The massively multiplayer online role-playing game has grown into a virtual social space and part of daily life for thousands of playersIn a small stone chapel, on the edgelands of a medieval wilderness, two women are getting married. The attenders are draped in rainbow capes, glowing armour and top hats. A scantily…

This pretty little plant is carnivorous, so when placed next to plants affected by the insect pest it can be an effective living flypaperThe problem The fungus gnat is the pest that just keeps coming. You dry out the soil, set up sticky traps, maybe even reach for the hydrogen peroxide, and just when you think…

As one of today’s greatest essayists, the Pulitzer-nominated writer’s new book investigates why the mother-daughter relationship is the most complex bond of allInterviewing Rachel Aviv is a great way to source reading recommendations. The exacting essayist responds to my questions about her new book by asking if…

Large-scale datacentre projects around the world are being challenged or cancelled, as infrastructure’s energy demands ramp upDatacentre planning proposals face all kinds of hurdles, from securing energy supply to high construction costs. But the 2,000 acre Prince William Digital Gateway site in the US state of…

The film-maker Don Edkins lost his son Max in 2019, in the Ethiopian Airline crash that killed 157 people. With Max’s brother Teboho, he has made a documentary, not about the crash, but about their mourningIt was, says Teboho Edkins, “a film I didn’t want to make”. On 10 March 2019, Edkins’ brother, Max, was…

Drums, chants and much talk of revenge fills the air as ‘voice of the Iranian nation’ marches in temperatures of 36CIranians poured in vast numbers on to the central thoroughfare of Tehran on the fourth day of mourning for the assassinated former supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, claiming their defiance through months…

“You have the freedom to be yourself, your true self, here and now, and nothing can stand in your way.” — Richard Bach

“The path is difficult to ensure worthiness. The lazy look elsewhere, The persevering find riches.” — Ming-Dao Deng

Parliamentary authorities are already looking into a £5m donation to the Reform Uk leader from the crypto billionaire Christopher HarborneThe latest episode of the Guardian’s Politics Weekly UK podcast is out, and it features Pippa Crerar and Kiran Stacey talking about Nigel Farage and his problem with donations…

A Financial Times journalist ponders the future of labour in world increasingly dominated by AI and automationIt’s never been easy to land and keep a decent job. But it feels like it’s getting harder. In June, the number of job vacancies in the UK fell to a five-year low; headlines warn of a looming AI-employment…