It’s barely nine months since Mohammed bin Salman was anointed as heir to the Saudi Arabian throne, but in that time he has consolidated his authority with a crackdown on opponents and a rapid-change agenda. His rise was due to be recognised in London this week when he was to visit the Queen on his first foreign visit since his elevation as the kingdom’s crown prince.
At home, a mood of change appears to be sweeping Saudi Arabia. Women in particular are poised to benefit from a range of new freedoms, including the ability to drive, join the military and even abandon wearing the abaya. But are the changes here to stay? Not all Saudis are so sure. Martin Chulov reports from Riyadh for the Guardian Weekly’s cover story this week.
Inside the paper we reflect on an uncertain outcome to the Italian election, where the winners appear to be the country’s emerging populist parties. From Washington we look back on the latest damaging week for Donald Trump, as the president appears increasingly isolated in the White House, while we also reflect on the possible global reverberations of his threat to impose high tariffs on US steel imports.
From China, meanwhile, came guarded concerns over Xi Jinping’s intention to end fixed terms for the country’s leadership (a move that appeared to draw Trump’s approval).
As part of his fascinating series The Alternatives, the Guardian’s senior economics commentator Aditya Chakrabortty visited the German town that has unsettled the giant energy providers by taking back control of its electricity grid. We also ponder the future of diesel cars in the wake of several European cities’ decision to ban them from their centres.
A developing story of significance in the UK as we went to press was the mysterious case of a former Russian spy who, along with his daughter, appear to have been poisoned in the western English town of Salisbury. There’s coverage in the paper, and the latest can be found on our website.
The Weekly Review visits New Zealand, which appears to have become the bolthole of choice for discerning Silicon Valley billionaires concerned about the arrival of the apocalypse.
Discovery charts the grim trend of mass animal mortality events, and asks what lessons can be learned from such grisly occurrences.
On the Culture front, the Books pages review a collection of observations about city life. There’s also an amusing look at the charming musical collaboration between French crooner Sébastien Tellier and burlesque star Dita Von Teese.
On the back page we catch up with the remarkable voyages of the Peace Boat, a 32,000-tonne cruise liner repurposed by radical Japanese social enterprises to spread the word of international understanding. If ever there was a time that the message of peace deserved another hearing, surely this is it.
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