Table of contents for 1501 in The Week

What happened Ukraine’s surprise counter-offensive into Russian territory continued this week: Kyiv claimed that its forces had seized 1,000 sq km of land in the Kursk and Belgorod regions of western Russia since breaking across the border from Ukraine last Tuesday; other estimates said that they had punched at least 18 miles into enemy territory. Up to 10,000 troops were reportedly involved in the incursion, for which Kyiv used tanks, US-supplied armoured vehicles and Himars rocket launchers. In a televised address, President Zelensky said that the war was “coming home” to Russia, and that Kyiv wanted to put “pressure on the aggressor”. Moscow scrambled to contain the counterattack, which Vladimir Putin described as a “major provocation”. Russian forces used missiles, drones and air strikes to try to claw back territory,…

It’s good to see so many thugs facing justice for their role in the recent riots, said Jonathan Freedland in The Guardian. But “there’s one extremely rich and powerful suspect” who should join them in the dock: Elon Musk, the self-proclaimed Tweeter-in-Chief. It was on Musk’s toxic sewer of a site, X (formerly Twitter), that the lie began to circulate that a Muslim migrant was responsible for the deadly stabbing attack at a children’s dance party in Southport. Amplified by far-right agitators – such as Tommy Robinson, whose previously suspended X account was reinstated by Musk – that fake news caused havoc on our streets, with the Tesla billionaire gleefully throwing fuel on the fire. As “asylum seekers huddled in burning hotels”, said Janice Turner in The Times, the “King…

A 37-year-old British man, who was caught carving his and his children’s initials into a wall on the House of the Vestals in Pompeii. He apologised and said that he wanted to leave a sign that he had visited; the fine could run to thousands of euros. Single-use plastic, with the news that Ocado will start selling everyday products such as pasta, rice and washing liquid in refillable packaging, in a first by an online supermarket. The NHS, as figures showed that applications to study medicine have dropped by 12% in two years. It appears that school leavers are being put off by pay levels, highlighted by a series of strikes; by the gruelling depiction of doctors’ working lives in TV shows; and by highly competitive entrance requirements.…

Paris Mayor’s tirade: Following the success of the Paris Olympics, the city’s Socialist mayor upbraided her critics in a colourful interview with the newspaper Le Monde. “F**k the reactionaries, f**k this far-right, f**k all of those who want to lock us into a war of all against all,” declared Anne Hidalgo, using the f-word in English. “Our vision… has been contradicted, contested, mocked, caricatured,” she said, referring to claims from her critics – largely on the Right – that the city would be shamed by problems ranging from rats to river pollution. The Games have been widely praised, and Hidalgo said that large numbers of locals had approached her to thank her for her role. The criticisms had always masked the real issue, she claimed – the Right’s “hatred” for…

1 I Want You, written and performed by Bob Dylan2 Summertime by George Gershwin, Ira Gershwin and DuBose Heyward, performed by Ella Fitzgerald3 Immortal, Invisible, God Only Wise, traditional, by Walter Chalmers Smith, performed by the Worcester Cathedral Choir and Festival Choral Society, directed by Donald Hunt4 Redemption Song by Bob Marley, performed by Bob Marley and the Wailers5 A Different Corner, written and performed by George Michael6 Messetchinko Lio (You, Little Moon), traditional, by Krassimir Tsvetanov Kurktshiyski, performed by the Bulgarian State Radio & Television Female Vocal Choir7 Red Right Hand by Nick Cave, Mick Harvey and Thomas Wydler, performed by Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds8* Keep Right On to the End of the Road, written and performed by Sir Harry Lauder Book: The Greek Myths by Robert Graves…

A mother who gave birth at a John Lewis in Solihull now wants to name her baby after the department store. Karisma Webster, 32, was browsing the underwear section with her mother, six days before her due date, when her waters broke. She says she went into “total shock”, but was helped by staff members, one of whom was a former midwife. Paramedics then arrived and delivered her daughter. Webster has named her Cali-Blu-Rose, but says she will give her the middle names “John Lewis”. Oakmere Golf Club in Nottinghamshire has an unlikely new member: a wallaby that has been spotted meandering around the grounds. The origin of the marsupial, nicknamed “Holly Wallaby” by locals, is unknown, though it is thought to have escaped from a private collection, since no…

The Paris Olympics started with “sabotage on a massive scale” to the French train network, and a washed-out opening ceremony on the River Seine, said Agnès Poirier in The Times. Then the Games themselves began, “and the rain turned into gold, silver and bronze”. Paris, and France, “have not felt the same since”. For two weeks, the world’s greatest athletes vied with each other in the most beautiful of “backdrops”: horses dancing at the Palace of Versailles, volleyball in front of the Eiffel Tower. We discovered “new gods”, such as the French swimming star Léon Marchand, and even supported British athletes, such as the 800m runner Keely Hodgkinson. The Games have had a transformative effect on the French, agreed Oliver Brown in The Daily Telegraph. In every sport, they cheered…

“We’ve all been there,” said Richard Hollingham on BBC Future: stuck on a broken-down train or stranded in an airport after a cancelled flight, unsure when we’ll get home. Spare a thought, then, for Nasa astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore. In June, the pair arrived on the International Space Station (ISS) with limited luggage for what was supposed to be a fleeting eight-day visit. But the spacecraft that took them there – Boeing’s new Starliner – suffered helium leaks and thruster problems before docking, raising doubts about its safety for the return flight. If Nasa can confidently establish that the issues are fixed, the two astronauts may yet be able to return in the craft. If not, the Starliner will fly back empty, and Williams and Wilmore will have…

To The Times Pesky newts and other animals (bats, red squirrels, dormice and various birds) all interfere with planning applications for building. These animals are but one link in the network of animals and plants that live together and comprise functional communities. In the newts’ case, an estimated 90% of lowland ponds have been lost since 1930; if the newts go, so does the rest of the ecosystem and its thousands of species. Since 1930 we have lost 97% of our wildflower meadows, half our ancient woodland and 56% of our heathland. Farmland birds have declined by more than 50% since 1970. Among all rich, developed nations, the UK ranks bottom for biodiversity. It follows that, when planning for houses (which we desperately need), it is the preservation not of…

by Charlotte Mendelson Mantle 368pp £18.99 The Week Bookshop £14.99 Charlotte Mendelson creates great villains, said Alex Clark in The Guardian, and has outdone herself in her sixth novel with the character of Penny, an expat Australian academic who is “glamorous, worldly, beautiful” – and grotesquely narcissistic. A “compelling” study of coercive control, the novel is told from the point of view of Penny’s timid younger wife, Zoe, who has been bullied for years but has decided at last to escape their marriage with their children. Zoe’s plan must be executed in a day, creating a thriller-like tension intensified by the fact that their co-parents – the children’s biological father and his sister – are manipulative monsters too. The novel is “fast and furious” but beautifully observed, said Susie Goldsbrough…

Hayley Barker at Ingleby Gallery If the exhibitions presented so far this summer are anything to go on, flower paintings are very much back in vogue. It’s doubtful, however, that many artists producing them are doing so with quite the panache of Hayley Barker (b.1973). The American artist paints in a style that could be summed up as two parts late van Gogh to one part 1970s Hockney, and she appears to specialise in large-scale but unostentatious scenes of her Los Angeles garden, largely based on photographs. If that sounds run of the mill in terms of influence, objective and method, think again: the works here are formidably accomplished compositions in which no mark feels unnecessary. The colours reflect the only-subtly changing Californian seasons with uncanny precision: one canvas has…

Noah’s 1 Brunel Lock Road, Bristol (0117-452 9240) Overlooking Bristol’s Cumberland Basin, Noah’s was once “a greasy spoon called Popeye’s Diner, which was also the location for Sid’s Café in Only Fools and Horses”, says Tom Parker Bowles in The Mail on Sunday. It has had makeovers since then, and is now run by chef Dan Rosser, who clearly “knows his fish”, and his wife Joie. A “bright space with views of the Clifton Suspension Bridge”, the restaurant has “portholes and polished wood” that give a nod to the nautical “without going full Captain Birds Eye”. A popular option is the Lock Keeper’s Lunch: cod and chips (or mussels or fishcakes), plus a cup of tea, for £12.95 – which, “for cooking this good”, is a real bargain. The rest…

GB stickers are no longer valid. British motorists must now display the UK logo on their rear numberplate, or risk a €150 fine. Carrying a breathalyser is no longer a requirement in France, but in parts of Paris and some other cities cars are required to display a Crit’Air sticker to show they comply with emissions standards. Apply well before you travel (france.fr/en). Italy has the most low-emission zones in Europe, so check the region you’re visiting beforehand. Also look out for low-traffic areas (zona a traffico limitato). Most German cities have low-emission zones. Apply for an emissions sticker (€6) before you travel via the state website. Post-Brexit, you no longer have to pay a fine if you get caught by a speed camera in Europe, but beware of mobile…

Graham Thorpe 1969-2024 One of only 17 male cricketers to have won 100 Test caps for England, Graham Thorpe, who has died aged 55, was a batsman of rare “skill and tenacity”, said The Guardian. These traits were the “pillars of all his finest innings”, including the unbeaten 64 he scored to secure England’s “win in the dark” over Pakistan in Karachi in 2000 – one of the Test side’s “greatest victories overseas”. Pakistan had never lost in this city, and they had done everything they could to keep it that way, including time-wasting on the final afternoon. In the evening gloom, without the floodlights that are now standard, Thorpe struggled to see the red ball, but he kept his calm, and “saw England home”. A troubled man, he could…

In 1997, the “internationally expansive” BT Group acquired a large minority stake in an Indian company owned by telecoms tycoon Sunil Bharti Mittal – dubbing it, rather unimaginatively, a “jewel in the crown”. More than a quarter-century on, the tables have turned, said Alex Ralph in The Times. Now it is Bharti swooping on BT. The Indian conglomerate has agreed to buy a 24.5% interest in the UK telecoms champion, worth about £3.2bn, thereby becoming the FTSE 100 company’s single largest shareholder. Bharti has ruled out making a full takeover offer, “at least for now”. The “historical turnabout” is a coup for Mittal, who made a point of keeping in touch with BT – even as he built Bharti Airtel into a $100bn behemoth, said the FT. “Another billionaire’s financial…

Jerome Powell Who’d be Jerome “Jay” Powell, head of the Federal Reserve? Days after disappointing jobs data spooked the market, Donald Trump caused further alarm by arguing that the US president should have a “say” in the Fed’s decisions, and that he could run the show better himself, said The Times. “I made a lot of money, I was very successful,” he observed last week, claiming to have a “better instinct” than many in the Fed, including the chairman. Trump has said worse before, said DealBook in The New York Times. Having himself nominated Powell to take the role in 2018, he rounded on him in 2019, tweeting that Powell was a “bigger enemy” than President Xi of China. Reports have long circulated that “Trump’s allies were seeking to water…

What happened Prosecutors fast-tracked more suspects through the courts this week in response to the recent riots across England and in Northern Ireland. As of Tuesday, police chiefs said they had arrested more than 1,024 people and charged 575 over the disorder, which was sparked by false rumours that a Muslim asylum seeker carried out the fatal stabbing of three young girls in Southport. The riots petered out in the second half of last week after thousands of anti-racism protesters rallied in towns and cities. Keir Starmer said that the increased police presence and swift meting out of justice had delivered results, but warned of the need to stay on “high alert” for further trouble. He also said his Government would look into the role of social media and the…

The traditional pint after work is dying out, as employees embrace hybrid working and expect “inclusive and positive work cultures”, a study has found. The Work Foundation report proposes that companies should host activities “that do not centre on alcohol”; should swap the word “drinks” for more neutral terms such as “socialising”; and should hold them in the day, or online, to include those who “struggle” to meet after hours. New guidelines from the Society of Radiographers advise asking men if they are pregnant before carrying out X-rays, The Daily Telegraph reports. One NHS radiographer said a patient in for urgent tests was so annoyed by the questioning that he stormed out in a fury, and didn’t have a scan.…

A review into the care of the Nottingham knife attacker Valdo Calocane has found “a series of errors, omissions and misjudgements” in his treatment. The Care Quality Commission said the risks posed by Calocane’s condition – he had been diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia – were downplayed by the trust overseeing his care, although he was “acutely unwell”, wasn’t taking his medication, and had little “acceptance of his condition”. Attempts by his family to raise concerns were not consistently acted on; and he was discharged from hospital back to his GP in 2022 despite clear evidence that he would relapse into “aggressive behaviour”. Calocane, who killed the students Grace O’Malley-Kumar and Barnaby Webber, and the caretaker Ian Coates, last year, is now in a high-security hospital.…

Washington DC Harris boost: Less than a month on from Joe Biden’s announcement that he was quitting the US presidential race, the Democrats appear to be turning the tide in the contest. A New York Times poll last weekend showed that Kamala Harris leads Donald Trump by 50% to 46% in three swing states where Biden had been tied or trailing: Wisconsin, Pennsylvania and Michigan. National polling averages give her a 2.7% lead over her Republican rival, and suggest that she has closed the gap in swing states such as Georgia and Arizona; she also narrowly leads him on the economy, according to an FT poll. Analysts say Harris has been boosted by framing the election as a “fight for freedom”, and by picking Tim Walz as her running mate…

“In common with most lovers of cricket, I grumpily accept the need for constant modernisation of the game. But last week, I took on holiday with me a book about an Ashes match in 1961 and, on page ten, I found Peter May described as ‘the leading batter of the series’. I’m sorry, the leading what? Oh no. Please. Not here. And it got worse. I understand and accept MCC’s 2021 decision to change ‘batsman’ to ‘batter’. But the way ‘batsman’ has since been eradicated suggests the word is now regarded as offensive. Can I not curl up with a book about the game’s Golden Age without it being rewritten in the Newspeak of 2024? Can we not have both?” Giles Coren in The Times…

The legal swamp at Guantánamo Editorial National Review More than two decades after 9/11, the effort to bring its alleged architect to justice is still unresolved, says the National Review. At the end of last month, the Pentagon decided to strike a plea deal with Khalid Sheikh Mohammed (KSM) and two of his co-conspirators that would have spared them the death penalty but kept them imprisoned at Guantánamo Bay for the rest of their lives. But days later, fearing the election-season decision would rebound on the Biden administration, Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin quietly revoked the deal, returning everything to square one. What a mess. If only the US had put these men to death in 2008, when it had the chance. At that time, KSM and his co-defendants said they…

A 900-calorie a day soup and shake diet, prescribed to patients with type 2 diabetes, has put as many as a third of them into remission, researchers have found. Since 2020, some 25,000 people have been offered the year-long scheme by their doctors. The study involved 1,740 of them. Its results showed that the 945 people who managed to complete the programme lost around 10kg on average, and a third of them put their type 2 diabetes into remission (having lost 16kg on average). Participants in the Type 2 Diabetes Path to Remission Programme, being run by NHS England, are offered meal-replacement products for 12 weeks; they then gradually reintroduce solid food, with support and advice on nutrition and exercise to help them maintain a healthy weight. “It’s not easy,…

Tony and Kath Knight are “living on the front line of Britain’s social care lottery”, said Melissa Lawford and Szu Ping Chan in The Daily Telegraph. The couple retired to the Isle of Wight in 2016; soon after, Kath was diagnosed with vascular dementia, and had to be moved to a specialised care home, at the cost of £6,000 per month, or £72,000 per year. If she had been suffering from cancer, then all her medical costs would have been met by the state. But when it comes to social care, those with assets over £23,250 (excluding homes if they or their spouse are still living in it) have to foot the entire bill themselves. There was one ray of hope for people in this position: in October 2025, the…

“I’m not crazy about reality, but it’s still the only place to get a decent meal.”Groucho Marx, quoted in Harper’s “Money is minted freedom.”Fyodor Dostoevsky, quoted in Arab News “The single most underappreciated force in international relations is humiliation.”Thomas Friedman, quoted in the Financial Times “Once is happenstance. Twice is coincidence. The third time, it’s enemy action.”Ian Fleming, quoted in The Atlantic “Anger is a powerful catalyst but a life-sucking companion.”Brené Brown, quoted on Slate “There may be a great fire in our soul, yet no one ever comes to warm himself at it, and the passers-by see only a wisp of smoke coming through the chimney, and go along their way.”Vincent van Gogh, quoted on The List “A lawyer is a person who writes a 10,000-word document and calls…

Diving British diver Tom Daley has announced his retirement. The 30-year-old won silver in the 10m synchro event in Paris. Cricket England captain Ben Stokes has been ruled out of the forthcoming Test series against Sri Lanka, after a hamstring tear while competing in the Hundred. Football Wayne Rooney’s tenure as Plymouth manager got off to an awful start, as his team lost 4-0 to Sheffield Wednesday. Tottenham Hotspur completed the signing of striker Dominic Solanke from Bournemouth, for an initial fee of £55m.…

London already boasts several “brilliant revivals of classic American musicals”, said Sarah Crompton on What’s On Stage. Now, joining Hello Dolly!, Guys & Dolls, and A Chorus Line, comes “another glory of Broadway’s late golden age” in an outstanding production at Regent’s Park. Director Jordan Fein’s “wonderful, emotional” production of Fiddler on the Roof is perfectly balanced, tilting towards neither “saccharine nor bitterness”. The songs, including classics such as Tradition and If I Were a Rich Man, feel as “if they are being forged afresh”. The cast are superb, led by Broadway regular Adam Dannheisser as Tevye, and Lara Pulver as his wife, Golde. And the show “seems made for its open-air setting”: the Sun actually set during Sunrise, Sunset, and candles lit a wedding procession in the twilight. It’s…

“Elizabeth Taylor: The Lost Tapes could have been called Elizabeth Taylor: A Lost Era,” said Lucy Mangan in The Guardian. The Sky documentary features excerpts from 40 hours of tapes that were recently found in the archive of the late journalist Richard Meryman, who interviewed the film star extensively as part of research for a book. The audio is interwoven with archive footage from the time: so we see clips from her films, footage of 1940s and 1950s Hollywood, and watch Taylor at publicity events. The resulting film is “partial” and “inescapably hagiographic” – Meryman “lets Taylor speak with barely any pushback” – but it remains a “heady treat. Because it is about Elizabeth Taylor. They don’t make them like they used to – and they probably never will again.”…

Ed and Fallon decide to plan a surprise 40th birthday party at The Bull for Emma. At a meeting about the fête, Joy suggests that they set up a shuttle service between the fête and the Stables event, to ensure both are a success. Alice shows up at the Stables, ready to get back to work after her stint in rehab. Justin tells Lilian that he fears Alice’s return will be disastrous, but Lilian refuses to let her be forced out. John, Paul’s father, berates Alistair for hurting Paul, though things calm down when they share a whisky at the practice. Emma finds out about her surprise party before it’s due to start and wants to back out, but George points out that people will find it suspicious if she…

Kam heong (meaning “golden and fragrant”) sauce was created by the ever-ingenious tze char (street food) chefs of Singapore, says Shu Han Lee. It perfectly shows off the country’s unique makeup, as it brings together ingredients from almost every culture: curry powder, soy sauces, bird’s eye chillies and curry leaves. This sauce tastes good with everything, from fried chicken to seafood, and is delicious in this vegan-friendly dish with cauliflower. Serves 3-4 as a side 150g plain flour 4 tbsp cornflour 1 tsp baking powder ¼ tsp ground turmeric ¼ tsp fine sea salt 300ml cold sparkling or soda water 1 small head of cauliflower, broken into bite-sized florets vegetable oil, for frying 1 banana shallot, finely chopped 10 fresh or frozen curry leaves 1 red bird’s eye chilli, finely…

The beach at Margate, Kent, is a broad stretch of golden sand with a tidal pool, just five minutes’ walk from the station. There’s also the Dreamland funfair, a shell grotto, the Turner Contemporary and a promenade. Set in an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and popular for swimming, kayaking and surfing, the sand and shingle Cromer Beach, Norfolk, with its Victorian pier, is about ten minutes’ walk from the station. Nine minutes’ walk from St Ives Station, in Cornwall, the white crescent of Porthminster Beach is backed by palm trees with a ritzy café. There’s also the Tate gallery and Barbara Hepworth Museum for art lovers. Blue Flag Whitby Beach, in North Yorkshire, has a string of beach huts and an upmarket chippie (thefishermanswife.co.uk) and is a ten-minute walk…

Barclays: bonus bonanza Barclays has become “the first British lender” to scrap the EU bonus cap following the UK’s post-Brexit decision to remove the limits last year, said Kate Beioley on FT.com. The bank follows “a rush of Wall Street lenders” that have already changed their pay structures, including the UK operations of JPMorgan and Goldman Sachs. Banks have been pushing for changes to the rules – enacted in 2014 by EU regulators “to curb excessive risk-taking” – to bring compensation practices more in line with New York, where bonuses are unrestricted, said Paul Clarke on Financial News. Under the EU regime, payouts were “restricted to 100% of salary, or twice base pay if shareholders approved”. But critics argued that, in practice, the cap did little to reduce pay. “The…

CEO sweep Average pay for FTSE 100 bosses surged to “a record” £4.2m last year – or “120 times the wage of the average worker”, said Mehreen Khan in The Times. The High Pay Centre, which published the analysis, said the increase was driven by “a small number of companies making really large pay awards” above £10m. Pecking order The best-paid boss was AstraZeneca’s Sir Pascal Soriot, who earned £16.85m; followed by Erik Engström of Relx, the analytics provider, who made £13.64m. Rolls-Royce, BAE, HSBC, Pearson and Diageo also doled out eight-figure deals. Dame Emma Walmsley of GSK was the highest paid woman, at £12.7m. Why the largesse? Companies argue that the bulk of executives’ pay “comes from bonuses and share awards”, said the FT, and are therefore linked to…

The week’s best shares BHP Group The Daily Telegraph The miner is focused on “future-facing” commodities – iron ore, copper and potash – tipped to experience high and rising demand. Sound finances could mean acquisitions ahead. Yields 6.4%. But not for the faint-hearted. Buy. £20.87. Coats Group The Times Coats’s threads are a staple of the Nike, Adidas, H&M and Levi brands, and it’s the global market leader in the soaring 100% recycled thread products sector. “Exciting developments” in AI and a new boss “adds energy”. Buy. 96.1p. HSBC Holdings The Mail on Sunday With 41 million customers across 60 countries, HSBC is holding off challengers – delivering revenues of $66bn last year. Strong exposure to Asia should ensure growth, taking profits to $32bn by 2026. Yields 7.5%. Buy. 645p.…

In early March 2022, when his country seemed in danger of falling to the Russians, it occurred to Leonid Marushchak, a historian by training, to call the director of a museum in eastern Ukraine to check that a collection of 20th century pottery was safe. He had loved the modernist works by artist Natalya Maksymchenko since he had encountered them almost a decade earlier. There were vessels covered with bold abstract glazes in purple, scarlet and yellow; exuberant figurines of musicians and dancers with swirling skirts; dishes painted with birds in flight. The collection was the radiant highlight of the local history museum in Sloviansk, the ceramicist’s home town. It was remarkable that they were in this small museum at all. Although she was born in Ukraine in 1914 and…

THE WEEK CROSSWORD 1427 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 26 August. Send it to The Week Crossword 1427, 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 including a notebook, coffee mug and tote bag, as well as two Connell Guides (connellguides.com). ACROSS 5 Soldiers don’t get any younger in this household! (6) 7 Mate swears in tedious discussions (8) 9 Dante’s lady to win over theatrical knight? (8) 10 Man sounding serious (6) 11 Taking back seat on petty officers meeting (12) 13 Runner leads in international event getting…

Sunseekers, as the UK recorded its highest temperatures of the year so far. In Cambridge on Monday, at the height of the mini-heatwave, temperatures hit 34.8°C. Beavers, which are having a baby boom. There are now an estimated 1,500 in Scotland and more than 600 in England. Richard Curtis fans, following the announcement that he will release his first festive film since 2003’s Love Actually. Brian Cox will voice Santa Claus in the animated film That Christmas. Same-sex parenting, after an abandoned flamingo chick at Paignton Zoo in Devon was adopted by Curtis and Arthur, two male residents. Same-sex couples raising the young is “a known phenomenon among Chilean flamingos, as well as other bird flocks”, said a spokeswoman for the zoo.…

Kemi Badenoch is the clear favourite to be Tory leader among party members. She commands 33% support, and is followed by Robert Jenrick (19%), Tom Tugendhat and James Cleverly (10%), Priti Patel (8%), and Mel Stride (2%). Conservative Home 62% of British adults don’t care who becomes Tory leader, including 36% of Conservative voters. Ipsos 46% of British adults believe that the riots were born out of “a desire to engage in violence, looting and criminal damage”. 32% think they were caused by “far-right ideology and racism”. 23% believe they were the result of “legitimate concerns” about immigration to the UK. More in Common…

How “phobe” words poison debate Kathleen Stock The Sunday Times Funny how words change over time, says Kathleen Stock. Take “homophobia”. It was coined in the 1960s to describe straight men’s unconscious fear of being seen as gay. The term has since expanded to cover anti-gay bigotry and hatred, while at the same time retaining “a penumbra of vagueness” that allows people to use it as an often undeserved slur. When, for instance, the actress Seyi Omooba was sacked from a show in 2019 for voicing traditional Christian objections to homosexuality, it would have been a stretch to accuse her of conclusively hating gay people. But critics could reach for the word “homophobic” to cast a “grim and unfalsifiable pall over her deep motives”. “Islamophobia” and “transphobia” have likewise become…

Dementia is not inevitable Roughly 55 million people worldwide are living with dementia, and ten million new cases are diagnosed annually. But almost half of them are due to “modifiable risk factors” – things we can change – and so could, in theory, be prevented or delayed, a new report has found. “Many people around the world believe dementia is inevitable but it’s not,” said Prof Gill Livingston, lead author of the Lancet Commission on Dementia’s report. She and 26 other dementia specialists reviewed the latest research on the condition, and found that 14 lifestyle, medical and environmental factors were, together, responsible for 45% of cases. Twelve of these were already known, but they also identified two new ones: high cholesterol, which is believed to be behind 7% of cases,…

The Tory leadership election doesn’t seem to have gripped the nation quite yet, reports Patrick Kidd in The Times. When a focus group of former Tory voters was asked for their view of contender Mel Stride, one participant’s response was: “Never heard of her.” Nor had the panel heard of Robert Jenrick. Told that he had been immigration minister, a panel member remarked: “Well he didn’t do a very good job then, did he?” They were equally non-plussed when asked about Kemi Badenoch. “Are these real names?” one suspicious panellist asked. Katarina Johnson-Thompson, the heptathlete who won the silver medal last week, may have the best social media bio of all the competitors at the Paris Olympics, notes BBC Sport. It reads: “Chronically indecisive so I’ve adopted two surnames and…

Since Hamas invaded southern Israel on 7 October last year, the threat of a wider regional war has been “ever-present”, said The Daily Telegraph. Now, it appears, it may be upon us. Israeli, US and European intelligence sources all warned this week that Iran was preparing to launch a strike against Israel in reprisal for the recent assassinations of senior leaders of Hezbollah and Hamas, its allies in Lebanon and Gaza. Such an escalation could spark a conflagration in the region. In response, the United States and its allies have been pushing a “three-pronged crisis management strategy”, said Comfort Ero in Foreign Policy. They have reinforced Israel’s defensive capabilities (the US has just sent an aircraft carrier, fighter jet squadron, and guided-missile submarine to the region); they are “working through…

France’s homegrown hero For the host nation, the hero of the Games was unquestionably Léon Marchand, said The New York Times. The 22-year-old from Toulouse won four individual swimming golds, setting Olympic records each time. He also won a bronze in the men’s 4x100m medley relay. France became utterly gripped by Marchand, who has a “dolphin-like capacity” to swim for long stretches underwater, said the Daily Mail. “It’s Poseidon! I swear, it’s Aquaman,” exclaimed his compatriot, the backstroke specialist Yohann Ndoye-Brouard. Pidcock’s astonishing comeback Weeks after a bout of Covid had forced him to drop out of the Tour de France, GB cyclist Tom Pidcock produced an “astonishing” comeback to retain his Olympic mountain bike title, said BBC Sport. The 25-year-old’s chances looked bleak when his bike developed a puncture…

by Alexandra Fuller Jonathan Cape 272pp £18.99 The Week Bookshop £14.99 Alexandra Fuller is “no stranger to grief”, said Francesca Angelini in The Sunday Times. During her “wild, reckless” childhood in Zimbabwe, three of her siblings died young. She wrote of those and other losses in her first three memoirs. But nothing had prepared her for the tragedy she addresses in her fourth – the sudden death of her middle child and only son, Fi, at the age of 21. She was on a camping trip in Wyoming, “bickering lightly” with her ex-girlfriend Till, when she received the call from her former husband, Fi’s father Charlie. A sporty, lively boy, Fi had died in his sleep, having had a seizure – news that induced an “unimaginable” agony that she registered…

Just William by Richmal Crompton, 1922 (Pan Macmillan £9.99). I never laughed as much in my life at any books. Then or now. Strange that I loved them so much – for William’s life was so different from mine. He was living in the posh suburbs somewhere in the south, and I was in a council house in Carlisle. Yet his anti-adult stance, his japes and scrapes and his awful spelling had me in hysterics. An Inland Voyage by Robert Louis Stevenson, 1878 (Alan Rogers Books £10.95). His first book, about a canoe trip with a friend on the Belgium-France borders. Potty really, it was a just an excuse for an adventure. Nothing much happens, but it’s ever so charming. Robert Louis Stevenson is the writer I would most liked…

Programmes Sicily with Michael Portillo Tour of the island, in which the former MP dines with a duchess and explores local links to the Mafia. Sat 17 Aug, C5 19:30 (90mins). The World’s Biggest Cruise Ship The Icon of the Seas is 20 decks high and almost a quarter-of-a-mile long. This documentary follows the holidaymakers and crew of the vast vessel. Sun 18 Aug, C4 20:00 (60mins). Dame Judi and Jay: The Odd Couple The actress and the furniture restorer – who met on The Repair Shop three years ago – show each other the belongings that most matter to them. Sun 18 Aug, C4 21:00 (60mins). The Kingdom: The World’s Most Powerful Prince Documentary about Mohammed bin Salman, who rose from being one of hundreds of junior princes in…

Helen Whitwell 1955-2024 Working as a police officer in Nottingham in the 1980s, Nigel McCrery was struck by one of the forensic pathologists he met at crimes scenes, said The Times. A rare woman in a mainly male field, Helen Whitwell was extremely serious about her work – but also funny, vivacious and glamorous. A decade later, by which time he was working as a graduate trainee at the BBC, McCrery had an idea for a series about a forensic pathologist, and “immediately thought of her”. The two met to discuss the project, which became Silent Witness – the BBC drama revolving around a no-nonsense female pathologist named Professor Sam Ryan (originally played by Amanda Burton) which is now in its 27th season. Whitwell, who has died aged 69, did…

August angst is often well-founded Larry Elliott The Guardian Fears of a protracted market meltdown have receded, but traders are “right to tread carefully in August”, says Larry Elliott. In theory, it should be a month when “not much happens”: policymakers are away on their holidays, and trading volumes tend to be light. But August has shown itself to be “one of the most dangerous months in the economic and financial calendar”. Even when trouble doesn’t erupt, these weeks in high summer are often when “strains become apparent that eventually lead to crises in September” – a month with “an even worse reputation for trouble”. The best recent example of this was August 2008, the “lull before the storm”, when “cracks in the global financial system were becoming ever wider”…

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