Table of contents for 1518 in The Week

It’s getting hard to keep track of Labour’s priorities, said The Times. In opposition, it specified “five missions” for government, built on “three foundations”. In October, Rachel Reeves laid out her “seven pillars of growth”. Last week, Keir Starmer “tried to bring definition to his flailing government” with his “Plan for Change”, which specified six “milestones”. So: “seven pillars of growth, six milestones, five missions, three foundations”. All that’s missing is the partridge in a pear tree. Some of the new milestones are notably unambitious: Starmer has downgraded his goal of the UK becoming the fastest-growing economy in the G7, in favour of “raising living standards”, judged by real disposable income, across the nation. It’s hard to see how he can miss this, even at the current “anaemic rate” of…

An American magazine interviewed 150 “seasoned wedding guests” to create a list of things that people “secretly hate” about weddings. They include ultra-specific dress codes (e.g. “dressy casual”); long shuttle rides between venues; uncomfortable delays between the ceremony and the reception (often when the couple are having photos taken); and vows that mention the couple’s mundane habits (e.g. “I will always watch Love Island with you”). The most popular name for baby boys in England and Wales is now Muhammad. It has been in the top ten since 2016, but has now knocked Noah into second place. Oliver came third. Olivia remains the most popular girls’ name, followed by Amelia and Isla.…

11% of adults in Great Britain think it’s completely acceptable to swear at work. 31% think it’s fairly acceptable, 33% feel it’s not very acceptable, and 19% believe it isn’t acceptable at all. The rest don’t know. YouGov 77% of university staff around the world agree that academic freedom of speech is more limited in their country than it was ten years ago, including 80% of university staff in the UK. The Times/TES 11% of adults in Great Britain say they generally find Christmas very stressful. 35% find it fairly stressful, 33% find it not very stressful, 14% deem it not stressful at all. The rest don’t know or don’t celebrate Christmas. YouGov…

Kate Winslet’s “bravery” On the red carpet at the 1998 Golden Globes, an interviewer informed Kate Winslet – who’d been nominated for Titanic – that she was too big for her dress. She looked “melted and poured” into it, she was told; she should have worn one “two sizes larger”. She was only 22, but it was by no means the first time she’d been “fat shamed”, Winslet told 60 Minutes. At 14, a drama teacher had told her that she was too big to be a lead actor. “I’m telling you, darling,” he said. “If you’re going to look like this, you’ll have to settle for the fat girl parts.” She wasn’t overweight; and his words only galvanised her. “It made me think: ‘I’ll just show you, just quietly.’”…

A Japanese convenience store chain has launched a drinkable mayonnaise that can be poured into a glass, or enjoyed straight from its container with a straw. The store describes the drink as a “long-awaited new product for mayonnaise lovers”, but it has divided opinion on social media. “Incredibly awful! Avoid purchasing! No mayo lover will love this!” one user warned on X/Twitter. Another, who filmed himself tasting the drink, said it reminded him of the watery mayonnaise left in a bowl at the end of a salad. A Hertfordshire woman has issued a plea to members of the public to stop rescuing her “ugly” cat because they think it needs help. Michelle Laver, who lives on a boat on the Grand Union Canal, says that passers-by often pick up Lulu,…

IRAN Never expect this regime to liberalise Linkiesta (Milan) It’s a “glimmer of hope” that the Iranian regime may be softening its hardline stance. That’s the message some are taking from the release from prison of the Nobel Peace Prize winner Narges Mohammadi and the rapper Toomaj Salehi. Don’t you believe it, says Cristina Giudici. Mohammadi, Iran’s foremost human rights activist, has been given a pass to have surgery and will be returned to jail within weeks; Salehi, regarded as a symbol of rebellion (and who only recently had a death sentence overturned) will be re-arrested if he speaks ill of the regime. The truth is that the more Tehran is weakened by regional turmoil and economic crisis (daily power blackouts are now the norm), the more “ferocious” its repression…

Anna Wintour is almost never seen without her sunglasses. The Vogue supremo even wore them while sitting next to Queen Elizabeth II at a fashion show in 2018. Now, she has shed light, albeit somewhat enigmatically, on why she is so wedded to the accessory. “They help me see and they help me not see,” she told the BBC. “They help me be seen and not be seen. They are a prop, I would say.” The singer who wrote the lyrics to the 1970s pop hit Y.M.C.A. has rejected the idea that the song is a gay anthem, and warned that his wife will sue anyone who says it is. “That is a false assumption based on the fact that my writing partner was gay, and some (not all) of…

“Lottery: A tax on people who are bad at maths.”Ambrose Bierce, quoted in The Courier-Times “The pen is only mightier than the sword if you’re allowed to use the pen.”Mark Steyn, quoted in The European Conservative “You will become way less concerned with what other people think of you when you realise how seldom they do.”David Foster Wallace, quoted in The Knowledge “I ask you to judge me by the enemies I have made.” Franklin D. Roosevelt, quoted in The Guardian “In looking for people to hire, look for three qualities: integrity, intelligence and energy. But if they don’t have the first, the other two will kill you.”Warren Buffett, quoted in Forbes “Socialism never took root in America because the poor see themselves not as an exploited proletariat, but as…

To The Times Keir Starmer has vowed to stop houses and infrastructure being held to ransom by Nimbys and environmentalists. This is a misreading of the situation. We all accept that houses need to be built, but they have to be the right houses in the right places. Housebuilders prefer to build large expensive houses on undeveloped land. It is this development that Nimbys object to and which gives them a bad name. What are needed are two- to three-bedroom, probably terraced, affordable houses, built near developing employment sites. Such builds would be accepted without the opposition Starmer complains about. Brian Wood, vice-president, Oxfordshire CPRE To The Times Brian Wood’s view over-simplifies the nature of development to which Nimbys object. In my experience as a planning consultant, Nimbys do not…

Speak, Memory by Vladimir Nabokov, 1951 (Penguin £9.99). This is my all-time favourite – I’ve probably read it about 50 times. A profound, honest memoir of exile, it’s searing, but at the same time luxuriously beautiful. Tess of the D’Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy, 1891 (Penguin £6.99). I’m a real Hardy fan and could have picked any of his books – but with Tess, there’s something deeply tragic about the way terrible things just keep happening to her that I’ve never been able to get out of my mind. Middlemarch by George Eliot, 1871 (Penguin £8.99). I read this when I was about eight and assumed it was written by a very clever boy. It wasn’t until I was 18 that I realised it was by a woman – then I…

Programmes Dame Maggie Smith – A Celebration Tribute to the late actress with archival material and interviews with those who knew her best. Sat 14 Dec, ITV1 20:35 (60mins). John Lewis at Christmas Documentary that follows staff at the department store as they get ready for the festive season. Sun 15 Dec, C4 21:00 (60mins). Leonardo da Vinci Two-part documentary about the life and works of the great Renaissance painter made by the acclaimed American documentarian Ken Burns. Mon 16 Dec, BBC4 22:00 (110mins). Martin Lewis: How to Win at Board Games The Money Saving Expert offers tips, tactics and strategies to triumph at games including Connect 4, Monopoly and his favourite: Scrabble. Tue 17 Dec, ITV1 20:00 (60mins). The Heart of the Paris Games Two-part look at the preparation…

● Birds will adapt their diet depending on what is available. Sunflower hearts and fat balls are a safe bet. Don’t put fat balls in nets, as birds can get caught in them. ● Fat balls often have cereal in them, which some birds (blackbirds and robins) can’t eat. Full-fat blocks with mealworms or fewer seeds suit all birds and leave less mess. ● Water is crucial for drinking and bathing, so leave out a fresh daily supply. Food must to be fresh, too, or it can cause disease. ● Try to put bird tables or feeders at least 10ft from trees, and use baffles (smooth plastic domes) to deter squirrels and cats. Put a mat on the ground and pick up mess. ● Wash and scrub bird feeders, tables…

Shalom Nagar circa. 1936-2024 When Adolf Eichmann was kidnapped by Mossad agents in Argentina in 1960, and brought to Israel to stand trial for genocide, the Israeli authorities felt the eyes of the world upon them, said The Daily Telegraph, and were anxious to ensure that “correct procedures were followed”. One of the chief architects of the Final Solution, Eichmann had orchestrated the mass deportation and annihilation of European Jewry; and most of the employees of the Israeli prison service were Ashkenazi Jews, many of whom were survivors of the Holocaust. So to minimise the risk of retaliatory attacks on Eichmann, Israel’s prime minister, David Ben-Gurion, decreed that the 22 guards deputed to guard him should be Sephardic Jews, who mainly trace their ancestry back to the Middle East and…

Premium Bonds These old-fashioned favourites combine an NS&I account with the potential to win thousands of tax-free prizes of up to £1m in a monthly draw. “They are an eternal lottery ticket that could pay out big over and over again,” said accountant Deborah Harney of Sorted and Co on Unbiased. But the downside is that they pay no guaranteed interest, said Alice Haine of Bestinvest on Radio Times Money. You need “to win a prize to make a return”, and many people win nothing at all over a 12-month period. Potting on Financial gifts could be one solution for “older relatives” grappling with “new inheritance tax rules” on pension pots, said Matt Williams in IFA Magazine. Ian Dyall of Evelyn Partners suggests that a “neat, tax-efficient way of using…

The week’s best shares AB Dynamics The Mail on Sunday AB’s cutting-edge automotive testing technology ensures vehicles are safe and roadworthy. Renowned globally, revenues and profits are soaring. A market leader that shows UK innovation “at its best”. Buy. £20.64. Auto Trader Group The Mail on Sunday This online car dealer sells millions of used cars – working with makers, dealers and customers to match needs with products. Ten times larger than its nearest competitor, with rising sales and profits. More to come. Buy. 840p. Compass Group The Times Compass’s mass catering formula cuts across cultures: from strawberries and cream at Wimbledon, to hot dogs at the Super Bowl. Amid a “country shuffle” – more European acquisitions should deliver economies. Buy. £27.82. Dunelm Group The Times The home furnishings group…

The UK and a number of other European countries have suspended the processing of asylum applications from Syrians in the wake of the fall of the Assad regime. The Home Secretary said it was “right” for the UK to join the likes of France and Germany in pausing asylum decisions, given “people were claiming asylum from the Assad regime, which is no longer there”. However, Foreign Secretary David Lammy noted that the country may still not be safe. As of September, there were around 6,500 Syrians awaiting a decision on their asylum claims in the UK. In total, the UK has given asylum or resettlement to 41,535 Syrians since 2014.…

Movie memorabilia, after a pair of Dorothy’s ruby slippers sold for $28m at auction – almost ten times the estimate. Four pairs of the red shoes worn by Judy Garland in The Wizard of Oz have survived. This pair was stolen in 2005 and recovered by the FBI 13 years later. It turned out that the shoes had been seized by a career burglar who’d been told they were made of real rubies. Tortoise Media, which agreed a deal to take over The Observer, the oldest Sunday newspaper in the world. Tortoise, which is mainly known for its podcasts, was only set up in 2019, and the proposed transfer had led to a strike of staff at The Observer and its sister paper, The Guardian; but their owner, the Scott…

Paris Cathedral reborn: Five and a half years after it was gutted by a devastating fire, Notre Dame cathedral officially reopened last week. The ceremony was attended by 1,500 dignitaries, including the Prince of Wales, Donald Trump and about 50 heads of state. The service was led by the Archbishop of Paris, Laurent Ulrich, who knocked three times on the cathedral’s great doors before entering with a crozier carved from one of its ancient charred beams. “We have rediscovered what great nations can do: achieve the impossible,” said President Macron in a speech thanking all involved in the rebuilding. The €700m restoration, which was completed on time and on budget, involved some 2,000 workers from 250 firms, many of them traditional artisans’ workshops. Around 2,000 oak trees were donated by…

1 Cold Sweat by James Brown and Alfred Ellis, performed by James Brown and the Famous Flames2 Girlie Girlie by Anthony Davis, performed by Sophia George3 Pass Me Over by Anthony Hamilton and Kelvin Wooten, performed by Anthony Hamilton4* A Long Walk by Andre Harris and Jill Scott, performed by Jill Scott5 Rock Steady, written and performed by Aretha Franklin6 Never Forget by Gary Barlow, performed by Take That7 Superheroes by Alastair O’Donnell, Brian Steven Harris, Jonathan Lee, Michael Omari Owuo Junior, Natalie Jordan and Nigel Lowis, performed by Stormzy8 Work to Die, written and performed by The Isley Brothers Book: The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho Luxury: a drum kit * Choice if allowed only one record…

Ukraine’s weaknesses are clear: it is outmanned and outgunned, and facing a renewed onslaught on its eastern front despite the massive losses it has inflicted on the invading Russians. Its energy grid is pulverised daily. President Zelensky is unwilling to mobilise more troops by lowering the age for military service from 25 to 18, though the US urged him to do so last month. But the pressures on Russia are considerable, too. Casualty figures are hard to verify, but Ukraine estimates that 198,000 Russian soldiers have been killed and 550,000 more wounded (compared to 43,000 Ukrainian dead and 370,000 wounded). Although there is practically no internal opposition to Putin, the war is not popular: independent polling suggests 49% of Russians support withdrawing troops even if it means not achieving stated…

Hospitals in England are coming under intense pressure owing to a potential “quad-demic” of viruses. Doctors are already contending with a bad flu season: there were an average of 1,099 patients in hospital with flu every day at the end of November, nearly four times more than in the same week last year. On top of that, cases of the norovirus in hospitals were up 86% on last year, and there are fears about rising levels of Covid and the respiratory infection RSV. There was an average of 1,390 patients with Covid in hospital beds each day last week, and there were 142 children in hospital each day with RSV. The average number in hospital each day with any condition reached 96,587, a record high for the time of year,…

Nigel Farage was named “Newcomer of the Year” last week at Westminster’s answer to the Oscars, The Spectator’s Parliamentarian of the Year awards, said Andrew Neil in the Daily Mail. The award was, of course, tongue-in-cheek: Farage, not exactly a newcomer, had finally managed to get elected as an MP. The man himself, however, was in no mood for jokes. “I’ve got a bit of a shock for you,” he declared. “Politics is about to change in the most astonishing way.” He went on to vow that he would win the next election. This met with a “stunned silence” as those present reflected that “he might well be right”. Reform UK won more than four million votes in the last election, about 14% of the total. A poll last week…

Marc Cucurella, the Chelsea full-back, endured a torrid opening 11 minutes last Sunday as his side took on Spurs, said Thom Gibbs in The Daily Telegraph. Twice, the Spaniard lost his footing on the sodden Tottenham Hotspur Stadium turf. On both occasions, he gave possession away, each slip leading directly to a Tottenham goal. After the “excellent second” goal, from Dejan Kulusevski, a livid Cucurella sprinted to the touchline, managing to stay upright this time, and demanded a sturdier set of boots. “Don’t blame anyone else,” said Jamie Carragher on Sky Sports. “It’s your own fault, son. Absolutely schoolboy stuff.” Yet fortunately for Cucurella, Chelsea paid no penalty for his failure to pick the correct footwear. Taking advantage of a “porous Spurs”, the Blues staged a magnificent comeback. Goals from…

Football Premier League referee David Coote was sacked over a video revealing him making foul-mouthed comments about former Liverpool boss Jürgen Klopp. Golf World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler ended the year with victory at the Hero World Challenge in the Bahamas – his ninth title of 2024. Sports Personality of the Year Teenage darts sensation Luke Littler was shortlisted for the BBC’s annual award, alongside footballer Jude Bellingham, runner Keely Hodgkinson, cricketer Joe Root, triathlete Alex Yee and Paralympian Sarah Storey.…

Book of the week What in Me Is Dark: The Revolutionary Life of Paradise Lost by Orlando Reade Jonathan Cape 272pp £22 The Week Bookshop £19.99 In the 350 years since his death, John Milton has had a “remarkable tendency to pop up in unexpected places”, said Joe Moshenska in The Guardian. Like a visionary “jack-in-the-box”, Milton – and his epic poem Paradise Lost – have inspired figures from Thomas Jefferson to Charles Darwin to Dan Brown, author of The Da Vinci Code. Now, the academic Orlando Reade has written a “thoughtful, wide-ranging” book examining the poem’s enduring influence. “In 12 short and elegant chapters”, each corresponding to one of Paradise Lost’s 12 books, Reade looks at a range of people for whom the poem has “come to matter”. In…

Hannah Brown at Frestonian Gallery It wouldn’t be entirely fanciful to describe the paintings in British artist Hannah Brown’s new exhibition, The Road to Hollow Pond, as 21st century London’s answer to Monet’s epic Water Lilies cycle at the Musée de l’Orangerie. Brown’s canvases, hung to follow the course of a walk from her home to the eponymous pond (actually a series of artificial lakes created to fill in a disused quarry) in Leytonstone, are huge things, magnifying the vegetation glimpsed at Leyton Flats and subjecting the viewer to a barrage of oddly aggressive autumn colour. There is, however, nothing impressionistic about these apparently bucolic views, which are rendered with almost photo-realistic precision. What Brown (b.1977) doesn’t show is that the biggest of the works, a colossal diptych, recreates a…

The Troublesome Lodger Upstairs at The Oarsman, 46 Spittal Street, Marlow, Buckinghamshire (07596-517189) Until recently, the upstairs room at The Oarsman in Marlow was “full of dusty boxes and bags of sand”, says Grace Dent in The Guardian. Now, the space has been taken over by Simon Bonwick, former chef at the Michelin-starred The Crown near Maidenhead, who has turned it into an “unusual” restaurant. You probably shouldn’t come here if the idea of “communal dining with strangers frightens you”: in the “snug and dimly lit” dining room there is just a single leather-topped conference table, which seats 12. The five-course daily set menu is “ornately handwritten on a single sheet”, and features dishes with names such as “sea scallop like Mitsuhiro Araki showed me”, and beef with “rather nice…

Wyld Sauna is a Finnish-style floating coal sauna at Princes Dock in Liverpool. Cool off afterwards with an ice bath or a dip in the dock (from £7/hr; wyldsauna.com). The Alpine Coaster near Edinburgh is a 980m ride with a 360° helix, a 74m drop and a top speed of 28mph (£7 a ride; midlothian.gov.uk). Recover with a festive cocktail at the pop-up Polar Ice Bar in the city, it’s a chilly –8°C, but provides coats and gloves (from £14, until 4 Jan; edwinterfest.com). The Polar Express is coming to Wales for the first time. Ride the steam train on the Vale of Rheidol Railway from Aberystwyth to Devil’s Bridge (from £38, until 24 Dec; thepolarexpressaberystwyth.co.uk). Blenheim Palace has a new covered pop-up ice rink in the Great Court; there’s…

No. 124 by GuestHouse Brighton This recent opening on Brighton’s seafront is the fourth from GuestHouse – Britain’s “liveliest new boutique hotel brand”. Made up of four townhouses with “creamy” facades, it has “tastefully flamboyant” decor and “effervescent” service, says Duncan Craig in the FT. Works by local artists adorn the communal spaces (including an “enticing” bar with deep leather armchairs) and 32 rooms. Of the latter, half have sea views, all have record players (with vinyl), and some have private balconies (one with a hot tub). There’s a good “surf-and-turf” restaurant and a “compact” spa is due to open in February. Doubles from £175 b&b; guesthousehotels.co.uk.…

Omnicom/Interpublic: new advertising Goliath Deal fervour is alive in adland again, said Gideon Spanier in Campaign. Omnicom has agreed to buy its US rival Interpublic, in a move that will “create the world’s biggest agency group”. Omnicom CEO John Wren is dusting off an “old plan”, said Lex in the FT. After failing to execute a mega-merger with French rival Publicis in 2014, he is “having another crack at consolidation”. The all-stock tie-up, which values Interpublic at about $13bn, ostensibly “makes plenty of sense” given the rise of digital ad platforms. Media agency GroupM expects global ad revenues to surpass $1trn for the first time this year, but “Alibaba, Amazon, ByteDance, Google and Meta are expected to earn more than half of that”. However, investors seem sceptical that Wren’s defensive…

Europe’s trade deal with South America Editorial The Guardian Anticipating “strong protectionist winds” from Donald Trump’s White House, the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, “has been responding by making her own economic weather”, says The Guardian. Last week she flew to Uruguay “to controversially conclude negotiations in one of the biggest free trade agreements in history”. The deal opens up trade between the EU and Latin America’s Mercosur bloc: Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, Bolivia and Uruguay. It makes sense for Europe’s manufacturers, eliminating tariffs on most goods and offering an alternative export market to the US and China. But the politics are “treacherous”: opposing Mercosur is “a common cause célèbre among European farmers”, who fear being undercut by South American producers with lower standards. After a year…

Who will rule Syria now? A prime minister has been appointed to lead the transitional government. Mohammed al-Bashir – the former head of the HTS’s rebel administration in the northwest of Syria – has been tasked with governing until March. But true power is likely to reside with the group’s 42-year-old commander, Abu Mohammed al-Jolani. Having dropped his Islamic nom de guerre, he now styles himself “President Ahmed al-Shara”, and is presenting himself as a moderate pragmatist. But his past as al-Qa’eda’s leader in Syria has left many questioning his promises to bring freedom, peace and stability to his country. “Well-educated, urbane and softly-spoken”, Jolani grew up in a middle-class family in Damascus, said Raya Jalabi in the FT. Yet by the time he was 20, he’d been radicalised. He…

Unions representing teachers and NHS staff hinted this week that they might resort to further strikes, after the Government recommended a pay rise of 2.8% for public sector workers next year. In evidence to public sector pay review bodies, which will now consider the proposed rise, ministers warned that higher rises than that would force budget cuts. The British Medical Association accused ministers of having a “poor grasp” of the issues that had led doctors to strike in the first place.…

Spanish pride, after a New Zealander who doesn’t speak Spanish won the Spanish World Scrabble Championship in Grenada. “This is an unbelievable humiliation,” said a local news broadcaster of Nigel Richards’s victory. Known as “the Tiger Woods of Scrabble”, Richards is believed to have memorised the Spanish Scrabble dictionary. Rail travellers, after a survey found that fares in the UK are the highest in Europe, with the prices charged by the operator GWR two-and-a-half times the European average.…

Washington DC More pardons?: Having pardoned his son, Joe Biden is now reported to be thinking of granting pre-emptive pardons to some of the political opponents that Donald Trump has threatened to prosecute when he comes to office. Among those reported to be in line for possible pardons are Liz Cheney, the former Republican congresswoman-turned-fierce-Trump-critic, and Anthony Fauci, the infectious diseases expert who has been accused by Trump and other Republicans of a range of misdeeds related to the handling of the Covid pandemic. It’s not clear if Trump intends to carry out his threatened campaign of retribution, but his decision to replace the head of the FBI with the loyalist Kash Patel has made some of his opponents nervous. Pre-emptive pardons, while rare, are not unprecedented: Richard Nixon, for…

“Scented candles are the 21st century equivalent of those melancholy items of my childhood Christmases: scented bath cubes and hankies embroidered with a sprig of heather. Never used, they retired straight to the unwanted-present cupboard – to be joined, a generation later, by scented candles. As a recent correspondent to the Telegraph observed: ‘The only thing worse than receiving a scented candle as a Christmas present is to be “regifted” three for your birthday in February.’ The Flying Dutchmen of gifts, scented candles are doomed to remain in perpetual transit, on their never-ending journey from recipient to ungrateful recipient.” Jane Shilling in The Daily Telegraph…

A radical way to rescue the high street Holly Lewis The Guardian All is not well on Britain’s high streets, says Holly Lewis. Banks and pubs are disappearing; Boots, M&S and other chains are closing branches. One in every seven shops nationwide now lies empty. So what to do? The last government’s response was to ease planning rules to make it easier to convert underused space into flats, but that just led to developers building a lot of poor-quality homes, which made high streets even bleaker. Latterly, though, the Tories had a far better, bolder, idea: high-street rental auctions. Under the scheme, which came into force this month, England’s local councils can force landlords to let properties that have been vacant for a specified period, by holding an auction. The…

Perhaps the most important event in America this year outside of the presidential election, said Rich Lowry in National Review, has been the “intellectual collapse” of the DEI (diversity, equity and inclusion) fad. The US has been spending some $8bn a year telling Americans in training sessions, workshops and classrooms that they are, depending on their race or gender, either “victims or oppressors and that the country is shot through with white supremacy”. This has always seemed unhelpful, and evidence to that effect is piling up. A compelling new study released by Rutgers University found that DEI training often sows division and resentment. In one experiment, participants examined a scenario involving a college applicant getting rejected. Those who had been prepped by reading DEI materials were more likely to deem…

A “game-changer” for asthma Researchers at King’s College London say they have developed the first new treatment for severe asthma in 50 years – and have hailed it as a potential “gamechanger”. The team’s landmark study explored the potential of giving patients an injection of a monoclonal antibody (a lab-made protein) called benralizumab, which is designed to bind to a specific type of white blood cell called eosinophils. About half of asthma attacks are believed to occur when these immune cells in the respiratory system overreact, and cause the airways to swell, leading to wheezing, coughing and difficulty breathing. The antibody is already used as a repeat treatment at low dose; the study aimed to find out if it would be effective at a higher dose, injected at the time…

“Is Bill Gates secretly trying to depopulate the planet by injecting our cows with poison so that beef and milk will make men infertile?” Obviously not, said Harry Wallop in The Times. But in recent weeks, this absurd theory has been spread widely on X/Twitter. The trigger was news from the dairy co-operative Arla, and three major supermarkets, that they’re trialling a cattle-feed additive, Bovaer, which cuts cows’ methane emissions by at least a third. Cows’ burps and flatulence are a big problem: methane from livestock accounts for about 20% of global greenhouse gas emissions. And Bovaer is an effective product, first developed 15 years ago and used round the world. In the age of social media, however, Arla’s decision resulted not in plaudits for a sensible move, but in…

Mindful of the Ashes series starting next November, England have spent much of the past year “rearranging their jigsaw”, said Lawrence Booth in the Daily Mail. And in their second Test against New Zealand, the “pieces came together with an ease” that will not have gone unnoticed in Australia. Already 1-0 up in the three-Test series, Ben Stokes’s men handed their hosts a “323-run drubbing” in three days, securing England their first series win in New Zealand for 16 years. New Zealand are a “very good side” who recently whitewashed India, said Mike Atherton in The Times. So beating them this easily is no mean feat. England have many reasons to be delighted, from the superlative batting of Harry Brook (who added another century to his 171 in the first…

For its big Christmas show, the National Theatre has cooked up an absolute treat, said Nick Curtis in The London Standard. Noel Streatfeild’s much-loved children’s novel Ballet Shoes (1936) is about three female foundlings who are adopted by an eccentric paleontologist, and brought up, during his long absences, by his niece on the Cromwell Road in London. Posy is a budding ballerina, Pauline is a gifted actress and Petrova proves to be a natural mechanic, who dreams of being a pilot. This first major stage adaptation, written by Kendall Feaver and directed by Katy Rudd, honours the spirit of the book, but is also its own thing – and it works brilliantly. “Suffused with gung-ho spirit, exuberance and larky wit”, it is a celebration of plucky young women and “never…

In his long musical career, Bryan Adams has worked with many big names, says Jacqui Goddard in The Times: Tina Turner, Rod Stewart, Bruce Springsteen… But his latest collaborators are perhaps the most striking: he is exhibiting a new collection of 36 paintings “produced jointly by the Grammy-winning rock icon and 15 chimpanzees” living at one of the world’s largest chimp havens. “Rescued from research laboratories, the exotic pet trade and the entertainment industry, residents of the 150-acre Save the Chimps sanctuary in Fort Pierce, Florida, live out their retirement free of exploitation and endangerment.” Painting is one of the activities on offer. “Only about 10% of chimpanzees enjoy painting,” explained Adams, and he was delighted to collaborate with the resident apes to raise money for the sanctuary. “When people…

Emma is shocked to learn that someone has complained about her role on the parish council. Kenton and Jolene decide to throw a Santa brunch, to draw more people to The Bull in the run-up to Christmas. Mick offers to play Santa, but the voice he puts on is terrifying. When Leonard’s new electric bike turns up, he impulsively takes it for a spin. Kenton tries to get Mick to do a better Santa voice, with no success, but Lynda suggests a solution – they’ll throw a “Creepy Christmas” event, which will work with what Mick’s doing. David and Ruth confront Leonard about his erratic bike-riding, upsetting Leonard who wonders if they think he’s past it. To Kenton’s surprise, “Creepy Christmas” looks like it might not be a flop. When…

Sift by Nicola Lamb Ebury £30 (£26.99) Trained in some of the best bakeries in London and New York, Nicola Lamb “knows how to turn out a delicious treat”, says Tony Turnbull in The Times. And she has drawn on her experience in this superlative baking “bible”. For those who want it, the early chapters offer a “deep dive” into the scientific properties of flour, eggs, sugar etc. But “fear not”: there are also lots of delicious recipes, including ones for Earl Grey-scented scones, and apricot and rosemary polenta cake. Nights Out at Home by Jay Rayner Fig Tree £22 (£19.99) In this clever and original book, Jay Rayner takes recipes from his favourite chefs and adapts them for home cooking, says Rose Prince in The Spectator. The dishes he…

Madeleine Riffaud 1924-2024 Madeleine Riffaud, who has died aged 100, believed that the decisive moment of her life came in the winter of 1940, said The Daily Telegraph. Six months after fleeing northern France in the face of the invading Nazis, she was returning home with her dying grandfather when she was surrounded and molested by a group of German soldiers in Amiens. An officer appeared, and ordered his men to desist, but then kicked her hard on the backside, sending her sprawling face first into the gutter. “I was humiliated, my fear turned into anger,” she recalled. “I remember saying to myself, ‘I don’t know who they are or where they are, but I’ll find the people who are fighting this, and I’ll join them.’” She was only 16,…

Truong My Lan Once Vietnam’s richest woman, Truong My Lan urgently needs to raise $9bn, said CNN. Her life depends on it. Having lost an appeal against a death sentence – handed down for embezzling $12bn from the Saigon Commercial Bank – she could get it commuted to life imprisonment if she can raise 75% of the cash to repay victims. The problem facing the former property tycoon, 68, is that most of her assets are frozen, forcing her to call upon friends. She’ll find out soon enough who will stand by her. Lan’s case has rocked Vietnam. With good reason. She is the most prominent of 86 defendants charged with orchestrating the world’s biggest bank fraud. Investigators claim the group syphoned off a total $44bn from the bank, “through…

THE WEEK CROSSWORD 1444 Two Connell Guides and three Week-branded items will be given to the sender of the first correct solution to the crossword and the clue of the week opened on Monday 23 December. Send it to The Week Crossword 1444, 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 Week-branded items, as well as two Connell Guides (connellguides.com). ACROSS 8 What has replaced Soviet greatness? (9,6) 9 Questionable behaviour in classic movies? (5-3) 10 Country with rampant rabies? (6) 11 Show based on what fruity William said to his partner? (4,2,4) 13 Look in hold on the way back (4) 14 Club wisest, I tut with no men! (6,9) 17 Tunes, sounding as if…