I knew for sure that the Guardian Weekly’s cover story packed a real punch this week after three people involved in the production process – separately from one another – described it to me as “scary”. Perhaps you will agree after you read our Latin America correspondent Dom Phillips’s fine dispatch on the rapid rise of the far right in Brazil. As scandal engulfs the nation’s politics, disillusioned Brazilian voters are increasingly looking to free-market liberals, evangelical Christians and populist rightwing extremists, with some even advocating a return to military dictatorship. Scary, indeed.
As Donald Trump marks six months in the White House, we look at the impact his decisions are having on US domestic policy areas. Members of his team this week continue to try to shake off allegations of links with the Russian government. And we bid a fond farewell to Sean “Spicey” Spicer, now released somewhat mercifully from the oft-thankless role of presidential press officer.
Conditions have been deteriorating for those left at Australia’s Manus Island detention centre as operations wind down and the notorious facility nears closure. In France, the honeymoon period for president Emmanuel Macron seems to be over. In Venice, local people have reached snapping point as peak tourist season hits Italy. From Spain, we find out how hotel cleaners are organising to fight back over pitiful pay conditions.
There’s also a special spread of news focusing on the plight of environmental defenders around the world, who are losing their lives in the line of duty at unprecedented rates. There’ll be more to come on this important and disturbing issue.
In the UK, the parents of Charlie Gard finally gave up their legal battle for their critically ill baby to be flown to the US for experimental treatment, a heartbreaking case that attracted international interest and provoked discussion on several fronts. In more heartening news, we catch up with the tiny Welsh village that organised itself to invite a family of Syrian refugees to live there.
The Weekly Review catches up with the rise of eSports, a world that in some ways remains hidden from view but that has a vast young fanbase and multimillionaire star players. And Discovery looks at the historical secrets of a cache of mummies found in a Lithuanian crypt.
Books touches on our fascination with and fear of sharks, while Culture meets Maria Balshaw, the first ever female director of London’s Tate galleries. There’s also a look at post-horror, a psychological reimagining of cinema’s most lucrative genre.
On the back page John Mullan considers what artificial intelligence can learn from classic English literature (a decidedly mixed bag of moral and ethical behaviours, the professor concludes). It all rather begs the question: what would be the ideal human instruction manual for the aspiring young society robot? One for the Guardian Weekly’s Notes & Queries community to ponder, perhaps!
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