When Islamic State fighters swarmed into Ramadi last Friday, capturing the strategically important Iraqi city, the world seemed momentarily taken aback. Were US airstrikes and special raids not succeeding in pushing Isis back? Had the Iraqi army not finally begun to find its feet?
In fact, as Martin Chulov reports on our cover this week, the situation in Iraq remains anything but straightforward as Ramadi’s predominantly Sunni Muslim population finds itself stuck between Isis jihadists on one hand and Shia militias effectively propping up Iraq’s military on the other. Either way the city’s fall has, historically, rarely been a sign of better things to come and, as one nearby resident put it, “We are now between two bad choices.” For Ramadi’s inhabitants, which will be the least-worst remains to be seen.
We consider the Asia Pacific region in depth this week, looking at possible reasons for China’s increased territorial aggression over islands in the South China Sea. To the south, another catastrophe unfolded as thousands of Burmese and Bangladeshi refugees were set adrift in the Andaman Sea. Elsewhere in Asia there’s an unusual tale from Karachi – via the Washington Post – where a Christian businessman is hoping his giant crucifix will help promote religious tolerance in the Pakistani city of 21 million Muslims (good luck with that!).
On the environmental front we maintain the focus as Shell is accused of planning for a global temperature rise twice as high as that considered safe for the planet, while Canada has reneged on carbon emission targets it set for itself.
From Europe, we hear from Finland, where a controversial nationalist party is set to enter the new ruling coalition, and from Macedonia, where mass protests have erupted against the government. In Finance, meanwhile, we weigh up the faint pulse of a long-awaited return to growth across the eurozone.
In the UK the dust is still settling after David Cameron’s election win earlier this month. We take a look at the big issues his Conservative majority government will need to tackle in the coming months.
There was also controversy over the publication of private correspondence from Prince Charles to ministers of the former Blair government – dubbed the Black Spider letters owing to the prince’s messy handwriting. From badgers to helicopters, we reveal the issues Charles deemed worthy of lobbying the government over.
In the Review section we delve into the arcane and decorous world of London’s gentlemen’s clubs, where a most unseemly turf war is developing over the admission (or otherwise) of female members. From Thailand the Washington Post has news of efforts to stop monks behaving badly. And from France, Le Monde has the heartwarming story of Popoff, the 72-year-old former vaudeville wrestler who still pumps iron in his back garden while reliving the glory days of grapple.
Discovery takes a look at the booming digital health monitoring industry, with its potential for both medical improvement and personal data misuse. Books lifts the lid on the story of the Greenpeace Arctic 30 protesters, while Culture visits a new Paris design exhibition and catches up with Emmylou Harris, the queen of country music.
What will Bill Clinton’s official title be if Hillary becomes the next US president? asks Notes & Queries. Good to Meet You hears from a reader for whom the Weekly became part of her daily life in Cairo. And, as the French Open gets going this weekend, we look at Rafael Nadal, the greatest clay-court tennis player of all time, and ask whether his star is finally starting to fade.
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