Guardian Weekly 15 July 2022

The final frontier The first full-colour image from Nasa’s James Webb space telescope shows the galaxy cluster SMACS 0723, picturing stars as they were up to 13bn years ago. Images from the most powerful telescope ever launched into space promise to reshape our understanding of the dawn of the universe. Guardian Weekly is an edited selection of some of the best journalism found in the Guardian and Observer newspapers in the UK and the Guardian’s digital editions in the UK, US and Australia. The weekly magazine has an international focus and three editions: global, Australia and North America. The Guardian was founded in 1821, and Guardian Weekly in 1919. We exist to hold power to account in the name of the public interest, to uphold liberal and progressive values, to fight for…

It was the kind of news week when several stories could have sat comfortably on the Guardian Weekly’s cover. The Uber files leak, the assassination of Japan’s former prime minister Shinzo Abe and the popular uprising in Sri Lanka were all huge stories in their own right. However, we lead with the political demise of Britain’s prime minister, Boris Johnson, finally backed into a corner after dozens of his government ministers resigned. Jonathan Freedland charts the rise and fall of one of Britain’s most colourful and controversial politicians, while Toby Helm reflects on the Conservative party’s chaotic succession struggle. The big story Page 10 → The Uber files, a cache of more than 124,000 internal confidential documents from the cab-hailing company which were leaked to the Guardian, lay bare ethically questionable practices through…

1 THE UBER FILES EU seeks clarification over lobbying revelations The EU executive said it would write to its former vice-president Neelie Kroes “for clarification” following revelations that she secretly helped Uber lobby the Dutch prime minister, Mark Rutte, and a string of other politicians. The European Commission faced calls to open an inquiry and “defend the EU’s integrity” in the wake of the reports, which showed that Kroes called Dutch government authorities about Uber less than six months after leaving her post as the top EU official on internet policy. The calls were part of the growing fallout from the Uber files, a trove of 124,000 documents exposing ethically questionable practices that allowed the cab-hailing company to barge into new markets around the world. The leak shines a light on Kroes, who promised to…

José Eduardo dos Santos Angola’s former president whose near-four-decade rule was marked by a brutal 27-year civil war. He died on 8 July, aged 79. Luis Echeverria Mexico’s former president who from 1970 to 1976 oversaw the harshest years of a “dirty war” against dissidents. He died on 8 July, aged 100. James Caan Actor whose defining role was as Sonny Corleone in The Godfather. He died on 6 July, aged 82. Monty Norman Composer of the James Bond theme who made a great contribution to British musicals in the 1950s and 60s. He died on 11 July, aged 94. Mohammad Barkindo Nigerian oil industry veteran and secretary-general of Opec. He died on 5 July, aged 63. Kazuki Takahashi Artist whose manga comic series Yu-Gi-Oh! spawned a media franchise. He died on 6 July, aged 60.…

Candidates to replace Boris Johnson line up Britain’s new prime minister will be confirmed on 5 September, it has been announced. The party’s Westminster MPs will whittle the list of leadership hopefuls to two before a vote by Conservative members across the country. The contest follows the resignation of Boris Johnson as party leader last week after a mass resignation of ministers who lost confidence in his error-strewn premiership. To streamline the competition, the 1922 Committee of Tory backbenchers on Monday opted to increase the number of backers that a candidate needed from eight to 20, and ruled that they would need at least 30 votes to get past the first round. Former chancellor Rishi Sunak had secured the backing of nearly 40 MPs by Monday evening, while trade minister Penny Mordaunt (below),…

Rock and roll Competitors take part in the European Stone Stacking Championships 2022 on Eye Cave Beach in Dunbar, East Lothian, Scotland. The championships, which include an artistic event over four hours and a competition against the clock, are Europe’s largest competition for stone-stacking and rock-balancing enthusiasts and artists. This year the event included a week-long land art festival with sand drawings and woodland sculpture. LABOUR Police clear Starmer and Rayner of lockdown breach Keir Starmer and his deputy, Angela Rayner, were cleared by Durham constabulary of breaching lockdown rules over a beer and takeaway curry they had with staff during election campaigning last year, with officers concluding it was a legitimate work event. In a relief for Labour, police said an investigation had concluded that the gathering in April 2021 was reasonably necessary for…