In an explosive interview to New Internationalist, the Kurdish female leader Bese Hozat opens up about peace, the party’s view on the region and the independence referendum in South Kurdistan, and accuses Turkey, Saudi Arabia and the West to have incubated Isis. By Karlos Zurutuza.

Emboldened by a recent study, The Guardian repeats the myth that becoming vegan is the ‘single biggest way’ to reduce your impact on Earth. Chris Saltmarsh and Harpreet Kaur Paul disagree.

The backlash against social media titans is in full swing. But are moves to bring them to heel, including new privacy laws, appropriate? Mike Morel investigates.

Yohann Koshy returns to the golden age of solidarity between Global South states and asks: what should a new internationalism look like?

Black Lives Matter and a new generation of activism has the potential to reawaken the global fight for black liberation, argues Amy Hall.

The current clampdown on popular rights mirrors a profound malaise with our system of top-down political representation, argues Richard Swift.

The Right has captured education all over the world. Hazel Healy makes the case for how to do things differently.

After 54 years of struggle under Indonesian rule, is freedom finally in sight for West Papua? Danny Chivers investigates.

Chris Brazier returns to the village in Burkina Faso that he has visited every 10 years since helping to make a film there in 1985.

Report from South-East Asia

Update from Ireland by Megan Nolan.

Georgia was once hailed as a ‘beacon of democracy’ by Western powers, but geopolitics and economic interests have taken priority over human rights, writes Onnik Krikorian.

Highlights from the 2019 Toronto Festival by Richard Swift.

My Brother’s Husband by Gengoroh Tagame; What does consent really mean? by Pete Wallis and Thalia Wallis, illustrated by Joseph Wilkins.

Mambo Cósmico by Sonido Gallo Negro and Forest Bathing by A Hawk and a Hacksaw

What is required to be an authentic person? Parsa Sanjana Sajid ponders the answer from the bright lights of a photo studio.

Sian Griffiths meets a 10-year-old who is already a veteran transgender activist.

Ego? Tick. Money? Tick. Power-hungry? Tick. A disaster for the world? Tick.

What do the numbers look like?

Civil war, ISIS invasions, mountains of rubbish. Never a dull day in Lebanon. The country’s constant turmoil is exhausting, says Reem Haddad, reporting from Beirut.

Cartoon by Marc Roberts.