It’s a big week for US president Joe Biden who, after four and a half months of hectic domestic wrangling, is now trying to make up for lost time on the international front. His first presidential trip overseas takes in the G7 summit in England, followed by meetings with Nato and the EU in Belgium, and concludes with a head-to-head with Russia’s Vladimir Putin in Geneva.
After the America first agenda of the Trump years, David Smith asks whether Biden can persuade a sceptical global community that America is back on the team. Then, economics correspondent Richard Partington looks at what we can expect from a landmark G7 commitment to tackle gaps in the global tax system.
How do Europe’s Gen Z – the current cohort of teens and early twentysomethings – feel about the sacrifices they made to protect their elders from Covid over the past 15 months? A Guardian survey found them angry but determined to build back better – read more on page 15.
The curtain may be falling on Israel’s Benjamin Netanyahu era, after a precarious alliance of the prime minister’s opponents proposed forming a new government. What will it mean, both for the state and the region? On page 22 we profile Naftali Bennett, the religious nationalist who is the new PM in waiting, while on the Opinion pages Daniella Peled argues that Netanyahu’s likely departure will bring no relief for Palestinians.
The statue of slave-trader Edward Colston has gone on display again in Bristol – though, after being pulled down by Black Lives Matter demonstrators, he is now displayed horizontally, with last year’s graffiti carefully conserved. Should every statue – from Cecil Rhodes to Rosa Parks – come off their plinths for good? Such depictions of historical figures are lazy, ugly and distort history, argues Gary Younge.
Boxing, as Hugh McIlvanney’s seminal book termed it, is the hardest game – and, for those involved, it is unquestionably one of the most dangerous. With a new book exposing the impact of brain injuries suffered by many fighters, sports writer Donald McRae asks if boxing can afford to ignore its dark legacy any longer.
