As Russians vote this weekend, remember that Britain is not immune to the cynical tactics and corrosion of trust that keep him in power

Millions of people will participate in elections in Russia this weekend and a new parliament will be chosen, but not necessarily in that order. The purpose of the exercise is to maintain Vladimir Putin’s authority over the political process, which means United Russia, the president’s party, will retain control of the Duma.

That much is settled before the polls open, although the scale of the government’s victory won’t be declared until the votes are counted. A portion of seats is available for other “systemic parties” that function as Kremlin licensed-opposition, padding out the pretence of pluralism. They serve as a pressure valves for public frustration and parliamentary proxies when rival factions within the ruling elite want to nudge Kremlin policy in one direction or another.

Rafael Behr is a Guardian columnist

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Extreme weather has made brittle road surfaces more likely to crack, increasing strain on infrastructure

The UK’s dilapidated roads are expected to get even worse, with motorists warned to expect a jump in the number of potholes as result of the country’s hottest summer on record.

Potholes are commonly assumed to be caused by cold or wet weather, but long periods of heat can also create long-lasting damage on the roads, according to the RAC.

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Thousands of children in state care were evacuated when Russia invaded. Kyiv wants them back – but many resist

When he first arrived in his new home in a small village in the Italian Alps in March 2022, 15-year-old Denys* says he felt homesick and confused. He had been put on an overnight bus and relocated along with more than 100 other children from his orphanage in Berdiansk, in eastern Ukraine, which was one of the first areas to be invaded by Russian troops.

“Ukraine was all I knew,” says Denys. “I had never left it my whole life.”

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From Delhi to New York, from the street to the bath house, he has captured clandestine moments, risked his freedom – and even referenced Romantic painters. Ahead of a major show, the photographer relives his landmark shots

‘I’ve been very promiscuous,” Sunil Gupta says, reflecting on his experiments with photography since the 1970s. Gupta, who was born in India, brought up in Canada and moved to the UK in 1978 after two years studying in New York, has documented and described queer lives for five decades. In his work, he’s quietly tried to find new ways of seeing, exploring the potential of photography to blur fiction and reality, public space and intimate, clandestine moments. His work explores the ways we love and relate to one another, set against the ever-shifting tides of politics and society.

He photographs with love – but it hasn’t been without risk. An exhibition in India was once shut down by the government, and in his early days in the UK, when he was working with fellow photographer Tessa Boffin, he recalls curators “physically shrinking away when we walked in the room – two queers in leather were too much for them! But we were quite aggressively upfront with our sexualities, we weren’t shy about it.”

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Toen ze tijdens een vakantie werd geconfronteerd met terrorisme, wilde ze één ding: erachter komen hoe mensen tot zulke daden komen. Ze bouwde een model dat lijkt op computerspel The Sims.

Vandaag begint de dag droog met wat zon, maar in de loop van de dag laat de zon zich nog maar af en toe zien en vanuit het noordwesten trekken in de middag enkele buien over de regio. Lokaal kunnen daarbij zelfs een klap onweer en wat korrelhagel voorkomen. De temperatuur ligt aanmerkelijk lager dan gisteren. De maximumtemperatuur komt niet hoger uit dan 19 graden en tijdens een stevige bui is het nog een stuk frisser. De wind waait matig uit het noordwesten.

Wereldwijd worden journalisten geïntimideerd, gearresteerd en zelfs vermoord. Ondertussen blijven zij machthebbers die hén monddood willen maken de microfoon geven. Nu de democratie op het spel staat, moet de aanpak van journalisten veranderen. Want de samenleving heeft dringend een tegenmacht nodig.

Thomas Hawk posted a photo:

Thomas Hawk posted a photo:

For BuzzBrothers' 16th birthday I have prepared a complete visual redesign ? from executing brand strategy and digital assets to layout and motion design system. We stripped the brand down to its core: a single piece of motion. Collective energy and the true nature of brotherhood, distilled into a vibrant animation and colour language ? an ever-evolving design system.