Wednesday briefing: The telescope revealing the secrets of the universe

In today's newsletter: After the James Webb space telescope sends extraordinary images of Jupiter, astrophysicist Dr Becky Smethurst explains why it's so important

Good morning. I was going to email you this morning about Liz Truss, but the idea filled me with such dread that I thought: sod it, let's do the ineffable mysteries of the universe instead.

On Christmas Day last year, 30 years after its conception, the James Webb space telescope launched from French Guiana. On 28 December, it went past the moon. On 24 January, it fired its thrusters for five minutes and settled into its final orbit about 1.5m km from Earth. On 12 July, after months of painstaking setup, it produced its first image - showing us, for the first time, faraway galaxies as they were more than 13bn years ago.

Food | Companies at the centre of the global grain trade have enjoyed a record bonanza amid soaring food prices around the world, prompting calls for a windfall tax. The figures renewed concerns of profiteering and speculation in global food markets that could put staples beyond the reach of the poorest.

UK News | An attempted public murder of a senior gang member caused a nine-year-old girl to be mistakenly shot dead while being shielded by her mother inside her Liverpool home, the Guardian has learned. Bouquets and cards were left outside the home of Olivia Pratt-Korbel amid widespread horror in her city at the killing.

Conservatives | Liz Truss has refused to commit to appointing an ethics adviser if she became prime minister, saying she has always acted with integrity". The previous ethics adviser, Christopher Geidt, quit in June after conceding Boris Johnson may have broken the ministerial code over the Partygate scandal.

UK News | The student nurse Owami Davies, who had been missing for nearly seven weeks, has been found safe and well", the Met police has said. Concerns had grown for the 24-year-old's safety since she was last seen on 7 July.

Coronavirus | Twice as many deaths involving Covid occurred this summer as last summer, according to analysis of new data. Some 5,700 Covid deaths have been registered since 8 June - but rates have fallen in recent weeks.