Trump. Brexit. Environmental degradation. Islamist terrorism. Our predominant contemporary news narratives can feel so all-encompassing that it’s easy to be swept along by them at the expense of other world events.
The Guardian Weekly’s cover story this week, about Ukraine’s forgotten war, is a classic case of this. A little under four years ago, the overthrow of Ukraine’s then-president, Viktor Yanukovych, led to Russia annexing Crimea and fomenting a rebellion in the country’s industrial east. Since then more than 10,000 people have died, but the world’s gaze has shifted elsewhere. The Observer’s Julian Coman reports from the line of contact between Ukraine’s disputed regions, where millions remain stranded in a frozen conflict.
As the US president returns from a 12-day tour of Asia, we look at the diplomatic gains and losses. Trump’s domestic opponents, meanwhile, have been celebrating election successes that set Republican nerves jangling. And in Canada, a major opioid drugs bust has put the nation on high alert.
One region to keep a close eye on this week is the Middle East, where relations between Saudi Arabia and Iran are unravelling swiftly. Martin Chulov reports from Beirut, Lebanon, which risks becoming the focal point of a regional proxy war.
After a week of revelations from the Paradise Papers, there’s a recap of what we learned from the leak of 13.4m files that shone a light on the murky world of offshore finance. Separately, amid a possible asset sale to Disney, we ask whether all is well in the Murdoch family media empire.
The Weekly Review takes us behind the curtain of French presidential politics. Six months after he took office, how is Emmanuel Macron getting on, and who exactly is the man behind the suave smile and double-grip handshake? Talking of which, Discovery delves into the world of social confidence, how it shapes us and how we can get more of it.
Culture has a rare interview with Kathy Burke, the acclaimed north London actor who is now turning her hand to theatre direction. The Culture reviews take us on the latest murder mystery on the Orient Express, and music critic Alexis Petridis asks how on earth soft rock music has managed to become hip again.
In a week in which many people around the world remembered the dead of two world wars, Simon Jenkins rounds off the edition by asking at what point nations should stop wallowing in past events and just move on. For many this will be a controversial viewpoint, but one, I think, that is also worthy of serious consideration. Either way, I look forward to reading your views on this one in a forthcoming Reply page!
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