Editorial: The French prime minister, François Bayrou, has become the latest leader to target the less well-off in order to balance the books

As European politicians begin to pack their suitcases and head to the beach, they do so against a domestic backdrop that begins to look distinctly ominous. In Britain and France, nationalist populist parties consistently lead in the polls. In Germany, the particularly extreme Alternative für Deutschland is neck and neck with the conservative CDU. Specific dynamics might vary but the unsettling pattern is the same – large swaths of voters increasingly identify with authoritarian and often xenophobic political forces.

Prolonged post-industrial malaise, wage stagnation and austerity have precipitated this wave of disaffection with the mainstream, especially among the less well-off. Yet in London, Paris and Berlin, governments of the centre-left and centre-right seem intent on alienating disillusioned electorates still further. During his visit to London last week, the German chancellor, Friedrich Merz, heralded a new strategic partnership for changed times between Germany, Britain and France. But a much-needed economic reset, which dismantles failed fiscal orthodoxies, seems as far away as ever.

UK research has brought real hope to families suffering from one of the most common inherited disorders, with a breakthrough that’s been years in the making

Eight babies have been born free of a disease that can lead to terrible suffering and early death, thanks to pioneering scientists in the UK employing a form of genetic engineering that is banned in some countries, including the US and France. Ten years ago, when the government and regulators were considering whether to allow mitochondrial transfer technology, critics warned of “Frankenstein meddling” that would lead to three-parent children. It’s hard now to justify such hostility in the face of the painstaking work carried out by the scientific and medical teams at Newcastle, resulting in these healthy babies and ecstatic families.

Mitochondria, like tiny battery packs, supply energy to every cell of the body. Their DNA is handed down in the egg from mother to child. In rare instances, there are genetic mutations, which means the baby may develop mitochondrial disease. About one in 5,000 people is affected by it, making it one of the most common inherited disorders. As the cell batteries fail in various organs, the child can experience a range of symptoms, from muscle weakness to epilepsy, encephalopathy, blindness, hearing loss and diabetes. In severe cases, they die young.

Rightwing commentators are furious over the superhero’s positioning as an immigrant. But his story was crafted to cushion unease

We’ve entered the era of the superhero movie as sermon. No longer content with saving the world, spandex saviors are now being used to explain, moralize and therapize it. And a being from Krypton has shown up once again in a debate about real life; about borders, race and who gets to belong.

Superman. Of all symbols.

I’ve read reactionary thinkpieces, rage-filled quote tweets and screeds about the legal status of a fictional alien – enough to lose count. This particular episode of American Fragility kicked off because James Gunn had the audacity to call Superman “the story of America”. An immigrant, by definition, as he was always meant to be.

Noel Ransome is a Toronto-based freelance writer

Ballot heaps pressure on Shigeru Ishiba’s minority government after it lost control of lower house in October

Japan’s shaky ruling coalition is likely to lose control of the upper house, exit polls showed after Sunday’s election, potentially heralding political turmoil as a tariff deadline with the US looms.

While the ballot does not directly determine whether prime minister Shigeru Ishiba’s minority government falls, it heaps pressure on the embattled leader, who also lost control of the more powerful lower house in October.

The champion explains how he learned from his previous win against the Briton and introduces ‘Ivan’, the left hook that closed the show

Just before midnight on Saturday, in the depths of Wembley Stadium, Oleksandr Usyk stroked his moustache as he listened to another question which followed his magisterial destruction of Daniel Dubois. The 38-year-old Ukrainian had once again become the undisputed heavyweight champion of the world after a performance filled with light, panache and a kind of battering precision that had normally sober ringside observers reaching for words such as “genius” and “magician”.

After such savage alchemy, someone asked Usyk another question which made his face light up again. After all he had done, and with almost desperate speculation as to who might be able to challenge him now, how did Usyk find the motivation to keep fighting? “Oh, listen, bro,” he said, as he made a distinction crucial to any clear understanding of his extraordinary achievements in and out of the ring, “I don’t have motivation. I have discipline. Motivation? It’s temporary. Today, for example, you have motivation. But tomorrow you wake up early and you don’t have motivation.”

• New structure would feature two tiers each of six teams

• England confirmed as the host for next three WTC finals

The International Cricket Council has set up a working group to explore moving to a system of two-division Test cricket for the first time in what would be one of the most radical changes in the 133-year history of the global game.

In the first annual general meeting under the new all-Indian leadership of the chair, Jay Shah, and the chief executive, Sanjog Gupta, held in Singapore at the weekend, the ICC appointed an eight-strong working party with a remit to report recommendations to the board by the end of the year.

US vice-president also plans to visit London and Scotland next month

He made his name with a memoir set among the hillbillies of the rugged Appalachians – yet it seems JD Vance now favours altogether more gentle hills.

For his family’s holiday this year the US vice-president is understood to have chosen the Cotswolds, where Land Rovers outnumber pickup trucks.

They claim to reflect public sentiment. But they’re better thought of as just another species of misinformation

Ahead of the 2016 US presidential election, opinion polls predicted a win for Hillary Clinton. She lost, and the polling industry went through one of its regular spasms of self-criticism and supposed reform. Alas, it did not vote itself entirely out of existence. France and Spain ban the publication of opinion polls in the days leading up to an election, but we should go one better and ban their publication at any time.

No doubt it adds much to the gaiety of the British nation to see the Conservative party slip to third or fourth in the polls, but any poll asking who you would vote for if there were a Westminster election tomorrow, held at a time when there almost certainly will not be an election for another four years, is meaningless as a guide to the makeup of the next Parliament.

Writing about child sexual abuse is hard. Writing about the unfathomable, yet surprisingly common jealousy as the sibling of an abused child is even harder

A winter’s day. My father in the dark room of my memory developing photographs. The door is shut. My sister stands with him. He aims to teach her the essentials of photography. How to turn a black and white negative rolled from the interior of his camera, unspooled in the dark, then bathed in trays of chemicals, to bring the past back to life in black and white.

My sister’s special treatment as the only one of nine siblings to learn this skill does not go unnoticed, by me at least. I am 10 years old and long to learn, even as I want only to be an insect in the corner watching unseen.

As a child of refugees I rarely enjoyed the thrill of a new toy. She must have noticed the longing in my eyes

• Read more in the kindness of strangers series

When I was very young, my family and I emigrated from Albania to Melbourne. As a child of refugees settling in Australia after the second world war, I experienced the searing poverty that myriads of displaced people dealt with as they tried to rebuild lives in far away, unfamiliar places. As a result, my brothers and sisters and I very rarely enjoyed the magic and thrill that come when a child gets a new toy.

One day – I must have been no more than five – I was wandering through the local town hall with my mother. Some sort of fair was in full swing and I happened upon a table where, for a mere penny, I could try my luck to win a doll. I didn’t have a penny, but I did have a fervent wish to have a doll – particularly the beautiful one with the gloriously extravagant light blue dress!

The ‘messy middle’ that follows the end of a structured work life can be unsettling and isolating – but meaning doesn’t retire when we do

• The modern mind is a column where experts discuss mental health issues they are seeing in their work

A few months into an eagerly planned retirement, Martin described the transition as “a seismic shift”.

“I thought I had it all figured out,” he said, the frustration evident in his voice. “I’ve been so looking forward to more time in the garden, picking up the guitar again, getting into a fitness routine and planning trips with friends.”

Family of Luis Leon say they were initially told by someone he had died, but they found him alive in Guatemala hospital

An 82-year-old man in Pennsylvania was secretly deported to Guatemala after visiting an immigration office last month to replace his lost green card, according to his family, who have not heard from him since and were initially told he was dead.

According to Morning Call, which first reported the story, long-time Allentown resident Luis Leon – who was granted political asylum in the US in 1987 after being tortured under the regime of the Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet – lost his wallet containing the physical card that confirmed his legal residency. So he and wife booked an appointment to get it replaced.

• FA working with authorities to track down abusers

• Lionesses to stop taking the knee in wake of attacks

England have condemned the “online poison” of racist abuse directed at the defender Jess Carter during the European Championship in Switzerland and said they will stop taking a knee before matches because “football needs to find another way to tackle racism”.

Carter received criticism after her performance in England’s defeat against France in their opening game of the tournament and was subsequently shifted from left-back to centre-back. She struggled again during Thursday’s quarter-final victory against Sweden and has now revealed the unacceptable vitriol she has been a victim of while on international duty.

• Latest updates from the decisive day of the 153rd Open

• Live official leaderboard | And you can email Scott

Rory McIlroy is out and about, soundtracked by the usual ozone-layer-bothering roars. An iron straight down the middle. An approach straight down the middle and over the flag. He’ll have a 20-foot putt coming back for birdie. Matt Fitzpatrick has some work to do, though, having dispatched his tee shot into the rough down the left, then sent a flyer over the back of the green. Meanwhile Hideki Matsuyama’s eagle putt at 12 shaves the hole, Tyrrell Hatton’s bunkered tee shot at 2 leads to bogey, and here’s how the top of the leaderboard looks right now.

-14: Scheffler
-10: Li
-9: Fitzpatrick
-8: Matsuyama (12), R Hojgaard (3), Hatton (2), English (1), Gotterup (1), McIlroy
-7: DeChambeau (13), Fleetwood (11), Hall (7), MacIntyre (3), Henley (3), Schauffele (2)

The Scotland centre has the opportunity to seal a series win against Australia with victory in the second Test in the city where he was born

Sione Tuipulotu has to raise his game this week. By his own admission he has not been up to scratch. He has been surprised by just how off the pace he has been, but he is confident he will deliver in the buildup to the second Test between the British & Irish Lions and Australia.

Tuipulotu is, of course, referring to his role as the Lions’ tour guide, having grown up in Australia, as Andy Farrell’s players arrive in his home city of Melbourne hoping to wrap up the series. “I haven’t actually been that good at it,” he says. “It’s surprising, I don’t actually know that much about Australia having lived here that long. I know a bit about Melbourne so I’ll point the boys to some good spots.”

Newberry Springs was almost lost to the desert. But as America’s ‘mother road’ turns 100, locals see hope that the boom times could return

The tiny desert cafe, caught in a desolate middle between Los Angeles and Las Vegas, had only been open for five minutes when the first customers of the day ambled in from the already blistering heat.

It was a Friday morning in June, sand swirling outside across the cracked street and towards the Bagdad Cafe’s front door. In the same parking lot, a 1950s-era sign advertised a motel that no longer exists. In the distance, only a few surviving businesses remained: a small community center, a veterans organization and a long-standing roadhouse bar popular with locals. A few miles to the north, an entire neighborhood was abandoned in the 1990s after mounds of blowing sand swallowed it whole; today, only rooftops and chimneys peek out from the towering sand dunes.

Exclusive: Legal actions rise after death or injury of hundreds of babies and women in recent years

The NHS is facing an “absolutely shocking” £27bn bill for maternity failings in England, the Guardian can reveal, after a series of hospital scandals triggered a record level of legal claims.

Hundreds of babies and women have died or suffered life-altering conditions as a result of botched care in NHS trusts across the country in recent years, prompting the government to launch a “rapid” national inquiry.

Pontiff also speaks of anguish over Israeli strike on territory’s only Catholic church, which killed three people

Pope Leo XIV has condemned the “barbarity” of the war in Gaza and the “indiscriminate use of force” as Gaza’s health ministry said at least 73 Palestinians had been killed queueing for food.

The ministry said on Sunday that the victims had been killed in different locations, mostly in northern Gaza.

Paul Biya, 92, has ruled Cameroon since the early 1980s. Unseating him in October’s election will not be easy

Opposite Treasure Hunter, one of four casinos on the same street in Douala, Cameroon’s commercial capital, money changers and motorcycle taxi drivers such as André Ouandji mill around, calling out to potential clients.

Ouandji has worked in the area for three years but has not entered the casinos. He prefers to frequent the sports betting shop in his local neighbourhood of Bonabéri.

Groups say having access to funds cut off raises fears of wider attempt to silence voices speaking out about Gaza

At least two grassroots pro-Palestine organisations in the UK have had their bank accounts frozen, raising fears about a wider attempt to silence voices speaking out about Gaza.

Greater Manchester Friends for Palestine (GMFP) and Scottish Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC), which both organise peaceful protests and vigils, have had access to their funds cut off indefinitely by Virgin Money and Unity Trust bank respectively. The Guardian understands a local PSC branch in England has also had its bank account frozen but was unable to confirm it directly.

The long-running series in which readers answer other readers’ questions on subjects ranging from trivial flights of fancy to profound scientific and philosophical concepts

Why can’t I put on mascara without opening my mouth? Rita, London

Send new questions to nq@theguardian.com.

A Black man like me is not supposed to love Oklahoma. But in studying my home state’s history of violence, theft and wild ambitions, I learned to reckon with its legacy

In a moment, I will tell you how I learned to love Oklahoma, a state I have had to point out on a map more times than I can count to Americans and foreigners alike. One with 77 crimson red counties and a license plate that once simply read: “OKLAHOMA IS OK.”

But first, it is important to tell you about my first Oklahoma school history lesson – one I learned when I was eight years old, after my parents moved our family cross-country.

Can’t afford goji berries, spirulina or turmeric – or just don’t like the taste? Most kitchens are full of healthy but unglamorous alternatives. Nutrition experts name their favourites

What is a superfood? According to Italian scientists writing in the journal Frontiers in Food Science and Technology in February, the term was coined in the 1960s to describe foods that could fight malnutrition. It wasn’t until the 00s that it was co-opted to sell exotic and expensive ingredients to health-conscious customers. During the pandemic, interest in so-called superfoods increased again, especially those said to “boost immunity” and “protect against pathogens”.

The researchers, Giulia Santunione and Giuseppe Montevecchi, define superfoods as “a marketing term used to describe nutrient-dense foods claimed to have health benefits”. In sales terms, the superfood label has been a huge success. The global superfoods market is projected to rise from an estimated $155.2bn in 2022 to $344.9bn by 2033. The US is the lead grower of kale and blueberries; Peru is the biggest exporter of quinoa and maca root; China is the top producer of goji berries and spirulina; India is a major producer of turmeric; and Japan specialises in matcha tea.

The Glaswegian comic on her close bond with her nana, coming out in a conservative, Catholic society, and how a friend’s choice comment kickstarted her career

Born in Glasgow in 1980, Susie McCabe began her career in standup comedy in the early 2010s, quickly gaining recognition on the Scottish comedy circuit. The 2024 winner of the Sir Billy Connolly Spirit of Glasgow award, McCabe has supported Kevin Bridges and John Bishop on tour and, along with Frankie Boyle and Christopher Macarthur-Boyd, hosts the podcast Here Comes the Guillotine. Her show, Femme Fatality, is on iPlayer now. She performs her new show Best Behaviour at Edinburgh fringe from 30 July to 24 August.

I’m three years old and in my late nana’s ground-floor tenement Glasgow flat. She would have knitted that tank top, and the toy in my hand was a little monkey that my mum bought me as a present. Apparently I used to be obsessed with putting its feet in its mouth – I’m sure a therapist could have a field day with that.