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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
World
Neil Willis

The long shadow: inside the 27 September Guardian Weekly

The cover of the 27 September edition of the Guardian Weekly
The cover of the 27 September edition of the Guardian Weekly. Photograph: Rabih Daher/AFP/Getty; Guardian Design

In the space of a few days, the focus of Israeli military operations appears to have shifted decisively from Gaza in the south to Lebanon in the north.

A dizzying escalation between Israel and Hezbollah began last week with exploding pagers and walkie-talkies and culminated in a ferocious Israeli bombardment of alleged Hezbollah military targets, killing hundreds of people.

With Iran’s support, the Lebanon-based Shia militia has conducted a background conflict with Israel since the 1980s. Is this the intensification that finally signals all-out war?

International security correspondent Jason Burke reflects on a crisis shaped by 40 years of shadow sparring, while defence and security editor Dan Sabbagh says it’s difficult to see who would emerge victorious from a ground war – but neither side appears willing to back down.

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Five essential reads in this week’s edition

1

Spotlight | The brutal truth behind Italy’s migrant reduction
A Guardian investigation reveals EU money goes to forces involved in abuse, leaving people to die in the desert and colluding with smugglers

2

Technology | Why aren’t humanoids in our homes yet?
The development of robots is dogged by technical and safety challenges. But the dream of a multipurpose domestic droid lives on, writes Victoria Turk

3

Feature | An Israeli and a Palestinian discuss 7 October, Gaza – and the future
Could Couples Therapy’s Orna Guralnik and former participant Christine try to understand one another without the conversation breaking down?

4

Opinion | Zelenskyy needs Biden to back his plan to win peace
In besieged Kharkiv, Timothy Garton Ash saw how Ukraine is approaching a perilous moment. To turn the tide, it needs to decisively knock back Russia

5

Culture | Chappell Roan on sexuality, superstardom and the joy of drag
She’s gone from obscurity to the A-list, but not without struggle. Kate Solomon talks to the singer about teenage angst and her queer inspirations

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What else we’ve been reading

In a fascinating feature for the Observer, Amelia Abraham looked at the rise of “divorce regret”. Almost half of marriages in the UK end in divorce, but between 10 and 15% of couples reconcile after they separate and about 6% of couples marry each other once again. Abraham spoke to couples who have reunited. As one interviewee told her, having remarried following a five-year break in his relationship: “After time apart, it felt as if we were marrying more as the people we actually are, rather than the people we thought we should be.”

Clare Horton, assistant editor

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Other highlights from the Guardian website

Audio | Are the world’s oldest people really that old?

Video | Pesto the 22.5kg penguin chick set to shed weight after going viral

Gallery | Subversive travel snaps from pioneering photographer Luigi Ghirri

Interactive | US presidential polls tracker: latest national averages

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Get in touch

We’d love to hear your thoughts on the magazine: for submissions to our letters page, please email weekly.letters@theguardian.com. For anything else, it’s editorial.feedback@theguardian.com

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