The Week 1525

What happened Reeves goes for growth Rachel Reeves announced a string of reforms this week to kickstart the economy, and vowed to tear down the barriers to growth. The centrepiece of the Chancellor’s speech was support for airport expansion: she endorsed plans to build the long-debated third runway at Heathrow, Europe’s busiest airport, and to boost capacity at Gatwick and Luton. She also unveiled plans to strip green quangos of their powers to delay development; to limit the number of judicial reviews that can be held into infrastructure projects; and to change planning rules so that the default position is to approve new housing near train stations. The Chancellor said that the Government would press ahead with its project to transform the “Oxford-Cambridge Growth Corridor” into “Europe’s Silicon Valley”, and…

What happened Donald Trump ended his frenetic first week back at the White House by suggesting that “we just clean out” Gaza. Describing the Strip as a “demolition site”, he said 1.5 million of Gaza’s residents could settle in Egypt or Jordan, on either a “temporary” or “long-term” basis. The contentious suggestion was welcomed by Israeli hardliners, but roundly condemned by Palestinian officials; it was also swiftly rejected by Jordan and Egypt. In Washington, Trump offered millions of federal employees eight months’ worth of pay to resign, as part of his efforts to shrink the state, and he signed several more executive orders. One of these could lead to a ban on transgender people serving in the military; another ordered a plan for an “Iron Dome” missile defence system for…

One of Britain’s oldest teachers has celebrated his 90th birthday. Dr Neville Brown has specialised in teaching children with dyslexia for the past 60 years; and, 40 years ago, he founded the Maple Hayes Hall School for Dyslexics in Lichfield. Since then, about 1,000 children have passed through its doors. His work has won him numerous accolades, but he’s not resting on his laurels. “I’m proud of what we’ve achieved,” he said this week, “but there is still much work to be done.” An NHS cancer consultant has won Britain’s toughest ultramarathon, the 268-mile Spine Race along the Pennine Way. Lucy Gossage, 45, completed the course in freezing conditions in 87 hours, 41 minutes, 38 seconds, resting for a total of just three hours and 40 minutes. She had taken…

When Axel Rudakubana appeared in court for sentencing last week, new details emerged about his horrific knife attack on a dance class in Southport last July, when he murdered three young girls. These were so shocking, “the five-hour sentencing hearing was repeatedly paused to offer family members the chance to leave”, said Tom Witherow in The Times. That shock turned to anger when the court heard about the many “missed opportunities” to stop the killer over many years. It’s clear that “every agency that had contact with the troubled autistic teenager” came up wanting “in one way or another”, said Paul Bracchi in the Daily Mail. The police had had “seven known” interactions with Rudakubana following his permanent exclusion from school, aged 13, for bringing in a knife. He was…

A couple from Cornwall discovered that it was cheaper to fly via Spain to collect their new car in Crewe than to travel there by train. Kristina and Dan Coulson, who live near Liskeard, discovered that two one-way tickets to Crewe would cost at least £180 – but that flights from Newquay to Málaga, and then from Málaga to Manchester, would cost just £108. So they made the journey that way instead. Factoring in their one-night stay in an airport hotel, their trip cost £153. Nearly half of 18- to 34-year-olds, and one in three 35- to 54-year-olds, no longer drink alcohol, a YouGov survey has found. Among all adults who don’t drink or who have cut down, most say that they mainly abstain in order to protect their health.…

Deliveries, after Amazon asked permission to use drones to drop off packages for a trial of its proposed Prime Air service. If the Civil Aviation Authority and local council give it the green light, the flights will launch from Amazon’s Darlington warehouse. Erik Satie, the composer, whose 1893-1894 piece Vexations is to be performed in front of an audience for the first time. Vexations is not long, but Satie instructed that it had to be played 840 times in a row. Pianist Igor Levit will perform it at London’s Southbank Centre this spring, directed by artist Marina Abramovic.…