I thought things would slow down. Now that Britain has staged its referendum on remaining within the European Union (we’re not), Wimbledon has been won, most schools have sent their small charges packing, and a soft ice cream with chocolate flake can be easily accessed, we should, here in London, be in the midst of the silly season, when frivolous stories dominate the headlines.
I was wrong.
Over just a few days, we had a shocking attack against people who were simply strolling the beachfront at Nice on Bastille Day, a coup attempt in Turkey, an axe attack on a train in Germany, more police officers killed in America, a doping report that paints Russian athletes in a very poor light, and a massive cabinet reshuffle at Westminster. Silly it was not.
We capture these events, and many others, in the edition zooming through the rollers at press sites in the US, Australia and east London.
But we go beyond, with a cover story that delves into economic, political and social matters in Brazil with the summer Olympics looming.
We bring a full page of analysis on the recent UN tribunal ruling about territorial issues in the South China Sea.
We catch up with migration as partner paper Le Monde reminds of the refugees fleeing across the Mediterranean. A possible endgame in the Syrian conflict is also assessed.
And we update as Britain’s new prime minister, Theresa May, sweeps away the Cameron era in quite surprising fashion with an unexpected new cabinet.
Comment is especially powerful. Natalie Nougayrède argues that France is on the verge of political upheaval after the Nice attack. Author Alev Scott asks what happens next in Turkey. John Harris contends that Britain’s Labour party has lost a connection with its working-class roots, while Jonathan Freedland wonders aloud at the sense of appointing Boris Johnson, the former London mayor and figurehead of the campaign for the UK to leave the EU, as foreign secretary.
With a news and views lineup like that, the wonderful images selected this week by deputy editor Graham Snowdon for the Eyewitnessed spread are welcome indeed.
There’s more fabulous long-form journalism at the back of the newspaper.
Guardian editor-in-chief Katharine Viner considers how technology has disrupted the truth. Science writer Robin McKie finds that sea otters are helping to save the planet. The Book reviews take on the history of word processing (who remembers the Tandy TRS-80? Editor admission: I do), while Culture reviews film, photography and music.
Our back page introduces you to the latest tech craze, Pokémon Go, an augmented reality game that is pushing users from their sofas and screens and onto city streets, smart phones in hand, in search of virtual critters. I knew it had really taken off when a member of the Weekly’s crew captured a Pokémon right here on our production desk! It made a change.
Weekly helps you make sense of the world, from convulsing geopolitics to fast-evolving ways of play. How did we do this week? Please let me know by sending feedback, which you can email by clicking here.
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