On January 13, in the first European trial against a high-ranking Syrian regime official, a former senior intelligence officer was sentenced to life in prison in Germany for crimes against humanity. Former head of interrogation at a detention centre in Damascus, Anwar Raslan was found guilty on 4,000 counts of torture and the murder of 27 detainees, less than a year after one of his subordinates was convicted by the same German court. It’s been a long road to justice for victims and their lawyers tracking down former torturers who have settled in Europe since 2013.

With a magnifying glass in one hand and notebook in the other, butterfly enthusiasts are on the hunt for monarch eggs. In Canada, hundreds of hunters take part in the annual monarch census counting, as the emblematic butterflies remain threatened by extinction.

Rescuers in India are combing through mud and debris in a desperate search for survivors and to evacuate villagers as the death toll from heavy monsoon rains climbs with nearly 90,000 evacuated.

Here is why you should pick up a copy of The Guardian on Wednesday. Find these stories and much more when you grab a copy of The Guardian on the newsstands on Thursday.