Do not adjust your email – although those of a nervous disposition may wish to look away now. The moment is almost upon us. On Friday, Donald J Trump will be inaugurated as the 45th President of the United States of America.
For all the many thousands of words of advance news, comment and speculation, one thing at least is certain: this will be a president for whom the normal rules of engagement do not apply. As last week’s coverage of the so-called “dirty dossier” of alleged (and unproven) Trump misdeeds and links to Russia showed, what might destroy a president normally only seems to make Trump stronger.
On the Guardian Weekly’s front cover this week, Jonathan Freedland argues that it will be a mistake to try to judge Trump by the usual measures and that a new method of dealing with and understanding him will have to be found. Whatever happens, it promises to be an eventful ride.
From Nicosia, the divided capital of Cyprus, there’s an uplifting report from the Observer’s Helena Smith on efforts to reunify the island’s Greek and Turkish zones. In France, we meet Emmanuel Macron, the pro-EU, centre-left presidential hopeful gathering momentum.
There’s an astonishing world diary from Rwanda and a reconciliation village where former tribal enemies now live together in peace. From Syria, meanwhile, hopes of a widespread ceasefire are being accompanied by Iranian-driven plans to segregate parts of the country on sectarian lines.
In the UK, Theresa May delivered the most important speech of her premiership so far, outlining the government’s plans for a Brexit deal that would see Britain leave Europe’s single market altogether. Meanwhile it was another awful week for the country’s beleaguered National Health Service. Catch up on our UK news pages.
The Weekly Review lead takes us on a chilling journey into one of China’s “black jails”, the off-grid detention centres for dissidents and others deemed enemies of the one-party state. There’s nostalgia from Australia as we meet a legendary Melbourne cricket bat-maker who is hanging up his tools after many years’ graft. And we go behind the scenes at the rock guitar camps for teenage girls that are proving an international hit.
Discovery delves into the ethically thorny topic of genetically modified human embryos, Books looks back at Harvard College’s great female astronomers, and Culture catches up with Carmen Herrera, the 101-year-old artist who recalls a life stretching back from Picasso’s Paris to present-day New York City.
A sad note for me last week as a follower of English football (if supporting Leeds United equates to the same thing) was the death of Graham Taylor, the former England manager, aged 72. Stories abound of Taylor’s kindness and decency throughout his career; at a time when it feels like the world could do with a few more people with those qualities, he will be greatly missed.
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