Moments of beauty and horror punctuate this account of an ill-timed sub-zero camping trip

In late February 2022, Charlie Walker set off on a hiking holiday in northern Siberia. In temperatures as low as -50C, he intended to trek a thousand miles north along the frozen surface of the river Lena, then out across the solid Laptev Sea to the port town of Tiksi, before finally flying home to London. “The plan,” he writes, “was simple in concept.” A sub-zero camping trip through a region populated by wolves and bears and scarred by centuries of historical trauma, in a country that was about to invade one of its neighbours: what could possibly go wrong?

On Thin Ice is Walker’s third travelogue. Previous excursions have included a 43,000-mile bicycle ride across three continents, a 1,000-mile solo walk through the Gobi desert, and a river trip down the Congo in a leaky canoe. When not performing incredible feats of forward motion, according to his website, he gives talks to business leaders on subjects such as “risk taking” and “the line between courage and recklessness”. Reading his latest, it’s clear he’s familiar with the terrain on both sides of that line.

These visualisations from exclusive polling modelling show how the UK parliament could change under different voting systems

New analysis produced exclusively for the Guardian reveals how different voting systems would return wildly different seat totals in the UK parliament based on current polling.

While the current first past the post (FPTP) system could leave Reform UK just 30 seats short of a majority based on recent polls, the modelling shows how proportional systems would be likely to give the UK a more finely balanced parliament that better represents the votes people cast.

João Linneu’s raw and intimate photographs capture his partner and child as they navigate isolation, lumbar punctures and even a lightning storm

Iranians describe how daily life is becoming ever harder as conflict continues and human rights crisis worsens

As US airstrikes hit port and inland cities in Iran, and Tehran strikes at the US’s Middle East allies, the escalating conflict has left many Iranians fearing that, amid war and a worsening human rights crisis, they remain trapped in a cycle of violence and repression with no way out.

Bandar Abbas, on the strait of Hormuz and the headquarters of the Iranian navy, has been hit by strikes every night since the latest escalation began nearly two weeks ago. Soroush*, a writer based in the city who secretly publishes a newsletter documenting human rights violations in Iran, described a “new normal” for its residents.

A walking holiday with a group of strangers to the highest range in the Carpathians promises adventure, stunning views and camaraderie

We are giddy as we reach the summit, breathless with exertion and a guileless, childlike joy. In every direction the jagged peaks of Slovakia’s High Tatras stretch out into the distance, nubs on a colossal spine, glittering lakes embedded like shards of glass far below the rocky, ice-streaked slopes. An eagle wheels above. Somewhere on the lunar landscape a marmot squeaks. Easy laughs ricochet around the group, photos are snapped, backs thumped, words of encouragement offered to the more vertigo-inclined.

The summit of Slovakia’s Kôprovský štít had been playing a Kafkaesque game of mountain mirage with us for several hours, always just over the next ridge which, once conquered, revealed a string of further, seemingly endless ridges. Eight hours and about 23km after we had set off on our hike through the Vysoké Tatry mountain range, an eddy of smiles rippled from person to person (some, granted, of the more clenched-teeth variety). “Yes, team! We did it!” Roman, our high-spirited Slovakian mountain guide, stood atop the tip, clasping each of our hands in congratulation as we crested the peak.

I thought this commission would be straightforward. But my sitter’s response made me question my own attitude to my looks and body image

In September 2024, I was asked to paint the portrait of an 86-year-old man. He had apparently always wanted a formal portrait of himself, and a binge watch of Portrait Artist of the Year had finally spurred him to action. I had been receiving painting commissions for about three years, so I knew the drill: take receipt of a photo, render a painting that wouldn’t look out of place on a county cricket clubhouse wall, and pocket my semi-hard-earned money.

On this occasion, there were two immediate sticking points: first, the sitter wanted me to paint him in person, which would involve commuting to Reading from London and making small talk – to my mind the very worst of obligations. And second, to quote his WhatsApp message, he wanted me to “capture him”. How hard could that be, I thought?

Donald Trump said to have approved agreement to help kingdom make fuel for civilian reactors, which observers fear could pave the way to a nuclear weapon

Donald Trump has approved an agreement with Saudi Arabia that could provide the kingdom with uranium enrichment capability for its civilian nuclear programme, according to news reports citing people familiar with the matter.

The people, who were not authorised to comment publicly about the yet to be formally announced decision, said the agreement may be announced as early as Wednesday. The deal was reported by both the Wall Street Journal and the New York Times.

AMSTERDAM (ANP) - Verfconcern AkzoNobel heeft in het tweede kwartaal van 2026 de winstgevendheid opnieuw zien aantrekken. Het bedrijf achter verfmerken als Flexa, Dulux en Sikkens profiteerde daarbij naar eigen zeggen van prijsaanpassingen en kostenverlagingen, waardoor de winstmarge voor het vijfde kwartaal op rij verbeterde.

Volgens topman Greg Poux-Guillaume heeft AkzoNobel "opnieuw een sterk kwartaal achter de rug", met een stijging van de omzet op eigen kracht en een stijging van de bedrijfswinst. "Dit bewijst dat ons plan waarde oplevert, ongeacht de marktomstandigheden. Robuuste prijzen en een onophoudelijke focus op kostenefficiëntie blijven onze prestaties ondersteunen", aldus de topman.

Ook blijft AkzoNobel volgens de topman op koers om de doelstellingen voor het hele jaar te behalen. De geplande fusie met de Amerikaanse branchegenoot Axalta verloopt volgens Poux-Guillaume volgens plan. De aandeelhouders van AkzoNobel stemmen op 5 augustus over de fusie, die naar verwachting eind 2026 of begin 2027 zal worden afgerond.

AMSTERDAM (ANP) - Om de bouwambities voor huurwoningen waar te maken, is verbetering van het investeringsklimaat in Nederland nodig. Dat stelt De Nederlandsche Bank (DNB) na onderzoek naar de financiering van private huurwoningen.

Het woningtekort in Nederland is al jaren een groot thema, zeker omdat de bevolking naar verwachting blijft groeien. De overheid wil daarom de woningbouw versnellen zodat er jaarlijks 100.000 woningen bijkomen, waaronder huurwoningen.

DNB zegt dat die opgave niet alleen om voldoende bouwlocaties, stikstofruimte en personeel vraagt, maar ook om aanzienlijke financiële middelen. "We schatten dat jaarlijks 40 miljard euro nodig is voor de bouw van 100.000 woningen. Ongeveer 6,4 miljard euro daarvan betreft nieuwe private huurwoningen, dat wil zeggen huurwoningen buiten de corporatiesector."

De centrale bank constateert echter dat de publieke en private investeringen achterblijven. "Zonder extra investeringen dreigt een tekort aan kapitaal voor de beoogde nieuwbouw."

banzainetsurfer has added a photo to the pool: