Are the days of the globalised economy numbered? It’s a question more widely pondered of late, particularly in the light of the UK’s recent vote to leave the European Union. Developments in the US presidential election campaign, however, now offer the clearest indication yet that the age of unfettered free trade could be coming to an end.
Tapping into US voters’ anxieties over jobs and low wages, the Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump has long vowed to renegotiate America’s trade deals. Now the Democratic challenger Hillary Clinton has followed suit, confirming her opposition to controversial free trade proposals such as the Trans-Pacific Partnership. And if US-brokered mega-trade deals really are out of fashion in Washington, the impact will be felt not just in the American labour market but all over the world, as Washington bureau chief Dan Roberts reports for our cover story this week.
Now that the Olympics frenzy is over, we can take a breath and look back, both at the sporting action (with an old Guardian Weekly favourite Barney Ronay), and the wider legacy for Brazil at a time of social and political instability, thanks to Latin America correspondent Jonathan Watts.
In the light of the Guardian’s recent exposure of the Nauru files, Australia has announced plans to close another controversial offshore detention camp, on Manus Island. In Africa, meanwhile, fears are growing of a global yellow fever epidemic as vaccine stocks dwindle.
Two months after the Brexit vote, we take a forensic look at the UK’s economic picture and whether it’s boomtime or gloomtime for Britain. And there’s a peek at the maiden flight of the Airlander 10, a new airship that could be a key part of the future of aviation.
The Weekly Review reveals how technological advances led to the amazing rediscovery of the lost cities of Thonis-Heracleion, in Egypt, and Angkor, in Cambodia. The stories of their rise and fall bear pertinent lessons for present-day communities endangered by climate change – and if you enjoy these pieces, there are several more online in the excellent Lost Cities series on the Guardian website.
Discovery asks whether microchip implants could help solve memory loss in humans, while Books explores the happiness industry, a field of activity that yields big profits for business as well as benefits for people.
To coincide with a new TV series set in the early days of hip-hop, Culture looks back to the 1970s New York ghettoes and the birth of the artistic movement that changed the direction of urban music. And there’s a visit to a kooky collection of East German memorabilia, exhibiting everything from hairdryers to unopened jars of spaghetti.
Good to Meet You this week hears from a reader with a particularly fine story regarding concealed tea bags in her airmailed copy of the paper. For me this is hitherto-unsurpassed GW-related ingenuity, but can other subscribers go one better? Email us your Good to Meet You tales here!
Finally, another reminder, if you haven’t already, to check out our new Guardian Weekly interactive reader map. Your submissions are coming in thick and fast – if you want to be on the map and haven’t already sent us your details, click here.
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