Table of contents for 1444 in The Week

Nato leaders gathered in the Lithuanian capital Vilnius on Tuesday for a summit dominated by the thorny issue of whether, and when, Ukraine should be admitted to the club. The two-day meeting got off to a good start after Turkey withdrew its objections to Sweden joining the 31-member military alliance. The Turkish president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, had blocked that accession bid for more than a year. But the question of Ukraine’s potential membership remained a source of tension. Britain and eastern European countries were keen for Ukraine to be offered swift accession after the war with Russia ends, but the US and Germany were wary of implying that Kyiv will gain automatic entry. Nato leaders settled on declaring that they would fast-track Kyiv’s accession process, but only “when allies agree”…

If you’re not “feeling confused” by events in Russia in the past few weeks, “then you’ve probably not been paying attention”, said Michael Day in The i Paper. After Yevgeny Prigozhin and his Wagner Group’s aborted rebellion against the Kremlin, the warlord and his mercenaries were officially forgiven, which was strange “in a country where simply criticising the war can get you ten years in a penal colony”. However, conditions were imposed: Prigozhin and his men would move to neighbouring Belarus; those who stayed were to join regular Russian units. It was expected, even so, that Prigozhin would be assassinated on President Putin’s orders. That hasn’t happened. On the contrary, Putin’s “former cook and butcher-for-hire” isn’t, it seems, cowering in Belarus. Last week, he was in St Petersburg (no doubt…

Dinner parties, after the Domestic Goddess herself revealed that she no longer hosts them, because they involve too much fuss. Instead, Nigella Lawson says she has friends over for informal suppers, made up of one course, laid out like a buffet. Nor does she go in for elaborate “nibbles”. Once, she served some American friends Twiglets, reasoning that they’re a British delicacy. Robert Jenrick, the Immigration Minister, who was criticised for ordering the removal of cartoon murals from the walls of a reception centre for unaccompanied child asylum seekers. According to a report in The i Paper, Jenrick said the images, of Mickey Mouse, and Baloo from The Jungle Book, made the centre, in Kent, look too welcoming, and sent the wrong message. Summer holidays, after easyJet cancelled 1,700 flights…

Paris Seine swimming: Parisians will be able to swim in the River Seine from 2025, the city’s mayor, Anne Hidalgo, has announced. Bathing in the Seine has been banned since 1923, owing to poor water quality and the dangers of river traffic; but after a €1.4bn clean-up, the river is safe to swim in 90% of the time. Swimming will be permitted at three sites – one of them opposite Île Saint-Louis in the city centre, the others in the 15th and 12th arrondissements – which will be marked by buoys and monitored by lifeguards. Hidalgo has previously said that she wants swimming in the Seine to be a “major legacy” of the 2024 Paris Olympics. Milan, Italy Succession drama: The details of Silvio Berlusconi’s will have been revealed, a…

1 Dan is the Man (in the Van), written and performed by Mighty Sparrow 2 All the Tired Horses, written by Bob Dylan, performed by Bob Dylan (with Hilda Harris, Albertine Robinson and Maeretha Stewart) 3 Honky Tonkin’, written and performed by Hank Williams 4 Want Fi Goh Rave, written and performed by Linton Kwesi Johnson 5 The Message by Edward G. Fletcher, Melle Mel, Clifton “Jiggs” Chase and Sylvia Robinson, performed by Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five 6 Jump to It by Luther Vandross and Marcus Miller, performed by Aretha Franklin 7 Computer Love by Ralf Hütter, Karl Bartos and Emil Schult, performed by Kraftwerk 8* Way, Way Out, written and performed by Mighty Shadow Book: a large sketchbook Luxury: a Samurai-designed cutlass * Choice if allowed only one record…

Geological research has determined that El Niño dates back thousands of years, at least to the last Ice Age. In his 1999 book Floods, Famines and Emperors: El Niño and the Fate of Civilisations, the archaeologist Brian Fagan suggests that the phenomenon may have played a part in the end of the Moche civilisation in what is now northern Peru in the 6th or 7th century, as well as that of the lowland Maya civilisation in the Yucatán around AD900. Other research has suggested that the Spanish conquest of the Incas and Peru may have been aided by El Niño conditions. When Francisco Pizarro’s Spanish troops landed in Peru in 1531 and travelled inland, they found blooming deserts, swollen rivers, and rainfall in the usually arid regions. This allowed the…

The twilight of the Latter-day Saints David Byler The Washington Post The Republicans have a Mormon problem, says David Byler. In an increasingly secular, more racially diverse country, “one long-term trend – the rapid growth of the reliably conservative Mormon Church – has consistently provided the GOP with good news”. But this support is drying up. An authoritative survey indicates that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is shrinking. The share of Americans identifying as Mormon fell from 1.8% in 2007 to 1.2% last year – a net loss of around a million adult members. This reflects a general disaffection with organised religion, and the fact that Mormons are having fewer children. The LDS Church has sought to reverse the decline by redoubling its missionary efforts, and reducing…

Data gathered by smart watches can be used to predict the onset of Parkinson’s disease up to seven years sooner than symptoms normally appear, a study has found. It suggests watches could be used as a new way of screening for the disease, which would lead to earlier diagnosis and, by broadening recruitment to clinical trials, perhaps lead to new and more effective treatments, which patients would be able to access earlier. Existing drugs can ease the symptoms of Parkinson’s, which include tremors and stiffness, but they do not slow the progression of the disease. For this study, scientists analysed data collected by medical-grade smart watches over a seven-day period, which continuously monitored the wearers’ speed of movement. They found that with artificial intelligence, they could use this data to…

Keir Starmer dared to use the C-word last week, said Polly Toynbee in The Guardian. In a speech outlining his educational pledges, the Labour leader talked of his desire to “shatter the class ceiling”. His party’s plans for England’s schools include recruiting 6,500 more teachers, with bonuses to enlist and retain them; placing a greater emphasis on the arts, with new rules to ensure that all pupils study a creative subject (such as drama or music) or sport until 16; and offering free breakfasts to every primary school pupil – all to be paid for with the £1.5bn from charging VAT on private school fees. Crucially, Starmer also believes that the teaching of “oracy” – the ability to articulate ideas verbally – should be prioritised alongside the teaching of numeracy…

“Why is there so much month left at the end of the money?” John Barrymore, quoted on Threads “The first 80 years are tough. Life gets better after that.” Len Deighton, quoted in The Times “Attention is the rarest and purest form of generosity.” Simone Weil, quoted in The Philadelphia Citizen “Nothing dates faster than people’s fantasies about the future.” Robert Hughes, quoted on MovieWeb “The quickest way of ending a war is to lose it.” George Orwell, quoted on Worldcrunch “Life is easier to take than you’d think; all that is necessary is to accept the impossible, do without the indispensable, and bear the intolerable.” Kathleen Norris, quoted in Forbes “You are free to do whatever you like. You need only face the consequences.” Sheldon B. Kopp, quoted in…

To The Guardian Labour needs to do a bit better than complain that proposed rail ticket-office closures are being “rushed”. They shouldn’t be happening at all, and this “Beeching of the booking offices” is bad news for passengers as well as staff. Trying to dress up the cuts as being about “modernisation” and offering passengers a better service is nonsense. It’s about cost-cutting. Not only will disabled passengers suffer, but everyone who values a friendly human face to assist them in planning their journey and buying tickets will lose out. Prof Paul Salveson (former train guard), Grange-over-Sands, Cumbria To The Daily Telegraph The planned closure of many station ticket offices is the latest bleak example of corporations retreating behind machines – be they ticket machines, automated phone systems or online…

The Stopped Heart by Julie Myerson, 2017 (Vintage £13.99). One hundred years ago, on a stormy night, an impoverished family lets a flame-haired stranger into their scruffy cottage, who outstays his welcome and sets out to slowly destroy them. The ghosts of their trauma echo down the decades in this spooky but incredibly emotional novel. Lie With Me by Sabine Durrant, 2016 (Mulholland Books £8.99). This novel is pacy, funny and unnerving, with a dazzling Mediterranean setting: a feckless grifter and failed novelist is down on his luck when a chance meeting with an old friend leads him to join a group holiday in a sprawling Greek villa. Soon he is embroiled in a web of his own lies – and theirs. Sleep With Me by Joanna Briscoe, 2005 (Bloomsbury…

Programmes A Spy Among Friends Damian Lewis and Guy Pearce star in this noir-ish adaptation of Ben Macintyre’s book of the same name about Kim Philby’s defection to Russia. Sun 16 Jul, ITV1 21:00 (80mins). Earth Chris Packham tells the story of our planet in this five-part series, starting with the mass extinction that led to the age of the dinosaurs. Mon 17 Jul, BBC2 21:00 (60mins). The Sixth Commandment New drama based on a complex real-life case in which a church warden manipulated and murdered a teacher to inherit his house. Timothy Spall, Anne Reid and Sheila Hancock star. Mon 17 and Tue 18 Jul, BBC1 21:00 (60mins each). Why Sharks Attack Documentary investigating whether human activity and climate change are altering the behaviour of sharks. Tue 18 Jul, BBC1 20:00 (60mins).…

People who love beer but want to cut back on their alcohol are now “spoilt for choice”, says Adrian Tierney-Jones in The Daily Telegraph. Thanks to improvements in brewing skills and technology, there is a plethora of beers that “offer full-on taste, character and texture”, but with little booze. For lovers of pale ale, the widely available Adnams Ghost Ship (0.5% ABV) is excellent: it “has a lush malt character and hints of lemon and lime on the nose”. Or from Sainsbury’s, try Big Drop Brewing Co Pine Trail Pale Ale (0.5% ABV), with its “gorgeous notes of citrus fruit and pine”. A stand-out low-alcohol IPA, meanwhile, is Good Karma Beer Co Tantra IPA (0.5% ABV): various English hop varieties are used to produce this “tantalising” beer, with “tropical fruit aromatics”.…

● Don’t worry about the lawn. It may turn a nasty shade of brown, but it will recover when the rain starts to fall. You only need to water newly laid turf or reseeded grass. ● Use a washing-up bowl to collect the water you use to wash vegetables and the like. If it’s close to a window, you could use a hose to siphon water from the bath. ● Fill up buckets or cans and leave them around the garden, then prioritise. If a plant flags or slants its foliage vertically, it needs urgent attention. Gently tip a whole bucket over the soil and it should revive in a few hours. Drench it twice a week. ● Plants respond best to watering in the morning. If you can’t water…

Rachel Reeves The shadow chancellor has the unenviable task of digging Keir Starmer out of the “predicament” created by his early policy pledges, said Simon Hattenstone in The Guardian. She has to explain to the country why Labour can’t afford to, for instance, make good on his promise to renationalise public utilities. “Well, obviously, the financial circumstances have changed quite a lot since Keir became leader,” is Rachel Reeves’s oft-repeated mantra, delivered in her trademark “gravelly foghorn”. At 44, the former Bank of England economist is arguably the most important member of the shadow cabinet, Starmer included. Indeed, the next election could come down to her. As she says, the country has to trust her with its cash. In public life, she can appear “wooden and humourless”. But Reeves wears…

THE WEEK CROSSWORD 1371 An Ettinger pass holder and two Connell Guides will be given to the sender of the first correct solution to the crossword and the clue of the week opened on Monday 24 July. Send it to The Week Crossword 1371, 121-141 Westbourne Terrace, London W2 6JR, or email the completed grid/listed solutions to crossword@theweek.co.uk. Tim Moorey (timmoorey.com) This week’s winner will receive an Ettinger (ettinger.co.uk) travel pass holder in assorted colours, which retails at £115, and two Connell Guides (connellguides.com). ACROSS 1 War memorial constructed not cheap (8) 5 Sailor’s offence not good (6) 9 Piece of Beatles album (8) 10 Unclear amount needed for fare from China (3,3) 12 Come back to mind about vicious dog (5) 13 Huge energy used in dancing (9) 14…

Huw Edwards’s wife Vicky Flind named him on Wednesday as the BBC presenter accused of inappropriate sexual behaviour. Around the same time, the Metropolitan Police said that they had no information to suggest that any criminal offence had been committed. The initial story, published in The Sun, was that an unnamed BBC employee had paid a teenager £35,000 for sexually explicit photos. The alleged victim’s mother said that her child had used the money to fund a crack cocaine addiction, and alleged that the payments had begun when he or she was 17. It is a crime to create, distribute or possess sexual imagery of under-18s. The family reported the issue to the BBC in May, and went to The Sun when nothing seemed to be done about it: they…

Producers of a new play were told that they couldn’t advertise it on the London Underground because their poster featured a cake. The poster for Tony n’ Tina’s Wedding, which depicts two actors flailing on the top tier of a wedding cake, was deemed to breach a ban on adverts that promote “the consumption of high fat, salt and sugar goods”. Pop stars are starting to voice disquiet about the sheer number, and range, of objects being thrown at them during concerts. Last month, Bebe Rexha needed stitches after being hit with a mobile phone in the US; other recent projectiles have included a sex toy and a bag of human ashes. “Dare you to throw something at me and I’ll f**king kill you,” warned Adele during a gig in…

The MP Chris Pincher should be suspended from the House of Commons for eight weeks, a parliamentary committee has found. Pincher, who was formerly the Conservative deputy chief whip, was suspended by his party last July after being accused of groping two men at the members-only Carlton Club in London. Last week, the Standards Committee found that his actions had caused “significant damage to the reputation of the House”. If its recommendations are approved by MPs, a recall petition will be triggered in his Tamworth constituency, which could in turn pave the way for a by-election. Rishi Sunak is facing three by-elections next week, with a fourth on the cards if Nadine Dorries resigns before the next election.…

Swift Current, Canada Emoji ruling: A judge in Canada has ruled that the “thumbs-up” emoji can represent entry into a formal contract, a decision which he said reflects “the new reality in Canadian society”. The case centred on a dispute between a farmer, Chris Achter, and a grain buyer, Kent Mickleborough. The latter had sent a message to the farmer in 2021 saying that his firm needed to acquire 87 tonnes of flax. After speaking to Achter, he then emailed him a photo of a contract for the purchase and delivery of the flax, and asked him to “please confirm flax contract”. Achter responded with the emoji, but never delivered the crop. He later claimed that the thumbs-up only indicated receipt of the contract; but Justice Timothy Keene said that…

“When asked why he was taking on the Herculean task of fixing Thames Water at the age of 75, the businessman Sir Adrian Montague said his family had a motto for him: ‘Evil when bored.’ Don’t you know people like that, who after one day of holiday start prowling the resort like Logan Roy in the newsroom looking for workers to fire? My father was ‘evil when bored’ personified. When he came to stay, within two hours, he’d be telling me the car had bald tyres or lecturing me about my pension. I learnt to compile a task list before his visit: front door sticks, mow lawn, etc. So he’d go around with his tools, happily ticking them off. Then, only then, did he feel entitled to relax.” Janice Turner…

Want to help poor nations? Don’t give aid Ian Birrell The Times British aid spending has recently been slashed, says Ian Birrell. And a good thing, too. The ugly truth is that foreign aid invariably hurts recipient countries. It saps self-reliance; it fuels corruption and conflict. Instead of paying heed to their own citizens, officials get locked in a struggle for funds. Haiti, “nicknamed the Republic of NGOs” for the sheer number of charities out there, has received almost £14bn in aid this century: and it’s in chaos. In Afghanistan, a vast influx of Western aid served only to intensify divisions and empower a “mafia state”. Contrast the case of Somaliland, which declared independence from Somalia in 1991 – and so was denied international recognition, and the aid that goes…

Why bird “marriages” fail Some relationships are rock solid; others collapse, owing to infidelity, or lengthy periods apart. That is true of humans – and also, it seems, of birds. More than 90% of bird species stick with the same partner for at least one breeding season. These pairings can prove lifelong, but some monogamous birds will move on to a new partner, despite their original mate still being alive, a phenomenon ornithologists refer to as divorce. To look for the factors that seemed to make break-ups likely, researchers from China and Germany analysed data on migration distances and divorce rates for 232 species. They also compiled “promiscuity scores” for males and females of those species, based on previous studies of their behaviour. They found that male (but not female)…

Joan Rivers was no fan of live tennis. “All that head turning, back and forth, back and forth,” the comedian wrote in her diary after spending a day at Wimbledon in 2007. “It can loosen even a good facelift.” She coped by staring at just one player, usually the one who grunted less. “If the ball doesn’t come back,” she wrote, “obviously the other idiot missed it.” A shadow was cast over George Osborne’s wedding to his former aide Thea Rogers last weekend, when on the eve of the ceremony, their guests received a poison-pen email, full of scurrilous allegations about the couple’s personal lives. But neither that, nor an incident in which an interloper threw orange confetti over them, seemed to dampen the celebrations, which were attended by a…

An “almighty” social media grudge-match is under way, said The Economist. Last week, Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta (which owns Facebook and Instagram) launched Threads, a near-identical challenger to Twitter, which has been struggling since Elon Musk bought it last October. The two billionaires, who are locked in a rivalry going back nearly a decade, have seemingly agreed to a real-life cage fight to settle their differences; Italy’s culture minister has invited them to battle it out in the Colosseum. “The rumble in Rome may not happen”, but the launch of Threads means that a far “more consequential fight” has already begun. In its first two days, Threads amassed 70 million users. Twitter has accused Meta of building a “copycat” app, and is threatening to sue for what it calls the “systematic,…

Many of us who witnessed the Ashes of 2005 had assumed we would never see its like again, said Oliver Brown in The Daily Telegraph. But three Tests into this summer’s series – and with the destination of the urn far from decided – it’s clear that the 2023 Ashes will be “bracketed with the convulsive dramas of 2005”. The first two Tests, both won by Australia, were captivating contests whose outcomes were “shrouded in doubt until the final minutes”. And the third Test at Headingley, which finished on Sunday, was no less closely fought – only this time England secured the victory they needed to keep their Ashes hopes alive. Chasing 251 in their second innings, Ben Stokes’s men made fitful progress towards their target, said Mike Atherton in…

Tennis In the first major shock of this year’s Wimbledon, the unseeded Ukrainian wild card Elina Svitolina beat the world No. 1 Iga Świątek 7-5, 6-7, 6-2 to reach the semi-final. In the first of the men’s semi-finals, No. 2 seed Novak Djokovic is due to play the 21-year-old Italian Jannik Sinner. Formula 1 Max Verstappen claimed his sixth straight victory by winning the British Grand Prix at Silverstone. Athletics Daryll Neita set a championship record in winning the 200m at the UK Athletics Championships, storming to victory in 22.25secs.…

Renoir and Pissarro at Connaught Brown It’s hard to think of any artist quite as unfashionable as Pierre-Auguste Renoir (1841-1919). Where once he was regarded as one of the greatest French painters of the late 19th century, his work is now often dismissed as kitsch, if not downright bad: indeed, in 2015 the phrase “Renoir sucks at painting” became a social media meme. Yet the ridicule ignores quite how strange and interesting he could be. This show, Different Views, which pairs a selection of his paintings with works by his older friend and colleague, Camille Pissarro, is a timely opportunity to reintroduce yourself to his distinctly odd art. Bucolic southern landscapes, complete with seemingly melting scrubs and trees, are almost proto-surrealist; a large, idealised nude in a mad array of…

Showing now Yorkshire Sculpture Park hosts a retrospective of the playful, often absurd work of Erwin Wurm. Trap of the Truth includes a distorted Renault 25 and a hot-water bottle on legs, and is “a joy” (Daily Telegraph). Until 28 April 2024, YSP, Wakefield, Yorkshire (ysp.org.uk). Reframing Reynolds: A Celebration marks the 300th anniversary of the birth of Sir Joshua Reynolds, and brings works from around the UK back to his home town. Until 29 October, The Box, Plymouth (theboxplymouth.com). “It’s ludicrous. It’s lavish.” It’s the London transfer of George and Ira Gershwin’s musical comedy Crazy For You, the love story of a man, a woman and a theatre (Times). Until 20 January 2024, Gillian Lynne Theatre, London WC2 (crazyforyoumusical.com). Book now The Edinburgh International Book Festival has in its 40th…

Competitors Race the Train on a scenic 14-mile route in the hills below Cader Idris at Tywyn, Gwynedd, while being cheered by spectators in the steam train’s carriages (19 Aug, £35; racethetrain.com). Try coracle racing on the River Teifi at the annual coracle regatta, part of Cilgerran Festive Week in Pembrokeshire. Experts draw the traditional boat through the water with a subtle figure-of-eight twist; amateurs go in circles (19 Aug, coraclesociety.org.uk). The 36th annual World Bog Snorkelling Championship takes place near the spa town of Llanwrtyd Wells, Powys. Entrants must swim 55 metres in the Waen Rhydd bog (27 Aug, from £12; www.green-events.co.uk). Agricultural shows often have bizarre sports. Entries have closed for wood chopping at the Royal Welsh Show (24-27 Jul), but you can try ferret racing at the South Downs Show (12-13…

A Taiwanese street scene Noisy, late-night restaurants with outdoor seating on long tables, rechao (or “hot stir fry”) joints emerged in Taiwan in the 1990s when the island grew prosperous and people sought new ways to relax. Today, they’re a common sight, says Clarissa Wei in Afar magazine. The food they serve can be excellent, with dishes from across Taiwan, China and Japan, and frequent use of local ingredients such as ferns, maqaw (a lemony spice) and the pickled seeds of the birdlime tree. But it’s “unfussy”, and the joy of the rechao is also social and atmospheric, involving free-flowing beer, the raucous chatter of friends, the homely glow of paper lanterns, and the sticky heat of summer nights. In short, these eateries are a “glorious” microcosm of modern urban Taiwan,…

Paul-Henri Nargeolet 1946-2023 The French oceanographer Paul-Henri Nargeolet led the first manned visit to the wreck of the Titanic in 1987, two years after it was found by an autonomous sub, 400 miles off the coast of Newfoundland. Known as Mr Titanic, on account of his extensive knowledge of the doomed liner, he was on his 37th visit to the ship when he was killed last month in the implosion of the submersible Titan. PH to his friends, he was born in Chamonix, but spent his early years living with his parents in Casablanca, where he fell in love with the sea, said The Times. He made his first dive to a wreck, at 20 metres, aged nine, and joined the French navy from college, serving as a submarine pilot…

“Drip, drip, drip.” Not, for once, “Thames Water’s leaky pipes”, said Nils Pratley in The Guardian. Rather, the sound of some “highly conditional cash injections”. The company’s consortium of shareholders have agreed to cough up £750m to keep debt-laden Thames afloat – somewhat less than the £1bn that the regulator, Ofwat, suggested last week was the bare minimum. In exchange, they’ve insisted on a new business plan: the third since 2017, when former owner Macquarie’s “brazen dividend-extraction” ended. Thames’s interim CEOs, Cathryn Ross and Alastair Cochran, called it “a major milestone”. That’s premature. With £14bn of debt, “Thames still seems engaged in a dance around the funding standpipes”. What does the mismanagement of Thames Water over three decades mean for households, asked Robert Lea in The Times. Billpayers forking out…

The average rate on two-year mortgage deals hit the devilish figure of 6.66% this week – creating a new dilemma for couples in the throes of divorce, said Melissa Twigg in The Daily Telegraph. Who will get to keep the low mortgage? Divorce lawyers report that the “remortgaging cliff that homeowners are about to fall off” is making separation more complicated than ever, with interest rates “one of the first things” new clients talk about. Paying off a loan at 1.5% will save thousands of pounds, compared with having to get a new one at 6-7%. “Getting custody of the low-rate mortgage is akin to getting the house in France or the expensive car.” Why marry in the first place? Certainly, fewer couples are tying the knot, said Lex in…

The week’s best shares Cordiant Digital The Sunday Times This digital infrastructure fund invests in unglamorous, but vital, internet plumbing. Recent falls reflect risks, but data transfer can only grow as tech adoption swells, AI kicks in and autonomous vehicles roll out. Buy. 82.4p. Kitwave Investors’ Chronicle Shares in the Tyne and Wear food-and-drink wholesaler have doubled since its 2021 float, helped by a growing customer base. Full-year results, likely to beat expectations, are reason enough to remain bullish. Buy. 302p. Kooth The Mail on Sunday This Aim-listed online therapist, focused on young people, has contracts with most UK NHS trusts – and has now gained a big US foothold via a four-year deal with Californian health authorities. Analysts have upgraded forecasts. Buy. 334p. Scottish Mortgage Trust The Motley Fool…

Postal deliveries, with news that Royal Mail workers have voted overwhelmingly to accept a deal ending their long-running dispute over pay and conditions. Bees, after the Royal Horticultural Society advised gardeners to plant sweet-smelling clover instead of grass (or a mix of the two), to keep lawns green in the summer. Because of its fleshy, creeping roots that act as reservoirs, clover requires less water than grass. Boris and Carrie Johnson, who announced the birth of their third child, a boy named Frank Alfred Odysseus. The former PM now has at least eight children in all, the oldest of whom is 30.…

A quarter of UK adults have never boiled an egg and don’t know how to. Four-fifths have never made a salad dressing. Two-fifths haven’t roasted a chicken. Waitrose Cooking Report 64% of British adults have an unfavourable view of the campaign group Just Stop Oil, up from 51% in April. 17% have a favourable view, up from 16%. YouGov 91% of UK adults aged 18 to 65 say they feel happy or OK, and eight in ten of them believe their personal life will stay the same or improve. However, 70% say they feel as though “we’ve lived through a collective trauma”, and eight out of ten believe the “world out there” will remain the same or get worse. The Guardian/Tapestry…

FRANCE Greenlighting a massacre in the countryside Libération (Paris) More than a million foxes and other “pests” are killed each year in France, and conservationists want to end the slaughter, says Sarah Finger. Yet a new decree from the Ministry of Ecological Transition and Territorial Cohesion is pushing in precisely the opposite direction: influenced by the relentless lobbying of hunters and farmers, it is adding a slew of additional species likely to cause damage or pose a threat to public safety. If the decree is approved, all these could be killed year-round in unlimited numbers. Rooks and crows, blamed for damaging crops, are on the list. So are weasels and foxes, blamed for hunting poultry. Even the pine marten, a protected species in the UK, is included, as it kills…

“In the dark days of spring 2020, as Britain endured its first lockdown, an uplifting narrative was needed,” said Rosa Silverman in The Daily Telegraph. Into that breach stepped Tom Moore, a 99-year-old war veteran who’d resolved to walk 100 lengths of his garden to raise money for NHS charities. His target was £1,000; but then the media got hold of the story – and in a month he raised £38m. Prince William praised him as a “one-man fundraising machine”. Yet this was not quite accurate: others had helped power that machine. His son-in-law, serial entrepreneur Colin Ingram-Moore, is believed to have suggested that he embark on his walk; and it was his daughter, management consultant Hannah Ingram-Moore, who sent out a press release about it – in which she…

A “huge and worrying change” is coming down the railway track, said The Sunday Times. The Rail Delivery Group, which represents Britain’s train companies, is proposing to shut the vast majority of the 1,000-plus ticket offices across England; only the largest will be kept. The rationale for this “high-handed” plan is that only 12% of tickets are now bought face-to-face, compared with 82% 30 years ago. Ticket machines and the smartphone revolution are making ticket counters obsolete, and their staff can now be freed, or so rail bosses claim, to “transition to multiskilled ‘customer help’ roles”. What this ignores, though, is that for some travellers – the elderly, the disabled, those without a smartphone – ticket offices remain essential. Without them, many will be put off travelling by train, or…

In 2021, the All England Club shifted the start of play on Centre Court back by half-an-hour, from 1.00pm to 1.30pm, said Stuart Fraser in The Times. It also extended breaks between matches on its biggest show court from less than ten minutes to 20 minutes. It was necessitated by Covid restrictions, said tournament officials at the time. But it is now “acknowledged privately” that the real motive was something else: to “improve the chances of play extending into the evening” for the sake of the BBC, which attracts more viewers if it can broadcast to a prime-time audience. This may suit TV viewers, who often don’t get home until past 6pm – but it creates “all sorts of scheduling issues”, and has become a “source of serious frustration in…

Listen and learn To The Times Keir Starmer’s pledge for all pupils to have speaking lessons will leave most teachers less than impressed. The main problem in class is to get children to shut up, listen to instructions and concentrate for more than five minutes. Some teachers can barely get two sentences out without some child chiming in with their opinion. Perhaps instruction in listening would be more useful. John Irons, Mansfield, Nottinghamshire Tories in glass houses To The Independent Justice Secretary Alex Chalk has demanded that the BBC gets “its house in order” regarding the story that a presenter has been accused of sexual impropriety involving a teenager. Chalk suggests the institution may be investigated over its handling of the affair. A Tory minister is hardly in a position…

“As most of us are unlikely to be invited on holiday with Joanna Lumley any time soon, let us enjoy the next best thing,” said Anita Singh in The Daily Telegraph: an ITV series in which she travels through Indonesia, Madagascar, India, Jordan and Zanzibar, tracing the history of the spice trade. “Celebrity travelogues are the scourge of television, but I will always make an exception for Lumley”, whose enthusiasm and manners never flag. “Look at this, a dear little cabin with my own kettle,” she beams aboard an unlovely ferry from an Indonesian port. The bathroom, she adds, has “one of those nice buckets where you wash your bottom with a pipe”. Most stars would recoil in horror, but Lumley sighs contentedly: “Couldn’t be better.” She has “reasons to…

Neil urges George to make up with Brad, who’s coming to stay when Tracy and Jazzer go on honeymoon. As doubtful Brad shows Tracy his wedding outfit, she gives him a pep-talk. Jim and Jazzer decorate The Bull for the reception, with help from Brad and Mia, who discover lots in common. After Henry gets in trouble at school, he tells a horrified Helen he knows that Rob is back; later they have a reassuring chat about the situation. On their big day, Tracy and Jazzer get stuck in the bathroom and miss their appointment at the registry office, but tell no one. Their guests, none the wiser, celebrate with the happy couple at The Bull and Jim makes a moving best man’s speech. George tries to stir things up…

SOURCE: EVENING STANDARD…

Classic Costa Rica Enjoy towering jungles and a palm-lined coast – and a stop in the Tortuguero National Park – on a 15-day trip from £1,280pp b&b (excl. flights). 0330-808 7328, intrepidtravel.com. Depart 9 September. Journey to Jamaica A 16-night cruise to Montego Bay departing Málaga, with stops in Antigua, Madeira and the Dominican Republic. From £1,595pp all-incl.(incl. flights). 020-3451 2688, tui.co.uk. Depart 26 November. Island-hopping in Greece Spend 9 days exploring Athens, Mykonos and Santorini on a small group tour with a local guide. From £1,237pp b&b (excl. flights). 020-8004 8886, theadventurepeople.com. Depart 26 August. Unique Gran Canaria hotel Built into Taurito’s spectacular mountainside, the Mogán Princess & Beach Club offers a 5-night stay from £698pp all-incl. (incl. Birmingham flights). 0800-408 0778, jet2holidays.com. Depart 10 September.…

PGA Tour/LIV Golf: Saudi bogey “Every corner of the golf world” was “stunned” last month when America’s PGA Tour commissioner, Jay Monahan, delivered news of a “bombshell” deal with Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund, said Isabel Baldwin in the Daily Mail. The Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF) had, after all, spent the past two years bankrolling the PGA’s chief bogey – the breakaway LIV Golf league. Now it proposed a peace deal – brokered with the help of UK financier Amanda Staveley – to end a costly legal battle and pave the way for a formal partnership. Barely a month on, that deal is looking shaky, said DealBook in The New York Times. Ahead of a hearing by a senate investigations committee this week, a prominent tour board member, former…

“Sensible” policies are the way to crisis Liam Halligan The Sunday Telegraph The Government has just sold £4bn of two-year debt at a yield of 5.668%, “the highest borrowing cost for a quarter of a century”, says Liam Halligan. So much for “sensible” policies: “gilt yields are now way higher than at the time of the Liz Truss/Kwasi Kwarteng mini-Budget”, when efforts to cut tax and boost growth through supply-side reforms were blamed for causing debt market turmoil. Markets are increasingly convinced that “inflation will remain high in the foreseeable future”, and that the “relentless rise in borrowing costs still has a long way to go”. This will have dire consequences for public finances. Since 2020, the Government’s interest bill has quadrupled to about £110bn a year: “more than the…