News weeks like this can pose an editorial conundrum for us here at the Guardian Weekly. How best to position several big international stories – Qatar’s Middle Eastern deliberations; reunification talks in Cyprus; the G20 summit in Hamburg – which may only be reaching fruition in the time between the paper going to press and arriving on your doorstep?
Our goal is not just to tell the news, but to put it into the best possible context so our readers can see the big picture. That may well mean you’ll be catching up with the latest on these stories in next week’s edition.
In the meantime, this week we have a terrific package of coverage to keep you occupied, centred around China and its neighbours. From Hong Kong, where the 20th anniversary of the handover from Britain to China saw a stern message from president Xi Jinping and anxiety among pro-democracy supporters. From western China, where the restive Muslim Uighur minority is being suppressed by what some describe as the “perfect police state”. From Taiwan, where a huge arms deal with the US has caused anger in Beijing. And from Pakistan, where the US’s apparent foreign policy pivot towards India is driving the government to pursue closer relations with China. An insight into the some of the geopolitical forces currently exerting sway in this pivotal region.
Elsewhere there’s a look at US domestic developments – rarely dull these days. From its northern neighbour Canada we bring you differing perspectives on the nation’s 150th anniversary, both from its Indigenous peoples and from more recent settlers. From Venezuela there’s news of the latest scarcely credible developments in Nicolás Maduro’s troubled regime.
There’s also a special report from veteran correspondent John Vidal on the growing threat from UK supermarkets to the Fairtrade retail scheme, for so long an iconic international badge of ethical consumerism.
Further back in the paper there’s a moving Washington Post feature about the children of Rwanda’s brutal civil war, many of whom are now taking precarious steps in the adult world. As a complete contrast, there’s a visit to the nostalgic world of London’s early morning market pubs, once the realm of porters but now catering to night shift workers from the construction and media industries, among others.
Culture has an interview with the actor Jon Hamm, the Mad Men star for whom fame arrived relatively late in life, causing significant ripples in his personal life. The Books pages look at the decline of Muslim influence in Spain.
Those of you who like to sit back with the Weekly may be interested in Stefan Stern’s last word on the back page, pondering the productivity benefits (or otherwise) of standing over sitting. However you choose to read your Weekly, we hope it’s equally illuminating. Thanks for subscribing, and please do let us know your views on the edition.
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