In this week’s issueIndia’s Cockroach protests have shown the power of youth-led dissent, forcing a major concession from Modi’s authoritarian regimeNigel Farage’s Reform UK is quietly cosying up to City lobbyists and corporate giants to help write its future government manifestoHow a convicted fraudster spun a Balkan web of offshore shell companies, illicit crypto-ATMs, and financial subterfuge to bankroll Reform UK’s eliteImprisoned Palestine Action activist warns her barrister’s prosecution sets chilling precedent intended to stop lawyers defending protestersSecret documents expose a covert Russian disinformation campaign in BoliviaHow a UK-registered crude oil pipeline triggered a ruthless wave of military-backed land grabs in UgandaUS Christians have a language problem – and it’s alienating the people needed to save democracyPresident Milei’s austerity is driving a mental health emergency in Argentina, pushing vulnerable citizens and a decimated public health system to breaking pointA Ukrainian activist shares a survivor’s harrowing story of trauma and loss under Russian occupationIn India, where I’m from, much of the country marks the new year in mid-March, with August marking a moment of respite before gearing up for the September harvest and the start of the festive season. Since moving to the UK in the “swirling polar vortex” of 2022, I’ve come to believe that maybe my ancestors were on to something. Despite what the calendar says, August is the true midpoint of the year.So it is on the last bank holiday of the summer, we are taking a moment at openDemocracy to reflect on everything we’ve done this year, and all we need to do in the months ahead. This week’s newsletter is a collection of long reads for your long weekend. These are stories from India, Ukraine, Uganda, Bolivia, the US, Argentina, Montenegro and, of course, the UK, which we published this year but you may not have had the chance to read as yet. So settle in and take your time with this week’s newsletter, and keep coming back to it over the course of the long weekend. In autumn, the UK’s newest prime minister will have to explain how he’s going to pay for all his promises, the US president will find out just how popular his party is, Brazil will find out if it has moved on from its most recent brush with authoritarianism, Ukraine and Russia will dig in for another freezing winter of conflict. As the days grow shorter, we will learn just how intense this year’s El Niño effect will be, what (if anything) AI will do next, if the regime in Cuba will persist, if we can stop thinking about the Strait of Hormuz.