The Week 1511

What happened Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar was killed by Israeli forces in southern Gaza last week, ending a yearlong manhunt for the architect of the 7 October attacks. Israel said that Sinwar had been “eliminated” during a chance encounter with its troops in the city of Rafah. The unit had fired on three armed men during a routine patrol. When one of the trio fled into a building, the troops sent a surveillance drone in pursuit. The man was covered in dust and seemed to be dead, but he then hurled a stick at the drone – so the unit called in tank fire. It was only later that the Israelis identified the body as Sinwar’s. Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu welcomed the news, but said that it marked only “the…

What happened President Zelensky warned last week that North Korea is planning to send thousands of troops to support Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, in what he called “a first step to World War”. The Ukrainian leader said that intelligence reports suggested that almost 10,000 troops would be deployed. His comments followed claims from South Korea’s spy agency that 1,500 North Korean special forces were already in Russia for training. Footage was released apparently showing soldiers training in eastern Russia, and being issued with Russian uniforms. In talks with US and European leaders, Zelensky also unveiled his long-awaited “plan for victory” over Russia and its “coalition of criminals”. Key elements included a formal invitation for Ukraine to join Nato, and permission to use long-range missiles supplied by its allies to attack…

Egypt has been declared malaria-free by the WHO, nearly 100 years after the country’s health authorities first launched efforts to stamp out the disease. The WHO hailed the achievement as “truly historic”, and praised “the Egyptian government and people” for their efforts. Egypt is the third country in the Middle East, and the 44th in the world, to have been certified as malaria-free. The disease kills more than 600,000 people a year, mostly in sub-Saharan Africa. A tortoise that was sent with a load of rubbish to a recycling centre survived the experience thanks to a worker spotting it on a conveyor belt. Pee-wee, as the reptile has been named, is thought to have arrived at the centre in Grantham in a lorry. It was then scooped up by a…

Controversy of the week “Many politicians would kill to be in Rachel Reeves’s position,” said The Economist. For her first Budget, on 30 October, the Chancellor has “the benefit of an unassailably large majority in Parliament, a leaderless opposition and almost five years before the next election”. If ever there was a moment to reshape tax and spending in the UK so as to ignite growth, as she aims to, “this is it”. True, Reeves has to find £20bn to £30bn “to stop Britain’s feeble public services from crumbling further”, but that shouldn’t be impossible in a state that raises more than £800bn per year in tax. Unfortunately, though, most of the signs so far “are uninspiring”. Reeves “has trailed a slapdash effort, cobbling together revenue-raisers while trying to wriggle…

The National Gallery has become the first museum in Britain to introduce a ban on liquids, in the wake of the recent “soup attacks” by climate protesters on its artworks. The only liquids visitors may now bring into the gallery are baby formula, expressed milk and prescription medicines. The gallery said it had been “forced to act to protect our visitors, staff and collection”. Farmers offering pick-your-own pumpkin experiences in the run-up to Halloween have done such a roaring trade this year that some are buying in extra gourds, The Times reports. One wholesale grower in Essex said she’d been “inundated” by requests, including from farms that had sold more tickets to their “pumpkin patches” this year than they had pumpkins.…

David Jakins, the 82-year-old conker champion known as King Conker, who was cleared of wrongdoing. Jakins had been accused of cheating in this year’s World Conker Championships, after he was found with a steel replica chestnut his pocket, but organisers said there was no evidence he had used it in his winning bouts. Simon Henderson, the headmaster of Eton College, whose pay was revealed to have been increased by 40% last year. He was paid between £370,000 and £380,000 in 2022-23, after the raise.…