Guardian Weekly 9 September 2022

It might have come as a surprise to many outside the UK this week that there is a new prime minister in London – and even more of a surprise to learn that the identity of that new leader is Liz Truss. When Boris Johnson stepped down earlier this year following the Partygate scandal, the then foreign secretary Truss was not at the top of the list of candidates tipped to replace him, with Conservative MPs strongly favouring the chancellor, Rishi Sunak, or trade minister Penny Mordaunt. But once Truss had made it on to the final ballot of party members, her clear popularity with grassroots voters flipped the contest on its head. Our big story this week looks at how Truss demonstrated political shrewdness and pragmatism during the summer to manoeuvre…

1 UNITED STATES Biden warns of the threat of ‘Maga extremism’ Joe Biden warned that American democracy was threatened by Republican forces loyal to Donald Trump who “fan the flames” of political violence in pursuit of power at any cost. In an unsparing primetime address from Philadelphia last Thursday, the US president said the country was in a continued battle for the “soul of the nation”. He framed the stakes of November’s midterm elections as a choice between his party’s agenda and “extreme Maga ideology”. “Donald Trump and the Maga Republicans represent an extremism that threatens the very foundations of our republic,” Biden said. Maga is shorthand for “Make America Great Again” – Trump’s 2016 campaign slogan. Biden emphasised that most Republicans are not “Maga extremists” but that the party was “dominated, driven and intimidated” by…

Mikhail Gorbachev The last leader of the Soviet Union, who played a vital role in ending the cold war. He died on 30 August, aged 91. Spotlight, page 19 Opinion, page 48 Bill Turnbull UK TV presenter who in his last years campaigned for prostate cancer awareness. He died on 31 August, aged 66. Charlbi Dean South African model and actor, who co-starred in Palme d’Orwinning satire Triangle of Sadness. She died on 29 August, aged 32. Barbara Ehrenreich Author of more than 20 books on social justice themes. She died on 1 September, aged 81. Charles Wilson Former editor of the Times. He died on 31 August, aged 87. Drummie Zeb Lead singer of UK reggae band Aswad. He died on 2 September, aged 62.…

Liz Truss became Britain’s new prime minister on Tuesday and was expected to immediately appoint a cabinet of loyalist MPs as her government began a race against time to set out plans to deal with the cost of living crisis. She became Britain’s fourth Tory prime minister in six years after beating Rishi Sunak in the bitterly fought Conservative leadership contest launched after Tory MPs ousted Boris Johnson. Truss was expected to announce plans for an energy price freeze this week as she battles to navigate an overwhelming in-tray. She also faces an uphill struggle to win over Tory MPs as she inherits a deeply divided party lagging behind in the polls – some backbenchers are already said to be plotting her demise. Truss won 81,326 votes (57.4%) of Tory members to…

ENERGY Crab and lobster shells could be used to make batteries A chemical found in crab and lobster shells could be used to make batteries more sustainable, according to research. “We think both biodegradability of material, or environmental impact, and the performance of the batteries are important for a product, which has the potential to be commercialised,” said Liangbing Hu, of the University of Maryland’s Center for Materials Innovation and lead author of the paper, published in the journal Matter. As the world transitions towards deploying green energy and electric vehicles, the batteries used for such technology also need to be eco-friendly. But the chemicals used in conventional batteries can take hundreds or thousands of years to break down. The researchers in Maryland have developed batteries that use a product derived from crustacean shells…

When it all began, more than seven weeks ago, with Liz Truss declaring at her campaign launch that she would “be ready to be prime minister from day one”, it didn’t look remotely likely that such an arrival in No 10 would ever come to pass. The “Liz for leader” launch was amateurish and chaotic. The foreign secretary stumbled over her words, at one point mentioning “Putin’s appalling war in Ru … Ukraine”. Afterwards, she couldn’t find her way out of the room, and headed for a window. While the contest was focused in Westminster it all seemed an unequal struggle. Rishi Sunak topped the ballot of Tory MPs at every stage. Truss was criticised for lacking polish and appeal, and for sounding wooden. Backing Remain in 2016 and being a member…