tip pen, marking up school plays and holidays with our weird, inscrutable code, I do feel calmer. As if I’m scooping out my brain and smearing it all over the paper, leaving me free to track down more stuff to fill it with.

Exclusive: Restrictions on shot and bullets containing toxic metal to be phased in over three years from 2026

Shotgun pellets and bullets that contain lead are to be banned for almost all uses, ministers have said, in a long-awaited announcement welcomed by wildlife groups.

The restrictions will be phased in over three years from 2026, rather than the five set out in an official report last year, prompting some shooting organisations to say replacement ammunition may not be fully available in time.

Teenagers increasingly taking breaks as they control own use of devices rather than relying on parents to enforce limits, experts say

Children are increasingly taking breaks from their smartphones to better manage their mental health, personal safety and concentration spans, research has revealed.

They are reacting to growing concerns that spending too much time online can be harmful by taking control of their own social media and smartphone use rather than relying on parents to enforce limits, according to experts.

War has intensified poverty and hunger as aid is cut, with many families living in makeshift camps barely surviving

The pain of going to bed hungry is becoming familiar for Jamila Rabea. It’s hard to sleep. The meagre rations of bread, tomato paste and tea she spends much of her day trying to gather, she gives to her children. Five of them live with her in a shelter built from tarpaulin, cloth and scraps of wood.

Like many of the refugee families living here in a makeshift camp to the east of the Yemen port city of Al-Mukalla, she has had to leave home because of the bombs and fighting.

European Commission president expected to survive but ballot likely to reveal discontent about EU’s rightward drift

The European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, is preparing to face a rare vote of censure in the European parliament that is likely to reveal discontent about the rightward drift of EU policies.

Von der Leyen is expected to comfortably survive a vote on Thursday on the censure motion, which in theory could trigger the downfall of her commission. While her survival is considered a certainty, the debate has lifted the lid on simmering discontent among centrist, centre-left and green MEPs who voted her back into office just under one year ago, after elections that gave rightwing nationalists their best-ever results.

Another huge wave of Russian missiles and drones hit Ukraine’s capital as Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov due to meet with Marco Rubio

A huge wave of Russian strikes on Ukraine’s capital killed two people and left more wounded, Kyiv’s military administration said early on Thursday, with reports of loud blasts echoing over the city throughout the night.

The administration warned of a threat from drones and ballistic weapons and told all residents to “immediately head to the nearest shelters”. Dozens of residents of the capital took shelter in a central metro station during the attack, an Agence France-Presse reporter said, sleeping on mats, calming pets or waiting out the attack on camping furniture.

New rules banning recreational cannabis use have put Thailand’s $1bn cannabis industry in limbo, with some stores fearing they will have to close

Along Bangkok’s famous backpacker strip, Khao San Rd, storefronts offer a smorgasbord of highs – cannabis strains promising relaxation, mood enhancement, and energetic or giggly vibes.

Since Thailand legalised cannabis three years ago thousands of such stores have opened across the country, their doorways often topped with bright neon marijuana-leaf signs.

Latest threats heighten fears that the president’s erratic trade strategy risks exacerbating inflation across the US

Donald Trump announced on Wednesday that his administration will hit Brazil with a 50% tariff on products sent to the US, tying the move to what he called the “witch-hunt” trial against its former president, Jair Bolsonaro.

Posting letters on Truth Social, the US president had earlier in the day targeted seven other countries – the Philippines, Brunei, Moldova, Algeria, Libya, Iraq and Sri Lanka – for stiff US tariffs on foreign exports starting on 1 August.

Cuts further the push to slash federal government through early retirement, buyouts and deferred resignations

The Trump administration is reportedly planning to cut at least 2,145 high-ranking Nasa employees with specialized skills or management responsibilities.

According to documents obtained by Politico, most employees leaving are in senior-level government ranks, depriving the agency of decades of experience as part of a push to slash the size of the federal government through early retirement, buyouts and deferred resignations.

Scientists spot traces of 10,000 miles of rivers in area where many believed ‘there wasn’t any evidence for water’

Thousands of miles of ancient riverbeds have been discovered in the heavily cratered southern highlands of Mars, suggesting the red planet was once a far wetter world than scientists thought.

Researchers spotted geological traces of nearly 10,000 miles (16,000km) of ancient watercourses, believed to be more than 3bn years old, in high resolution images of the rugged landscape captured by Mars orbiters.

Business rates cuts not enough as people in poorer areas simply ‘don’t have money to spend’, says Centre for Cities

As much as £5bn is needed to revive ailing UK town and city centres, with areas including Bradford in Yorkshire, Newport in south Wales, and Blackpool in Lancashire having double the proportion of empty shops as London, a study has found.

A report from the Centre for Cities thinktank showed that the health of high streets across the country has varied significantly, and called for authorities to focus on developing homes and high-paying jobs in central locations to increase local spending power.

Europe’s top human rights court finds Boeing 777 flying from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur was shot down by Russia in July 2014

• Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates

• Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast

Europe’s top human rights court delivered damning judgments on Wednesday against Russia in four cases brought by Kyiv and the Netherlands, including finding Moscow shot down flight MH17, killing all passengers, including 38 Australians.

Judges at the European court of human rights ruled that Russia was responsible for widespread violations of international law in backing anti-Kyiv separatists in eastern Ukraine from 2014, in the downing of Malaysia Airlines flight 17 that year and in invading Ukraine in 2022.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s breaking news email

Trump inquired where Liberian president Joseph Boakai got his language skills during meeting with African leaders

Donald Trump was basking in the praise of a group of African leaders on Wednesday, when the Liberian president took the microphone.

“Liberia is a longtime friend of the United States and we believe in your policy of making America great again,” President Joseph Boakai said in English at a White House meeting before advocating for US investment in his country. “We just want to thank you so much for this opportunity.”

• PSG 4-0 Real Madrid: Ruiz 6 24, Dembélé 9, Ramos 87

• Chelsea to play European champions in Sunday’s final

There was a moment towards the end of Kylian Mbappé’s final season in France when Luis Enrique called him into his office and explained that if they did things his way then Paris Saint-Germain could become an “absolute machine”.

A little over a year later, on the day his first season at Real Madrid came to an end against his former club, the striker saw for himself, up close and painful, just how right his coach had been. The team that went to Munich and put five past Inter, the biggest winning margin in a European Cup final, came to New York and scored four against the game’s greatest aristocrats to take them to the final of the Club World Cup against Chelsea.

• England find form in 4-0 hammering of Netherlands

• Toone: ‘There are always doubters – we don’t listen to it’

Alessia Russo says England always knew they were capable of producing performances such as the one that delivered an emphatic 4-0 win against the Netherlands, as she praised her teammates for rediscovering their DNA.

England were under pressure having been beaten by France in their opening Group D fixture at Euro 2025, knowing a defeat in this match could knock them out, but the defending champions had spoken in the buildup about wanting a “proper England” performance and Russo believed they found one. The Lionesses will be guaranteed a place in the quarter‑finals if they defeat Wales in St Gallen on Sunday.