Ecuador’s election wasn’t free — and its people will pay the price under President Noboa
One swallow does not a summer make
Where do swallows go over winter, asks JOHN GREEN

VERY soon we will be observing the return of swallows to our shores. These are iconic birds, symbolising the arrival of summer and idyllic sunny days to come.
Sadly, the numbers of these birds have been declining over recent decades as a direct result of the calamitous decline of insects, their sole food source.
In my childhood I remember having to regularly clean the car’s windscreen on long journeys because it became caked with the bloody and sticky corpses of insects.
More from this author

Mountains of research show that hardcore material harms children, yet there are still no simple measures in place

JOHN GREEN relishes photography that unfolds a longstanding and poetic relationship with Leeds

Odysseus’s homecoming myth is treated as a factual story, with strong resonances for our contemporary world. This is an implicit anti-war film that has an urgent relevance, writes JOHN GREEN

JOHN GREEN recommends an entertaining, if harsh and instructive, study of bullying, discipline and power dynamics in schools and at work