‘It’s all we have’: young climate activists on the state of politics around the world
This year elections are taking place across the globe, covering almost half of the world’s population. It is also likely to be, yet again, the hottest year recorded as the climate crisis intensifies. The Guardian asked young climate activists around…
Scotland’s remote land of bogs and bugs in line for world heritage status
It is a land of mire, mist and midges that could soon be awarded a special status among the planet’s wild habitats. In a few weeks, Unesco is set to announce its decision on an application to allow the Flow…
Spoilt Creatures by Amy Twigg review – haven and hell in the countryside
Amy Twigg’s striking debut offers a new twist on the cult narrative. Rather than focusing on a charismatic male leader, Spoilt Creatures (the title comes from a letter Vita Sackville-West wrote to Virginia Woolf) is about one woman’s sway over…
T20 World Cup makes the earth move and brings proper pitch to the US
Time will tell whether this World Cup, plus the addition of Twenty20 cricket to the 2028 Olympics’ lineup in Los Angeles, will help the sport take root in the US, but already there is an extraordinary story to tell. One…
Mr & Mrs Mahi review – Indian cricketing love story is more than just a boys’ own tale
Hindi cinema has thus far spent 2024 in retreat, its commercial failures compounded by a successful run of south Indian crowdpleasers. Timed with Kohli-like precision to arrive at the conclusion of the IPL, this gentle cricket-themed romance may not be…
The Roads to Rome by Catherine Fletcher; Italy Reborn by Mark Gilbert reviews – the long path to prosperity
There are few concepts as resonant as “Roman road”. The words ooze purpose, chutzpah and superiority. Catherine Fletcher’s epic study unpacks every aspect of the subject: from the roads’ construction and military importance to their hold over our imaginations and…
USA celebrate T20 World Cup debut in style with stirring victory over Canada
Build it, and they will come. The great American cricket experiment got under way on Saturday night, when USA beat Canada by seven wickets in the opening match of the T20 World Cup at the little ground in Grand Prairie,…
TV tonight: a striking series brings unheard D-day recordings to life
D-Day: The Unheard Tapes 9pm, BBC Two Using young actors who have been cast to resemble the soldiers telling their stories, this striking series features lip-synced audio recordings that bring together the perspectives of British, US, French and German soldiers…
The unlikeliest sporting superfans, from 1976
In 1976, the Observer talked to some unlikely sporting superfans about what kept them watching. The 89-year-old playwright Ben Travers showed a photo of himself playing cricket as a boy in 1896; the start of a lifelong passion. He had…
USA romp to seven-wicket victory over Canada: T20 Cricket World Cup 2024 opener – as it happened
T20 World Cup in the mid-2010s, strikes with his first ball! Dhaliwal drove a slower ball straight to long off, where Jasdeep crouched to take a comfortable catch. That’s the end of a fine knock of 61 from 44 balls,…