The Signal chat read around the world: What the leak tells us about Trumpworld

It was a jaw-dropping slip with potentially far reaching ramifications. The fallout from US national security adviser, Mike Waltz, adding Atlantic editor-in-chief, Jeffrey Goldberg to the now infamous “Houthi PC small group” Signal chat continues. This week we’ve focused on the political response in the US and the global security implications for the rest of us.

Archie Bland, for the essential First Edition newsletter, asked just how bad the leak was and looked at the security implications of using Signal for national security discussions. Media columnist Margaret Sullivan praised the Atlantic’s handling of an extraordinary leak and Robert Tait profiled Goldberg who, since breaking the story, has been the subject of a stream of ad hominem attacks from some of the officials on the Signal thread. Jonathan Freedland and Susan B Glasser discussed how Trump himself had blamed the media, rather than Waltz and company, on the Politics Weekly America podcast. Meanwhile, senior international correspondent Peter Beaumont looked both at what hostile states could take away from the leak and how some of the participants’ lies and denials about the messages have “made the scandal immeasurably more serious than it was already”.

That point was elaborated on by Joseph Gedeon and Hugo Lowell, in the Washington team, who wrote that the biggest problem with the leak wasn’t only that sensitive military operations were revealed, but the systemic dishonesty it revealed: “It exposes a system of broken accountability, where high-ranking officials can spill military secrets with apparent near-total immunity.” While that was the public response, columnist Moira Donegan was cutting on what the messages said about the private behaviour of these top officials: “The group chat speaks to the essence of the second Trump administration: its cavalier incompetence, its contempt for human life.”

For those of us outside the United States, the attitudes – to information security and towards supposed allies – were the most troubling takeaways from the debacle. Leyland Cecco and Eva Corlett asked what it meant for the future of the Five Eyes intelligence-sharing alliance, while Andrew Roth analysed how the messages revealed the sheer level of contempt in which the likes of JD Vance and Pete Hegseth hold Europe. As columnist Marina Hyde put it, “Please enjoy European diplomats declaring that as far as the relationship between the continent and the US goes, this is ‘the writing on the wall’. If only it HAD been written on a wall – that would actually have been more secure and secretive.”

Another quiet week in American politics, then. For help keeping in the loop, our team in the US produces a daily catchup of events in American politics that readers tell us they are finding very useful indeed. (You can bookmark it here.) And do keep an eye on Opt out, a series in which Johana Bhuiyan helps readers to safely navigate your online privacy, which is more important than ever. (And which is perhaps one for Mike Waltz to bookmark … ) This week’s edition explains how green card holders and foreign visitors can protect their phone data from overzealous officials at the US border.

Last week I mentioned how I was blown away by No Other Land, the Oscar-winning documentary about the destruction of villages in the West Bank. On Monday, one of the film’s co-directors, Hamdan Ballal, was attacked by armed settlers before being arrested by IDF soldiers. After he was released, Ballal gave an account of his ordeal to correspondent Lorenzo Tondo, who also appeared on Friday’s Today in Focus to discuss the incident. Ofer Cassif, a member of Israel’s Knesset who has spent years tackling settler violence in the West Bank, pointed out that it has taken an Oscar-winner’s detention for the world to pay attention to what is happening.

We have closely followed events in Turkey as thousands took to the streets for days of protests over the arrest of Istanbul’s mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu, the opposition candidate selected to stand against Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in the country’s next presidential election. Ruth Michaelson, Sami Kent and Michael Safi discussed the protests on a fascinating edition of Today in Focus. As journalists were arrested and deported by the authorities, Ruth reported on the gulf in coverage between pro-government media and the small slice of independent sources. Writer Ece Temelkuran wrote about the youthful energy of street protest that is breathing life back into failing progressive parties.

Australia’s Labor prime minister, Anthony Albanese, has called a federal election for 3 May. The team in Australia was ready, with an explainer of everything voters need to know, a poll tracker, analysis of the big issues and the likely outcome and, on the Full Story podcast, political reporter Dan Jervis-Bardy gave Reged Ahmad the lowdown of what to expect, before he headed out on the campaign trail.

In Britain, chancellor Rachel Reeves delivered her spring statement, blaming “global uncertainty” for swingeing cuts to welfare as she was accused of balancing the books at the expense of the poor. Economics editor Heather Stewart asked what kind of chancellor she has been so far. Alex Clark and Richard Partington examined how the financial markets boxed in Reeves with this eye-catching visual analysis. As many disabled people fear the worst, the latest culture war is focused on Motability, a scheme that helps people with disabilities to lease a car. Archie Bland expertly dissected and rebutted claims that the scheme is being used to con the taxpayer.

David Lodge died aged 40, after being found on the floor next to the body of his father, Peter, who had been his full-time carer. Josh Halliday’s powerful interview with Dr Keri Lodge, sister to David and daughter to Peter, was another reminder of the challenges faced by unpaid carers in the UK.

It’s that time of year again … time for the Invertebrate of the year competition, which is delighting readers around the world. Patrick Barkham introduced the shortlisted entries so far including tardigrades, my favourite, which have survived all of Earth’s five mass extinctions; a twerking bee-fly; and a tongue-eating louse.

The Football Weekly podcast covered the first game of German coach Thomas Tuchel’s reign as England men’s manager. And, after the unlikely recall of the veteran Jordan Henderson, Jonathan Liew wrote a perceptive and pertinent column about the types of football players who are considered “leaders” – and the accompanying bias against Black players.

Guardian Documentaries released a timely film about the life and legacy of the Black Panthers with a focus on the group’s children. The story of the “Panther cubs” was released alongside a long read by Ed Pilkington, which served as the inspiration for the documentary.

Chief culture writer Charlotte Higgins’s eventful trip to the United States, when she witnessed JD Vance being booed at the Kennedy Center in a scoop, also yielded a fantastic early look at the Frick Collection, one of New York’s most beloved galleries, which has had a $300m makeover.

I also enjoyed novelist Joe Dunthorne’s gripping account of his Jewish great-grandfather’s involvement in developing chemical weapons for the Nazis; Samanth Subramanian on how a crooked lawyer and a daring film-maker produced a documentary that stunned Denmark by exposing the extent of the corruption that runs through their society; Alexis Petridis’s interview with Micky Dolenz, the last surviving Monkee; and Yotam Ottolenghi’s persuasive case against intermittent fasting in his fabulous new column. Breakfast all round!

One more thing …I loved the first series of The Change, Bridget Christie’s funny, astute, moving and ever-so-slightly weird comedy about a woman who runs away from her life and moves to the forest around the time of her menopause. The second series is just as good – let’s just say I agree with Chitra Ramaswamy’s ecstatic review.

Cook this | Charred gnocchi, purple sprouting broccoli and gorgonzola

Frying and grilling steers gnocchi away from their familiar doughiness and instead gives them a delicious, nutty edge. This recipe by Georgina Hayden is a fancy-feeling dish that is incredibly easy to throw together.

Listen to this | The language of whale song

Researchers have discovered that humpback whale song is strikingly similar to human language. Dr Jenny Allen, an expert in whale song structure at Griffith University, Queensland, speaks to Reged Ahmad about the years of recording, listening and analysing that led to this greater understanding of how humpback whales learn their tune.

Watch this | How countries cheat their net zero carbon targets

Net zero is a target that countries should be striving for to stop the climate crisis. But beyond the buzzword, it is a complex scientific concept – and if we get it wrong, the planet will keep heating. Biodiversity and environment reporter Patrick Greenfield explains how a loophole in the 2015 Paris climate agreement allows countries to cheat their net zero targets through creative accounting, and how scientists want us to fix it.

The Guardian’s crosswords and Wordiply are here to keep you entertained throughout the weekend.