The Guardian Weekly has a split cover focus this week, depending on where you are reading, with extended coverage of both stories inside the magazine.
Our North America edition splashes on the US supreme court decision to reverse women’s abortion rights. Having been leaked in May, the news was not entirely unexpected but nonetheless sent shock waves around America and the world. With many now fearing what a court dominated by religious conservatives will do next, David Smith examines the political fallout and how, if at all, it could be countered. Then on the Opinion pages, Sonia Sodha argues that liberals’ faith in the courts to preserve abortion rights was misguided from the start.
For readers elsewhere, we return to the war in Ukraine. In Europe, leaders from the European Council, G7 and Nato were meeting this week, at a critical juncture for the conflict. Amid fears that Russia is gaining the upper hand on several fronts, it seems clear that the west needs a strategic rethink over how to tighten economic and military pressure on Vladimir Putin, without leading to a backlash among western consumers and starvation in the global south as a result of grain blockades.
Diplomatic editor Patrick Wintour sets the scene at a pivotal moment. Energy correspondent Alex Lawson asks what will happen if Russia shuts off gas supplies to Europe this winter, and Lorenzo Tondo reports from Kyiv, where the spectre of war has returned for the first time in weeks.
Look out for a couple of great longer reads this week. First, Louisa Lim’s search for the King of Kowloon, an enigmatic street prophet and graffiti artist who died a few years ago, but whose work is mysteriously reappearing around Hong Kong.
Then, there’s a brilliantly thought-provoking piece on how to explain racism to children – and raise an antiracist – from Ibram X Kendi, an American author who has taught millions of people to think differently.
As Glastonbury returned after a long, pandemic-enforced absence, we bring you a wrap-up from the world’s biggest greenfield festival. And there’s a candid interview with Phoebe Bridgers, one of the festival’s headline acts, who looks to be on the brink of global superstardom.
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