At the end of 2025, Patrick Wintour wrote a compelling essay for Guardian Weekly in which he described an interregnum in global history, where the rules-based order had been eroded and great powers once again jostled for control and influence.
This week’s edition sees Patrick return to a key aspect of that theme, the deteriorating global standing of the United States after a period of high-stakes brinkmanship with Iran. Donald Trump’s aborted threat that Iranian civilisation would “die … never to be brought back” unless it ceded to his demands exposed the limits of his apocalyptic foreign policy. It also pointed to the wider decline of American influence in a world where the US appears untrustworthy and strategically isolated.
As we wait to see whether negotiations to defuse the crisis and reopen the strait of Hormuz can resume, Patrick also reflects on 21 frantic hours in Islamabad where hundreds of diplomats from Iran and the US assembled and departed without agreeing anything.
And as relations between the US and the UK come under growing strain, columnist Simon Tisdall urges King Charles III to ditch protocol on his forthcoming visit to Washington and instead deliver a few hard truths to US representatives.
Opponents of rightwing populism in Europe at least had reason for renewed hope this week as Hungary’s election ended 16 years of Viktor Orbán’s government, more details of which below.
Enjoy the edition.
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Five essential reads in this week’s edition
Spotlight | Hungary’s new dawn
After 16 years, Viktor Orbán’s populist grip on the country’s politics is over. But will his successor Péter Magyar be much different? Ashifa Kassam and Flora Garamvolgyi report amid jubilant scenes in Budapest
Science | The man who was bitten by snakes 200 times – on purpose
Tim Friede put his “ass on the line” to help stop snakebite deaths – whose numbers appear to be rising amid the climate crisis. Oliver Milman met him
Feature | The brutal reality of life as a foreign student in the UK
Universities in Britain rely on overseas applicants paying full fees, which has given rise to some unscrupulous recruiters and left many hopefuls and their families deep in debt. Samira Shackle investigates
Opinion | Netanyahu-ism has achieved nothing for Israelis
It is the voting public in Israel that will settle their PM’s fate later this year. But, argues Jonathan Freedland, all they have heard are promises of “total victory” that prove to be hollow
Culture | Jim Jarmusch, the darling of indie cinema
The 73-year-old has been at the cutting edge of US independent movies since the 1980s. As Father Mother Sister Brother opens in the UK, he tells Amy Raphael about grief, greed and “doing crazy shit” with Steve Coogan
What else we’ve been reading
I was only familiar with the name Asha Bhosle thanks to Cornershop’s 1997 hit Brimful of Asha. The celebrated Indian playback singer, whose career spanned almost eight decades, has died, aged 92. But where to start with an artist said to have recorded more than 12,000 songs? Guardian global music critic Ammar Kalia has put together a guide to 10 of the best recordings by this astonishingly versatile artist, whose catalogue ranged from countless Bollywood soundtracks to collaborations with Boy George and Michael Stipe. Clare Horton, assistant editor
Marie-Louise Eta will make football history this weekend after becoming the first woman appointed as head coach of a men’s team in one of Europe’s top five leagues. Eta has been put in charge of Union Berlin in the Bundesliga, kicking off with a match against Wolfsburg on Saturday. Nick Ames explains that she has been brought in to save from relegation a club that has a reputation as a model of progress. Anthony Naughton, assistant editor
Other highlights from the Guardian website
Audio | North Korea’s “most beloved daughter”
Video | The ‘Gaza playbook’: what are Israel’s plans for Lebanon?
Gallery | Space: the ultimate wardrobe challenge
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