FictionReviewOne of the greatest contemporary Mexican authors weaves a suspenseful fable around a search for a lost couple in the woods
An unnamed narrator travels to a forest – the subarctic taiga of the title is the only geographical hint we are given – to investigate a disappearance case. Her client asks her to find his wife, who has gone off with another man, but whose messages appear to suggest that she wants to be found.
Silvino Báez and Graciela Sosa, parents of Fernando Báez Sosa, in Buenos Aires on 18 February 2020. Photograph: Ronaldo Schemidt/AFP/Getty ImagesSilvino Báez and Graciela Sosa, parents of Fernando Báez Sosa, in Buenos Aires on 18 February 2020. Photograph: Ronaldo Schemidt/AFP/Getty ImagesArgentinaFernando Báez Sosa, son of Paraguayan immigrants, was killed by men who screamed racist slurs as they kicked him to death
The murder of Fernando Báez Sosa rocked Argentina.
A nightclub altercation turned deadly as a group of amateur rugby players kicked to death an 18-year-old who dreamt of one day becoming a lawyer.
CatsWhether it is local ‘cat-seducers’, out-and-out thievery or marauding toms, our feline friends are prompting furious rows and rivalries between neighbours
Forget teenagers with asbos or improperly demarcated boundary fences. Cats are the great neighbourhood menace of our age, as likely to rip apart once-harmonious communities as Japanese knotweed. They pad between homes, destroying civic feeling, pitting us against each other in our search for their devotion. Think politics creates division?
A spirit bear in British Columbia. A recent study revealed that the white bear is rarer and more vulnerable than previously thought. Photograph: Jack PlantA spirit bear in British Columbia. A recent study revealed that the white bear is rarer and more vulnerable than previously thought. Photograph: Jack PlantThis land is your landEnvironmentAdept at catching salmon because they blend into the daylight, the white bears are small in number – yet First Nations are stepping in to help
SculptureIt is one of the poorest parts of the planet, a place where workers earn $1 a day – which is why, according to one artist, the plantations of eastern Congo really need an art galleryNext month, Renzo Martens, along with his wife, son and baby daughter, are going to live in eastern Congo so he can continue his five-year plan to gentrify the jungle. The 41-year-old Dutch artist is trying to create an arts scene in one of the most impoverished parts of the world.
Guardians, which subtly features a massive, bare-chested bearGuardians, which subtly features a massive, bare-chested bearLost in showbizCelebrityThe superpower has a new franchise – Guardians – to rival X-Men. It’s guaranteed to be my favourite film of 2017To the dawn of a new arms race, as Russia begins stockpiling its own superhero movies. While American audiences have learned to stop worrying and love the superhero franchise instalments that are shat weekly into their multiplexes by the comic-book industrial complex, Russian audiences have lacked for similar buildup.
Sali Hughes on beautyMakeupMagnifying mirrors are often not that useful for the visually impaired. But I have finally found something I can recommend I never imagined I would ever own a pair of “makeup readers” – specs on which one lens pivots to allow the wearer to apply makeup to that eye while still being able to see with the other. But as someone who cannot get to grips with contacts, I was desperate.
CitiesDiesel was the dream fuel, promoted by governments and the car industry as a cheaper way to save the planet. Then the cracks started to appear
A shopper at a supermarket asks for a plastic bag, only to have his head slammed into the checkout counter by the “green police” (“You picked the wrong day to mess with the ecosystem, plastic boy”). Another man attracts a spotlight from a green police helicopter for a “compost infraction” as he’s about to bin an orange rind.
Donald TrumpAnalysisTrump temper tantrum marks courtroom face-off with E Jean CarrollVictoria Bekiempisin New YorkLike an angry child the ex-president could not contain himself as he listened from feet away to the columnist’s testimony
Sign up to Trump on Trial: a newsletter on all the latest court developments The second day of E Jean Carroll’s New York defamation trial against Donald Trump was a picture in stark contrasts. It featured solemnity from the former Elle writer and flippancy from the ex-US president – who repeatedly taunted the judge with irreverent courtroom antics.
Associated Press This article is more than 11 months oldAP apologises and deletes widely mocked tweet about ‘the French’This article is more than 11 months oldOrganisation clarifies initial advice, which included term in list of phrases it thought could be dehumanising
The Associated Press Stylebook, considered one of the most reliable guides to correct use of the English language for journalists, has apologised after producing a list of terms it thought could be dehumanising that included “the French”.