Just a week to go. As I write this on Tuesday afternoon, the latest edition of Guardian Weekly is being printed at press sites on three continents, Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton is embroiled in another email controversy, and there are seven days left until the conclusion of one of the most fraught electoral campaigns I have ever witnessed.
This is our last edition to feature the race for the White House. Our printing deadlines and complex delivery network to some 170 countries mean delaying the newspaper, even for such important news, is extremely difficult. The edition that will be with you this week opens with Comment on the presidential campaign, captures the latest news, and considers the global perspective.
The print edition after this one, which will be dated 11 November, will have no US elections results. But our digital edition will. The day after ballots are cast and the result is known, your Weekly team will produce what’s known in newsroom lingo as an “extra”, a special edition outside the regular publishing schedule. It will be in online form. You’ll find further information on our letters page. And I’ll write in more detail next week.
News continued apace elsewhere, as you would expect. In South Korea, President Park Geun-hye finds herself embroiled in a political crisis that involves her close relationship with a woman accused of wielding undue influence at the heart of government.
In France, the refugee camp known as the Jungle was demolished. Many residents found solace in relocation centres in rural France. But aid agencies were scathing as hundreds of vulnerable children were left without shelter.
And in the Czech Republic, leaders asked tough questions as a national rebrand and a new name – Czechia – failed to win favour.
We lead the edition with Comment on the front page. A very strong offering continues in the usual spot: Natalie Nougayrède takes on Europe and identity; Nick Cohen contends that British Prime Minister Theresa May told lies to get the job, and that she’s lying now. And Roy Greenslade sings the praises of longevity, chess and Leonard Barden, who has claimed a record for uninterrupted writing of his much-loved chess column.
Weekly Review features one of the Guardian’s fine long read articles, profiling the mayor of San Salvador, Nayib Bukele, and his mission to inspire change in a violent and deeply troubled city. I wish him well.
There’s more great reading on our Discovery spread as international delegates strike a landmark agreement to create the world’s largest marine park in the Southern Ocean, including Antarctica’s Ross Sea. It is a treat to publish this upbeat eco-news!
The book reviews explore how Britain masked its colonial crimes. Culture reviews an exhibition focused on atomic testing in Australia, which is found to be shocking, but somewhat incoherent. Notes & Queries, meanwhile, asks how to recognise middle age. Please do send along your answers to weekly.nandq@theguardian.com, or just click here.
News editing Weekly’s back page is one of the (many) pleasures of the job. Some long-time readers say they start reading from the back! Finding just the right piece, which sets the right pace and tone, takes care. One of my favourite Guardian columnists, Owen Jones, claims this prize spot, arguing for empathy and aiming for hope in a troubled world.
From elections to migration, environment to opinion, I hope you find reasons to be hopeful in this edition. You can email me your thoughts, reactions and observations on the editorial content by clicking here. Thank you for reading.
Would you like to change your delivery address? Your email address? Suspend delivery? You can manage your account online here. Are you a subscriber looking for our digital edition? Click here.
