Table of contents for 1550 in The Week

There were fears the pandemic would kill off the cinema once and for all – but it seems audiences have not yet fallen out of love with the big screen. Box office revenues in the UK and Ireland exceeded £532m in the first six months of this year, an 18% rise on the same period in 2024, and are forecast to reach £1.2bn by the end of the year. Insiders say that the slow but steady recovery has been powered by a range of hits, from Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy to Disney’s Lilo & Stitch. When Nicholas McCarthy set his sights on becoming a pianist, he faced several obstacles. His parents were not musical; he was already 14 – and he was born with no right hand. The…

A decent brew, after a poll found that a surprising number of younger Britons have taken to making tea in the microwave. Almost two-thirds of the under-30s surveyed admitted to having put a tea bag in a mug of cold water and blasting it. Bryn Howells, a council worker, who was convicted of fraud for claiming salaries for three different jobs at the same time. In 2022/23, he was employed as a strategic housing officer at Tewkesbury Borough Council, a senior development surveyor at South Gloucestershire, and as a valuer and estates surveyor at a council-linked delivery organisation called Publica Group.…

Porto Sant’ Elpidio, Italy Fatal crash: Felix Baumgartner, the extreme athlete who once held the record for the highest sky-dive by jumping from the edge of space, was killed last week in a motorised paragliding accident on the Adriatic coast. Baumgartner, 56, fell into the grounds of a hotel while flying over the village of Porto Sant’Elpidio. In 2012, the Austrian became the first human to break the sound barrier while free-falling, after leaping from a helium balloon at a height of 24 miles and reaching a speed of 843.6mph. In another of his most famous stunts, in 2003 he flew across the English Channel wearing carbon-fibre wings. Portofino, Italy Tourist rules: The popular tourist town of Portofino on the Italian Riviera has issued a new set of rules to…

1 Catalina La O by Johnny Ortiz, performed by Pete “El Conde” Rodriguez 2 Acidito by Adelis Freitez, performed by Aquiles Machado and Aquiles Báez 3 La flor de la canela by Chabuca Granda, performed by Juan Diego Flórez, Chabuca Granda and Óscar Avilés 4 Symphony No. 1 In D major “Titan”: IV. Stürmisch bewegt by Mahler, performed by the New York Philharmonic Orchestra (cond. Bruno Walter) 5 Sinnerman by Les Baxter and Will Holt, performed by Nina Simone 6 Balada para un Loco by Ástor Piazzolla and Horacio Ferrer, performed by Ástor Piazzolla and Roberto Goyeneche 7 La Cantata Criolla by Antonio Estévez and Alberto Arvelo Torrealba, performed by William Alvarado, Ídwer Álvarez et al 8* String Quartet No. 16 in F major, Op. 135 by Beethoven, performed by the Vienna Philharmonic (cond. Leonard Bernstein) Book: One Hundred…

Although he’d been tinkering with the basic idea for Gatsby since 1922, Fitzgerald wrote the bulk of the novel in 1924 and submitted it to his editor, Maxwell Perkins at Scribner’s. Perkins then gave it one of the most famous edits in publishing history, leaving Fitzgerald’s sentences alone but sending detailed advice on structure, pacing and the presentation of Gatsby himself. Fitzgerald wisely took the advice and then finished it, writing the famous last line, in Rome in February 1925: “So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past.” Fitzgerald initially wanted to call the novel Trimalchio in West Egg: Trimalchio is a nouveau riche party-giver in a first-century Latin satire, and “West Egg” is the novel’s version of Great Neck in Long Island, where…

IRAN Tehran’s own migrant crackdown The Atlantic (Washington DC) Thousands deported every day; migrants paraded on television; a promise to build a wall. No, this is not Trump’s America, says Arash Azizi – it’s Iran. Over 1.4 million Afghans crossed back over Iran’s 572-mile border with Afghanistan this year, in one of the largest forced expulsions in modern history. And Tehran has stepped up deportations in recent weeks, spuriously claiming that Afghan migrants assisted Israel in its 12-day war with Iran. In reality, the regime is exploiting anti-Afghan sentiment – “one of the very few causes that brings together many pro and anti-regime Iranians”. Iran’s roughly six million Afghan migrants have always been treated “as an underclass”: there is almost no path to citizenship; they are routinely accused of “violent…

It already claims to have “de-extincted” the dire wolf, and is working on mammoths and dodos. Now, Colossal Biosciences has added the giant moa – the tallest bird ever to have lived – to its wish list of extinct species to resurrect. Standing three metres high, the flightless bird lived in New Zealand until humans arrived from Polynesia 600 years ago. The project – which is being backed by the film director Sir Peter Jackson – will involve first extracting DNA from ancient moa bones. This will be compared with the genome of similar living birds, such as emus, to identify the genes that made the moa unique. The scientists will then attempt to transfer some of these key genetic traits into a surrogate bird, to produce chicks that resemble…

It has been two years since Diane Abbott sent a letter to The Observer, in which she argued that although Jewish, Irish and Traveller people can experience “prejudice”, they are “not all their lives subject to racism” – and likened it to the impact of having red hair. Keir Starmer responded fast, said Rachel Cunliffe in The New Statesman. Abbott had the Labour whip suspended, and though she apologised for “any anguish caused”, she was only finally readmitted to the party just before the last election. She duly won her 10th consecutive victory in Hackney North and Stoke Newington, and it seemed as if everyone had resolved to move on – except Abbott herself. In a memoir last year, she said that her remarks had been “clumsy”, but that she…

It went viral so fast, everyone with an internet connection may by now have seen the fateful video clip of the US tech boss embracing his head of HR at a Coldplay concert, said Charlotte Ivers in The Sunday Times. Last Wednesday, Andy Byron, the CEO of Astronomer, a $1bn AI firm, and Kristin Cabot were swaying romantically at the stadium concert in Massachusetts when its “kiss cam” picked them out. “Ooh, look at these two,” said Coldplay frontman Chris Martin, as their images were beamed onto “jumbotron” screens. But instead of relishing the attention, the pair separated in a panic: in the clip, Byron can be seen ducking from view while Cabot covers her face and turns away. “Oh, what? Either they’re having an affair, or they’re just very…

One thing that the British & Irish Lions have “learnt throughout their history” is that sides that lose the opening Test of a series are almost never victorious come the end of a tour, said Stephen Jones in The Sunday Times. Andy Farrell’s men must therefore be delighted with the way the first Test unfolded in Brisbane last Saturday. Against a Wallabies side that played far better than had been predicted, the Lions put on a “superb performance in the first half”, and were dogged in the second, to earn an “utterly compelling” 27-19 victory. At first, the gulf between the two sides seemed massive, said Robert Kitson in The Guardian. From the “insouciant brilliance” of fly-half Finn Russell, to the “relentless tackling” of forward Tom Curry, the Lions were…

The right to vote… To The Times I work with thousands of 16 to 18-year-olds every year. They are curious, informed, passionate about the world and unafraid to challenge the status quo. We expect them to make adult decisions about their futures. Yet they have been denied one of the most basic rights of democratic citizenship: the vote. In countries that allow 16-year-olds to vote there has been no evidence of irresponsibility, impulsivity or manipulation. In fact, when young people vote early, they are more likely to vote throughout their lives and to do so in a rational and informed way. Dr Nikos Savvas, CEO, Eastern Education Group …and the right to drink To The Times I presume the Government will now reduce the minimum age at which you can…

Damian Cruden’s superb production of The Railway Children – featuring a real steam train – premiered in York in 2008, then thrilled audiences in London and Toronto too, said Patrick Kidd in The Times. This joyous revival, which forms part of Bradford’s year as UK City of Culture, takes the novelty a step further, by including the actual railway used in the much-loved 1970 film adaptation of E. Nesbit’s book. Audiences board a steam train at Keighley, for a half-hour trip along the lovingly preserved Keighley & Worth Valley line. This takes them through Oakworth, which served as the film’s main location, and on to Oxenhope, where the “immersive” drama plays out in a reconfigured engine shed. The spectacular train ride conjures up a “nostalgic and benevolent mood”, but it…

By this stage, you may feel you’ve had enough of “cosy crime”, said Lucy Mangan in The Guardian, a genre that has been rather overdone lately. But this six-part series, set in 1946, is a standout pleasure (on U&Alibi). Mark Gatiss – who created and co-wrote the series – stars as Gabriel Book, an antiquarian bookseller with brilliant crime-solving abilities. He has performed some heroic but “mysterious” service during the War, and carries a letter from Churchill which grants him permission to take part in police investigations. Book is “a super-sleuth without a superpower”, said Benji Wilson in The Daily Telegraph: his secret is simply that he is very well-read, and as a result he understands “what makes people tick”. His cases take him from Whitechapel Prison to a luxury…

At The Bull, Kenton is worried about reprisals from Markie’s gang. Martyn comes round to Justin’s plans for BL and agrees to back them. Neil confesses he hasn’t told Emma about Amber’s harsh words; Susan says he must. Lynda enlists Akram to help her run the village fête – he soon wonders what he’s taken on. Jazzer is outraged when Neil invites Martyn to Tracy’s 50th party, but luckily Martyn can’t make it. George tells the prison chaplain that he wants to marry Amber soon, admitting he’s afraid she’ll leave him. Mick offers his services as a bouncer at The Bull. George surprises Susan by wanting to talk, and asks if he can have his great-grandmother’s engagement ring for Amber. Susan eventually agrees, presenting Amber with the ring. Jazzer makes…

Shwen Shwen 1-2 Well Court, Bank Street, Sevenoaks, Kent (01732-496930) Maria Bradford, the chef-patron of Shwen Shwen, grew up in Freetown before moving to Kent, says Jay Rayner in the Financial Times. In recent years, she has made a name for herself by popularising the food of her birth country – and now she has opened Shwen Shwen, which means “Fancy Fancy” in Krio, a Creole language spoken across Sierra Leone. “Serious care has been taken” with the place – from the decor to the multi-textured ceramics – and the food is excellent too: with precision and originality, it spotlights this “still unfamiliar” cuisine. Melting beef marrow is mixed with puffed black rice and a peanut-based spice mix, and is presented in two long beef bones, along with flaky golden…

● As with most pests, prevention is better than cure, so try to stop fruit flies getting in. Citronella, eucalyptus, peppermint, lavender and lemongrass are natural deterrents. Mix a few drops with water and spritz doorways and windows, or use them in a diffuser. ● Fruit flies clearly love fruit, particularly any ripe, fermenting fruit or veg. Keep food in the fridge in an airtight container. ● Plant basil, mint or rosemary near kitchen windows or doors. Check and seal any gaps or cracks in walls or windows. ● Keep surfaces and cupboard shelves clean, as fruit flies are attracted to any sticky residue from food or drink. ● Deep clean your sink and drains regularly with a mix of vinegar and baking soda, or use boiling water to remove…

Connie Francis 1937-2025 Connie Francis, who has died aged 87, had a string of hits in the late 1950s and early 1960s, including Stupid Cupid, Lipstick on Your Collar, Everybody’s Somebody’s Fool and Mama. From 1958 to 1963, she was the third-highest-selling artist in the US, behind only Elvis Presley and The Beatles. She pioneered the fanzine and pop merchandise, from branded T-shirts to the Connie Francis doll. But her career tailed off in the mid-1960s, said The Daily Telegraph, and her life “was blighted by a catalogue of personal tragedies including four divorces, two miscarriages, rape” and “mental breakdown”. Born Concetta Rosa Maria Franconero in 1937 in Newark, New Jersey to an Italian-American family, Francis displayed prodigious musical talent from an early age, learning to play the accordion at…

James Watt and Martin Dickie The crisis at BrewDog, the “punk” beer chain co-founded by James Watt and Martin Dickie in 2006, is beginning to bite hard, said The Times. The group is closing ten big bars across Britain, including the first it ever opened, in Aberdeen. Meanwhile, both original partners are onto pastures new. While Watt, 43, runs a social media business and a reality TV show for entrepreneurs – and in March launched a Doge-like crusade to fix “broken Britain” – Dickie is “about to harvest his first full crop of medical cannabis”. The former whisky distiller, 42, has ploughed millions into Waterside Pharmaceuticals, a hi-tech indoor vertical farm in Aberdeenshire, which is one of Britain’s pioneering “legal” farms. “Our aim is to become the UK market leader.”…

THE WEEK CROSSWORD 1475 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 4 August. Send it to The Week Crossword 1475, 121-141 Westbourne Terrace, London W2 6JR, or email the completed grid/listed solutions to crossword@theweek.co.uk. By Tim Moorey (timmoorey.com) This week’s winner will receive Week-branded items, as well as two Connell Guides (connellguides.com). ACROSS 5 A tense union of Lab with Con upset conference (13) 9 Leave chaps on time in part of France (10) 10 Damage small vehicle (4) 11 Sort of artist working on flags in a way (8) 13 Delia last in this could be desperate! (6) 14 Article guru corrected for a growing business (11)…

What happened Fixing the water industry The Government confirmed on Monday that it would be abolishing Ofwat and replacing it with a new “super regulator” for England and Wales, in accordance with the recommendation of a landmark review of the water industry. Steve Reed, the Environment Secretary, said this would herald the start of a “revolution” in the sector, which would lead to sewage spills into seas, lakes and waterways being halved by 2030. Sir Jon Cunliffe’s 464-page report, which was commissioned by the Labour Government last year, proposed the biggest shake-up of the water industry since privatisation in 1989. It made 88 recommendations in total, including the compulsory installation of smart water meters in homes and the overhaul of more than 100 relevant laws. Cunliffe, a former deputy governor…

Gen Z have been accused of being workshy. Now, they are apparently discomfiting older people by using a “stare”, in place of small talk. The New York Times is credited with describing the Gen Z stare as a “blank, emotionally unreadable expression often seen in social or work settings”. According to social media users, you notice it when you greet the staff in a shop or café, and they look at you, saying nothing. Although the stare can seem hostile, in a vague, “unbothered” way, it is not clear that it actually is. Some think that it reflects a new reluctance to engage with stupid questions or in pointless chit-chat; but others say it’s symptomatic of a generation that grew up on screens in lockdown, and is puzzled or alarmed…

Six people were arrested this week during violent protests outside a hotel housing asylum seekers in Essex. Anti-migrant demonstrators had gathered at The Bell Hotel in Epping, after an Ethiopian man living there was arrested and charged with sexually assaulting a teenage girl, shortly after his arrival in the UK. Bottles and flares were thrown at police and at counter-protesters; at least eight police officers were injured during clashes. On Wednesday, similar demonstrations spread to other such hotels, in Norfolk and Canary Wharf in London. Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner warned that the country could be facing another summer of disorder, unless “the Government shows it can address people’s concerns”.…

Washington DC King files released: The US justice department has abruptly released thousands of classified documents related to the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr in 1968, fulfilling an executive order signed by Donald Trump in January. The files were posted online on Monday, in what the administration hailed as a triumph of transparency. However, its critics suggested it was an attempt to distract attention from its handling of the Epstein files (see page 15), and historians said the papers appeared to contain little of interest that was not already known. They do not include wiretap recordings made by the FBI as part of its efforts to gather damaging material on the civil rights leader, who is known to have had extra-marital affairs. Members of King’s family had opposed the…

“Why is it so hard to accept that people don’t want many children, if any? The UN published a report last month that blamed a ‘toxic’ mix of economic and gender rigidities for low global birth rates. Practical barriers such as lack of childcare, we are told, are the problem. So, Chad has a 6.1 birth rate per woman because of subsidised crèches, does it? Shared child-rearing duties and free IVF explain Afghanistan’s 4.8? Finland (1.3) should send a research delegation to Mali (5.6)? Why kid ourselves like this? The evidence is clear. True, people tell surveys they want more kids. They really do want them. But not as much as they want leisure and surplus cash.” Janan Ganesh in the Financial Times…

Paranoia among the spooks Tom Nichols The Atlantic When you take a government job that requires high security clearance, you accept a few infringements on your privacy, says Tom Nichols. You don’t, however, expect your boss to trawl through all your emails and other records to check if you’ve ever been rude about them. That’s what Tulsi Gabbard, the director of national intelligence, apparently wants to do. According to The Washington Post, she’s planning to aggregate a mass of data from all the main US intelligence agencies with the aim of feeding it through artificial intelligence tools to ferret out evidence of people badmouthing the Trump agenda. It’s a “ridiculous, and extremely dangerous, idea”. Spy agencies are careful to keep data compartmentalised to “stop an enemy from ever getting all…

The UK’s most powerful supercomputer has been launched in Bristol. Ministers hope that the £225m national artificial intelligence computer – named Isambard-AI after the great engineer of the Industrial Revolution, Isambard Kingdom Brunel – will facilitate major breakthroughs in everything from medicine and agriculture to climate research, by giving academics and public bodies access to the kind of processing power that is normally the preserve of tech giants. Weighing 150 tonnes and working at speeds 100,000 times faster than a typical laptop, Isambard-AI is the sixth-most powerful computer in Europe, and believed to be the fourth greenest in the world. In conjunction with the University of Cambridge’s Dawn supercomputer, it will bring the UK’s computer capacity to 23 AI ExaFLOPs – capable of performing 23 quintillion calculations per second.…

In the past six months, Donald Trump has been “all over the place on Ukraine”, said The Economist. “He said he could end the war in 24 hours.” Then he bullied President Zelensky in the White House, and cut off intelligence and weapons to Ukraine. Next, he tried to negotiate directly with Vladimir Putin, boasting about their excellent relationship. Finally, in the past fortnight, he has changed course again, signalling his support for Ukraine and his anger with Putin, who has ignored his demands for peace. Trump said last week that he would give Russia 50 days to end the war or face severe economic sanctions. He also said that weapons supplies to Ukraine would resume. There’s no guarantee that he’ll stick to this position. Yet at the very least…

“Insincere flattery is more flattering than sincere flattery. The less someone means what they say, the greater the compliment.”Michael Kinsley, quoted in The New Republic “That which we cannot forgive, we have a duty to understand. Otherwise we will get more of it.”Jonathan Sumption in The New Statesman “If you meet an asshole in the morning, you met an asshole. If you meet assholes all day, you’re the asshole.”Elmore Leonard, quoted on Pajiba “Always the assumption is that we can first set demons at large and then, somehow, become smart enough to control them.”Wendell Berry, quoted in The Gospel Coalition “Remember that as a teenager you are in the last stage of your life when you will be happy to hear the phone is for you.”Fran Lebowitz, quoted in Forbes…

To The Times Diane Abbott’s observation that black people can face immediate and unthinking discrimination, while those who do not look visibly different can experience discrimination after something is known of belief or lifestyle, is simply a statement of the obvious. It is a worrying indictment of Labour leadership that this should lead to her suspension from the party. Lord Singh of Wimbledon, House of Lords To The Daily Telegraph Diane Abbott has been stripped of the Labour whip, having doubled down on her absurd suggestion that Jews and Travellers do not suffer the same type of racism as black people “because you can see a Traveller or a Jewish person walking down the street, you don’t know. You don’t know unless you stop to speak to them or you’re…

Ithell Colquhoun was an artist who “didn’t sit still, visually or spiritually”, said Phin Jennings in Time Out. Born in India, where her father worked as a colonial administrator, Colquhoun (1906-1988) moved to England as a child and studied painting at the Slade, where she was introduced to the “esoteric” beliefs that would shape both her life and her art. Across her “sprawling oeuvre”, Colquhoun experimented with a “wide gamut of spiritual, religious and formal ideas”: she is generally associated with surrealism, but she also explored eroticism, the occult, Hindu Tantra, Christian mysticism and the Jewish Kabbalah to realise her bizarre pictorial visions. (Late in life she was ordained as a priestess of Isis.) Yet her eye for composition remained “a constant”, as did her talent for painting strange, often…

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid, 2017 (Simon & Schuster £9.99). A reclusive film star decides to do a tell-all interview before she pops her clogs. What unfolds isn’t just a celebrity scandal, but a deeply moving story of the untold damage that can come from not being true to yourself. This book broke my heart. In the Blink of an Eye by Jo Callaghan, 2023 (Simon & Schuster £9.99). What happens when you give a respected and experienced human cop an AI sidekick? Jo Callaghan’s expertise in the world of artificial intelligence coupled with her incredible storytelling make this a powerful and twisty thriller; plus, I think she might have accurately predicted the future. Frankly by Nicola Sturgeon, published August 2025 (Macmillan £28). Imagine running…

Programmes Inside the Cult of the Jesus Army Investigation into the British evangelical movement, which began in the 1970s with a vision for communal living but grew into something darker. Sun 27 Jul, BBC2 21:00 (60mins). Operation Dark Phone: Murder by Text Documentary series about a police operation that hacked into the encrypted phones of a global network of organised crime groups. Sun 27 and Mon 28 Jul, C4 21:00 (60mins each). Kamikaze: An Untold History Japanese and US veterans reflect on the near 4,000 Japanese airmen who took on suicide missions in the final year of WWII. Mon 28 Jul, BBC4 21:00 (90mins). The Moors Murders: A Search for Justice Drawing on newly discovered evidence, filmmaker Duncan Staff and experts analyse new leads in the search for the final missing…

Serves 4 600g raw beetroot ½ a garlic clove 3 tbsp full-fat thick yogurt 50g feta, frozen 15g pistachios, crushed couple of mint leaves sea salt and pepper To drizzle: pomegranate molasses olive oil • Give the beetroots a little rinse under the tap just to make sure there’s no dirt on them. Stick them in a saucepan and cover with cold water. Make sure the pot is big enough so the beetroots are fully submerged and have enough room to float without touching. Heavily season the water and bring to the boil. • Once boiling, drop the heat to medium. Simmer for about 40mins until they’re soft enough to get a fork through with no resistance. Drain the beetroots while they’re still hot and peel the skins under running cold water.…

Cornwall has over 30 tidal pools; Trevone Sea Pool is cut into the rocks and filled by mid-tide, with fine views of the Atlantic. There’s a wood-fired sauna on the beach. Ideal for paddling and gentle swims, and popular with locals, Westward Ho! Sea Pool, Devon is sheltered by the sea wall. Walpole Bay Tidal Pool, Kent opened in 1937 and is Grade II listed. It covers four acres and fills with seawater twice a day, but also draws fresh water from springs below. There’s a free community sauna next door. A former slate quarry, the Blue Lagoon, Pembrokeshire is enclosed by rugged rocks, with cold, deep water, great for coasteering. Closed 20 Sep-1 Nov for breeding seals. The Trinkie, Highland is a giant rock pool open all year for no-frills, bracing, wild…

Capella Taipei Taiwan Set in a “leafy” residential area of Taipei, this recent opening from the Singapore-based Capella brand is the city’s first new five-star hotel in over a decade, says Patrick Hamilton Courtney in The Daily Telegraph. The celebrated designer André Fu has used a restrained palette and acres of wood and marble in the airy, elegant public spaces and the 86 rooms, all of which command sweeping city views from their floor-to-ceiling windows. There is a lovely spa, four outstanding restaurants (including a fabulous Cantonese joint), and a concierge team who can arrange many activities, from traditional picnics to guided temple tours. Doubles from £475 b&b; capellahotels.com.…

Diageo: low spirits It’s “last orders” for Diageo boss Debra Crew after just two years in the job, during which the drinks giant (known for brands from Guinness to Johnnie Walker) has lost nearly half its value, said Matthew Bishop in The Observer. True, the booze industry globally is facing “a challenging moment”, as the “sober curious” Gen Z drives steady declines in consumption. But Crew always struggled to win investor confidence. She spooked the market early on with a sudden profit warning that should have been flagged sooner, said Lex in the FT. Her decision to “walk back” from Diageo’s 5%-7% medium-term growth target added to “the feeling of a company adrift”. Still, in this parched climate, she “may not be the last industry executive to walk the plank”.…

In a research note dubbed “Wonderwallets”, Barclays calculates that total spending by Oasis fans on the reunion tour will hit £1.06bn – exceeding “the £1bn boost from Taylor Swift’s blockbuster Eras concerts last year”, said Lucy Tobin in The Sunday Times. Who’s been going large? Roll with it Barclays reckons the average fan will spend £766 – taking in accommodation, travel, merchandise and food and drink. During the Cardiff leg, two shows generated more than £4m in beer and cider sales alone. Revolution from my bed In May, Whitbread flagged “a marked improvement in trading” at its Premier Inns, thanks to “high-profile concert tours” – predicting Oasis’s tour would be one of its most popular events “of all time”. Shares are up 16% in a month. Promoter supernova The tour’s…

The week’s best shares Cake Box Holdings Investors’ Chronicle The £22m takeover of Ambala Foods – an Indian sweets chain – has enhanced the cake chain’s growth prospects amid plans to double its 22-strong store footprint. Panmure Liberum has lifted its 2026 profit forecast by 40%. Buy. 187.5p. Craneware The Times In a vote of self-confidence, this supplier of financial software to US hospitals (a double-digit growth market) has rejected a £26.50 per share offer from Bain Capital. US bid interest hints at more value in the shares. Buy. £24.80. Marshalls The Times The market punished the landscaping firm’s 2022 acquisition of roofer Marley, but the deal’s “hidden gem” is high-margin Viridian Solar, which claims 45% of UK “in-roof” solar installations. Undervalued. Buy. 258p. One Health Group The Mail on…

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What happened Britain joined 27 other countries, including France, Australia and Japan, in condemning the “drip feeding of aid” to Gaza by Israel, and “the inhumane killing of civilians” seeking food and water. The joint statement, issued on Monday, called for an immediate ceasefire. More than 100 people were killed last weekend alone while seeking food, according to Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry. Scores of aid agencies, including Save the Children and Médecins Sans Frontières, warned that “mass starvation” was spreading across the Strip. Gaza’s health ministry said that more than 100 people had already died of malnutrition. Israel’s government insisted that it was acting in accordance with international law – facilitating the entry of aid, while ensuring that it did not reach Hamas. Israeli officials claim that Hamas steals aid,…

Career turns, with the news that Michael Flatley, the creator of Riverdance, is now thinking of running for Ireland’s presidency. Although born in Chicago, Flatley, aka the Lord of the Dance, is also an Irish citizen and so entitled to stand in the race to succeed Michael D. Higgins in the largely ceremonial role. The All England Tennis Club, after a judge ruled that it could go ahead with plans to build 39 new courts and an 8,000-seat show court on the grounds of the old Wimbledon Park Golf Club. Local residents had tried to block the development, arguing that the land should be protected as green belt and kept as an open space. James Cleverly, who was returned to the Tory frontbench in Kemi Badenoch’s first reshuffle of her…

A national inquiry will be held into one of the most violent confrontations of the 1984/85 miners’ strike, the Government has announced. More than 100 people were injured and 95 picketers charged with riot and violent disorder during the so-called Battle of Orgreave, when miners clashed with police outside a coking plant in South Yorkshire in June 1984. The inquiry will investigate accusations of policy brutality during the clashes, as well as claims that officers falsified evidence against picketers.…

Crushed by a snowplough On New Year’s Day 2023, the Hollywood tough guy Jeremy Renner was crushed under the tracks of his six-tonne snow-plough. The list of his injuries was astonishing: six broken ribs; three breaks in the pelvis; broken ankles and a broken tibia; a fractured wrist; a cracked shoulder; a broken jaw and eye socket; a collapsed lung; and a pierced liver. It was a miracle he survived, says Simon Hattenstone in The Guardian. Indeed, Renner reckons he might momentarily have died. “It is the most exhilarating peace you could ever feel,” he says. “Everything stopped… maybe for 30 seconds, maybe a minute.” The accident had happened when Renner got out of his “snowcat” to speak to his 27-year-old nephew, Alex, who was helping him clear his drive…

Babies with “three parents” Eight babies with DNA from three parents have been born in the UK, using technology designed to prevent devastating mitochondrial diseases. The mitochondria – the “batteries” that power almost all the cells in the body – have their own DNA, which is passed down via the mother. In rare cases, women carry mutations in this DNA which leaves their baby with defective mitochondria – leading to serious developmental disorders and often death. Pioneered by UK scientists, the process known as mitochondrial donation starts with eggs from the mother and a donor being fertilised in the lab by the father’s sperm. The fertilised mother’s egg then develops for a few hours, until the stage when it contains the pronuclei, one made up of maternal DNA and the…

King Charles was less than impressed with his bride’s choice of headwear on their wedding day in 2005. As the couple emerged from St George’s Chapel, the wind wrought havoc with the dramatic crown of feathers on Camilla’s fascinator. According to lipreaders employed for a Channel 5 documentary, the future king somewhat ungallantly turned to her and said: “They look awful.” But on Coronation Day, he was the one with the headwear problem. Struggling to keep his head still while they stood on the palace balcony, he apparently told the new Queen: “Don’t get too close. My crown might topple over.” The late Ozzy Osbourne led a colourful life, to say the least. During 40-plus years of hellraising, the Black Sabbath star was arrested several times – including for urinating…

It “must be one of the most short-sighted and desperate measures ever to be brought before Parliament”, said The Daily Telegraph. Keir Starmer’s Government, lagging badly in the polls, has suddenly decided that it will lower the voting age to 16 in time for the next general election – presumably hoping that many of those 1.5 million newly eligible teen voters will cast their ballots for Labour. Starmer claimed the move was about fairness, citing the fact that 16 and 17-year-olds pay taxes and can serve in the military. But that’s “downright misleading”, said Stephen Glover in the Daily Mail. You can’t be deployed on combat operations until you’re 18, and a “vanishingly small” proportion of 16 and 17-year-olds pay income tax. Most are still in education. In fact, there…

The England women’s team at Euro 2025 are certainly living on the edge, said Kit Shepard in The Times. Following a disappointing opening defeat by France, they recovered form to escape from their group. In their quarter-final against Sweden, they trailed 2-0 with 11 minutes to go, then scored twice to level the scores before sealing victory via an extraordinary 14-shot penalty shootout. On Tuesday, facing Italy in the semi-final, the Lionesses again left things perilously late. After a “defensive lapse” gave the Italians a lead in the first half, Sarina Wiegman’s team applied pressure but lacked the incision to actually score. Finally, in the sixth of seven minutes of stoppage time, with their hopes all but gone, “Lauren Hemp sent in a teasing cross, Beth Mead did enough to…

Football Liverpool agreed a £79m deal with Frankfurt for French striker Hugo Ekitiké, taking the club’s summer spend to almost £300m. Cricket Hampshire left-arm spinner Liam Dawson was recalled to England’s squad for the fourth Test against India, as a replacement for the injured Shoaib Bashir. The 35-year-old last played a Test eight years ago. Boxing Ukraine’s Oleksandr Usyk became undisputed heavyweight champion for the second time, after defeating Britain’s Daniel Dubois in the fifth round at Wembley.…

Hardbacks The Names by Florence Knapp Phoenix £16.99 (£14.99) When Cora takes her baby boy to be registered, she agonises over his name, said The Times. Gordon, her abusive husband, wants him named “after himself”; their daughter likes Bear; Cora prefers Julian. The novel then splits into three and follows “the twists of fate set in motion by each name”. “The high concept is carried off with flair,” said The Guardian. This buzzy debut “lives up to the hype”. Dream Count by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie 4th Estate £20 (£17.99) Adichie’s first novel in 12 years is a “big, ambitious and scintillating ensemble piece about four African women living on both sides of the Atlantic”, said The Times. Taking in all manner of female experience, “from bad boyfriends to genital mutilation”,…

Shadow Thieves by Peter Burns A 13-year-old orphan, Tom, is recruited to train at an elite international boarding school for thieves, and finds himself embroiled in a deadly intrigue. Perfect for fans of Percy Jackson, the first book in this new adventure series gets “top marks” (ages 9-13; Farshore, 384pp, £7.99). Under a Fire-Red Sky by Geraldine McCaughrean “A masterclass in urgent, powerful storytelling”, McCaughrean’s 170th novel charts the course of four young Londoners who make a decision not to flee the Blitz, and forge a strong bond. “Brutal, beautiful and wise” (ages 12+; Usborne, 288pp, £8.99). The Elixir  by Lindsay Galvin This “intriguing”, “atmospheric” novella about a gifted healer and the young Isaac Newton is designed to be dyslexia-friendly  (ages 9+; Barrington Stoke, 120pp, £7.99). The Notwitches  by Gary Panton Melanda runs…

Lord (Ian) Blair 1953-2025 Ian Blair, who has died aged 72, “came to office with the potential to become one of the great police commanders of the age”, said The Times – bringing “a keen mind” and “reforming zeal” to the post of commissioner of the Metropolitan Police. Instead, he became the first in 100 years to be forced out of the job. His tenure was “haunted” by the police shooting of an innocent man, the Brazilian electrician Jean Charles de Menezes, in London in 2005, soon after the 7/7 bombings. To Blair’s credit, he wrestled with issues crucial to modern policing, and led important reforms. But his career was eventually “destroyed” by a series of mishaps, “often self-inflicted”. Ian Warwick Blair was born in 1953, in Northwest England. His…

Tackling the pensions time bomb Editorial The Times Even those “reasonably au fait” with the world of private pensions “sometimes recoil from looking too deeply into the reality of their own situation”, says The Times: in a few seconds, dreams of carefree retirement can evaporate. That is why the Government’s shake-up of the auto-enrolment system is so vital. Britons are taking too long to start a pension, and when they do, contributions are often far too low. “The result is a time bomb for millions of workers in their 20s and 30s.” As the triple lock, with its promise to protect the value of the state pension, becomes unsustainable, private provision “must take over the heavy lifting”. Vital to this is making saving into a pension seem a no-brainer. “Everyone…