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.

The dirt on waste. Dinyar Godrej argues that the problems with our throwaway society add up to much more than the sum of individual actions.

Can peacebuilders end the war with Boko Haram in Nigeria? Hazel Healy travels there to find out.

Trust in tatters. Business model busted. And journalism under attack from all sides. So why does Vanessa Baird think that the news media has a bright future?

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

Chris Brazier interviews Elleke Boehmer, Professor of World Literature in English at Oxford University.

Jo Lateu considers the state of the unions, and argues that a revival has already begun.

Report from South-East Asia

Meat without ‘murder’ might seem a worthy goal, but even if most vegans did want to eat a convincing replica of the real thing, is it safe? Yohann Koshy reports on a new vegan food product from Silicon Valley.

Sally Hayden writes about the Lukodi massacre museum.

A Fantastic Woman, written and directed by Sebastián Lelio; Custody (Jusqu’à la garde), written and directed by Xavier Legrand.

A Line in the River by Jamal Mahjoub; Political Tribes by Amy Chua; Building and Dwelling by Richard Sennett; Deport, Deprive, Extradite by Nisha Kapoor;

Remain in Light by Angélique Kidjo; Voice of Resistance by Rim Banna.

Letter from Marabá: Anxiety, perplexity and indignation over Brazil’s political process as news of former president Lula’s sentencing breaks. Dan Baron Cohen listens to how it goes down in Cabelo Seco.

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

The president of the Philippines he may be, but his reputation is as a Dirty Harry of vigilante politics.

How much; disposal; food; plastic; electronic waste; the facts and figures.

Wame Molefhe profiles Botswana, where prosperity has morphed into corruption and inequality. But will the country’s future see it regain the sparkle its diamonds offer to the rich?

Cartoon by Marc Roberts.