Madagascar rarely makes front page news but the toppling of its president by protesters led by Gen Z Madagascar is part of a phenomenon that stretches from Nepal to Indonesia and the Philippines to Morocco. Leaderless groups, formed online, have learned from one another as they take to the streets to vent their frustration against what they see as corrupt older elites and a lack of economic opportunity for their generation.
Our southern Africa correspondent, Rachel Savage, explains how a tumultuous month unfolded on the Indian Ocean island and explores the deep-seated discontent that led to the military siding with student demonstrators to force President Andry Rajoelina out of power.
We also have an extract from Virginia Giuffre’s posthumous memoir, in which she recounts how she was pulled into a web of exploitation that led to her alleged sexual relations with Prince Andrew. It is a story that, as Caroline Davies reports, the royal family dearly want to draw a line under but one that has continued to make headlines as further details of Andrew’s behaviour and lifestyle are revealed.
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Five essential reads in this week’s edition
Spotlight | A far-right fight club on their hands
Ben Makuch reports on security service monitoring of ‘active clubs’ as they move across borders to spread extremism, mixing the behaviour of football hooligans with the ideology of the Third Reich
Spotlight | Nothing to see here?
Due to open within weeks, Nigeria’s Museum of West African art is intended to showcase the Benin bronzes and other masterpieces stolen by 19th-century colonisers. But the project has been beset by political rows that mean, as Philip Oltermann and Eromo Egbejule report, visitors will see more replicas than original pieces
Science | Waiting for graphene to explode
Two decades after the material was first produced and then much hyped, graphene has dropped from business and general discussion. Julia Kollewe reports on the successes and setbacks of taking it from lab to mainstream use
Opinion | An A-level in English won’t make integration work
A government demand that immigrants get a qualification that most British citizens don’t have if they want to earn the right to stay is the latest absurd way to focus on ‘outsiders’ rather than address domestic problems, argues Nesrine Malik
Culture | The hardest part
David Harewood reflects on returning to play Othello after almost 20 years and with fellow Black actors looks at how attitudes to Shakespeare’s most difficult tragedy have changed
What else we’ve been reading
The year’s Stirling prize has gone to a social housing complex for older people in south-east London. Catherine Slessor writes with great enthusiasm about how the award-winning architects Witherford Watson Mann have completely reimagined accommodation for later life. Out with disorientating corridors, in with bright, informal, nature filled spaces, described by the Stirling judges as “a provision of pure delight”. Emily El Nusairi, deputy production editor
I saw The Magic Flute in Paris last year, and it was fascinating to see how different opera houses interpret the staging. This review of a London production made me reflect on the way different directors handle staging and sound to bring the story to life. It reminded me of listening to the Queen of the Night’s aria when I was growing up and the experience of seeing opera live. Hyunmu Lee, CRM executive
Other highlights from the Guardian website
Audio | The seed bank storing the planet’s future
Video | The city that reveals Britain’s biggest problem: there’s nowhere to live
Gallery | The amazing world of fungi
Interactive | How the Louvre museum robbery happened in video, photographs and maps
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