Relations between Beijing and Washington tumbled to a new low last week when US House speaker Nancy Pelosi visited Taiwan. The decision to include Taipei in her trip to the wider region, termed “reckless” by her critics at home and a “provocation” by China, had immediate repercussions. Our regional correspondent Helen Davidson looks at China’s military response, while Washington bureau chief David Smith analyses her motivation for making the trip. Further alarm bells were set ringing with China’s decision to end co-operation with the US on lowering greenhouse gas emissions. Environment reporter Oliver Milman explains why it is so vital that these two economic powerhouses work together on measures to address climate change.
The cost of living crisis is preoccupying many in the UK as prices for domestic fuel look set to cost the average household close to $4,500 a year. With Boris Johnson keeping a low profile in his last month as prime minister and the two candidates vying to succeed him as Conservative leader full of campaigning hot air but offering little concrete hope to the country, a former prime minister is calling for an emergency budget to address the pending crisis. Observer policy editor Michael Savage explores why Gordon Brown and the current Labour leadership are calling for action so loudly. We also report on a growing movement among some ordinary consumers to register their anger against sky-high prices and possibly the only way to survive this winter is not to pay their energy bills at all.
There are puzzles at the heart of our features this week. Hard maths in the form of algebra, which Alec Wilkinson struggled with at school despite considering himself a pretty bright student, was the mystery he decided to crack. After a career as a staff writer at the New Yorker, he discovered at the age of 65 that learning how to learn solves a large part of the problem. And our lead Culture feature does some sleuthing with comedian turned debut crime writer Frankie Boyle and veteran of the genre Denise Mina, who discuss how to write a good murder. Andrew Anthony brought them in for questioning and got witness statements from several more authors about their favourite mystery and thriller reads.