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.
Eyewitness The Netherlands
Ukraine on the brink, China’s Covid fear and No 10 holds its breath
Global report • Headlines from the last seven days
Global report United Kingdom
The cold front ‘We are ready for whatever happens’ • In Chonhar, a blue and yellow flag marks the de facto border as Russian forces amass across a shimmering expanse of water
On the precipice Why Russia is so keen to flex its military muscles
Vladimir Putin is a ‘rogue male’ whose wild rampaging must be stopped
Zeroing in Could Covid burst the Olympic bubble?
Message control The TikTokers spinning a snow-white Winter Games
Danger time Partygate report adds to Johnson’s jeopardy • PM braced for findings on lockdown breaches, as MPs, ministers and No 10 staff weigh up whether to back him
Had cake, ate it As the PM celebrated on his birthday, millions held off
Eyewitness Peru
From MLK to Silicon Valley Farewell to the ‘father of mindfulness’
Tick, tick… boom? Why we’re closer to midnight than ever
Fish pills: the hidden catch • The market in this prized commodity is worth billions – but are the supposed health benefits worth the cost to global ecosystems?
Crypto ban leaves miners counting their losses
‘I thought I was going to be a millionaire’ • Fears rise that the wild promotion of unregulated crypto assets is creating a new generation of addicts
Hard knocks Women fight for their right to play cricket
Omicron lays waste to the $50bn wedding season
Why virtual reality may soon beat the real thing • VR is clunky now – but it will quickly leave the physical world behind and we should embrace it, says a leading philosopher
All guns blazing Microsoft thinks Call of Duty may hold the key to the metaverse
Ordinary Joe Biden faces hard truth at anniversary conference
Are the walls finally closing in on Donald Trump?
Up, up and away • When inventor David Mayman took to the skies with a jetpack, it seemed he had fulf illed an age-old longing for flight. Yet no one batted an eyelid
THE KILLING OF A GOD • The naval explorer Captain James Cook was worshipped as a deity in the 18th century. Now his statues are being defaced in the lands he visited as his myth is re-examined.
Science has defanged Covid – so let’s learn to get on with our lives
Where are the inspiring female leaders? Not where you might think
The social media mob and cowardice have done away with nuance
Controls on fertility are not the answer to China’s demographic problems
Opinion Letters
Word Of Honor • After her acclaimed debut in The Souvenir, the actor returns in its sequel, starring alongside her mother, Tilda, and playing a version of her godmother. All good material for her psychology degree, she says …
The shape of things to come • Senegal cast off western influences after gaining independence in 1960, but though its new African style is neglected, Dakar’s buildings still dazzle
Out of the frying pan • Spats, KGB threats, dodgy plumbing … a London gallerist’s darkly funny account of trying to exhibit behind the iron curtain
Kindred spirit • A Native American rebuilds her life after a prison sentence in this topical novel from the Pulitzer winner
Rested development • This helpful history and guide reveals that the sometimes slow, difficult process of healing is part of what makes us human
Our three-yearold son says...