Here in the UK, one topic has dominated conversation above all others this week. Not the royal baby – OK, admittedly that was a minor diversion for a while – but the subject of who will form the next government after Thursday’s election. With both Labour and the Conservatives tied in the polls and Nicola Sturgeon’s Scottish nationalists on the charge, it is proving one of the hardest elections to call in the country’s history.
Unfortunately the Guardian Weekly’s print deadline precludes us from bringing you the result in this week’s edition, so can I instead direct all you election addicts to the Guardian’s brilliant online coverage, where you’ll find all the news, analysis and multimedia to keep you in the picture once the polls close at 10pm BST on Thursday.
As May Day passes, our cover this week takes a different tack from the norm, looking at the positive ways in which recession-hit workers around the world have formed co-operatives to salvage their shuttered livelihoods. From Andalucia to Argentina, there are stories of uncertainty, sacrifice and financial risk. But above all they bear inspiring messages of what people in adversity can achieve when they work for one other.
Coverage inside the paper reflects another week in a fragile world under pressure, from Nepal, trying to regroup after the devastating earthquake, to Brazil, where Amazonian tribes are uniting against hydropower schemes that threaten their ways of life.
We also hear from Kazakhstan, where fears are growing that the central Asian country may be next on Vladimir Putin’s repossession hit list, and from the Central African Republic, where a leaked report containing allegations of child abuse by French UN peacekeeping troops has caused shockwaves.
Our long-read Review section takes us to Cuba and the charming tale of a Havana ice-cream parlour that in many ways encapsulates the life of the island under Castro. There’s also an encouraging piece from Le Monde about how some French libraries are reattuning themselves with the 21st-century needs of their communities, a subject I found particularly interesting as my own local library in south London wrestles with similar issues.
The Washington Post introduces us to Israel’s Jews of Iranian heritage and their concerns over the nuclear deal so vilified by their adopted country. Our Eyewitnessed picture spread, meanwhile, has a brilliant shot of police attacking Ethiopian Jews at a demonstration in Tel Aviv. Both serve to remind us of the internationally diverse nature of Israel’s population.
On the subject of Eyewitnessed, have you noticed our new space where readers can submit their own photos, via the online GuardianWitness 365 days assignment, for consideration on the spread? Get snapping and submit your pictures now!
Discovery has a fond look at the Hubble Space Telescope as it nears the end of its working life. Books reviews an ambitious work examining relations between India and Pakistan, and Culture meets the Montreal film director Denis Villeneuve, hoping for a hit at Cannes with his new movie Sicario.
Notes & Queries asks why are we saving the Queen, and from what, while Good to Meet You hears from a reader who loves the banter among the N&Q community. (If you number among those ranks by the way, drop us a line at GTMY as I suspect more readers would like to know more about you!)
Enjoy your week wherever you are, and please feel free to share your views on the edition with us.
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