Guardian Weekly 23 December 2022

A cut above the rest Sheep are mustered for shearing in the Kaipara hills, in the Northland region. Farmers are increasingly introducing the self-shedding Wiltshire breed into their existing flocks as the cost of shearing sheep outstrips the value of the wool. The breed has a short fleece that naturally sheds in the spring. The Guardian Weekly Founded in Manchester, England 4 July 1919 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…

23 December 2022 How war dominated the year, those we lost and hope from Cop15 As we near the end of another tumultuous year, one story has dominated the news agenda on almost every level. Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine in February had been signposted for months, but the shattering of Europe’s national order still came as a stunning shock. The economic and human cost inflicted by Russia on Ukraine has been enormous, while the concurrent shockwaves of energy, food and migration crises have reverberated around the world. In a special essay for our final edition of 2022, diplomatic editor Patrick Wintour examines the competing grand narratives of the past that lie at the heart of the conflict – and which make it so difficult to resolve. In other reflections on 2022, we…

1 UNITED STATES January 6 panel calls for charges against Trump The committee investigating events at the US Capitol on 6 January 2021 referred Donald Trump to the justice department to face criminal charges, accusing the former president of fomenting an insurrection and conspiring against the government over his attempt to subvert the outcome of the 2020 election, and the bloody attack on the US Capitol. The referrals approved by its members on Monday are the first time Congress has recommended charges against a former president. They come after 18 months of investigation by the bipartisan House of Representatives panel tasked with understanding Trump’s plot to stop Joe Biden from taking office. The committee accused Trump of breaching four federal criminal statutes, including those relating to obstruction of an official proceeding of Congress, assisting…

Terry Hall Lead singer of the Specials who became one of pop’s defining voices at the end of the 70s, chronicling British decline and disenfranchised youth with the 2 Tone band. He died on 18 December, aged 63. Mirosław Hermaszewski Pilot who circled Earth in the Soyuz 30 spacecraft in 1978 as Poland’s only cosmonaut. He died on 12 December, aged 81. Stephen ‘tWitch’ Boss Dancer and DJ on the Ellen DeGeneres Show. He died on 13 December, aged 40. Martin Duffy British musician who played keyboards with Primal Scream and the Charlatans. He died on 19 December, aged 55. Herbert Deutsch Composer and co-inventor of the Moog synthesiser. He died on 9 December, aged 90.…

EVOLUTION Human ancestors may have become bipedal in tree tops The ancestors of humans may have begun moving on two legs to forage for food among the treetops in open habitat, researchers have suggested, contradicting the idea that the behaviour arose as an adaptation to spending more time on the ground. Writing in the journal Science Advances, the researchers from the UK and US report how they spent 15 months studying 13 chimpanzees living in Issa Valley in western Tanzania, an environment similar to that experienced by our ancient ancestors. The results reveal that while bipedal behaviour accounted for less than 1% of recorded postures, only 14% related to chimpanzees on the ground. BIOLOGY Snakes have clitorises, find taboo-busting researchers Female snakes have clitorises, scientists studying the animal’s sex organs have revealed. Previous research had mistaken…

HEALTH POLICY Government bids to recoup £100m from PPE company The UK government has commenced legal action to recover more than £100m ($106m) from the company that was awarded two large PPE contracts after the Conservative peer, Michelle Mone, lobbied ministers. The claim, confirmed by the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC), is for the full £122m paid to the company, PPE Medpro, under a contract for it to supply 25m sterile surgical gowns that was awarded in June 2020. The DHSC is also seeking to recover the costs of storing and disposing of the gowns, which officials rejected after an inspection at the NHS depot in Daventry. In December 2020, the company said in a statement issued by a lawyer for its director, Anthony Page, that the gowns, and 210m face masks…