Ukraine is thought to be one of the most heavily mined countries in the world – and the problem extends way beyond its own borders.

Landmines not only pose a lethal risk to civilians, they also "block farmland, delay reconstruction and threaten commercial shipping routes", said Decode39. As Ukraine is one of the world's leading exporters of corn and wheat, many countries are urgently considering how to help demine the nation.

What is the scale of the problem?
Long before Russia invaded in 2022, it had planted mines in Ukrainian territory. Now, a quarter of Ukraine is thought to be contaminated with explosives, said the Institute for International Political Studies – that's an area larger than England. In the past 1,000 days, more than two million landmines have been scattered on Ukrainian territory, said the US Center for European Policy Analysis.

What's being done about it?
Ukraine's National Mine Action Centre has produced a map that highlights areas confirmed as hazardous, or suspected of being hazardous, said Bellingcat, as well as areas that have been cleared. It oversees the work of government and private operators who are helping to demine the country.

Before 2022, only men could work in explosive disposal in Ukraine but, since so many men have been drafted, it's now largely female teams checking the land on their knees, often in high heat and heavy gear. It's "like gardening on steroids", Jon Cunliffe of the UK's Mines Advisory Group told Prospect magazine. The teams also use specially trained dogs to sniff out TNT; each animal can cover up to 1,500 sq metres a day.

How long will it take?
Many contaminated areas are on the front lines, making them impossible to assess, while some mines or unexploded shells are on private land or even in water. The Black Sea, for example, is littered with naval mines. 

"It is a staggering task," said Prospect. It will take "decades at least" to remove all the landmines from Ukraine. The Ukrainian Association of Humanitarian Demining estimates about 30 years, said Euronews, but it depends how long the war continues. "One day of war is about 30 days of demining," said one expert.

Audiences at Oasis reunion shows aren't just middle-aged people celebrating the music of their youth; younger people are also lapping up the nostalgia – even those who don't remember the 1990s at all.

'Objectively brighter'
Young people "weighed down by concerns about climate change, war and artificial intelligence" view the 1990s as a "less stressful" era, said France 24. That may help explain why many students are adopting the "baggy jeans and bucket hats" that were a "staple" of Liam Gallagher's wardrobe.

There's also been a "sudden rash of nostalgic food rebrands" of "everything from Nik Naks to Walkers" and "Bacardi Breezers", said Emily Watkins in The i Paper. Manufacturers are "tapping into 30-somethings' apparent yearning to return to our 1990s childhoods",  a "simpler time, when the worst thing that could happen was being sent to bed before 'Top of the Pops'".

Each generation "loves to romanticise the good old days, whether or not they were actually better", but "for my generation, they were". Houses were more affordable, the internet "hadn't yet melted our brains" and "economically, politically, culturally, life was objectively brighter".

'Future-oriented endeavour'
It was decided at some point over the past 15 years that the "1990s were a golden age", said Daisy Dunn in The Spectator. Even Gen Z, who know only the "colourless, anodyne first years of the new millennium", talk about the 1990s in "mystical tones".

Born between 1997 and 2012, Gen Z are "captivated by what life was like in the analogue past", a "gulf that is greater than the one that separates" other generations, said nostalgia psychology expert Clay Routledge in The New York Times. They seem to be "mining" it to "enrich their present lives", particularly by "fostering a greater appreciation for offline living". 

Nostalgia is often associated with feeling "sentimental" about "cherished memories from one's own life" but "people can also feel nostalgic for a past that predates them". Although it sounds counterintuitive, this "historical nostalgia" can be a "future-oriented endeavour": looking to the past can "reveal the future we actually want".

Arctic wolves roam on Ellesmere Island, Canada. This photo, taken in temperatures of -35C by Amit Eshel, is one of the outstanding nature shots featured in the 61st Wildlife Photographer of the Year exhibition at London's Natural History Museum, which opens on 17 October. 

Amit Eshel / Wildlife Photographer of the Year

If real-life politics fills you with despair, try diving into one of these tense thrillers. Packed with plot twists, power struggles and political scandals, these bingeworthy shows will have you hooked from the start.

Hostage
Suranne Jones stars as the "no-nonsense" newly elected prime minister in this "globetrotting" political thriller, said Lucy Mangan in The Guardian. When her husband is kidnapped by "unknown terrorists", she must try to save him while managing a national emergency. It's a "rollicking, propulsive and compulsive yarn".

Paradise
Many TV shows struggle to make an impression but occasionally "one comes along that has such a striking opening episode that there is no doubt you'll be watching until the big finale", said Jacob Stolworthy in The Independent. Enter "Paradise" (pictured above): an "intriguing mystery" delving into the murder of the US president. What first appears to be a "run-of-the-mill espionage thriller" soon unfurls into something far more interesting.

The Diplomat
The first season of this "political-thriller-cum-marital-dramedy" was an "unexpected pleasure", said Richard Lawson in Vanity Fair. It followed Kate Wyler (Keri Russell), a US diplomat juggling her new job as ambassador to the UK with her turbulent marriage to a political star. Season two is just as successful.

Zero Day
A cyberattack strikes the US for one minute, causing widespread devastation in this "handsomely made" political thriller, said Sophie Butcher in Empire. "Cars crash, planes fall, hospital equipment fails." It's a catastrophic event on an "unprecedented scale" and brings former president George Mullen (Robert De Niro) out of retirement to track down the perpetrators by "any means necessary". 

Criticising Angela Rayner for buying a second home is the worst kind of snobbery
Flic Everett in The Independent
Angela Rayner is "the most slagged-off woman in Britain", writes Flic Everett. The deputy PM has "faced every accusation imaginable short of armed robbery". She's been attacked for "uncrossing her legs provocatively" in the House of Commons, for being "common as muck", and "if she dances on holiday, she's 'partying while Britain collapses'". It's all because she's "a threat" to those who think "politics is a big boys' game", and "it's classist, sexist" and "profoundly unfair".

Rice Can Feed the World – Even With Fewer Farmers
Javier Blas on Bloomberg
Rice is "the world's most important crop for food security", writes Javier Blas. And "prices are down" because "modern farming methods" have created a "productivity boom": there's "more food from fewer farmers". There are "risks" with technological advances but many can be "tackled by educating farmers to adopt the best techniques". The "explosion" in rice yields shows that "science can help the world to cope with the changing climate without going hungry".

Skeletons deserve to rest in peace, not be turned into gothic accessories
Rowan Pelling in The Telegraph
"Real-life ghouls" are making "a fast buck on eBay and Instagram" by selling human skulls, writes Rowan Pelling. "Removing body parts from a grave is illegal" but "bodies in themselves are not 'property'", and the "sellers make it clear" that they are recycling "medical teaching aids from previous eras". It's "perturbing" that anyone wants "to live with bits of dead people". I hope our laws are tightened soon, "so we can all truly rest in peace".