As anyone will know who has ever happened upon a Guinness pub in an unlikely corner of the globe (and let’s face it, who hasn’t), Ireland has one of the world’s largest and widely scattered diasporas. To me, the pioneering, outgoing nature of the Irish has always felt at odds with Ireland’s deeply conservative society, guided by the hand of the Catholic church in many areas of life.
But, as we explore on the Guardian Weekly’s cover this week, the picture is changing fast. As Ireland prepares for a general election, the Guardian’s religion correspondent Harriet Sherwood visits Dublin and finds a forward-looking country eager to combine faith, hope and secularity.
It was another important week in the Middle East, where the US and Russia have agreed a new ceasefire for the Syrian conflict. Will it hold this time? The Guardian’s new diplomatic editor Patrick Wintour examines the prospects for peace.
It was an interesting week for Latin America’s socialist strongholds. Venezuelans saw a 6,000% rise in the price of petrol as tough economic realities began to bite. In Bolivia, meanwhile, president Evo Morales appeared to have lost his referendum bid to stand for a fourth successive term.
In the US, we survey the likely end of the Bush political dynasty after Jeb’s withdrawal from the Republican presidential race. And from Canada, the Washington Post looks at how Chinese currency flight is fuelling a property boom in Vancouver.
Also from the Post is an interesting Finance piece about how India is courting western business investment – quite a contrast with another story elsewhere in the paper about the removal of western literature from some of the nation’s school syllabuses.
In the UK, the talk was all about Europe as David Cameron confirmed a June referendum on Britain’s EU membership. London mayor Boris Johnson was among leading Tories defying the PM by declaring support for the “out” campaign – but was his decision made with a self-regarding eye to the future? Find out more on the UK news pages.
In the longer-read Weekly Review, we take an inside look at French politics – courtesy of Le Monde – where former prime minister Alain Juppé is in the box seat to be the right’s preferred opponent against François Hollande in 2017 presidential elections. There’s also a long read about whether humankind should eliminate mosquitos in the light of the Zika virus outbreak, and we ask whether the end is nigh for high-denomination international banknotes, which are useful mainly only to criminals.
On our Books pages you’ll find tributes to Harper Lee and Umberto Eco, two giants of world literature who, sadly, both died last week. In Culture, there’s a look at British Vogue magazine, still going strong after a hundred years of high fashion.
Notes & Queries goes all mathematical, asking what is the ultimate algorithm. Good to Meet You hears from an Ottawa resident who wonders if other GW readers will be attending the World Social Forum meeting of civil society organisations in Montreal later this year.
Thanks for reading the Weekly – as ever, I welcome your views on it. And if you do by chance find yourself in a Guinness pub this week, don’t forget your copy of the paper; the two make excellent companions!
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