Tom Phillips on life in the country four months after the US abduction of the former president Nicolás Maduro

“The last time I flew out of Venezuela was right at the start of August 2024, just after the disputed presidential election,” the Guardian’s Latin America correspondent, Tom Phillips, tells Annie Kelly.

“It was a moment of real turmoil. There was a huge wave of repression that was unfolding as Nicolás Maduro tried to silence any kind of dissent to his bogus claim to have won that election. Thousands were thrown in prison, many were going underground, and journalists were racing to get out of the country.”

The US supreme court demolished the 1965 Voting Rights Act when it ruled in Louisiana v Callais in April that states can’t consider race in redistricting. Southern states from Tennessee to Alabama have rushed to erase majority Black districts, sparking chaos for the midterm elections. Kai Wright talks with Stacey Abrams, voting rights activist and former Georgia house minority leader, about the fallout from the decision and why she thinks the way forward is still through engaging more voters to participate in democracy: ‘They have fractured communities and said we’re going to scatter these seeds. Our job is to grow.’

The US supreme court dealt a devastating blow to the 1965 Voting Rights Act when it ruled in Louisiana v Callais in April that states cannot consider race in redistricting. Southern states from Tennessee to Alabama have rushed to erase majority-Black districts, sparking chaos for the midterm elections. Kai Wright talks to Stacey Abrams, a voting rights activist and former Georgia house minority leader, about the fallout from the decision, and why, despite it all, she still believes the way forward lies in engaging more voters to participate in democracy. ‘They have fractured communities and said we’re going to scatter these seeds. Our job is to grow,’ she says

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Guardian columnist Rafael Behr talks through a tumultuous day for Labour and Keir Starmer – following the resignation of health secretary Wes Streeting, and the renewed possibility of a Westminster comeback for Andy Burnham

After a week of speculation and gossip, Thursday seemed to be the day the Labour leadership contest really took off. Officially though, Keir Starmer is still in place … and not going anywhere.

Guardian columnist Rafael Behr talks through a frantic day that started with Wes Streeting’s resignation as health secretary and ended with the very real possibility of his rival – Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham – returning to parliament.

From supermarkets to corner shops, live facial recognition could be coming to retailers near you. Jessica Murray on the AI systems increasingly used by the police and stores

Live facial recognition is being hailed as a powerful new frontier in the fight against crime, not only by police but by private companies too. Retailers from supermarkets to corner shops hope it will help them fight back against shoplifting.

But the Guardian’s social affairs correspondent, Jessica Murray, points out that it will also expand surveillance into more and more public spaces. And the technology doesn’t always get it right.

Aditya Chakrabortty on the Labour leader’s predicament – and if he may be the last prime minister of the two-party system

In these highly polarised times, dunking on the prime minister – and this PM in particular – is the one thing that seems to unite people in fury, disappointment and loathing. So as he rolled his sleeves up to address the nation on Monday morning, after one of the worst election results in Labour’s history, Keir Starmer had quite the job on his hands.

The Guardian columnist Aditya Chakrabortty was watching – and wincing. “There are times when I watch Keir Starmer promising he’s going to change,” he said. “He looks to me like a guy on the verge of divorce, holding flowers from the nearest petrol station and saying: 'Trust me. Honestly, it’s going to be different this time. Honestly, love, stick with me.’” But why does there seem to be such antagonism towards the Labour leader – and can anyone guide the party out of the mess they have found themselves in?

Keir Starmer kicked off the day with a speech aimed at persuading MPs against launching any kind of leadership challenge. By lunchtime, Angela Rayner was speaking at the CWU conference calling for Andy Burnham to return. In the afternoon the list of MPs calling on him to resign was slowly creeping up but no challenge has materialised. Why is the Labour party in such a muddle over Starmer?

Journalist Will Coldwell tells the story of how a British businessman was imprisoned in Dubai – and how his family finally got him home

When Albert Douglas found out he was facing a long prison sentence in Dubai, he tried to escape the UAE … and failed. What followed was years of court proceedings, time in prison and even, Douglas says, beatings and torture.

In recent years, scores of business owners, unsuspecting tourists and influencers have been detained in Dubai – caught up in an opaque legal system, charged with breaking laws they may not even have been aware of.