As I write this, we are 10 days into a Trump presidency that is already like none that has gone before it.
At times like these, with world events moving so quickly, it can be difficult to know what to put on the Guardian Weekly’s front page, for fear that events may have been superseded by the time the paper gets out. There are no such concerns this week; David Shariatmadari’s superb analysis of Trump’s war on Muslims perfectly captures the story and background behind last weekend’s travel bans to the United States. As Shariatmadari writes, it’s an apocalyptic view of Islamist terrorism that joins the dots between many of Trump’s appointments, be they military men, rightwing publishers or TV pundits. One senses a long, miserable campaign of attrition awaits.
Inside the paper we look back on a scarcely believable first week in Trumpland that saw numerous other controversial executive orders, a visit from the British prime minister and an invitation to meet the Queen (already the subject of numerous UK protests). There’s also a report from rural Michigan, where the consensus seems to be that Trump is doing a phenomenal job.
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There was news beyond Trumpland. The French left selected a new presidential candidate for what already seems a hopeless challenge. In Germany, the former European parliament president Martin Schulz is being talked up as a potential challenger to chancellor Angela Merkel later this year. In Myanmar, the assassination of a legal adviser to Aung San Suu Kyi has raised fresh fears of renewed political instability.
In Japan, the possible discovery of lost fuel rods at the stricken Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power station has raised hopes that the plant can be safely decommissioned. In another strand of science, a new human-pig hybrid has raised the ethically interesting prospect of growing human organs inside animals for use in transplants.
In Britain, the curry house has been a stalwart of high street dining for many years, but are its days numbered? Find out in the longer-read Weekly Review section. On a different tangent, there’s a fascinating glimpse of life on both sides of the imposing Congo river.
Books has the uplifting story of a Parisian homeless man’s rise from the streets to become a bestselling author. Culture meets the African-American actor Viola Davis, for whom hard work has been the secret to her rise to prominence. Sport celebrates the astonishing achievements of Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and the Williams sisters, Venus and Serena: all finalists at the recent Australian Open once again.
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