Britain’s political fever dream continued apace this week as Rishi Sunak became prime ministerwithout anyone even voting for him. The former chancellor, the country’s third prime minister in less than two months and the fifth in six years, is also the UK’s first leader of colour and the first Hindu to take the office.
Jonathan Freedland considers how big a blow Truss’s ill-judged stint in power has delivered to the school of neoliberal economic thought.
Brazil also faces a judgment day this weekend,as Jair Bolsonaro and Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva square up in a presidential runoff of deep significance for the country and the planet, with the protection of the Amazon at stake. The outcome is on such a knife-edge that not even the nation’s gangsters can decide who to vote for, as our Latin America correspondent Tom Phillips reports.
On the subject of the environment, don’t miss Naomi Klein’s long readabout how Egypt’s government has used the coming Cop27 conference to greenwash its own oppressive political activities.
Then, there’s a revealing interview with Chelsea Manning, who opens up to Emma Brockes on what really happened when she leaked thousands of classified US military documents.
What is a ‘dirty bomb’? We explore the claims made by Russia to the UN that Ukraine is preparing to use one. Plus: Israel’s balancing act between the US and China, a flick through the day’s papers and the latest business headlines.
We report on Rishi Sunak becoming the next UK prime minister. Plus: global efforts to reconstruct Ukraine, Malaysia prepares to go to the polls, and Booker Prize winner George Saunders on his new collection of short stories.