THE GUARDIAN WEEKLY: The latest issue features ‘All At Sea’ – Why are Europe’s leaders so unpopular…

After a week like Keir Starmer just had, what could one possibly do to cheer up the beleaguered UK prime minister? (Aside from his beloved Arsenal winning the Premier League title, that is.)

Perhaps remind him he’s not Friedrich Merz or Emmanuel Macron. Starmer may not be flavour of the month with UK voters or his own Labour MPs right now, but both the German and French leaders have barrel-scraping approval ratings that make the British PM look popular in comparison.

Even among the less-disliked European leaders, Giorgia Meloni of Italy and Pedro Sánchez of Spain are only marginally more liked than Donald Trump is in the US – and neither of them have started a war in Iran.

What’s behind this widespread disaffection for Europe’s leaders? Are they a generationally bad crop of politicians or have they been dealt an impossible hand of social and economic circumstances – or is it a mixture of both?

For our cover story this week, Daniel Boffey asks what Europe’s embattled leaders can do to reverse that sinking feeling. Then, from our UK political team, Pippa Crerar and Peter Walker look back on a week when Starmer was left looking increasingly like an interim PM.

Spotlight | Xi rolled out the red carpet for Trump, but that was all
There was no swift end to the Iran war, uncertainty over Taiwan and only vague outlines of commercial deals – but the US president at least got to bask in the company of his Chinese counterpart, reports David Smith

Technology | Despite rise of AI, is there still hope for Europe’s translators?
A booming tech sector has disrupted translation jobs in publishing – but they could be needed for a while longer yet, writes Philip Oltermann

Feature | The sinister spread of France’s killer seaweed
After a series of deaths on the beaches of Brittany, one bereaved family set out to prove the foul-smelling bloom was to blame. Marta Zaraska investigates

Opinion | Normalising Reform UK’s ideas turns neighbour against neighbour
“Concern” about immigration has now morphed into policing how ethnic minorities exist in our communities, argues Nesrine Malik

Culture | How Backrooms upended the horror movie
It started off just as a creepy picture on the internet. Now it’s the year’s freakiest film. Steve Rose meets its auteur, Kane Parsons, and stars Chiwetel Ejiofor and Renate Reinsve

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What else we’ve been reading

 The Guardian’s new list of the 100 best novels of all time provoked extensive discussion in my household. How many have you read? I won’t embarrass myself by divulging my own total, except to admit there is considerable catching up to be done. Graham Snowdon, editor

 Politidex is a Pokémon-like mobile phone game where players can build their own political party by “catching” local councillors and MPs. Having started life as an April Fools’ Day joke, the game’s mission is now to humanise both politics and politicians, says its creator in this interesting piece. Bowie Qiu, Marketing manager

THE GUARDIAN WEEKLY: The latest issue features ‘The Trump Whisperer’ – A king charming in America….

It’s fair to say that the Guardian Weekly does not cover many royal visits, but King Charles III’s US state visit was the most consequential of his reign so far. The king’s ostensible purpose was to celebrate America’s 250 years of independence but last week’s trip was freighted with other agendas, most important of which was to flatter his host, Donald Trump. Washington bureau chief David Smith’s cover story shows how “like a rapier wrapped in ermine, Charles managed to tame Trump while rebuking Trumpism”.
Both David and our veteran foreign affairs commentator Simon Tisdall unpick the skill with which Charles spoke truth to this capricious and egotistical president and gave both sides of the heavily divided Congress much to praise. It was a performance of high diplomacy at a time of huge tension in the transatlantic relationship and beyond.

But the charm didn’t wash in New York where, as Adam Gabbatt’s sketch shows, the shadow of Jeffrey Epstein and Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, Charles’s disgraced brother, lurked while the mayor, Zohran Mamdani, brought up the spectre of colonialism in the shape of the Koh-i-noor diamond, snatched under disputed circumstances.

Spotlight | A small town in Germany
Landstuhl, the heart of the largest American military community outside the US, considers its future after Donald Trump’s decision to withdraw 5,000 troops, reports Deborah Cole

Environment | A gift of wings
Patrick Barkham takes off for a flight of wonder with The Lost Words duo, who have reunited for a new book on endangered birds

Feature | A balm for tiger mother myths
Rebecca Liu explores why a certain image of the tiger mum – strict, cold and demanding – is ubiquitous in popular culture

Opinion | Antiracists need to stand up for us all
Another attack on the UK’s Jewish population demands a clear show of solidarity from those who march to protect minorities, argues Jonathan Freedland

Culture | Moose magic on the loose
How do cameras capture Sweden’s seasonal TV hit, the Great Moose Migration? Malcolm Jack travels to an uninhabited island in the Ångerman river to ask the show’s makers

THE GUARDIAN WEEKLY: The latest issue features ‘Chornobyl’s Long Shadow’ – Forty years after the world’s worst nuclear accident, could it happen again?

In March 2022, soon after the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine began, Kyiv-based illustrator Masha Foya produced what I think is one of the Guardian Weekly’s most powerful covers on the war, concerning the devastation of Mariupol. So it’s a pleasure to feature Masha’s work again for the current edition, this time marking 40 years since the Chornobyl nuclear disaster.

“Since childhood, the story of Chornobyl has always made me feel a strange dissonance – such a tragedy occurring on a beautiful spring day in April,” explains Masha on the thought process behind her design, in which seasonal greens fade away into ominous skies.

It also reflects present-day anxieties. For a special report, Pjotr Sauer visits the site of the world’s worst nuclear accident and sees up close how the giant containment structure around the failed reactor is in urgent need of costly repairs after a Russian drone strike, as fears grow of a possible new catastrophe.

Five essential reads in this week’s edition

Environment | Why apes are more like us than we ever thought
Imagination, reason and ability to recognise faces from the past are not the sole preserve of humans, studies show. Gloria Dickie reports

Finance | The wagering of war
Once largely siloed to sporting events, betting has now spread to include contracts on news events where insider information could pay handsomely. With over $1bn in perfectly timed bets on the Iran war having recently been seen, Lauren Aratani explores what exactly is going on

Feature | The big game hunters who believe they can save Africa’s wildlife
One way to pay for wildlife conservation is to allow the rich to bag a few animals for high prices. But critics see this approach as an exercise in neocolonialism. Cal Flyn went in pursuit of answers

Opinion | Starmer’s listless government shows zombie politics is the new norm
Distracted, listless and unambitious – the British PM’s true form has finally emerged. But whatever comes next must end this ruinous cycle for the country, argues Nesrine Malik

Culture | Iron Maiden on 50 years of heavy metal madness
As a career-spanning documentary hits cinemas, the legendary rock band revisit their path from pubs to stadiums over half a century of headbanging hits. Harry Sword buckles up