Guardian Weekly 27 January 2023

A couple take a selfie in front of lanterns marking the lunar new year at a Buddhist temple in Jenjarom, Selangor. With last Sunday marking the start of the year of the rabbit, pet welfare groups in the country warned consumers not to buy the animals, fearing a plethora of abandoned pets could follow. The Guardian Weekly Founded in Manchester, England 4 July 1919 Vol 208 | Issue № 4 Guardian Weekly is an edited selection of some of the best journalism found in the Guardian and Observer newspapers in the UK and the Guardian’s digital editions in the UK, US and Australia. The weekly magazine has an international focus and three editions: global, Australia and North America. The Guardian was founded in 1821, and Guardian Weekly in 1919. We exist to hold power to…

It’s an age-old question: how do we adjust to our elderly societies? Japan has faced such realities for a while now, but the challenges are becoming increasingly common across much of the world where families are getting smaller, and people are living longer. Even India – which will soon overtake China as the world’s most populous country – is seeing an older demographic become more prevalent in some states. The countries of sub-Saharan Africa, meanwhile, look most likely to enjoy the benefits of a younger population as the century progresses. For this week’s big story, Emma Graham-Harrison and Justin McCurry assess what ageing populations hold in store for the world. And Verna Yu reports on the reasons why many young people in China seem reluctant to start families. Of related interest, don’t…

1 UKRAINE Memorial held for officials killed in helicopter crash A tearful Volodymyr Zelenskiy attended a memorial service last Saturday for seven senior interior ministry officials killed in a helicopter crash last week. The former interior minister Denys Monastyrskyi, his deputy and five other high-ranking officials were killed when their French-made Super Puma helicopter crashed into a nursery on the eastern outskirts of Kyiv in foggy conditions last Wednesday. Another seven people were also killed, including a child. Officials are investigating the cause of the crash. The helicopter went down days after at least 45 people were killed in a Russian missile attack that partially levelled a block of flats in the south-eastern city of Dnipro. On the battlefield, Ukrainian forces are fending off an unrelenting Russian onslaught in the east, where Moscow has expended…

David Crosby Singer, guitarist and songwriter. He died on 18 January, aged 81. Jonathan Raban Travel writer, critic and novelist. He died on 17 January, aged 80. Lucile Randon French nun who was the world’s oldest known person. She died on 17 January, aged 118. Piers Haggard Film, TV and theatre director best known for Pennies From Heaven. He died on 11 January, aged 83. Yukihiro Takahashi Drummer and vocalist for electronic music trailblazers Yellow Magic Orchestra. He died on 11 January, aged 70. Ian Black The Guardian’s Middle East editor, European editor, diplomatic editor and foreign leader writer in 36 years on the paper. He died on 22 January, aged 69. Lupe Serrano Former prima ballerina. She died on 16 January, aged 92.…

MARINE LIFE Sharks and rays face ‘extinction crisis’ Almost two-thirds of sharks and rays that live around the world’s coral reefs are threatened with extinction with potentially dire knock-on effects for ecosystems, according to new research. Overfishing was the main cause of the declines over the past half century, with larger sharks and rays being particularly hard hit. “These sharks and rays have evolved over 450m years and survived six mass extinctions but they can’t deal with this fishing pressure,” said Prof Colin Simpfendorfer, one of the study’s main authors from Australia’s James Cook University. “This is a broad extinction crisis.” The study, published in Nature Communications, builds on research in 2020 that concluded sharks were “functionally extinct” on 20% of the world’s coral reefs. CLIMATE CRISIS Targets needed to cut global inequality, say researchers Countries, companies and…

CONSERVATIVES PM asks ethics adviser to look into Zahawi tax case Rishi Sunak told his ethics adviser to investigate suggestions that Nadhim Zahawi was forced to pay a fine and millions of pounds in unpaid taxes to HMRC, as the UK prime minister acknowledged there were “questions that need answering”. In a move that placed the Conservative party chair under further intense scrutiny but allow ed the government to deflect immediate calls for him to be sacked, Sunak reiterated the importance of “integrity and accountability”. During the investigation, Zahawi will remain chair of the Conservatives, which over the next few months will involve masterminding the party’s strategy in the runup to local elections in May. Zahawi has faced mounting calls to quit since the Guardian was told he agreed to pay a penalty to HMRC…