We try something different in this issue, leading the Weekly with a fully formed analysis of events in the Arab world from David Hirst, former Middle East correspondent for the Guardian and the author of several books on the region.
Hirst puts the revolution sweeping the Arab world into a broader historical context. I found his piece well-written and insightful, just the sort of thing our Weekly readers demand, and I'd be keen to know what you think of it as a front-page story.
As we went to press, Muammar Gaddafi was clinging to power. Libyans were on the streets, defying bullets and other authoritarian abuse to demand change. The fast-moving nature of this story made it difficult to cover, though Guardian Middle East editor Ian Black brought us up to date right on deadline. Elsewhere inside, we look at the situation in Bahrain, where the crown prince has pulled back troops and allowed people to rally for reform. We also report on the nature of uprisings from Morocco to Yemen.
Away from the Middle East, a magnitude 6.3 earthquake slams New Zealand, national forests become a priority in Rwanda, Taiwan looks to America for more military hardware and a uranium rush threatens the Grand Canyon.
Our UK news pages find the coalition government has caved in on many of its bank-related promises, finance sheds light on fraudster Bernie Madoff's latest revelations from prison, and comment looks at the dark side of India's American dream.
A diaspora is dissected on our review opener with interviews from Chinese who have moved to Africa for economic reasons, where they have ultimately found a better life. It's a fine piece of interviewing from Xan Rice.
In culture, Ed Vulliamy interviews Robert Plant, who has moved beyond his days with Led Zeppelin to a finer form of musicianship. The books pages go to Tibet with Colin Thubron and also revisit the war on terror.
Finally, do cats really catch rats? The British prime minister and his clan at No 10 Downing Street may well be hoping so. They've hired in a Chief Mouser, a tabby named Larry, to take on the rodents recently spotted around the place. Call it breaking mews, if you will, from your dedicated Guardian Weekly team in London.
Quote of the week: "Dr Martha Rocha will carry out her mission with the sweetness and bravery of a woman, because when a woman needs to she can be braver than a man." Rio de Janeiro governor Sérgio Cabral on the city's first female police chief.
Newspaper subscribers can access the Guardian Weekly's digital edition here.
If you have subscription queries, please click here.
