My friends and I wanted to tell the story of Cuban life, without interference. Before long, I was being isolated, monitored and interrogated

• A version of this essay was previously published in the Dial under the title The Sneeze. Translation by Lily Meyer

One day, in the middle of 2014, my friend Carlos Manuel Álvarez asked me to join him on the newsroom’s balcony. Wind gusted in our eyes. Elbows on the railing, we stared at the sea as we talked. We were killing time because neither of us had a computer to work on. All of them were in use. At OnCuba, the magazine in Havana where we worked, only editors got their own computers. The rest of us had to share, which sometimes meant waiting an hour. Several of my university friends and I had lucked into contributing roles at OnCuba, and even though we weren’t on staff, we were always in the newsroom. It was a way to keep our group together.

Sometimes, over beers, we dreamed aloud about a newsroom coup. We wanted to topple Hugo Cancio, the publisher, and turn his resources – a giant office with multiple rooms and a balcony with sea views; computers and internet; money; connections – into the media outlet we wanted. Something with our imprint.

Tony Blair’s departure as PM should have prompted a fresh start for Labour. But Starmer’s sad, backward-looking government remains in his thrall

Now half term is over, let’s have a quick quiz. Reading these lines, can you spot the common theme? Westminster has been mesmerised this week by the messages of a famous Blairite, Peter Mandelson, especially his damning exchanges with fellow carrier of the Blair torch, Pat McFadden. Last week’s big news was an essay written by Tony Blair himself. That was followed by a report on youth unemployment written by Blair’s former secretary of health, Alan Milburn. The story of this summer is shaping up to be a battle for the Labour leadership between Andy Burnham, whom Blair called “an outstanding member of my government”, and Wes Streeting, who is an outstanding member of his fanclub.

Catch it? That’s right: were little green men to visit Britain, they would think it under the control of some guy called Tony Blair. If not chief executive of these islands, he’s certainly the chair. If it’s not him in the spotlight, some other back number from the class of ’97 is hastily pressed into service. Just taken a massive tonking in the local elections? Better call Harriet Harman and Gordon Brown into No 10 for the photos. On it goes, through Jonathan Powell, Michael Barber, Liz Lloyd, Tim Allan. Need a walking contacts book to charm Donald Trump? Let’s call Peter … Oh dear.

Aditya Chakrabortty is a Guardian columnist

Protest over killing of Nowak and his treatment by police was attended by several far-right leaders, anti-immigrant influencers and known fascists

Some of those who attended a protest in Southampton on Tuesday night were ordinary members of the public, appalled at the killing of Henry Nowak and his treatment at the hands of the police – who handcuffed him after a false accusation of racism by his killer, Vickrum Digwa.

But the protest, which turned violent, was also attended by several far-right leaders, anti-immigrant influencers and known fascists. Eleven police officers and a police dog were injured as protesters threw bricks and bins at riot officers. Two people have been arrested. While the violence occurred after many of the speakers at the protest had left, some leading figures could be seen in clashes with riot police.

This look at the shocking 1992 murder of Rachel Nickell bravely gives you the unvarnished tale of her family’s struggles to deal with the tragedy – and the impossibility of coping with a living hell

All murders are shocking, but few unsettle a nation in the way that of Rachel Nickell did in 1992. She was stabbed 49 times while walking on Wimbledon Common during the day with her two-year-old son, Alex. The viciousness of the attack, in a public place and in front of a child, lingered darkly in the minds of the public, especially since Alex being the only witness enabled the killer to remain at large for years.

It is a crime that has been discussed, analysed and dramatised, but never quite in the way The Witness does. Across its three episodes, narrative emphasis rarely falls where we expect it to, because the main characters are not the police or the killer but the family Rachel left behind: Alex (Jahsaiah Williams, then Max Fincham as the older boy) and his devastated father André (Jordan Bolger). This harrowing new perspective proves to be rewarding.

In 2025, the tech journalist invited artificial intelligence to do nearly everything for her, including editing the book she was writing about the experiment. Some of it was useful, some not – but it was her time with a chatbot companion that really shook her

For a year, Joanna Stern decided to turn herself into a “lab rat” – the object of her own experiment. Throughout 2025, she invited artificial intelligence into “every corner” of her life. She let AI answer her texts, decide what she ate and cooked, mow her lawn, fold her washing, drive her places, parse her mammograms and even, in the darkness of a burner phone, be her lover. The resulting book, I Am Not a Robot: My Year Using AI to Do (Almost) Everything, asks all the big questions, including: what happens when AI can do everything humans can do? And what comes after that?

If anyone can produce answers, surely it’s Stern. Last February, she ended a 12-year stint as a personal technology columnist at the Wall Street Journal. During her tenure, she won an Emmy for her short documentary E-Ternal: A Tech Quest to “Live” Forever, which explored digital legacies, and built a reputation for product reviews that were outlandishly creative and fiendishly stringent. She once took an Apple watch jetskiing on the Hudson river to evaluate its connectivity.

There are vital lessons to be learned from Nowak’s death. Instead, it has been used to refuel a pervasive lie about ethnic minorities and ‘two-tier’ policing

Nine times. As Henry Nowak lay dying in handcuffs, he told police officers that he could not breathe nine times.

To recount his final moments: last December, Nowak, who was walking home alone after a night out with university friends in Southampton, encountered Vickrum Digwa. As the judge said in his sentencing, only Nowak and Digwa know exactly what happened in their interaction. But what is clear is that Digwa stabbed Nowak repeatedly and lied to the police when they arrived on the scene: he claimed that Nowak had racially abused him. The police pulled Nowak across the gravel and forced his hands behind his back. As he pleaded with officers, telling him that he had been stabbed, one officer dismissed him, saying: “I don’t think you have, mate.” Another simply says “he hasn’t been stabbed”. Just the sound from the bodycam footage is enough to make your blood run cold.

Jason Okundaye is a Guardian Opinion assistant editor

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Senior police figures are pushing back against politicians they accuse of stoking tensions over Henry Nowak’s murder

Policing could be driven back to the 1960s by false claims officers are biased against white people, the leader of Britain’s black officers has said.

Ch Insp Andy George, president of the National Black Police Association, spoke out amid growing concerns that politicians such as Nigel Farage were stoking tensions around the murder of teenager Henry Nowak by making baseless and provocative claims.

Darren Jones’s messages include requests for advice on the reshuffle and remarks about former business secretary Jonathan Reynolds

The prime minster’s close ally Darren Jones sent his commiserations to Peter Mandelson after he was sacked as US ambassador in messages that were not disclosed as part of the humble address release.

Jones’s texts also included requests for advice on the reshuffle and disobliging comments about the then business secretary Jonathan Reynolds and the influence of trade unions.

Lord Mann’s review prompts new training for health bosses and restrictions on political symbols on uniforms

The NHS is taking action to tackle antisemitism after a government-ordered report found that Jewish patients and staff face “routine ostracism” in the service.

Anti-Jewish hatred in the NHS means some patients hide their identity and staff “suffer in silence”, a review by Lord Mann, the government’s adviser on antisemitism, has found.

Advertisements for non-existent jobs aim to draw in people with access to classified or sensitive information

Chinese spies are targeting UK government and military staff on job websites including LinkedIn to try to get access to classified or sensitive information, MI5 has warned.

A bulletin has been released by the Five Eyes powers – the UK, US, Australia, Canada and New Zealand – highlighting an “aggressive” online recruitment strategy where spies for Beijing military intelligence pose as workers acting on behalf of private businesses or thinktanks.

Security clearance holders, especially those who specialise in defence, foreign affairs and security and intelligence.

Military personnel, including those stationed in the Indo-Pacific region, who have knowledge of regional capabilities and general activities.

People with either indirect or peripheral access to government information, including academics, journalists, freelance writers, thinktank employees or anyone with links to the defence, security, policy and economic sectors.