There are several themes running through this edition of Guardian Weekly, none of them very upbeat: privacy, security, fear.
In Europe, as the refugee crisis continues, perimeter fencing is all the rage, with sales driven by fear. In Uruguay, the wealthy are already living behind gates, we learn in a piece of reportage from the exclusive paradise that is beach side Punta del Este.
On the health front, a public emergency has been declared due to the Zika virus.
A long read on the one-click world of cyberwarfare dovetails nicely with the Discovery pages, where internet service providers are keen to sell everything they know about our browsing habits. Not just fear, then, but loathing, too, online.
From the South Island of New Zealand, locals grow concerned about shark behaviour that they link to the cage-diving industry. In outer space, meanwhile, fragments of spent rockets and other hurtling hardware pose “special political danger”. If a satellite is taken out, who is to say whether it was caused by space junk or political sabotage?
We do, indeed, live in troubled times.
Baffling ones as well, if the results of the Iowa caucuses are to be fully considered.
Delegates in that first test of this US presidential election year gave Ted Cruz the nod over Donald Trump, and Hillary Clinton, meanwhile, was pushed to the limit by “democratic socialist” Bernie Sanders. Of course, the election campaign has a long way to run.
We held open the front page of the Weekly to capture this story, and nudged right up against our midday print deadline to get this news to you.
There is lots more reading in this edition, not all of it troubled or baffling.
In the Caribbean, Monserrat aims to turn volcanic eruptions to economic advantage (think geothermal power and sand mining). In Africa, the Gambia’s recent declaration that it is now an Islamic state is really a bid to woo financial favour from Gulf states, Harriet Sherwood finds. And from Asia, Aung San Suu Kyi’s party leads Myanmar into a new era.
We look at tax issues surrounding Google, interest rates in Japan, and the entire Guardian Weekly team ponders a holiday in the Pennines as British prime minister David Cameron urges Britons to take a break in the north of England.
Comment considers the west’s role in the conflict in Yemen, Syrian peace talks and whether pyjamas are ever OK on the school run (you’re entitled to your own opinion, but, honestly, I say no).
As we look back in capturing the week just passed, it strikes me as an odd jumble of worries.
It was a week where nothing seemed entirely clear.
If you can make sense of it all, please do let me know! Email me your feedback on editorial matters by clicking here. And thank you for supporting us.
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