Our battle to restore a statement to a Manchester exhibition was really about what can and can’t be said in cultural spacesOn Wednesday, protesters in Manchester reclaimed one of the city’s main cultural institutions. Despite the rain, pro-Palestine ac…
Sexting, lies and unveiled selfies: the Egyptian film exploring the hidden lives of teenage girls
Ayten Amin’s Souad is a razor-sharp portrayal of sisterhood and sexual awakening that is rarely represented on screenWhen the Egyptian director Ayten Amin was 10 years old, a classmate’s sister killed herself. The news gripped the school. But, in a soc…
What could Taliban rule mean for Afghanistan? – video explainer
Afghanistan’s government collapsed as the Taliban militant group took control of all of the country’s major cities in only nine days, including Kabul, the capital of more than 4 million people.The Guardian’s senior international correspondent Emma Grah…
Four Palestinians killed during Israeli police raid in Jenin
Israel says its forces came under fire while trying to arrest a suspect, and none of its troops were injuredIsraeli troops have clashed with Palestinian gunmen during a late-night arrest raid in the occupied West Bank, killing four Palestinians in one …
‘The US should be held accountable’: Guantánamo survivor on the war on terror’s failure
After 20 years during which he was routinely tortured, Mansoor Adayfi, who now lives in Serbia, asks: ‘What if that had been American boys?’When a shackled Mansoor Adayfi was lumped on to a heap of shivering, naked bodies in the pitch black, a hood ove…
At least 20 killed in fuel truck explosion in Lebanon
The Lebanese Red Cross said it had transported 20 bodies and more than seven injured people to hospital following the blast in AkkarAt least 20 people were killed and 79 others injured when a truck carrying fuel exploded in Lebanon’s northern region of…
‘Saddam Hussein’s spies in London laid a trap – and sent my son Farzad to his death’
Nosrat Bazoft, mother of the Observer reporter executed by the tyrant in 1990, reveals for the first time how the unreported theft of a briefcase of documents on a secret Iraqi weapon may have sealed her son’s fate.Leaning back in a loose cotton shirt …
Iran to impose six-day lockdown to combat coronavirus ‘fifth wave’
All bazaars, markets and public offices to be shut, as well as movie theatres, gyms and restaurantsCoronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverage Iran says it will impose a six-day-long “general lockdown” in cities across the country afte…
Belarus repression and the Taliban advance: human rights this fortnight – in pictures
A round-up of the coverage of the struggle for human rights and freedoms, from Thailand to Mexico Continue reading…
Israel preparing to resume settlement building in West Bank
Minister says there are plans for 2,000 new housing units for Jewish settlers in Palestinian territoriesIsrael is preparing to resume settlement building in the occupied West Bank after a hiatus of almost a year, the country’s defence minister has said…