As events in Gaza continue to dominate headlines, The Guardian Weekly focuses on the frantic diplomatic efforts to prevent the crisis from spiralling into a wider global conflict. International security corespondent Jason Burke traces the possible route to a wider war or, in the other direction, to at least a pause in hostilities.
Elsewhere, Ruth Michaelson and Julian Borger hear from terrified Gazans who have been pushed south, while Emma Graham-Harrison, Julian and Ruth consider the likely consequences of a “victorious” Israeli ground offensive.
There’s also a report on rising antisemitism against Jewish people across Europe since the 7 October Hamas terror attack on Israel and the subsequent Israeli bombardment of Gaza. And in the Opinion section, Jonathan Freedland and Nesrine Malik offer powerful perspectives on the conflict.
With much attention ranged on the Middle East, the war in Ukraine has fallen a little from the spotlight. Pjotr Sauer reports from Belgrade, where some young Serbs have been signing up to fight for Russia despite the risk of prosecution at home.
Tributes were paid this week after the death of Sir Bobby Charlton, the former Manchester United and England footballing legend. The Observer’s former football correspondent Paul Wilson remembers a player who became virtually synonymous with the English game.
A deeper-read feature takes us through the doors of the Kabul Intercontinental, the Afghan capital’s most luxurious hotel. Once the venue for lavish parties, it is now run by the Taliban. Andreas Babst, having been granted rare access, asks what it might tell us about the country’s future.
In Culture, as the Rolling Stones release their first album of new material for 18 years, frontman Mick Jagger tells Guardian music editor Ben Beaumont-Thomas about life and fatherhood at 80, as well as missing the band’s drummer Charlie Watts, who died in 2021.
And there’s a fascinating glimpse into the extraordinary work of Haitian writer and film-maker Gessica Généus, who tells Peter Beaumont what motivates her to carry on making movies in her violence-torn home country, despite the obvious risks and difficulties.
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