Innholdsfortegnelse for V. 1102 i The Week

What happened The death of Fidel Castro Funeral preparations were under way in Cuba this week following the death of Fidel Castro, one of 20th century politics’ most iconic figures. The demise of the 90-year-old revolutionary was announced last Friday by his younger brother Raúl, who succeeded him as president in 2008. The state declared nine days of national mourning. The ashes of the man known as El Comandante were being carried in procession across the island to Santiago de Cuba, the nation’s second city, where they will be laid to rest in a ceremony on Sunday. Although Castro had been frail for years, many in Cuba were shocked and deeply saddened by his death. By contrast, Cuban émigrés in Miami danced in the street. The international response also varied…

Madison, Wisconsin Recount goes ahead: Jill Stein, presidential candidate for the Green Party in the recent election, has called for a recount of votes cast in Wisconsin, Pennsylvania and Michigan. Stein (pictured) claims there is evidence that suggests foreign hackers may have interfered in the electronic voting system in those states, which were narrowly won by Donald Trump and which, had Hillary Clinton won them, would have handed her the presidency. Wisconsin has now agreed to a recount. Clinton’s campaign team said that it would cooperate, but that it had no evidence of interference. Trump tweeted that he’d not only triumphed in the electoral college but actually “won the popular vote if you deduct the millions of people who voted illegally”. Ottawa #TrudeauEulogies: Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau – generally…

1 Swimming Song by Loudon Wainwright III, performed by Kate and Anna McGarrigle 2 Le Premier Bonheur du Jour by Frank Gérald and Jean Renard, performed by Françoise Hardy 3 March: Seventeen Comes Sunday by Ralph Vaughan Williams, performed by the Central Band of the Royal Air Force and Wing Commander Eric Banks 4 Love Street by Jim Morrison, John Densmore, Robby Krieger and Ray Manzarek, performed by The Doors 5 Gulf Coast Highway by Nanci Griffith, Danny Flowers and James Hooker, performed by Emmylou Harris and Willie Nelson 6 But Death, Alas! When I Am Laid in Earth (Dido’s Lament) by Henry Purcell, performed by Dame Janet Baker, the English Chamber Orchestra and Sir Anthony Lewis 7 Lo, He Comes With Clouds…

A recently opened skating rink in Japan has been shut, in response to complaints about what was supposed to be one of its chief attractions: thousands of dead fish frozen into the ice. Owners of the Ice Aquarium at the Space World theme park in Kitakyushu had used 5,000 dead sprats, mackerel and rays to create an “ocean feel” for skaters. But the public decided it was in bad taste. Following a wave of criticism, the park apologised for “disrespecting” the fish, and said it was planning to hold a memorial service for them next year. The owner of a young, blind rescue goat with severe anxiety problems has found the perfect way to keep her pet calm: she dresses the kid in a duck costume. Leanne Lauricella said that…

Across the world, “patriarchal despots” are still introducing laws hateful to women, said Jürgen Gottschlich in Die Tageszeitung (Berlin). But it’s heartening to see how often women now unite to fight back. Last month female protesters forced Jarosław Kaczynski, the Catholic fundamentalist head of Poland’s ruling party, to back down on plans for a total ban on abortion. And after furious protests across Turkey, President Erdogan’s AK Party has felt obliged to jettison a draft law that would have allowed men who’ve had sex with underage girls to avoid jail by marrying them in a religious ceremony. It doesn’t mean the rolling “Islamisation” of Turkey has stalled: but it does show that Turks won’t stand for Islam being used to excuse any male perversion, and that united action can check…

Italy: Renzi’s dangerous gamble “Italy has long been the biggest threat to the survival of the euro”, and the European Union itself, said The Economist. The country is mired in chronic crisis. Wealth per head has not risen since the 1990s. Its labour market is “sclerotic”, its public debts are vast, and its banks are teetering on the brink (see page 52). If Italy goes bust, “it will be too big to rescue”. That’s why “so much hope has rested with Matteo Renzi”, its telegenic young prime minister. Renzi thinks Italy’s real problem is “institutional paralysis”, and has called for a referendum this Sunday on constitutional reform: he wants to take power away from the regions and give it to central government; and to reduce greatly the size and role…

Formula 1: Rosberg finally triumphs When he reached the chequered flag, Nico Rosberg “exploded with relief”, said Kevin Eason in The Times. The stakes could not have been higher for the 31-year-old German: he knew that if he made the podium in Sunday’s Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, he would lift the Formula 1 world championship. He had “everything to lose”; Lewis Hamilton, his Mercedes teammate and nemesis, “everything to gain”. Naturally, Hamilton was in no mood to give up easily. With the end in sight, he deliberately slowed down, blocking Rosberg’s progress to give the other drivers a chance to catch up. But that wasn’t enough: Rosberg still came second, just behind Hamilton, to claim the title by five points. After spending years in his rival’s shadow, he has finally…

To The Times Sir John Major’s inability to accept the “tyranny of the majority” in setting Brexit terms after the referendum is difficult to square with his imposition on the British people of the treaty of Maastricht, which formed the basis of the European Union. The constitutional importance of this treaty was recognised to be of such significance that its ratification was subjected to referendums in Denmark, where it was at first rejected, and in France, where it was supported by 50.82% of the electorate. In Britain, where no referendum was offered, the number of Conservative rebels against ratification of Maastricht exceeded the number of Tories voting for it in the Commons, despite savage whipping. It seems that there is no end to the determination of Europhiles to keep Britain…

New cars: what the critics say Autocar The Kodiaq exemplifies just how far Škoda has come over the past decade. Until now, the Czech carmaker has sold itself as a “value-for-money brand that you can buy with your head held high” – an approach rewarded with “booming” sales. But with this SUV, which comes as a five or seven-seater, it’s “landing slap-bang” in one of the most competitive markets, and charging Land Rover-worthy prices. The Daily Telegraph This is a handsome car, even if it lacks character. The cabin feels quite grand, with plush seats and sturdy switches; and there’s lots of room in the front and middle, though the optional rear seats (which cost £1,000) are only suitable for children. With those seats up, the boot has 270 litres…

Italian banks: all eyes on Siena “Markets are bracing for a string of failures in the Italian banking system” and a possible EU bailout if Italy’s reformist government loses this weekend’s “crucial referendum”, said Ambrose Evans-Pritchard in The Daily Telegraph. Shares in the country’s most troubled bank, the 500-year-old Monte dei Paschi di Siena, crashed 11% on Monday on fears that a s5bn plan “to recapitalise the broken lender” could unravel if a No vote leads to months of political turmoil. Italy’s biggest and most systemically important bank, UniCredit, fell more than 4%: it has lost more than two-thirds of its value over the last year. The Italian government may have to turn to the European Stability Mechanism for a bank rescue – “a humiliating and painful course”. Even that…

Controversy of the week Who will blink first? “Rule number 527 for success in public life,” said John Hand on BBC News online: don’t walk around with sensitive political documents tucked under your arm when there are photographers about. This week, an aide to Tory party vice-chair Mark Field MP forgot this, as she emerged onto Downing Street after a meeting at David Davis’s Brexit office. Splashed all over the papers the next day were her handwritten notes about the forthcoming EU negotiations, such as “we think it’s unlikely we’ll be offered single market”, and “French likely to be most difficult”. Most interesting of all was a statement that some saw as a summary of Theresa May’s top-secret Brexit strategy: “What’s the model? Have cake and eat it.” The Government…

Aleppo, Syria Breakthrough for regime: Forces loyal to Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad recaptured around a third of the rebel-held territory of eastern Aleppo last weekend, in what analysts said was likely to prove a decisive breakthrough in the bloody battle for the city – and one that brings ultimate victory for the Assad regime a significant step closer. The speed of the ground advance, led by Iraqi Shia militias and Lebanon’s Hezbollah, surprised both the regime side and their opponents, who have maintained their hold on eastern Aleppo throughout 12 months of siege and near constant bombardment by Syrian and Russian forces. For the first time in the past six months, large numbers of people – around 20,000 by some accounts – attempted to flee the area on Monday in…

Does low-fat milk make you fat? Giving your children semi-skimmed milk may cause them to put on weight, scientists have found. A Canadian study involving 2,745 children aged between two and six found that whole-milk drinkers were less than half as likely to be overweight as those who drank semi-skimmed or skimmed milk, and less than a third as likely to be obese. On average, the drinkers of whole milk (around 3% fat) were about 1kg lighter than those who drank skimmed (1% fat). Although they cannot be sure it was the milk that made the difference, researchers speculate that children given low-fat milk tend to feel less full afterwards, and so end up eating more in the way of calorific snacks. Study leader Dr Jonathon Maguire, a scientist at…

Prince Harry’s girlfriend, Meghan Markle, won’t be daunted by his glamorous social circle. In an essay for Elle magazine, the US actress says she is only impressed by heavyweight do-gooders. “While most become star struck by A-list actors, you’ll only see me in awe of leaders effecting change,” she writes. “Madeleine Albright, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon… These are my celebrities. When I gave a speech for International Women’s Day, and Ban Ki-moon led the standing ovation, I thought: ‘This right here is the point.’” Princess Beatrice almost blinded one pop star while pretending to knight another. The 28-year-old princess threw a dinner party last month, at which she picked up a ceremonial sword and jokingly “dubbed” the singer James Blunt, saying: “Arise Sir James.” She then swung the sword back…

In rugby, it’s very rare indeed to win after having a player sent off, said Mick Cleary in The Daily Telegraph. To do so after losing a player in the fifth minute is “almost unprecedented”. Yet in their 27-14 win over Argentina, England did just that. Following Elliot Daly’s red card for an aerial clash, the remaining 14 men prevailed, through “cleverness and fortitude” – even when Dan Cole was sin-binned and they were down to 13. The game contained “more drama than your average EastEnders omnibus”, said Andy Bull in The Observer. And it was yet another marker of England’s “extraordinary progress” since Eddie Jones became coach last year. No player has improved more than Chris Robshaw, said Rick Broadbent in The Times. A former captain who was demoted…

Exhibition of the week Gavin Turk: Who What When Where How & Why Newport Street Gallery, London SE11 (020-3141 9320, www.newportstreetgallery.com ). Until 19 March It can be “hard to see beyond the shtick” when it comes to Gavin Turk, said Eddy Frankel in Time Out. Turk, who shot to fame as a member of the Young British Artists movement, has pulled more than his fair share of attention-grabbing stunts. For his degree show at the Royal College of Art, he displayed a now “notorious” blue plaque inscribed only with his own name, and consequently failed to graduate. Subsequently, he has presented a sculpture of his own signature as a “masterpiece in itself”, and even mocked up a fake copy of Hello! magazine, depicting himself on the…

What the experts recommend The Refuge by Volta The Refuge, Oxford St, Manchester (0161-233 5151) When I heard that Luke Cowdrey and Justin Crawford – aka DJ duo The Unabombers – were opening a swanky new restaurant and bar in the “glum, Gothic” Palace Hotel (formerly the Refuge Assurance Building) in central Manchester, it sounded “all wrong”, said Marina O’Loughlin in The Guardian. The signature of this pair, who also own Volta, the neighbourhood favourite in West Didsbury, is “small, friendly” and “slighty batty”, not austere, “cavernous” and “vaguely spooky”. Yet in the event, their new venture is a triumph. The fabulous food is squarely in the Volta style, careering deliciously all over the globe: South American ceviches, Middle Eastern mutabal (aubergine dip), pak choi, chimichurri, preserved lemon –…

A timid swing at corporate reform… Liam Proud Reuters Breakingviews Public concern about the collapse of BHS and about excessive executive pay gave Theresa May “a political mandate to do something about sharp corporate practice”, says Liam Proud. Yet the PM has taken “a timid swing” at the piñata. Early promises of “sweeping reforms” have resulted in a consultation document best summed up as “Theresa meh”. The Government has left open “the option of doing relatively little” in all three main areas of this week’s Green Paper – worker representation on boards, executive pay restraint, and the extension of governance rules to privately held companies. May might have climbed down because “she’s twigged her reforms won’t work”: would annual binding votes on executive pay really rein in excesses any more…

Copenhagen “Best before” shops: A Copenhagen supermarket that sells only donated food which is already past its sell-by date has proved such a success that it has opened a second branch. The selling of expired food is legal in Denmark, provided that it is clearly marked and is not deemed dangerous to eat. Prices at the Wefood shops – one in Amager, and the new branch in the fashionable Nørrebro district – are about half those in normal shops: profits go to charity. Last month a report by the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organisation noted that the food wasted as a result of shops’ insistence on perfect-looking produce, and their arbitrary use of best-before labels, would be enough to feed the world’s hungry. The FAO estimated that 1.3 billion tonnes…

Gill’s second chance A.A. Gill doesn’t feel at all sorry for himself. The 62-year-old journalist and restaurant critic revealed last week that he has tumours throughout his body, spread from a cancer in his lungs. He is having treatment, but the prognosis is uncertain. Yet, as a recovering alcoholic who gave up drinking at the age of 30, he feels incredibly grateful to have had a second shot at life. “I realised I don’t have a bucket list; I don’t feel I’ve been cheated of anything,” he told Bryan Appleyard in The Sunday Times. “I’d like to have gone to Timbuktu, and there are places I will be sorry not to see again. But actually, because of the nature of what happened to me in my early life, I know…

Why Farage should be our ambassador Tim Stanley The Daily Telegraph “Nigel Farage should be Britain’s ambassador to the United States.” There, I’ve said it, says Tim Stanley. The idea would once have been “unthinkable”, but in the world we find ourselves in, it makes perfect sense. Given the rude things ministers said about Donald Trump during his campaign, our Government can expect a pretty indifferent reception from the new US administration. If we want to wield influence in Washington, it would pay to use an intermediary who’s pally with the new president and who appears on US TV so regularly that “millions of Americans probably think he is prime minister”. Without personal chemistry between our leaders, the “special relationship” doesn’t count for much. And sending Farage to Washington wouldn’t…

SPAIN Hounded to death? Maybe, but guilty too El Mundo (Madrid) In a country plagued by the scourge of corruption, it’s the media’s job to hold politicians to account, says El Mundo. So it’s a bit rich to accuse the media of killing the colourful ex-mayor of Valencia, Rita Barberá, who died of a heart attack two days after being grilled by investigators over a party funding scam. They’ve “hounded her to death”, wailed her colleagues in the right-wing Popular Party. To listen to their eulogies, you’d think she’d been a paragon of virtue. She wasn’t. Yes, she deserved credit for turning Valencia into one of the most vibrant cities in the Mediterranean. But she was also notorious for sleazy behaviour, claiming s278,000 on travel and meals in just three…

Weighing up to 4kg and measuring up to a metre across with their legs extended, the coconut crab, or Birgus latro, is the world’s largest land-dwelling crustacean. It is very aggressive, and phenomenally strong: as its name suggests, it can crack open coconuts; crush the bones of carrion; and lift weights of up to 30kg – and now, for the first time, its grip has been measured, and found to be almost as strong as the bite force of an adult lion. A Japanese team captured 29 wild coconut crabs on Okinawa Island, and got them to squeeze a sensor. The biggest specimen, which weighed 2kg, exerted a grip of 1,800 newtons – suggesting a 4kg crab could have a pinching force of about 3,300 newtons, according to the…

“To disagree with three-fourths of the British public is one of the first requisites of sanity.” Oscar Wilde, quoted in Prospect magazine “In diplomatic circles, it is said that an ambassador is someone who thinks twice before he says nothing.” Ben Macintyre in The Times “Pessimism becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy: it reproduces itself by crippling our willingness to act.” Historian and activist Howard Zinn, quoted in The Guardian “I will look at any additional evidence to confirm the opinion to which I have already come.” Late Tory MP Hugh Molson, quoted in The Wall Street Journal “Life starts out with everyone clapping when you take a poo and goes downhill from there.” Columnist Sloane Crosley, quoted in The Times “Americans will put up with anything as long as it doesn’t…

In praise of Castro To The Guardian Without presenting myself as an apologist for Castro, let’s get a little perspective here. Despite history being rewritten by the bitter dispossessed mafia-type businessmen who were thrown out of Cuba, Castro’s revolution deposed the worst dictator in Latin America, who was hell-bent on turning Cuba into the world’s leading supplier of prostitutes (11,500 in Havana alone), drugs and gambling opportunities. Batista made the mafiosi families immensely rich while the people starved. Ejected from the country, and their mansions and assets confiscated, they finished up in Florida, from where they have conducted a 58-year-long propaganda war, brokered over 500 failed assassination attempts, attempted a pathetic invasion, and stole the Bacardi and Tropicana brands from Cuba. On the plus side, education was among the best…

Theatre Julius Caesar, Henry IV, The Tempest Playwright: William Shakespeare Director: Phyllida Lloyd King’s Cross Theatre, London N1 (0844-815 7151) Until 17 December Running time: each play approx 2hrs The Donmar’s “triumphant” Shakespeare trilogy, featuring an all-women company of actors led by Harriet Walter, is “one of the most important theatrical events of the past 20 years”, said Susannah Clapp in The Observer. To her brilliant Julius Caesar (first seen at the Donmar in 2012) and Henry IV (2014), director Phyllida Lloyd has now added an unforgettable Tempest – and has staged all three of them in a specially built theatre (“a big box with girders”) in King’s Cross. Sure, women have taken on Shakespeare’s male roles before. But what these productions brilliantly prove is that “the norm” in Shakespeare…

Best books… D.J. Taylor Critic, novelist and biographer D.J. Taylor chooses six of his favourite books dealing with snobbery. His own The New Book of Snobs was recently published by Constable at £16.99 The Book of Snobs by W.M. Thackeray, 1848 (Duff Press £8.95). A collection of Punch articles from 1846-47, written while Thackeray was at work on Vanity Fair, and containing the first authentic definition of the modern snob – “he who meanly admires mean things”. Psmith in the City by P.G. Wodehouse, 1910 (Everyman £10.99). Monocled Rupert Psmith, the greatest of Wodehouse’s snob heroes, here found working in a bank. When invited to a political meeting in south London, he remarks that “the first thing to do is to ascertain that such a place as Clapham Common really…

Warming, spiced, whisky-spiked drinks on a cold winter’s night can really lift the spirits and comfort the soul, says Nicole Herft, author of a new book of “naughty but nourishing” cocktails. This recipe contains ginger, which is great for digestion, has powerful flu-fighting qualities and can reduce blood pressure. Ginseng helps with energy and cognitive function, and there’s also lots of vitamin C, with both orange and lemon juices Ginseng hot toddy Serves 2 1 camomile teabag 4 thick slices of fresh ginger, lightly scored 4 strips of orange peel 120ml orange juice 25ml lemon juice 5 cloves 6 cardamom pods, lightly bashed 2 star anise 4 pieces of dried ginseng 2 tbsp honey 80ml whisky 6 dashes orange bitters • Put the camomile teabag into 250ml boiling water and…

“To many Cubans, Castro seemed a Christ-like figure, ‘descending from the mountains to clean away the dirt and corruption from the cities’” With his olive fatigues, straggly beard and giant cigars, Fidel Castro was one of the most recognisable political figures of the 20th century. He was also one of the most extraordinary, said The Guardian. Having led a revolution in Cuba in 1959, he set about establishing a Marxist-Leninist state, just 90 miles from the US mainland. Billing himself as a defiant David to the US’s Goliath, he became a giant on the world stage himself. He negotiated on level terms with successive leaders of the two superpowers at the height of the Cold War, and helped bring them to the brink of nuclear war; he outlasted ten US…

Philip Clarke The former Tesco boss got an early Christmas present this week, says The Independent. He has escaped prosecution for the accounting scandal that left a £326m hole in Tesco’s books in 2014 and helped wipe billions off its market value. According to Clarke’s lawyer, the Serious Fraud Office found “insufficient evidence to provide a realistic prospect of conviction”. That could be significant in the SFO’s ongoing investigation of Tesco. UK law requires a “directing mind” to be responsible for fraud, meaning a top-level executive or board member. And it isn’t clear whether the three other Tesco executives who have already been charged individually “would be senior enough to make the company liable”. Gareth Williams In 2001, the freelance programmer Gareth Williams and two friends founded a website they’d…

Christmas is well worth celebrating with decent wine. After all, you’re surrounded by family and friends, there should be an excess of good food – and you don’t have to go to work the next day. For this Christmas selection, I was lucky to have the counsel of Charles Lea from Lea & Sandeman to find wines to suit all dishes and tastes, starting with a superb grand cru champagne, and ending with a ten-year-old tawny port. Lea & Sandeman is one of the most innovative established London wine merchants, ferreting out smaller producers from around the globe who take real pride in their product. Charles, who founded the firm with the late Patrick Sandeman in 1988, has maintained their high standards in four London locations, as well as online.…

Who’s tipping what The week’s best buys Card Factory Investors Chronicle Card Factory designs, prints, warehouses and distributes cards to its own shops – a flexible and resilient business model. It’s efficiently run, expanding and strongly cash-generative. Forward yield 6%-7%. Buy. 247p. Domino’s Pizza Group The Mail on Sunday The pizza group is trading well, boosted by overseas sales from around 100 stores, and is on track for 80 new openings this year. It plans to increase total stores to 1,600. Numis names a target price of 446p. Buy. 346.9p. Grainger The Daily Telegraph Grainger, which aims to be the UK’s leading landlord, is set to benefit from “Generation Rent” as demand for private rented homes becomes ever more acute. Profits should jump, and shares are improving. Buy. 220p. Mercia…

“The birds were everywhere, filling the windscreen. I heard the noise of the engines protesting, broken blades coming loose” We’d been in the air for about 95 seconds, and had not yet risen to 3,000ft feet, when I saw them. “Birds!” I said to first officer Jeff Skiles, who was at the controls with me on Flight 1549 from New York’s LaGuardia Airport. They were ahead of us, in what probably was a V formation. I barely blinked and they were upon us. We were flying so fast compared with the birds that it looked as if they weren’t even moving. I just saw, in an instant, the outlines of their bodies. They were Canada geese, weighing anywhere from 8lb (3.6kg) to 18lb (8.2kg), with 6ft wingspans, and, as is…