Conflict and resolution. Action and reaction. Crisis, then calm.
We often feature the first of these pairings – the troubles, the tensions, the strife – while anticipating, in a wistful sort of way, opportunities to showcase the latter.
So make what you will of our cover story this week: Greece yearns for a new start. As banks slowly reopen, and reforms and further austerity take hold in Athens, we reflect on a country struggling to look ahead. We also report on Portugal, Ireland and Spain, economies that also struggled, and that have taken different roads to recovery.
Inside the paper, both in news and on our Comment pages, we further explore last week’s nuclear deal between world powers and Iran, and consider what happens next with US congressional critics of the agreement. We visit Brazil, where President Dilma Rousseff has been hit by inflation, joblessness and corruption scandals; Argentina, where “Kirchnerismo” is set to outlast the country’s president; and Mexico, where the prison escape of drug lord ‘El Chapo’ has exposed the futility of the government’s drug-war strategy.
In Asia, China warns Japan over a constitutional change that permits Japanese troops to fight abroad for the first time since the second world war. And Taiwan is poised to elect its first female leader after the two largest parties nominated women to contest January’s presidential election. In Africa, meanwhile, a former dictator in Chad is on trial for war crimes, and an aid summit rejects a global tax crackdown.
In Britain, the now-majority Conservative government continues moves to remake the country in its own image. The BBC now faces a revamp, and so do trade union rights. As well, the health secretary has warned that a free NHS may no longer be tenable, the justice secretary took aim at the country’s ageing and inefficient Victorian jails, and the prime minister, David Cameron, claimed that extremism is the “struggle of our generation”. Even if you are not keen on British politics, the forces at play right now make for fascinating reading.
Our Comment pages assess Europe in light of Greece, a reinvigorated Barack Obama, a jail term for a one-time Auschwitz official and the dangers of sharks and surfing. On our Letters page, you shared your views on French philosophy, aid for Greece, and Islamic State and the nature of evil. If you’d like to send us a letter, you can do it by clicking here.
Review lightens things up a little, opening with a discussion of wellness bloggers: how much do they know about food, and should we listen? Sit back and take in the observations of Guardian columnist and feature writer Hadley Freeman.
Discovery reports on Nasa’s New Horizons mission to Pluto and beyond. I love a good science story, so I hope you do too! And of course, there’s much more science-related news online.
Our Books pages carry on a discovery theme, taking a look at a history of scientific thought.
Culture visits an exhibition in Paris that showcases how form and function have always gone hand in hand. Notes & Queries contributors take on sexual relations and the coffee break. Societal highlights, some might say. Please do send in a reply or a question using this link.
Sport wraps up this week’s well-rounded editorial offering: golf, touring cars, cricket, cycling and tennis. Armchair athletes, sit back and enjoy!
I do hope you find some resolution in this edition, and not just conflict. Some calm to balance crisis. I am happy for your thoughts on the newspaper, which you can share with me by email, by clicking here.
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