The Guardian Weekly has two covers this week, depending on where in the world you pick up the magazine.
In UK and Europe editions, our cover image is of Keir Starmer, the man who by the end of next week may be Britain’s new prime minister. Opinion polls have consistently pointed to the likelihood of a Labour victory in the 4 July election, but Starmer remains something of a closed book to many. Perhaps that is set to change, as the Labour leader gives one of his most personal interviews yet to Charlotte Edwardes.
Elsewhere, the cover focuses on warming relations between Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong-un. The Russian and North Korean leaders have signed a friendship pact that has alarmed Washington and Seoul, but also causes problems for Beijing in its efforts to maintain a delicate regional balance. Andrew Roth, Justin McCurry and Simon Tisdall report on a deal that marks the return of cold war diplomacy.
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Five essential reads in this week’s edition
1
Spotlight | Uneasy alliance
Can the French left overcome its bitter rivalries to defy the far right? Kim Willsher reports on the launch of a “New Popular Front”.
2
Environment | Rising tide
Jonathan Franklin learns how Easter Island copes with 500 pieces of rubbish an hour washing ashore.
3
Science | Are friends electric?
For its unlucky victims, a bright green caterpillar’s sting “feels like the seven rings of hell”. But scientists hope its toxin can be used to heal, not harm. Jackson Ryan visits what could be the most deadly library in the world.
4
Feature | Sons of the guns
Can mafia children be saved from a life of crime? Clare Longrigg meets the judge taking mini mafiosi away from their families to see if he can break the cycle.
5
Culture | Out of the shadows
As sculptor Anthony McCall returns after 20 years in the wilderness, he recounts a pioneering career to Zoe Williams.
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What else we’ve been reading
This week I was stopped in my tracks by a visceral piece on gun violence from a trauma surgeon in Baltimore. The thoughts and feelings of Dr Joseph Sakran, including his own experience of being shot, are woven between a brutal 24-hour shift at one of the city’s hospitals. Neil Willis, production editor
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Other highlights from the Guardian website
• Audio | Two poems, four years in detention: the Chinese dissident who smuggled his writing out of prison
• Video | Why are the Tories collapsing? These true-blue towns know the answers
• Gallery | ‘Fraught with danger’: wild honey gathering in Nepal
• Reportage | They took part in Apache ceremonies. Their schools expelled them for satanic activities
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We’d love to hear your thoughts on the magazine: for submissions to our letters page, please email weekly.letters@theguardian.com. For anything else, it’s editorial.feedback@theguardian.com
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