Julian Borger

In political action and in war the question has always been: can the end justify the means?
Until Trump came along and now
it’s become: can the end justify the memes?

Chaos and uncertainty as Trump unleashes war on Iran – podcast Senior international correspondent Julian Borger speaks to Reged Ahmad about how a conflict that experts say breaks international law could unfold from here

Events over the weekend have plunged the Middle East - and the world - into an uncertain future. We speak to @julianborger.bsky.social about how much worse this conflict could get - and why Donald Trump has gone to war. #FullStory @australia.theguardian.com www.theguardian.com/australia-ne...

Hello British dual nationals:

If you have been, or know anyone who has been, refused board on a flight, ferry or train to the UK in the coming days, they can share their story here. Or email me direct - email in bio.

www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026...

A war foretold: how the CIA and MI6 got hold of Putin’s Ukraine plans and why nobody believed them Drawing on more than 100 interviews with senior intelligence officials and other insiders in multiple countries, this exclusive account details how the US and Britain uncovered Vladimir Putin’s plans ...

This piece by @shaunwalker7.bsky.social is absolutely worth your time. A deeply researched definitive account of the road to Putin’s full scale invasion of Ukraine - how much CIA and MI6 knew and why it was so hard to convince others that it was coming.

www.theguardian.com/world/ng-int...

Her father’s war grave in Gaza was bulldozed by Israel. Amid the grief and anger, she wants answers Wilma Spence’s father was an Anzac buried in a part of the Gaza War Cemetery bulldozed by the IDF * Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast “Fighting for those who love him, our darling daddy died,” the inscription reads. Just saying the words threatens to overwhelm Wilma Spence. Continue reading...

Her father’s war grave in Gaza was bulldozed by Israel. Amid the grief and anger, she wants answers

Revealed: Israel bulldozed part of Gaza war cemetery containing allied graves Satellite images and witness testimony show destruction as IDF claims it was forced to take defensive measures

www.theguardian.com/world/2026/f...

Thanks Liz!

If you love your kids, stop the algorithm being racist and sexist.

If you want to be a great ancestor, make it humanitarian.

Riveting conversations this week with tech companies, influencers and creatives on how tech must be part of solution, not part of problem.

#WEF2026

Thank you

‘From her pen sprang unforgettable females’: 16th-century Spanish author’s knight’s tale given reboot Beatriz Bernal’s pioneering novel features brave, chivalrous women who ride dragons and her adapter wants his illustrated version to reach young readers

“Sixty years before a deluded nobleman from La Mancha was overdosing on tales of derring-do, visiting his madness on those around him – and single-handedly rewriting the rules of fiction – the deeds of another heroic knight had already made literary history”

www.theguardian.com/world/2025/d...

!!! Checking and correcting now!

The volunteers putting their bodies between Israel settlers and a Palestinian village In the Jordan valley, teenage settlers drive herds of goats into a Palestinian community in a bid to force families out – volunteers are trying to hold the line

www.theguardian.com/world/2025/d...

New Israeli barrier will slice through precious West Bank farmland Palestinians who have worked the ‘breadbasket’ area for generations face being replaced by Israeli settlers The death knell for the Palestinian village of Atouf, on the western slopes of the Jordan valley, arrived in the form of a trail of paper, a series of eviction notices taped to homes, greenhouses and wells, marking a straight line across the open fields. The notices, which appeared overnight, informed the local farmers that their land would be confiscated and that they had seven days from the date of their delivery, 4 December, to vacate their properties. A military road and accompanying barrier was to be built by Israel right through the area. Continue reading...

New Israeli barrier will slice through precious West Bank farmland

A screenshot of a tweet by Ken Dilanian quoting concerns that an order to kill boat occupants who are no longer able to fight would constitute a war crime. Below is a collage of nine infrared or night-vision aerial images showing small boats in the water. At the bottom is a caption referencing “Hegseth order on first Caribbean boat strike.”

During WWII a German vessel fired upon sailors floating in the sea after the Greek vessel Peleus was sunk. The officers were tried and convicted in the Peleus War Crimes trial.

Moment Israeli forces shoot dead surrendered Palestinians – video report Video of an Israeli military raid in the West Bank shows soldiers summarily executing two Palestinians they had detained seconds earlier. Julian Borger, the Guardian's senior international corresponde...

www.theguardian.com/world/video/...

100 Notable Books of 2025

There he is. @julianborger.bsky.social among the hundred most notable books of the year. Well done, Julian. www.nytimes.com/2025/11/24/b...

Guardian’s former Gaza correspondent named young journalist of the year in UK awards Malak A Tantesh, 20, ‘showed immense talent and bravery’, said judges at Media Freedom awards in London The UK’s Society of Editors has named Malak A Tantesh, the Guardian’s former Gaza correspondent, as young journalist of the year in the national press category at this year’s Media Freedom awards. The judges said Tantesh “showed immense talent and bravery in some of the hardest conditions ever faced by a journalist, she continued to report while having to forage for food and facing the constant risk of bombing and the threat of targeted killing”. Continue reading...

Guardian’s former Gaza correspondent named young journalist of the year in UK awards

Dick Cheney’s role in ‘war on terror’ may have paved way for Trumpism Former US vice-president a key figure in expanding White House’s power and ‘corrupting the intelligence-policy relationship’ to sell Iraq war

www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...

1980:
NHS spending as a % of GDP: 5.1%
Defence spending as a % of GDP: 5%

2024:
NHS spending as a % of GDP: 10.9%
Defence spending as a % of GDP: 2.2%

This is such a common applause line, but it’s also total bullshit.

Gaza ceasefire plan: how much credit does Trump deserve?

Earlier than usual, Politics Weekly America on the Gaza ceasefire plan — and how much credit should go to Donald Trump. I break it down with @julianborger.bsky.social open.spotify.com/episode/1p6H...

One of the greats

Spent five minutes staring at this trying to work out what it had reminded me of.

Realised it was this horrifying passage from George Orwell’s 1984.

That Trump and Trumpism are fascist doesn’t explain the sheer vandalism of unleashing mass murdering mayhem via RFK to replace medical/scientific institutions of immense value and prestige with medieval peasant superstitions. That is a criminal madness facilitated by but above and beyond fascism.

Government by the trolls, of the trolls, for the trolls, inflicted on the people.

I’ve checked this against the original press release, and yes, the UK government is actually suggesting something this bloody stupid. (Because it’s stored in a data centre and data centres are Bad).

This is *immensely* stupid advice. They don’t use energy while they’re sitting on a hard drive not being accessed. They very much use energy while you’re going through them all and deleting them.

It’s also a fraction of a fraction of the energy saving you’d make by driving less or similar.

Kennedy is killing science.

That will end up killing people.

WTF. So if Russia invaded and killed civilians to get a piece of Ukrainian territory, that’s earning it?

‘I must document everything’: the film about the Palestinian photographer killed by missiles in Gaza Fatma Hassouna used poetry and photography to record the death and devastation she saw daily. Was she targeted by the IDF? We speak to the director of Put Your Soul on Your Hand and Walk, a film about...

‘I must document everything’: the film about the #Palestinian photographer killed by missiles in #Gaza
@julianborger.bsky.social

www.theguardian.com/film/2025/au...

How do we lead moral lives in an age of bullies? | Robert Reich In my lifetime, I have witnessed a shift from support of decency to tolerance of cruelty. Where do we go from here?

We are living in an age of bullies. Those with power are less constrained today than they have ever been in my lifetime.

The question is: how do we lead moral lives in this era? https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/jul/28/bullies-moral-lives-robert-reich