The woman who 4 \ ame aleh brought down Jeffrey Epstein .. camera, action man . eee er een n as STOR ceo This summer's hot new accessory: a health warningTe ‘TheGuardian Weekly Founded in Manchester, England 4Jalyi919 Vol205 | IssueN°6 Dent Hotair balloons float over paddleboarders during the Golden Ring balloon festival era hats Sane ae eee mE nTen Cn arate te meets and picturesque towns lying to the north-east of Moscow. Suzdal is widely known as Enotes Nos etn Cou ate eo ee Cee Tee ‘Guardian Weekly is an edited selection of some ofthe best journalism found in the Guardian and Observer newspapers in the UK and the Guardian's digital editions in the UK, US and Australi, The weekly magazine hasan cus and three editions global, Australia and North “America, The Gu f ‘and Guardian Weekly in 1919, Weexist to hold power roaccountin thename ofthe essive value P Scott in 1921, fairness, anda iswholly owned by the Scott Trust, ab independence ofthe Guardian in perpetuit made isre-investedJoin the community Twitter: egurdanwecly Facebook com/auatSanweey The threat of summer, more spyware shocks and Epstein's nemesis ‘Amonth that began with Canada recording its highest “14 GLOBAL REPORT temperature -49.6C- closes with the huge Bootleg Headlines from the last fire still burning in southern Oregon, whileareas of seven days Siberia and southern Europe are ablaze. Meanwhile the (Climate crisis mopping-up after devastating flash flooding continues Summer fearinnorthern inwestern Buropeand China, Our bigstory this week. hemisphere explains why summer has become season to fear and ‘examines how a controversial study written in1972 15-33 SPOTLIGHT predicting the collapse of civilisation was - apparently - In-depth reporting right and itslessons need tobe heeded, with urgency. Our andanalysis reporters from across the world also record the stories of 15 —_ThePegasus project ‘ordinary people who stepped in help thet fellow citizens Softwareasa weapon of inthe faceoffireand flood, mass surveillance ‘Thebig tory Page 10 > 18 qxAfghanistan Casualties mountas fighting spreads ‘We returnto the Pegasus project toreport on NSO 20 —_JapanGoing for gold group, the Israeli company behind the military-grade 22 UKScouting scandal ‘Surveillance software. Our investigation discovered it 30 Selence Why are wenot has been used by states tospy on opponentsand activists. eating lab-grown meat? We look at who used the spyware and the uses towhichit ‘was put. Meanwhile, political analyst Dahlia Scheindlin 34-44 FEATURES ‘explains why Israelis cate more about an argument over Long reads, nerviews ‘ice-cream than the uses to which Pegasus has been put. andessays Spotlight Pages 24 IRAdissidents whoaren't Opinion Page 47> prepared to go peacefully ByMarisa McGlinchey fithadn't been for the persistence of journalist Julie 40 Thehard-up journalist Brown, the true extent of lefftey Epstein’s sexual who brought down Epstein abuse may never have come to light. She explains how By Andrew Anthony she tracked down his forgotten teenage victims and, persuaded them total. 45-50 OPINION Features Page 40> 45 David Goldblatt Weshould end the Games 47 DahliaScheindlin Iee-cream war shields Israel from cyber scrutiny 48 FintanO"Toole Reality bites over Northern Ireland protocol 51-60 CULTURE TV, flm, music, theatre, art, architecture & more 51 Filmandtelevision Idris Elba takesabreathto reflect onhisriseand rise Onthe cover 55 Music ‘Theeffects of climate change are now utterly After delighting Cannes, impossible to ignore as the northern hemisphere Sparks explain their experiences astmmer of fires and floods. What addiction to pop isso shocking ishaw many different acations 57 Books and arresting images we had to choose from 12Bytes: Jeanette ‘when deciding how tollustrate our big story. Winterson’s essays on Photographs: Action Press/Rex/Shutterstock; attifcil intelligence EPA/US Forest Service; Nool Celis, AFP/Getty 61-63 REGULARS Puzzles, recipe, chessStatesagree massive settlement for opioid crisis A group of USstateattomneys ‘general last week unvelled a Tandmark §26bn settlement with large drug companies for allegedly fuelling the deadly nationwide opioid epidemic. Under the proposal, the three [Ey exe stares Gunshotsandprotestsat = MruestUSdruedistibutois late] nt’s funeral: Sean hitarie a feast BidenandKadhimiagrecto ee toronmes) | snitagoutonencan, / endUScombatroleinirag | forcoveramidreporsofgunfze | Saibn Johnson lobnson U8), Presiden JoeBidenand the andteargasoutsdethefuneral” | which manufsctues opioids, Tragiprimeminister Mustafa || lastPridayotthelatepresident| | would pay ss, copyightozoa | ak-Kadhimi,bavesealed an Joven Mose. ‘Attomeys genera from 5 tates Gratitallgits | agreementformallyendingthe us | | ""There were no immediate wereinvolvedinnegotatngthe weered combatmissioniniagbytheend | | reportsofinjuriesafterprotesters | deal. Themoneyisexpectedto ‘faoat,morethanisyearsafter” | | cashed withpoliceouside the || beusedonaddicton treatment, Pubisedwestivby | toopsweresenttothecountty. | | prvateceremony.shotserupted || familysupport edvcaton and Guardian News & Biden has also ordered the ‘and teargas and black smoke ‘other social programmes. Media, withdravalofthelastUSforces | | waftedintotheevent. Protesters’ || Thedistifbtors were accused ngstce in Afghanistan by the end of ‘ries could be heard too ‘flax controls that allowed Pore ux | Augustthuscompletingcombat | |“ Eavier, Moises widors Martine, | addictive pains tobe diverted missionsthatGeorgeWhuch | | arivedtocres of ustice! into legal channels, devastating Prnedby beganunder is watch. Justice! Her ight arm was in communities, whileJ83 was Malad UX BidenandKadhimimetinthe || asling trom theinjuriesshe seeusedof dvplaying the Dieser ovalOficeon Mondayforthest | | sustainedintheatackthatkiled | addetionrskin ts marketing fistface-o faces her husband The companieshavedenied Aegisteedasa Therearecurently2500 ‘Authorities have sa that theallegatons More than 3,000 newpperattte | ystroops in iraq focusing on atieastabsuspecshavebeen | | lawsultsrelated tothe health Post Office: countering the remnants of | arrested in the killing, including crisis, mostly by state and local Isovoosegooe | amieState TheUSroleiniraq_ | 18formerColombansoldiers. | governments, have Ben fed ‘will shift to training and advising ‘The Guardian View Page 49 > ‘Spotlight Page 33 > Teadverseconac | teltagmiltary to defenditsel oertang Usdiplomats and troopsin Terdiman | teerodetandrencatacis | CEIMATE cRIsts EE ears rosbscibevst | Mock Neteeattaceneaenky |, Getmanyhasnothit Paris | Government carriesout support irambacked nila, climate targets, Merkelsays week ofraidsonNGOs ihpearimcoma | Teed || angeaMertcnasconcededthat” || TuegovernmentotAtander | \ suisritewelly | withsooaoodsesofthe ice’ | | Germanys recordonredici | Likashenko es launched bros PPT omey’ | BIONTech Covid-9 vaccineunder | | carbon emissions was"not crackdown on civilsociety with thera! | the global covax accine-shaing. | | suflenttomeete lotal raison andarrestsat dozens Sport programme, and willalsoprovide | | watming agets of the Pais ofNGOs Fer mcon) | SsamtohelpfundaUNmissionto | | climate agreement. Groups raided range from incsineribpncky | monitorelectionsintagthatare || Speakingatherfinalannual | onesthatarmpalgn or political scheduled for October. summerpressconfeencelast___ prisoner rghtsto those hat Manage your Thursdaybeforesteppingdownas || erowdfund medial eareand siterip t German chancllorinSeptember, | | havehelped medic in thefight stocribe, ‘Merkel said Germany had “done against coronavirus. ‘theguardian.com/ alot” torecalibrate its economy “q's total purge of civil — inthe face of the climate crisis, society,” said Marina Vorobei, the an bot conceded that "what has founder of Freeunin.onine eer beenachieved isnot sufficient” ‘Authoritarian President ee wwhenmesoredagninsttveParis | Lkashenko vowed that he ras emme Sgrcement'stargettolimitglobal || wouldcontaue,calingthe NGOs egurdiacon ‘warming 0150. “alts and foreign agents" “Momemer ‘TheGuardlanWeekly 30 u-2021UK headlines p9-> MEXICO Israelurged toextradite investigatorin2014 case President Andrés Manuel Lépez Obradorhasurged Israel to ‘cooperate in extraditing a former investigator wanted in connection with the disappearance of 43 students in204. Mexico wants Israel toarrest ‘Tomas7erdn, who headed the Criminal Investigation Agency, over allegations of serious irregularities in the inquiry into one ofthe country’s worst human rights tragedies. In January Mexico said that Zeron was trying toobtainasylumin Israel Zeronisaccused of kidnapping, torturing suspects, manipulating ‘evidence and embezzling public funds. He denies the allegations Zerénisone of thearchitects of the version ofthe case presented atthe time by the government, and rejected by victims’ families. I UNITED STATES CIA officers and family hit byHavanasyndrome ‘1 About 100.14 officers and family \, | members areamong 200 people \, sickened by “Havana syndrome”, the CIA director, William Burns, saidlast week, referring to the mysteriousset of allments that include migraines and dizziness. ‘Burnssaid he had tripled the size ofthe medical team involvedin investigating Havana syndrome, which issonamed because it frst was eported by US officials based in the US embassy inCubain 2016, Burs noted that plausible theory was that “directed energy” ‘beams caused the syndrome. ‘There wasa “very strong possibilty” thatthe syndrome was intentionally caused, and that Russia could be responsible Moscow denies involvement. HUNGARY _Z... Pridemarch strikes outat Orbansanti-LGBTQ law ‘Thousands joined the annual Budapest Pride march on Saturday tosupport LGBTQ people and protest against law that limits teaching about homosexuality and transgender issuesin schools, ‘The nationalist prime minister, Viktor Orban, intraduced social policies that hesays aimto safeguard traditional Christian values from western liberalism, stoking tensions with the EU. ‘Organisers said the rally would show opposition to “power- hhungry politicians” and reject intimidation of LGBT people. International body bans genocide denial ‘Thetopinterationalofficialin the country has outlawed denial of genocide in the Balkan country tocounterattemptsby Bosnia's Serbsto deny the scope ofthe 1995 ‘massacre in Srebrenica, Europe's only post-second world war genocide. Firefighters battle wildfires ‘Valentin Inako from Bosnia's raging in Sardinia Office ofthe High Representative aginginSar which oversees the peace agreement ending Bosnia’s 1992-95 war, introduced the law Jast Friday, bringing in prison sentences f up to five years for genocide denial and for the slotfication of war criminals. Thebig story Page 10 > Firefighters scrambled last ‘weekend to put out wildfires ‘that spread quickly across parts ‘of south-western Sardinia, destroying 20,000 hectares of forestand forcing 1,500 people to beevacuated from their homes. Many agricultural businesses and private properties have been ‘damaged by the fires, which began last Saturday. “The EU sent four firefighting planes, to support 1 aircraft ‘workingto extinguish the fires raging close to13 towns. More ‘than 7,000 firefighters and volunteers were tackling the ies oly 2021 The Guardian WeeklyAFGHANISTAN Curfew introduced tohalt Taliban offensive 4 Authorities haveimposeda night-time cusfew across 31 of the ‘country’s 34 provinces to curb violence unleashed by a sweeping Taliban offensive recent ‘months, theinterior ministry said. | ‘Taliban insurgentshave captured key border crossings, dazens of dstrictsand haveencircled several provincial eapitals since carly May. With the withdrawal ‘of American-led foreign forces, allbut complete, the resurgent ‘Taliban now control about half of Afghanistan's roughly 400 districts, Spotlight Page 18 > Interim presidentattacked atGrand Mosque ‘Amanattemptedtostabihe County's transitional president, Col astm Gona during Eid al-Adha celebrtionsat the Grand Mosque in Bamako, Goita was not hart atac ‘Guilty verdictin first trial Sentral Mall hasbeen the target onal ecard of several attacks by hads this ae tylaw tmonth. Cota selzed powerin ‘August 2020 by overthrowing the democratically elected president, Ibrahim Boubacar Keita He ‘was worn nas president ofthe The first person charged and tried under Hong Kong's national security law has been found guilty ofterrorism and inciting secession byapanelof three judges. transitional governmentin June, Former waiter Tong Ying, andhaspledged toretum the ‘Thousandsflecasconilict 24,had pleaded not guilty tothe country tocivilanrulewithan charges, as wellasanaltemative lection in February 2022, spreads beyond Tigray {| charger dangerous driving U ‘tacks by Tgrayan Forces inthe causing grievous bodily harm. Afar region have forced more than "Tong was accused of diving | 54,000 peoplefrom theithomes, |/ | hismotoreycle into threeiot sofia hassaid policewhilecarryinga flag Tigrayan fighters, who want fvth he slogan “Liberate Hong the Ethiopian government to Kong, revolution of our times” accept thelr temsbeforetalks on Tongs lawyershad argued it was a ceaefire can begin took control 4 amaceident ofthree districtsin Afarlastweek, |_| "Tong faces prison termsof according toa spokesperson, several years tlie, ‘Afar strategically important because the main road and railway linking Addis Ababa, the capital oflandlocked Ethiopia, tothe seaport of Djibouti run throught. ‘TheGuardlanWeekly 30 u-2021TUNISIA President Saied imposes curfew and bans gatherings President Kais Saied has announced amonth-long curfew ashe appeared totightenhis, ripon powerinthe north African country one day after he dismissed the prime minister. ‘Tunislans awoke on Tuesday to draconian restrictionsincluding curfew from 7pmto6am, and aban on gatherings of more than three people in publicplaces, Late on Monday, the dismissed prime minister, Hichem Mechichi, said he would hand power tothe person chosen by the president. ‘aled had invoked emergency powers under the constitution late fn Sunday to dismiss Mechichi He later sacked the justice and defence ministers, and suspended parliament for 30 days. Saied vowed any violent opposition ¢} would bemet with force. / [Ei somauia Death of 13-year-old girl highlightsrisein FGM Ag-year-old gitl has died after }) undergoing female genital // mutilation (FGM), asactivists report arisein the practice during the pandemic. Fartun Hassan Ahmed, the daughter of nomadic pastoralists, bled to death afterbeing cut earlier thismonth in the state of Galmudug, her mother sai ‘Activists believe itis the first reported case of an FGM fatality InSomaliasince the deathot 10-year-old Deega Dahir Nur in 2018. With oneof thehighest rates, ‘ofcutting in the world, the east African country has no national lawagainstthe practice, Es Fiame Naomi Mata‘afa installedas first female PM ‘ThePacificnation’s months-long political risishas been brought toaclose and the country has its first female prime ministerafter arulingofthe country'scourt of appeal last Friday. ‘Thecourt ruled thatthe Faatuatua le Atua Samoa ua ‘Tasi (FAST) party was the official winner ofthe national election in Apriland thead hocswearing-in ‘ceremony held by the partyin front of parliament, when FAST MPs were denied entry tothe building, was legitimate, Flame Naomi Mata’afa, the leader of FAST, was confirmed by the court tobethe country’s first female prime minister. She was previously the country's deputy prime minister and last year defected from the Human Rights Protection party (HRPP), which had ruled Samoa for39 years, to join the FAST party, which was Founded in june 2020. ‘Thecourt's decision sees the official end ofthe reign of Tullaepa Sailele Malielegaoi, who has ruled formore than 22 yearsand at thetime ofthe lection was the world’s second-longest serving prime minister. By oznso100 Rwandan troops join local forces against Islamists Foreign troops sent toreinforce security forcesin Mozambique have clashed with Islamist militants, asthe conflict in the east African country movesintoa new, potentially dangerous phase, ‘Rwandan soldiers fought against the extremists last week Few reliable details ofthe fighting, near Mozambique’s border with Tanzania, have emerged, but officials claim the insurgents suffered casualties, Recent successes ofthe insurgents, With linkstolslamicState, have prompted fearsofanew extremist enclave in southern Aficaand led toanew resolve to defeat them, ‘Thebigstory p10 > ‘Sydney policeclash with anti-lockdown protesters Hundreds of ines have been issued and dozens charged after anti-loekdown protesters clashed with poicein Sydney in what ‘one deputy commissioner called “violent, filthy, risky behaviour" ‘The prime minister, Scott Morrison, said last Saturday's protests in which thousands breached the region's coronavirus measures were “selfishand self defeating”, adding: “lt won't end the lockdown sooner.” "The Sydney region isstrugsling tocontainan outbreak ofthe Delta Variant, amid persistent violation of stay-at-home orders. ‘Around half of Australia's 25million population arein lockdown across several citiesand states, with anger growingat the federal government for sluggish ‘vaccination programme. Journalists hounded in street over flood coverage Foreign journalists reporting on theaftermath of the country's flooding disaster have faced hostile confrontations inthe street ‘and been subjected to “vicious “campaigns” amid increasing nationalisticsenstivity taany negative portrayals of China. Reportersfrom the Los Angeles Times and German outlet Deutsche Welle were confronted byanangry erowd in Zhengzhou last Saturday, who filmed and ‘questioned them, and accused them of “rumour mongering’ ‘and slanderingChina. Other journalistshave been targeted, ‘witha focus on the BEC, DEATHS Jackie Mason ‘The rabbi-tured- comedian was known for his uals sel epreciting stand-up routines Hediedon 24 duly, aged 93, ‘Andy Fordham ondon-born dartsplayer who ‘was known a8 =the viking and remained hugely Populat ongatter his 2006 world championship win He ed on 15 duly aged 59, Robert Par Moses ‘The UScivieghts sxctivst who endured beatings andjaltime while leading Black voter registration divesinthe American south during te 1960s before becoming ‘anadvocatefor minority maths education, He led on 25 July, aged 6 Jehan Sadat Champion of socatjusticeand ‘womens rights in€gyptbetore andatterthe assassination of herhusband, President Anat Scat Sheed on 9 uly, aged. s0/uh2024 The Guardian Weekly; vi E SCIENCE AND ENVIRONMENT CORONAVIRUS No1ostays cautiousdespite found that food and holidays caused casenumbers dropping ‘more than half ofall emissions for Downing Street and scientists bothimen and women. Theselentists remained cautious about found that swapping meat and dairy declaring a turning point in the for plant-based foods and switching ‘outbreak on Monday despitea totrain-based holidays, rather than huge drop in Govid case numbers using panes or ears, cut people's forthe sisth day inarow. emissionsby 40%. thenetwork’s ‘Meanwhile, universities expand to footballstadiumsize. | Morten Bile, whosaw and heard inngland re understood to Developedby aconsortiumof the meteor, said, Nodebris had been believe that forcing studentsto researchetsfromtheUK,USand | found,and giventhe “demanding” provetheir vaccination statusto Canada, SuperBITisanattemptto | location, thesearch or possible attend lectures or lve inhallsof combine thebest oforbitingand meteorites could take “some 10 residence would be effectively tarth-bound astronomy. By placing | years”, Bilet said. “unworkable, after ministers atelescope ona platform suspended refused tonule out theidealast ‘underneath an enormous balloon, ‘weekend. There speculation the SuperBIT team hopes to get EOSRILS twas floated in par toboost Pictures asclearasa space telescope, vaccination rates among young butall fora budget of just $5m. Google Earth fossil hunters people. The prime minister strike goldin the Cotswolds announced last week that the When Sally and NevilleHollingworth government planned tomakeit eee started goingstircrazy inlockdown, ‘mandatory for members of the fi theamateur palaeontologists iblicto provethey had been Men‘causemorectimate | timned to Google Earth. They began Eouble-jbbed before entering emiesions an cece planning fortheir next rp - using crowded indoor venues from the [Men's spending on goods causes16% _thesatellite images toinspect sites tend of September. Itecimateeatingenissonsthan | tathadrevinty ytd ose | EX()) | Why dothenecaessemtove women’s, despite the sum of money whenthey stumbled across a quarry dropping? Page 25 > being very similar,a study has found. _ inthe Cotswolds. ‘Therumber ‘Thebiggest difference wasmen’s Neville, whohasaPhD in geology, | ofgrams of spendingon etrolanddieselfor | couldtellthesitewas promising" | processed meat, theircars. The genderdifferencesin | buthewasn'texpectingittoyield | ifeatenevery emissionshavebeenlittlestudied, | sucharichfossilfind. Now, thelr | day, thar would accordingtotheresearch, published | 167m-year-olddiscoveryhasbeen | increase theisk inthe Joumalfor Industral Ecology, | described by the NaturalHistory | ofheartdisease and should berecognised inaction Museumas thelargest find oF by 18%, owing tobeat the climate cris Jurassicechinoderms-agroupof | toitshighsalt ‘Theanalysis comparedsingle _animalsthatincludesstarfish, brittle | and saturated menandwomeninSweden,and _ starsandfeatherstars-intheUK. | fat content ‘TheGuardian Weekly 302021Bee a ren ent ee re pete nae Build itand they will come eres eat a council isbetting on, having lavished £2m ( ese sateen Peterson ncn SN enneEetett Preeti eimeeey ig stimulating Covid-stricken high streets with its promise emer hy moment, Visitors pay up to £8 (S11) forpre-booked ticke toenjoy elevated views of Hyde Park, then descend into enone nea annie HERITAGE ‘UnescostripsLiverpoolof worldheritagehonour Liverpool has been stripped of its coveted world heritage status after Unesco blamed years of development foran “reversible Toss” tothe historievalue ofits Victorian dacks. ‘The UN's heritage body concluded ata meetingin China that the “outstanding universal value” ofLiverpoo!’s waterfront had been destroyed by new buildings, including Everton football ciub’s 500m ($690m) stadium, Thedecision isa humiliating blow for the cty, only the third place tolose thestatusin nearly 50 years. The other delisted sites were Oman’s Arabian Oryx Sanctuary in 2007 and the Dresden Elbe valley in Germany in2009, Liverpool has had world heritage status since 2004 - alongside the Taj Mahal and Great Wall of China - a recognition forits role in wade inthe days ofthe British empire and the architecturalbeauty ofits waterfront ANTI-VAXXERS Police investigate former nurse over'Nazi' comments Fearshave been expressed forthe safety of doctors, nurses and other healthcare staff after they were targeted by anti-vaccine activists. Policeare investigating comments that were made by Kate Shemirani, below, a former ‘nurse who has been struck off forusingher position to spread Covid misinformation, duringan anti-lockdlown rally in London last weekend. Ina widely circulated public speech, she compared medical staff to Nazi war criminals, referred explicitly to their execuitionsand demanded that people gather the names of Goctors and murses in the UK. p22 IMMIGRATION Jamaicans unfairly targeted fordeportation, data shows People from Caribbean countries such as Jamaica appear to be disproportionately targeted for deportation from the UKifthey commiterimes, according to Home Office data obtained by the Guardian aftera year-long, freedom of information battle, ‘One pressure group said the high percentage of Jamaican nationals deported was particularly glaring given their ‘greater likelihood of having family tlesin the UK, and warned itcould further erode the trust of people affected by the Windrush scandal ‘Nationals from Ghana and Nigetiaarealso removed significantly moreoften than the overall average, the figures show, Underthe UK Borders Act 2007, foreign nationals who are jailed fora single offence for at Teast 2 months ill normally be considered for deportation, with exceptions under human rights rules - for example, having children inthe UK, and people who have been tratficked souy2021 The Guardian WeeklyClimate chaos Asfires and floods disrupt lives across the northern hemisphere, itcouldbetime to rethink our idyllic view ofsummertime ByJJonathan Warts “Youhelpeachotherina disaster’ Collapse predicted in1972 ‘TheGuardlanWeekly 30 u-2021 eware of the summer! ‘The season that was once anticipated as, the lightest, bright balmiest time of the year now comes ‘with ahealth warning, Forthefisttime, the UK’sMetOffice {issued an extreme heat advisory this ‘month, The waming was very staid, very British, butaclearshiftaway from theethos of Keep Calmand Carry On, ‘The amber alert urged precautions agninstadverse healtheffects for vul nerable populations, while lagging pressureon water resources, potential power cuts and increased likelihood of transport delays, Given the tem- peratures were only a litle over 30¢ Fora few days, thismight seem risible to people living in far hotter parts of | exFlames from the world, but itis part ofa growing | the Divi fre global conversation challenging how | spread in Plumas we thinkabout summerinaclimate- county, California disrupted world, own crore Inthemid-latitudesofthenorthern hemisphere, wheremostofthehuman population lives, the months of June, Tuly and August have until recently bbeen seena season of oy, relaxation and celebration, It is when people take their longest holiday ofthe year ‘when most weddings are arrang when Olympics and World Cups are staged. Newspapers have long filled theirmidsummer front pageswith ea sonal images of children slurping ice ‘reams, holidaymakers atthe beach land women in bikinis. Therearefewer cases of depression linked to season: ally adjusted disorder. Radio DJs fill the alrwaves with upbeat seasonal staples suchas Summer Breeze, Sunny ‘Afternoon and Walking on Sunshine, Buta jarring note has been struck by a wave of violent and extreme ‘weather that has smashed heat and rain records, killed hundreds and raised fears that summer may never sseem the same again. Suddenly thefull fury ofthe climate crisis appears almost everywhere at once. ‘The deadly heatwave n the north west Americas that started atthe end of lune smashed Canada's tempera- turerecord by morethan sCand tookat leastSoo lvesin British Columbia, and the US states of Oregon and Washin ton. Then, devastating delugesturmed streets into rivers, trapping people in Germany, Poland, Belgium, the Netherlands, the Czech Republic and the UK, followedby horrifyingimages ‘of Chinesecommutersstarting tosuf- focateinZhengzhousubway trainsas flood waters pushed airoutofthe car- "ages. Atleast 33 people died in the east-central city aftera year’s worth, oftainin four days, Other heat records have been set in Turkey, Finland, Estonia and else- where, while savage forest fires in Siberiaand North Americacontinueto rag, filingthe skies with toxicsmoke. Climate scientists have long predicted extreme weather would become more intense and frequent asa result of exhaust fumes, indus trial activity, deforestation and other ‘human activities. Recordsofheatand rain are already being broken with Increasing frequency across the world butthey tend tobe noticed mostinthe temperatesummers, north andsouth, ‘Thisis the time of year when global heating pushes people further from ‘their comfortzoneandintouncharted climate territory. Adapting will bea ‘mental as well as physical challenge. Britons and other northern peoples have been so historically starved of sunlight that they are notoriously inclined toovercompensate by baring allintheblazingsummersun.Buttem peratures are already hitting levels common nearer theequatorand desert regions. There, localshavelearned to bbewary ofthesun, stay indoors, cover ‘theirskin, walkin the shadeand limit theiractivtiestothecoolermomings and evenings. Richard Betts, the head of climate Jmpactsresearch atthe Met Ofice iad ley Contre, said: “I think the British view of summermay wellchange,” he said. "I would not be surprised ifas nation we started to shift our view ‘of hot weather as we become more aware of its dangers. Ido still enjoy hot sunny weather, but am no longer blase about it, and take precautions toprotect myselfand my family from theheat,andamexceptionally careful about wildfire risks.” The seasons have already moved ‘an alarming distance inthe northern ‘midlatitudes, Arecentstudyfoundthe duration of summer increased from ‘78daysto95daysbetween 1952-2011 Without a rapid reduction of green: hhouse-gas emissions, this part of the ‘world is on course havea six-month summerandonly twomonths of what couldbe regarded as winterby theend of the century. Asshiftinseasonsis also disturbing. agricultural production and the rhythm of plants, insects, birds and other peciesthathumansdependon Itis drying out soils, changing mois turepatternsin theairand worsening drought. Thishasaknock-oneffectfor humanactivity In the US, the summer ire season Islengtheningand deepeningas tem: pperaturesrise, wintersnow meltsear lier, and sollsand vegetation dry out For every 1C rise in temperature, there is a 20% greater chance of a Cataclysmic sc Failures of national policy china, Russia, Brasiland ‘Australiaall haveeneray policies ‘associated with sCrrisesin ‘atmospheric temperatures, ‘heating hike that would bring devastation tomuchofthe plane, climate scientists say. The analysis, by the peer-reviewed group Paris Equity Check, ‘worries about the prospects ofkey climate agreements being achieved atthe Cop26 Glasgow this November, > days of rainfall inZhengzhou, China, equivalent tothe ‘annual average, caused havoc ‘and claimed lives u ‘majorwildfie, according othe UCLA Center of Climate Science. Alex Hall, the ditector ofthe centre, previously projected increases in wildfires of 664%-77% in southern California by ‘midcentury, buthenow suspects this anunderestimatebecause fire has out paced their forecasts “California and the western USare anoutdoor paradise formany. But for the past couple of summers, we have been living ina nightmarish scenario ofintense heat, wildfire, andpolluted air” hesai. “iththisyearseemingtobring yet another summer of intense fire, it's Starting to seem like the new normal Thelieve this is beginning to change perceptions ofthe region and under ‘mine the idea of ‘paradise’?” “The mental health effects of more extreme weather and relentless sum: ‘mers remain underreported. David Eisenman, a professor of community health sciences in California, has studied the likelyimpact of prolonged fireseasons on people whoaretrapped indoors by smoke, “Weeks ata time, most people are resilient, but if it happens for a few ‘months every summer, that's a dif- ferent story. And months of smoke are the new thing that wee going to see," he said, “Even assuming people are physically safe fundamentally, i's about social isolation. The joys that ‘summer once brought become more difficult toaccess. I's the experience ‘of social isolation we felt from Covid: 1galloveragain.” Reassurance could come in the form of upgraded infrastructure. This willhavetobestrongerandcooler. As well as higher flood defences, hospi tals and care homes will need more airconditioning; ities will need more parks, rivers and shades roads will hnave to be designed not to melt and crackin the heat. Betts said buildings and public spaces should not be designed on the basis of past weather databecause that ‘was no longer arelevant guide. “As weather more frequently goes outside past experience, itis going beyond what the infrastructure can cope with soit’smore ofa threshold inthehuman systemthan theclimate system, Weurgently needtocatch up ‘on adaptation, we are lagging well behind the changes in climate that arenow occuring oly 2021 The Guardian WeeklyR ‘The big story Climate chaos ‘When disaster strikes, you have to help each other’ Fromfloods toinfernos, meet the ordinary people who have stepped up during this year's chaotic weather events By Guardian reporters ‘Anas Alakkad and Faris Allahham, Germany When Anas Alakkad, a Saarland- based translator and paramedic from Damascus, saw picturesofthe flooded German towns on his Facebook feed, he fired off messagestoSyrian friends around Germany. “There was a debate whether we should somehow try tohelp,"saidthe 28-year-old, who artived in Germany asarefugeesix yearsago.“Theansvwer ‘was pretty obvious tome: we had to” ‘Alakkad and his bestfriend, Faris Allahham, agraphicdesigner, started by translating messages from German. volunteering organisations into Arabic. Then they drove two-and- halfhoursto the disasterzone. “The destruction was so emotion- ally shocking” herecalled."Nomatter what you've seen on television, it's more devastating?” He and six other Syrians spent a wholeday learingdebrisfromahouse inthe small town of Sinzig, south of Bonn, whereat least 12 peopledied in flash floods in mid July. “Everything wascakedinmudand heavy - we needed to form human chains to lug it out of the basement and on tothe street, where it could tet picked upby trucks? he said, The floods had swept entre trees into the building's garden, and washed pilesof bottles into the front room, ‘Throughout the day, Alakkad and fiends drummedupmoreinterest via ‘TheGuardlanWeekly 30 u-2021 their “Syrian VolunteersinGermany” Facebook group. Soon, thenumber of Syrian volunteers arriving doubled, “The biggest challenge is finding, places for peopletostay thenight,"he said. “If we can get enough beds, we ‘maybeabletoget hundreds of volun- teers tocomeand help. “We've all travelled from Syria to Germany, mostly on foot. Our thresh ‘old for pain and stress is pretty high, Some Syrians have driven to western Germany from Berlinandsleptin their carsovernight. When disasterstikes, you have to help each other. We all know how important thats” Philip Oltermana Ms Feng, China When Ms Feng, a former university employee, saw the catastrophieflood ‘waters hit Zhengzhou, she was quick tovolunteer. “Lama civil volunteer?” shesaid.“Undersuch circumstances, don’t think too much, Fonly try to do what Fcan. Zhengzhouis the city grow upin,andthistniversityiswhere Thadalotof growth, thereisnoreason why I don't help out. A good name is notwhatlam looking for, Ithinkbeing down to earth and [to] do the workis, ‘most essential.” ‘Shesaysmuchmorecanbedoneto prepare or such eventsas theclimate Crisis worsens. “There is not enough preparation to deal with extreme ‘weather. The city regulation system Js very insensitive to such disaster. only gotanalarmthesecond day after the city is flooded from the govern- ‘ment, In my school, theres not even, any sandbags for flood prevention. “I think safety education is very crucial, Our children lack such education, andthisisquite frightening. Istillthinkthe Chinesegovernmentcan dobetterat flood prevention.” ‘She points out that her city is well Severe floods inthe Chinese city of Zhengzhou last week lft at least 63deadand isplaced more than t milion people Helping hands Volunteershave rallied toclean Uupdamagein Germany ‘prepared for fie, withrehearsalsevery ‘year, but that there is no comprehen: sive prevention system for floods. Global warming itself is too detached fromherlifeto worryabout. “Lfocus on what’sin Front of me?’ she said, but she s reeling from the scale of the disaster. “Tam shocked. !can hardly breathe” Volunteeringhasmadeher feeluse: ful. “Helping others, being needed by others, gives measpecial kind ofhap: pinessInthepast, whenotherssayso, Idon’tquiteunderstand them, Butthe past two days made me understand such happiness. also feel proud from inside; [am deeply satishedthat Ihave tried mybest tocontributetothiscity Tlive and grow up in.” Vincent Ni Grigory Mochkin, Russia When a devastating “airpocalypse” descended on Yakutsk, the capital of the Yakutia region in north-eastern Siberia, abravmy 32-year-old CrossFit ‘wainer sprang into action. Grigory Mochkin, an entrepreneur and athlete, said he signed up as one ofhundreds of volunteers ofight the fires because he was “moved by the ‘outrage on social networks and the fact that [the fires] have touched us soclosely, the place where we live”. Recordinga video duringa recenttrip, he called on CrossFittersaround the world to send support to help the volunteer brigades fighting the inprecedented fires in. Yakutia ‘CrossFit strong," he declared, put tinga fist in theair, But he also spoke about a battle against the fires that he fears will affectthelives of thenext generation, includinghisdaughter, whowas bora thisyear.“She'smy frstchldhesaid. “Ifeel responsibilty toensutethat my child daesn'tbreathethisair, thesame things that we're breathing in now? Yakutiaisa unique and beautiful region, a place where winters are among the coldest on Earth, withtem- peratures falling below -50C. But the summers have increasingly become burdened by the worsening fires, “From my social circle, Pd say 50% have already seriously thought about movingaway oratleastleaving [Yakutial during the period ofthe year When there are fires and going toa warm country during the really cold winter season,’ hesai. Hesaidhe sawthe cause ofthe fires was “95% nature”, but that local mis ‘managementhadalsoallowed themto grow outof contol. “Firesare nature it's hard to fight against nature," he said. “Likea child develops over nine ‘monthsin the womb, that's the same with putting out fires - you cant just aa Helping others, being needed byothers, bringsme aspecial kindof happiness O 180 Theestimated death tol from the flooding in Germany. A further 30 people died in Belgium jump in there and put them out. So it takes lot of time and that's why there'salot of outrage?” ‘Armed with shovels and water packs, Mochlinand other volunteers, includingother CrossFitters, covered dozensof milestohelpbulldirebreaks and controlled blazes that curtailed the wildfires’ spread, “1eshard whenthesmokeblowsin ‘our direction," hesaid, "But in general, forusathletes, it's easier, it's normal or us. You need to walk along way carryinga heavy load on yourback.” Andrew Roth eau Gulledgeand Annaet Juarez, United states Youngwomenservingonthe California Conservation Corps’ wildland fire crews ~ a programme that provides ‘taining to jumpstart a firefighting ‘career and experience workingalong sideCal Fire, USForest Service, andthe Bureau of Land Management teams battling the biggest blazes - say the ‘workis exhausting but rewarding. Beau Gulledge, 21, a Californian in her second year in the programme, says when she started, as the only ‘woman whomadeiton toactewafter training, shefelt ikeafish out of water. ‘That feeling subsided as soon as she tackled her first real fire in July 2020. “It vas three in the morning when ‘wegot the all” shesaid. “Iwas going ‘over in my head about the food I had ‘been eating over the last month. Had pushed myself enough physically? ‘Am ready for this?” ‘With the smoke stinging her eyes, she pent 12hours straight helpingto construct a “fireline” - suppressing the forward movementof the flames, By the time the fire was put out, her pperspectivehad changed. “Iwasphys- cally exhausted, but Iwas so happy ‘my body could push through and do anything.” she said, ‘Annaet Juarez, 25, says the ‘camaraderie has made her work ight ingfires more meaningful. Sheisnow part of anall-female crew and even ‘though she says fightingfiresisharder than she imagined, her team makes ‘the work easier to get through, “When they say the fires hot, ts ‘hot. Especially when youarestanding fametre]avray fromitand youhaveto bemoving, working, cuttingline,"she said. “Ttiswaytougherthan [thought “ut it makes me stronger and now know Tam capable of much more.” Gabrielle Canon 13 IMITS TO GROWTH Wasa very doomy 1972 prediction right all along? Acontroversial MIT study forecastthe collapse of civilisation -one researcher thinksitwason themoney By Edward Helmore ta UN sustainability ‘meetingseveral years ago, an economic policy officer came uptoGayaHertington and introduced him Self Takinghernameforariffon James Lovelock’searth-as-an-organism Gaia hypothesis, he remarked: “Gaya that’s nota name, it's responsibility” Herrington, a Dutch sustainability researcher and adviser to the Club of Rome, a Swiss thinktank, has made headlines of late after she wrote a report that appeared to show a con: ‘woversial 1970s study predicting the collapse of civilisation was - appar ently ight on time. Comingamid acascadeof alarming. environmental events, from western ‘USand Siberian wildfires to German, and Chinese floods and a report that Suggests the Amazon rainforest may no longer beable to perform asa car bon sink, Herrington’swork predicted thecollapse could comearound 2040 iftcurrent trends held. Research by Herrington, a rising star in efforts to place data analysis atthe centreofeffortstocurbclimate breakdown, affirmed the bleaker scenarios put forward in a landmark 1972MIT study, The Limits toGrowth, that presented various outcomes for ‘what could happen when the growth ofindustrial ivilisationcollided with finite resources. ‘Now, with the climate crisis oly 2021 The Guardian Weeklyu increasing the frequency of extreme weather events, and many single events shown to have been made worse by global heating, the Club of Rome, publisher of the original MIT paper, hasreturned tothe study. “Brom a research perspective, I felt a data check of a decades-old ‘model against empirical observa tions would be an interesting exer- cise,” said Herrington, who works as sustainability analystat theaccount- Ing group KPMG, which recently described greenhouse gas emissions asa ‘shared, existential challenge” “TheMAT cientistssaidweneeded to act [immediately] to achieve a smooth transition and avoid costs,” Herrington said. “That didn’t hap: en, so we're seeing the impact of climate change” ‘The Limits to Growth has sold upwards of 30m copies. it was pub- lished just four years after Paul Ehi- lich’s The Population Bomb, which described impending overpopula- tion, With MIT offering analysis and Ehrlich’s work full of doom-laden predictions, both helped to fuel the tera'senvironmental movements, from Earth First to Greenpeace, Herrington, 39,sayssheundertook the update (available on the KPMG website and credited to its publisher, the Yale Journalof industrial Ecology) independently “out of pure curiosity about data accuracy”. Her findings ‘were bleak: current data aligns well with the 1970s analysis that showed economic growth could cease at the tendofthe current decade and collapse come about 10 years later (in worst case scenatios). ‘The timing of Herrington’s paper, asworld economies grapple with the effects of the pandemic, is timely as. governments largely look to return economies to business-as-usual igrowth, despite loud warnings that Continuing economicgrowthisincom- patible with sustainability. Earlier this year, ina paper titled Beyond Growth, the analyst wrote plainly: “Amidst global slowdown and risks of depressed future growth potential from climate change, social “unrest, and geopolitical instability, to name few, responsible leaders face the possibility that growth willbe lim= itedinthefuture, Andonly fool keeps chasing an impossibility?” Herrington, who eared a degree in econometrics from the University of Amsterdam and a master’s in ‘TheGuardlanWeekly 30 u-2021 sustainability from Harvard, believes thefieldofeconomiesustainability has tobemade ntoanobservablescience thatcanbeactedupon, Hermotivation ‘was the wellbeing of future genera- tions. “Iwouldlike ‘thekidstobe OK’, evenifnone of them were mine,’ she said, “lam driven by apassion forsus tainabilty. Always have been.” ‘Thepolicy officer who approached heratthe UNmeetingandspokeabout themeaningand responsibility ofher firstnamewasnotnecessarily wrong, sheadded, “He wasright inthe sense that my drive has always come natu- rally tome?” ‘TheMIT study, Herrington aid, had never been about making predictions but showing potential paths forward during a time of immense change. Herrington’s review concludes that the 1972 study was essentially on tar get. That study'sauthors, Herrington pointed out, had been looking for paths toward a stabilised world in terms of economic growth. ‘She said there was nothing inevitablenboutitspredictions even now. “The key finding of my study is that we still have a choice to align witha scenario that does not end in collapse, With innovation in business, along with new developments ‘A Theremains of ‘guest housein Lach, Germany destroyed by flooding earlier this month Years since the release of an MIT report warning that, unchecked, civilisation ‘was heading Jorcollapse by governments and civil society, continuing to update the model pro: vides another perspective on the challengesand opportunitieswe have tocreatea more sustainable world” At the same time, she said, the primary concern ofthe MIT study had been supplanted, “Resource scarcity hhas not been the challenge people ‘thought it would be in the 70s, and population growth has not been the scare it wasin the 90s. Now the con: emis pollution and how it perfectly aligned with what climate scientists are saying,” she aid ‘Technologicaladvanceshavemeant simply that we go farther and deeper to extract fossil fuels and, despite some efficiencies, consumption and emissions have only increased. The ‘MITauthors, Herrington pointedout, predicted as much. ‘They aid that, evenifweinnovate ourselves out of resource scarcity, ‘we would probably see an increase in pollution from those adaptations unless we also limit our continued search forgrowth,’ she said. Inherstudy, Herrington focused on two scenarios using a range of varia bles, or markers, including population, fertility rates, mortality rates, indus twialoutput food production, services, nonrenewable resources, persistent pollution, human welfareand ecologi= calfootprint, Under one, termed business as usual, or BAL, growth would stalland ‘ombinewith population collapse. The other, termed comprehensive tech: nology, modelled stalled economic ‘growth without social collapse. Both Scenarios showed “a halt in growth within a decade or sofromnow”, the study aid, adding: “Pursuing continu ‘ous growth, isnot possible.” Sustainability was the answer. “Theresa sustainable way of creat {ng value and prosperity that alsohas immense economic potential. Doing good anstil yield aprofit, Infact, we are seeing examples of that happen: ing ight now. Expanding those efforts noWwcreatesaworldfullofopportunity thatisalsosustainable;’ she sai, ‘The coronavirus pandemic, she believes, has shown the world what, ‘might be possible. “We're totally capable of making Inuge changes... butwehavetoactnow if we're to avoid costs much greater than we'reseeing,” she said.SURVEILLANCE By Stephanie Kirchgaessner 182019, When NSOGroup was ac Ingintense scrutiny, new inves- tors in the Israeli surveillance company wereonaPR offensive {orreassure human rights groups, In an exchange of public letters, they told Amnesty Intemationaland other activists that they would do “what fever is necessary” to enstire NSO'S weapons-grade software would only be used to ight crime and terrorism. Butthe claim, itnow appears, was hollows, Unknown totheactivists,NSO would later hatch a deal that would help a longtime government client with an awful human rights record. Dubat,amonarchy inthe United Arab Emirates, wanted NSO to give it per mission toexpandits potential use oF the spywaresoit could target mobile phonesin the UK Teneeded todoso,itargued, otrack down drug dealers using foreign sim. cards to evadesurveillance. Insidersatthe company were hes tant, aperson familar with the matter said, Iwasa risky proposition given the track record of customers suchas the UAE, In 2016, it had tried to use NSOspyware tohackthephoneofone ofthemostrespected Emirati human rights activists, Ahmed Mansoor. He ‘was imprisoned by Emirati authorities ‘one year later and is still inal, But the Guardian has been told an [NSO committee reviewing the deal agreed to Dubai’srequest, Potentially it meant that authorities in Dubai ‘would be able to bypass privacy and anti-hacking laws that would usually protect individuals living in demo: ‘racies from beingspied on withouta ‘warrant and from havingtheir phones hnacked by aforeign government, Some of the people in. whom authoritiesshowed possible interes leaked recordsnowindicate, were not drug dealersatall. They were16 Spotl The Pegasus project hhuman tightsactivistsanddissidents | number appeared on the leaked list cyber capabilities that allow them livingin exile. was in no way indicative of whether to compete with the National Secu: Using NSO’s signature software, _a number was targeted for surveil rity Agency (NSA) in the USand the Pegasus, Dubai's rulers could seek | lance using Pegasus. NSO also said UK's GCHO, toinflltrte any mobile phone they _ the database had “no relevance” to From the start, NSO cultivated an wantedintheUK. Inmostcases, they | thecompany. imageasa cutting-edge crime fighter could do it without leaving digital ThePegasusprojecthasraised new ‘whose surveillance tools were used fingerprint. ThisisthepowerofNSO's | concemnsabout the scaleand depth of to top terrorists. Ithas also said itis, spyware ~ and why countries from | the surveillance campaigns pursued the antithesis of amass surveillance Mexico to Saudi Arabia, Rwanda and _ bythecompany's government clients company, with lientsallegedly hand: India appear to have been willing to ~and more generally thelack of regu ling Fewer than 100 targetsata time. payahigh price forts capabilities. lations around the many companies Incidents of abuse, the company Last week, the Pegasus project, thatnow sell military.gradespyware. hnas suggested, are rare and invest: ‘media collaboration that included | Based in Herzliya, NSO Group has sgatedby complianceoffiials, Asource theGuardianandwascoordinatedby | come along way humble beginnings said that, in the past year alone, it the French media group Forbidden in2010. Thenameisderived fromthe hhad terminated contracts with Saudi Stories, revealed new allegations of | initials of the men who launched it ‘Arabia and Dubai in the United Arab abuse, with leaked records showing | the friends Niv Carmi, Shalev Hulio Emiratesover human ightsconcerns, thephonenumbersofjournalists,dis- and Omri Lavie. sidentsand political activists. Hulio, who served in the Israel he Pegasus project has ‘Thedatabase, which wastheheart | Defence Forces, has said the idea for raised new questions about of the Pegasus project investigation, | thecompany cameafterheand Lavie this narrative. It has also Indudedthephonedetailsof3heads _ received a phone call from a Euro highlighted the Israeli gov ofstate, as wellasdiplomats, military _ pean intelligence service, which had cemment’sclose links tothe company. chiefs and senior politicians from _ leamed the pair had the knowhow to But the group is ultimately guided $34 countries. Others who appeared _ access people's phones. “Why aren’t by one golden rule: “There are three includetheFrenchpresident,reporters | youusingthistocollectintelligence?” jurisdictions you don’t fuck with: the in Hungary and Mexico, 400 people | theagency issaid tohaveasked. US, Israel and the Russians.” inthe UK, ineludinga member ofthe The proliferation of smartphones fist cent, in201, was Mexico. House of Lords and twoprincesses. _ andencrypted communicationstech (Over an 18-month period in 2016-17 NSO has denied the database of nology, from Signal to WhatsAppand the numbers of more than 15,000 numbers has anything to do with | Telegram, meant intelligence and people in Mexico appeared on the {Wor its customers. It said it has no law enforcement agencies had gone leaked database. They included the visibility into its clients’ activities, | “dark", unable to monitor the activi phone numbers of dozens of journal andthatthe reportingconsortiumhad__ ties of terrorists and other criminals. {sts and at least 50 people close to ‘made ‘incorrectassumptions" about | NSOemploys about 750 staff and the sitting president, Andrés Manuel which clients used the company's | isthe world leader ina niche market: Lopez Obrador. technology. NSO said the fact that a providing states with “off the shelf” Halfway across the world, another Shalev Hulio Hulio has said thefdea forthe firmeame after ‘call froma European intelligence serviceclient of NSO was sending Mansoor suspicious text messages on his iPhone. When he sent the links to researchers at Citizen Lab, which is affiliated with the University of Toronto, tfound thelink wasinfected with malwaremadeby the sraelicom- pany. Clicking it would have turned. Mansoor's phone into a “digital spy in his pocket". Within a year of the discovery, security forces arrested Mansoor. A report by Human Rights ‘Watch found Mansoor spent years in anisolation cellafter his arrest. InOctober2018, NSO facederiticism after Citizen Lab announced it had discovered that a device belonging toanother dissident, a Saudi named (Omar Abdulaziz who was living in Canada, had been infected by mal- ware. It was only a few days later, after the murder of the journalist Jamal Khashoggi in the Saudi consu- latein Istanbul, thatthe significanceof Abdulaziz’ targeting became evident. ‘One former official told the Guardian that the US had uncovered signs that surveillance was a factor in the killing, “We did notice [Saudi Arabia) had focused on him. Wedidn’t know that until after the murder, but wedid find intercepts of peopletalking about survellling journalists. I don’t know if that was NSO,” said Kirsten Fontenrose,asenior offcialat the US National Security Council covering Saudi Arabia at the time. Khashoggis fiancee, Hatice Cengiz, was hacked using Pegasus by an NSO client believed to be Saudi Arabia “four days after the journalist was lulled, accordingto Amnesty Interna tionals security lab, Within monthsof the murder, Saudi Arabia was cut off fromNSO, though itsaccess would be reinstated within six months, Ima statement, NSO said: “Our technology wasnotassociated in any way with theheinousmurderofFamal hashoggl. We can confirm that our technology was not used to listen, ‘monitor, ack, orcollect information regarding him orhis family members ‘mentioned in your inquiry.” 112019, the US-based private I equity find Francisco Partners Aeided tose NSO Gouptoa new gouparinvestoThedel wasiedbyatondon-basedfmealed Novaipina Capa in amacquision Valued atabout ibn ‘At Novalpina Capital, debate ensued internally about how the Withinrange NSOGroup innumbers 750 Number ofstaft employed by 1NSO Group, named after the three men who launched it = 15k Peale Msc, NSO’s first client, aan weenie in pen 1.4k WhatsApp users targeted using Pegasus in 2019, including many Journalists Isracl'shi-tech surveillance industry is part ofitsidentity whichis why its darkside often goes ‘unexamined Pages? > private equity firmshouldapproachits newinvestment,accordingtoasource In April, Amnesty International, among others, signed a letter addressed to Novalpina demanding accountability forthe targeting of “a Wwideswath ofeivilsociety*, including Ghanem Almasarir, a London-based Saudi satirist. Amnesty said: “These individualsand organisationsappear tohavebeentargeted solely asaresult oftheireriticism of governmentsthat utilised the spyware or because of their work bearing on human rights {issues of poltical sensitivity to those governments. Thus, thistargetingisin violationofinternationally recognised Jhuman rights.” ‘Stephen Peel a British inancierand co-founder of Novalpina, led aneffort by the private equity firm to engage with the human rights groups. Within months, two sources familiar with the matter said, Dubai had been allowed toexpanditsuse of the spyvare into the UK. In Septem: ber2019, hhecompany alsounveileda new human rightspolicyand adopted “guiding principles” to protect vul- nerable populations, Then, another technology giant entered the fray. In October 2019, WhatsApp revealed that 1,400 of its users had been targeted with Pegasus through a vulnerability ints app. Individu- als who were affected by the attack included members of the clergy in ‘Togoand journalists in India, Rwanda and Morocco, NSO argued before a US court that it ought to be granted immunity because the company's software had been usedon behalfof foreign govern ‘ment-lientswithoutitsknowledgeor approval. Being.aclient of NSO, said fone person who previously served as broker in the industry, was bit ike gunownershipinthe US. “"Yolare supposed to use agun to protect yourself,butwhoistostop you fromrobbingabank?” they said. "You askmewhetherit was known by NSO thatPegasuswouldbeusedtogoafter joumalists, human rights activists, I ‘would tell you of course they knew. Did they say, We willuseitforregime ‘opponents’? No,they didnotsay that” ‘The Guardian put a series of questions to NSO and Novalpina aboutits dealings with theUAE. They declined to comment. 17 Investigations are at the heart of ourmission Guardian editor-in-chief Katharine Viner reflects onour recent investigation into NSO Group, which sells spyware used by governments around the world, and explains why journalism like thisissovital ‘The more we've learned about slobal surveillance, ever since the Guardian’s Snowden revelations {n2013, the more the world has become accustomed to theidea that governments, democratic or otherwise, are keenly interested in using technology and the phonesin ‘our pockets to keep tabs on us, ‘The Pegasus revelations by the Guardian and 16 other ‘media organisations working with Forbidden Stories, Paris-based media nonprofit, illustrate how journalists, human rights campaigners, politicians and others can be targeted using spying software, or “spyware”. Investigations such as these are legally fraught and technically, ‘complex, involving dozens of journalists, IT experts and lawyers. ‘Those being investigated are often highly secretive and extremely well resourced, financially and technologically. For the Guardian, such investigations are at the heart ‘of our mission. Recause of our Independence, we are able to investigate boldly, putting the truth ahead ofthe agenda of an owner, {investors or shareholders. And because weare reader-funded, ‘we have been able to keep our Journalism open forall toread. "Your support asa Guardian Weekly reader helps to empower our journalists to continue seratinising, governmentsand others who exploit technology with adisregard forpeople’srights. s0/uh2024 The Guardian Weekly18, Spotlight Central Asia in Afghanistan in intense | particular concern. Inthat period 783 | bomb blast that AFGHANISTAN cord numbers of civilans | injures. tlsosaye the “acters” | 4 Theatermath ‘ |) ese inthetwo month since ay sot | ofs rae fighting since May, when | Cvlanswerekiledand6osinjure, | Kledskchans ‘Achilling Grawdown andthe Talban launched | sincetheUNbegankeepingrecrdsin | eter in lu i , ‘mflchertyollcomeslargetyinarl | snethe sen wetetopleainsooy, | 2 TAFE COTY ee ee ee re flict were to spill into more densely | leaders to take heed of the conflic’s LOOMS FOE a _ mmisteatovns and ctes,thecon- | grim and chiling trajectory and it Sequences could becatstophic it | devastating impact on civilian, Saysinitsreport, The Protection of | sad Debora Lyons the UN secretary COUNETY ON iiss inea conte genera’ specal representative for : Swathesofthecoutryhavefallen | Afghanistan “The report provides totheinsurgenssincetheylaunened | aclear warning hatunprecedented | 4 thebrink = jeryentvomaicte amireliinbenme | Recon Coineide withthe original deadhne hand be maimed this year iene | MuUmbers the authorities set for US and other | increasing violence snotstemmed.” | of civilians Aghanistan’slargelyrural —forcestoleave Te UNepartisthe "Nene thidsofthecasualics | will perish conflicteouldbecome rstnatinwideaccountoftheimpact | were caused by insurgent groups, | eH 7 ofthe fighting on civilians. including the regional Isis franchise, | ifthe ‘catastrophic iffighting It notes near-record levels of | the UN said. About a quarter were | yi tastroph a violence spillsoverintourbanareas _casualisinthefistsimonthsofthe | theresponsiility ofthe government | nog Year, withnsurgentgroupsresponsi- | anditsallies. The thers could notbe , By Emma Graham-Harrison blefor well over half ofthedeathsand | clearly attributed toany group. stemmed’ ‘TheGuardlanWeekly 30 u-202119 No civilian casualties were attributed to actions of international Forces for the fist time since the UN began keepingrecords.The conflicts ‘nowalmost entirely between Afghans. Casualties for women and girls reached recordhighs. Themost shock: ing single incident wasan attack ona girls'school in Kabulin whichat east 85 people were killed and more than 200injured, mostof them schoolgirls. Improvised mines weretheleading cause of casualties, responsible for ‘more than one in three deaths and Injuries. Recent fighting appears to hhave led to more being placed on roads and inside homes in areas the Taliban seized, Because they tend tobe activated by whoever happens to step on them ordigthemup, they areindiscriminate and may beillegalunderinternational law, the UN sai, Fighting on the ground caused the second highest number of casualties, andifthebattleforcontrolof Afghani stanmovesinto urbanareasthe figures could climb further. “The UN is gravely concerned that iftntensive military action is under- taken in urban areas with high popu lation densities, the consequences for Afghan civillans could be eata- strophic;” the report sad. ‘Targeted killings of civilians by insurgents asthe third leading cause ofcasualties followed by Afghanarmy airstrikes. The number of airstrikes ‘over the first six months ofthe year ‘more than tripled from 2020 levels to ‘morethan 4,250missions, andcivilian casualties fromtheseattacks doubled. ‘The UN also raised concern about destruction and looting in areas that ‘came under Taliban control in May and June. Targets included “civilian homes, schools,clinics electricity and ‘mobile phone towers, city water sup- plies, bridges, shops, and residential apartment buildings the report said. “The vast majority of incidents of intentional destruction of civilian property... were attributed toor done with thecomplicity of Taliban fighters afterthey took controlofamnew area” Lyons called on the Taliban and Afghan leaders to “intensify your efforts at the negotiating table, stop the Afghan-against-Afghan fighting Protect the Afghan peopleand give them hope fora better future.” ANALYSIS. AFGHANISTAN Biden's options Pentagon looks for Asian bases tokeep terror threatin check By Julian Borger WASHINGTON DC ‘As the US nears ‘completion ofits <> military withdrawal ‘from Afghanistan, the Pentagon is supposed to switch to “over-the-horizon” counter-terrorist operations inthe country. Butitis far from clear yet what those will Took like in practice. “The Biden administration has made it clear that after the end fof Augustt will not provide air support for Afghan forces intended tobolster the Kabul government, though that could be reappraised if provincial capitals fallto the Taliban. However, Gen Kenneth McKenzie, head of the US Army Central Command, said the US would continue airstriesin support of Afghan forces “in the coming weeks, ifthe Taliban continue their attacks". ‘The stated objective of future operations sto pursue the original war aims of 2001: to stop Afghanistan being training ground and launching pad for attacks on Seances Rising! Howconflict hasescalated 783 Themmber of Afghan civilians Killed since1 May 1,609 Mimberof cts wounded during ame period. Thenumbersare ‘quivalenttothe talduring the frst fourtonths aftieyear YAfghan soldiers unload food and fuel at the Kajaki daminthe north-east of Helmand province the US by al-Qaida. After20 years of fighting, al-Oaida still has a presence inthe county, alongside another threat, Islamic State. ‘The US says it will continue to target those groups if and when they strengthen thelr foothold in the growing share of teritory under ‘Taliban control, but it will do so from bases outside Afghanistan. ‘Among the questions that have not been answered, at east not publicly, isthe extent of future US involvement. Willitseek to have constant “unblinking eye” in the skies above Afghanistan, or make periodic forays? What level of al- Qaida or Iss presence would trigger anattack? Would the Taliban be targeted on suspicion of cooperating with terorist groups? And what bases would the US be able to use? ‘The Biden administration has, been holding talks with central Asian states and a delegation travelled to Uzbekistan, but there is no sign of progress so fr. David Petracus, who served ashead of US Central Command, ‘commander of US and allied forces {in Afghanistan and director of the CIA, said there would beno straightforward way of continuing military operations after withdrawal “Over the horizon’ in Afghanistan will be enormously challenging, vastly more so than ‘most other countries,” he said, “Obviously itis landlocked and ‘considerable distance from our closest bases in the Gulf states.” “Allo thisis ust enormously challenging and difficult. And the truthis,it didn't have to happen. ‘We could have easily maintained a sustainable, in terms of blood and ‘ueasure, commitment, which 1 think the history ofthe last 20 years tells us is necessary,” Petraeus said, “ifyou actually take your eye off al-Qaida and the Islamic State, if you don't keep pressure on them, ifyou stop disrupting them, then atacertain point you're going to fend up having to re-engage, and it {salways more difficult when you have, as in aq, given up your bases and infrastructure and reduced your Intelligence presence. s0/uh2024 The Guardian WeeklyFreres} fre ges ae the Olympics finally began last weekend and more than Perce Bren ee te Ceara ne toshine. For the latest updates cas Ceres eee breaks the water, eee eory pero the appearance Cer inglass- shown nd Cae oes 7 Ser ere eats Pera Peer Aa eri) «(ees anh ) oy entation BPE scitainwentonto ee Sr Delante Marquis cee Soma eee) eee rr oer Coen Us fighterlater rented) PesceKYO 2020 PG Pern Indonesian ey eens Peet Pree Peeters Pei acne Sad earn cea Pen ur rcE Pay ny Poi Peet] erent Se py ony eer oy Peer ee ea ed areplayed before ae eae el Britain's Tom Dal Sry ery are Pa Poa Cea Perey cre)22 Spotlight Europe UK AND IRELAND Questions over Scout safety after abuse tally is revealed By Haroon Siddique orethan2so peopleinthe Ukanditelandhavebeen convicted of child sexual abuse offences commit- ted while they were Scout leaders or in other positions of responsibility within the Scout movernent since the 1950s, according to analysis that raises questions about the organisa tion’s safeguarding procedures or decades, the Scout movement has been promoted as offering the chance to experience adventures and gain life skills, bt a review of offendersshowsthatfor cores ofchil- Arenithasled toabuseat thehandsof someoneentrusted withtheir welfare "The 255 cases include convictions forrape, indecent assault, voyeurism and the possession, creation and distribution ofindecent/pomographic images. The cases date back to the 1950s butalso include contemporary ‘TheGuardlanWeekly 30 u-2021 ‘examples suchas Oliver Cooper from Bognor Regis, who was jailed for six years in October last year for three ounts of sexual assault against two six-year-old girls, taking indecent photographs of a child and 13 counts ofvoyeurism. Theoffencestookplace just over two years earlier. Graham Avison from Audenshav, Greater Manchester, was ailed forfive years and seven monthsin November after pleading guilty to four counts of Indecent assault between 1991 and 1995 against a boy whom he began grooming by giving him small gifts suchas chocolate bas. ‘Abbie Hickson, fromtheabuseteam atBoltBurdon Kemp (BBK) solicitors, Which compiled a map of the abuse, said: “Much of [The Scout Associa tion's] safeguarding policy relies on the integrity of the Scout leaders themselves, and is dependent on the individual choosing toadhere toit. It isimportant to rememberthat scout ‘masters who perpetrate sexualabuse against scoutsareby theirvery nature highly manipulative, secretive, devi ous and opportunistic individuals, ‘Therehas tobeaculture of trans- patency and trust and steps must be taken throughout all levels of the organisation so that sexual abuse within the scoutsisactively prevented When complaints are made, these ‘must be investigated thoroughly” BBK says the actual number of perpetrators and victims is likely to be even higher than detailed on its map, which was based on public ecords, newspaper rticlesand inde- pendently verified documents, given that it only includes convictions. It doesnot include cases where victims Legalaction Convictions and payouts 255 Number of people convicted ofchild sexual abuse offences committed while they were Scout leaders orn other positions ofresponsbility ‘within the Scout ‘movement since the 1950sin the UK and Ireland $220k Settlement paid bythe Scout Association last ‘year to Lucy Pincott after hercomplaint about abuse as a13year-old $850m Settlement reached by Boy Scouts of ‘America with ‘attorneys representing about 60,000 victims ofchild sexual abuse in the us| ‘Many people willnever recover. especially whenthey arenot believed’ Lucy Pincott Complainant did not report abuse or prosecutors «did not bring charges because of the difficulties of proving abuse where several years had passed or because thealloged abuser had died. One example not included is that of Lucy Pineott, 27, details of whose ‘ease have been made public for the first time. She says she was sexually assaulted multiple times by a young Teader when she was13 yeats old ‘The Crown Prosecution Service did notbring charges against her alleged abuser but Pincott, represented by [BBK, agreed a £160,000 ($220,000) settlementwith theScout Association last yearafteranindependent review ‘was highly critical ofits investigation intoher complaint, although itdid not admit liability Pincott sald: “I want scouting to continue. Itcan bea great thing for ‘many young people. However, they must be kept safe from those who ‘would prey upon them. Many people willneverrecoverfromthedamageof paedophilesand other sexoffenders, especially when they arenotbelieved and predators remain protected.” ‘Areport on child sexual abuse in {institutional contexts published last ‘Tuesday by the independent inquiry {nto child sexual abuse in England and Wales based on analysis of files between 2017 and 2020 from the Disclosureand BarringService, which helps vet potential employees and volunteers, highlighted that alleged perpetratorsincluded "scout orguide Jeaderswhosexually abused children” “The Scout movementhasalso faced allegations of child sexual abuse in ‘other countries. The Boy Scouts of “Americasaid thismonthit had reached ‘an $850m agreement with attorneys, representingabout 60,000 victimsof child sexual abuse. ‘A Scout Association spokesperson stid:"“Nothingismoreimportant than the safety ofthe young people in our care, In the UK, sve have had over 10 million young members since our inception in 1907. We recognise that, ‘ver that time, there have been inci dents of abuse. Any abuse of a young personisabhorrent,andwearedeeply sorry for anyone who has suffered because af the actions of abusers. Wehave robust safeguarding polices and procedures in place, which are publicly available, and we regular inviteexternal challengeand review: ‘MAROOW SIDDIQUE ISTHE GUARDIAN's