Innholdsfortegnelse for V. 1064 i The Week

What happened Stoking up the fear The debate over whether to remain in or quit the European Union became increasingly illtempered this week as various public figures were criticised for expressing their views on how to vote in the June referendum. On Tuesday, the Governor of the Bank of England, Mark Carney, was accused of being “pro-EU” after telling a Commons committee that the prospect of Britain leaving the EU was the “biggest domestic risk to financial stability”. He insisted the Bank wasn’t taking sides. The day before, Downing Street had been forced to deny putting pressure on the British Chamber of Commerce to sack its director general, John Longworth, who had resigned after speaking out in favour of Brexit. Boris Johnson said Longworth had been “crushed by the agents…

Prisoners “may smoke” The Court of Appeal has ruled that the ban on smoking in public places does not apply to state-run prisons. In England and Wales, inmates of these prisons are allowed, under prison rules, to smoke in their cells, but not in communal areas. The Government is proposing to introduce a full ban, but concerned that it might cause disciplinary problems, is phasing it in gradually. But a sex offender inmate named Paul Black wanted the process speeded up, and to that end brought a case demanding that the relevant provisions of the Health Act be enforced. A lower court found in his favour, but its ruling was overturned on appeal, on the grounds that state-run jails are Crown premises, and therefore exempt from the legislation. Hinkley Point…

Mary Beard’s unsafe space As a grey-haired, 61-year-old woman in the public eye, Mary Beard has been on the receiving end of some horrible abuse – from A.A. Gill mocking her “corpses’ teeth” to Twitter trolls making vile comments about her genitalia. But the classics professor remains a staunch defender of free speech. The censorious attitude of modern students, with their clamouring for “safe spaces”, dismays her. “Students today have come through schools in which health and safety was a mantra in ways it wasn’t for me,” Beard told Stefanie Marsh in The Times. “There’s a way in which ‘safety’ has become written into people’s agendas – ‘Is it safe for you to do that?’ Part of the point of university is thinking about things that make you feel uncomfortable.…

In 1885, British entomologist Vincent M. Holt published his only known work, Why Not Eat Insects?, a pamphlet now seen as the founding document of the entomophagy movement. Holt proposed that insects should supplement the diets of the working poor. “One of the constant questions of the day is: ‘How can the farmer most successfully battle with the insect devourers of his crops?’” he wrote. “I suggest they should be collected by the poor as food. Why not?” Holt knew his proposal was radical. “I’m fully conscious of the difficulty of battling against a long-existing and deep-rooted public prejudice,” he wrote. But he cited ancient appetites for insects and the habits of healthy and diligent grasshopper and grub-eaters around the world. “Though uncivilised,” he wrote, “most of these peoples are…

Why we must be wary of driverless cars Adrienne LaFrance The Atlantic “Everybody knew this day would come,” says Adrienne LaFrance. After more than 1.4 million miles of test driving, one of Google’s autonomous cars has finally caused an accident. These self-driving vehicles have been involved in a couple of dozen prangs over their past few years of public-road trials – all minor and all the fault of third parties. But the “perfect streak” has now ended: a Google self-driving Lexus SUV recently side-swiped a city bus in Mountain View, California, at 2mph, while trying to merge in front of the bus to avoid an obstacle in the road ahead. The car’s on-board computer wrongly assumed that the bus would slow down. Will this “fender bender” change public opinion and…

Nasa astronaut Scott Kelly is back on Earth having spent nearly a year on the International Space Station. At 340 days, his was the longest-ever stint in space by a US astronaut, though it’s still some way off the 437 days that the Russian Valeri Polyakov spent aboard Mir in 1995. While in space, Kelly and fellow astronaut Mikhail Kornienko underwent numerous medical tests designed to discover how weightlessness and radiation affect the human body – and help Nasa prepare for future missions to Mars. Kelly also maintained an active social media presence, tweeting photos of Earth almost every day, as well as describing his efforts to grow lettuce, and posting a video of himself pursuing another crew member while dressed in a gorilla suit. He returned to Earth two…

In the past few years, a new populist mood has spread across Europe and beyond, said The Guardian. It has taken countries in strikingly different directions: in Greece, the shift has been to the Left; in France, it has been to the Right; in the US primaries, the populist mood has led to surprise victories for both sides. Yet there is a common driving force – the growing belief among voters that while “the economic system may be working for someone, it isn’t working for me”. This sense that things are “unfair and out of control” has its roots in various recent events, from the bailout of the banks to fresh waves of immigration. But nothing exemplifies the concern that others are getting a free ride at the expense of…

“It is the mark of all movements, however wellintentioned, that their pioneers tend, by much lashing of themselves into excitement, to lose sight of the obvious.” Dorothy L. Sayers, quoted in The Times “Old age isn’t a battle; old age is a massacre.” Philip Roth, quoted in The Guardian “Never retreat, never explain, get it done and let them howl.” 19th century classical scholar Benjamin Jowett, quoted in The Mail on Sunday “I no longer fear death, but I do fear ending up on an episode of Heir Hunters.” Actor Mark Gatiss, quoted in the Daily Mail “The question isn’t who’s going to let me, it’s who is going to stop me.” Ayn Rand, quoted in The Daily Telegraph “I seem to have been only like a boy playing on…

Brexit is bad for trade To The Times Lord Lawson of Blaby is mistaken in recently claiming that, post-Brexit, the UK’s trade access to the rest of the world could continue as it is today. This access was secured (inter alios by me) in protracted and difficult negotiations, in the World Trade Organisation and other world bodies, in return for foreign access to the whole EU market. UK access would have to be renegotiated, over a period of years, from a less strong position. We would not secure renewal without much greater sacrifice on our part. Sir Leslie Fielding, directorgeneral for external relations, Brussels, 1982-87 A mark of approval To The Times It may be true that H.W. Fowler advised against the misuse of the exclamation mark. In The King’s…

Macmillan 1,056pp £30 The Week bookshop £26.50 (incl. p&p) “David Cesarani did not live to witness the publication of his masterwork, the synthesis of 35 years of scholarship on the Final Solution,” said Richard Overy in the Literary Review. He died last year, aged only 58, but his last book is “without question as definitive an account of Jewish persecution in the 1930s and 1940s as we are likely to get”. Cesarani’s new book is “focused deliberately on the Jewish experience” of the genocide, rather than the perpetrators or the wider context. He also aims to undo the “fixation” with Auschwitz, which dominates histories of the Holocaust though less than a fifth of the murdered Jews died there. “Cesarani’s history is chiefly the story of the awful fate of the…

Hail, Caesar! Dirs: Joel and Ethan Coen 1hr 46mins (12A) Floaty, star-studded Hollywood satire “If self-plagiarism were a criminal offence, the Coen brothers would be facing a long stretch in San Quentin,” said Dan Jolin in Empire. Their new film is a Big Lebowski-ish comedy thriller, set – like Barton Fink – in a period Hollywood setting. This time, it is 1951, and Josh Brolin is the weary “fixer” at Capitol Pictures, tasked with preventing the indiscretions of the studio’s stars from reaching the press. When the leading man in a new sword-and-sandals epic (George Clooney) is kidnapped, he faces his toughest job yet. But this being the Coens, that’s not all: we also have Ralph Fiennes as a testy European director, furious that he has been made to cast…

Christopher Bramham at Jonathan Clark Fine Art It was not for nothing that the late Lucian Freud gave his seal of approval to Christopher Bramham. The younger artist’s heavily worked impasto is, to put it simply, masterful. The mottled, thorny surfaces of his paintings are just degrees away from Auerbach-style abrasion, and his figures certainly share something of the intensity of Freud’s. There could be no better introduction to Bramham’s work than the still lifes, drawings and outdoor scenes in this new show. What stands out is his mastery as a colourist. About 90% of his palette in these works is Hammershøi grey, calm as a North Sea haar. What little space is left is a riot of colour. When Bramham paints a lemon, for example, the gleaming peel of…

Time was when South African reds were “big, loud, Aussie shiraz-lites”, says Fiona Beckett in The Guardian. These days, they’re much more likely to be “fresh, juicy, exciting and utterly gluggable”. One such wine is Paardebosch Pinotage 2014 (£12.75, was £15.95; Vincisive), a “gorgeous” red you could serve lightly chilled with a piece of seared tuna. When it comes to cinsaults, many of the most exciting wines have yet to make it over here, but I would recommend Waterkloof’s Seriously Cool Cinsault 2014 (£13.25; Palmers Wine Store). It’s the perfect accompaniment to a plate of charcuterie. Blank Bottle Familiemoord 2014 (£25; Swig) has grenache from Swartland, cinsault from Darling and a smattering of pinot noir from Elgin – an “incredible” blend that’s perfect for fans of red Burgundy. Or, if…

Boutique Thailand Enjoy 7 nights at the Paresa Resort Phuket, overlooking the Andaman Sea. From £1,420pp b&b incl. flights. 01494-678400, www.turquoiseholidays.co.uk. Book by 30 April; select dates until Oct. Sightseeing in Somerset Visit Cheddar Gorge during a stay in Old Cider Barn (sleeps 4), in the picturesque village of Wookey. From £254/£382 (3/7 nights. 01803-814000, www.westcountrycottages.co.uk. Arrive 26 March. Yorkshire coastal break Full of character, Meadowcroft is a period cottage (sleeps 6) in the heart of Robin Hood’s Bay. A 3-night stay from 21 March costs £392. 01947-600700, www.yorkshireholidaycottages.co.uk. Norwegian aurora A 5-night trip to Tromsø and Malangen offers a chance to catch sight of the Northern Lights. Prices from £990pp b&b incl. flights. 020-7664 2234, www.best-served.co.uk. For March travel.…

The Bank of England announced contingency plans to protect British banks from running out of funds in the event of a Brexit. Commercial banks will be able to borrow as much as they like in the days before and after the June vote to offset any threat of a run on them. In a “testy” session with MPs, Mark Carney said the PM’s European renegotiation had addressed the issues necessary to ensure the UK’s monetary and financial stability within the EU – and that leaving would heighten risks in the short term. He denied his views had been influenced by Downing Street. Weak Chinese trade figures in February, showing the worst one-month decline since 2009, threatened to put the dampeners on a rally in equity and commodity markets, which saw…

● The only way is up? Are the sharp falls in commodities, which have caused so much market turbulence in recent months, going into reverse? After a week which saw Brent crude climb to above $40/barrel for the first time since mid-December, traders are daring to hope that “the only way is up”, said Philip Aldrick in The Times. Optimism is also percolating through the battered metal markets where, on Monday, the price of iron ore surged by 20%. Firmer commodity prices have bolstered broader market sentiment, said Michael Mackenzie in the FT. Big investors have decided “the moment has dawned for wading into emerging markets”, arguing that the “beaten-down assets are a long-term bargain”. But the worry is that after so much pessimism, the pendulum has simply swung back…

European leaders this week hailed what they called a “breakthrough” deal with Turkey on how to halt the flow of migrants into the EU. Under an outline agreement, all migrants crossing to Greece from Turkey will be sent back; and for each Syrian refugee thus returned, the EU will resettle in Europe a Syrian refugee living in a Turkish refugee camp. As a price for its cooperation, Ankara has insisted that Brussels contributes s6bn over the next three years towards the cost of hosting Syrian refugees in Turkey; that negotiations on Turkey’s bid to join the EU are fast-tracked; and that Turkish citizens will be entitled to visa-free access to Europe from this summer. The deal, which needs to be ratified at a summit later this month, sends a “clear…

Paris Periscope fiasco: François Hollande’s media advisors presumably thought it would be cool to live-stream his visit to an online fashion company in Paris last week, via the popular Periscope video app. But the PR stunt backfired when they failed to disable the function that allows users to post comments in real time during the broadcast – and a torrent of abuse duly followed. It ran for 24 minutes before staff switched over to the (commentless) presidential Élysée website; by which time thousands of negative posts had appeared, tearing into everything from Hollande’s expanding waistline and his sex life to his failure to tackle unemployment. “Did he come on a scooter?” one asked, referring to the infamous photos of him arriving on a scooter to meet his then mistress, Julie…

1 Music by John Miles and Bob Marshall, performed by John Miles 2 Chorus of the Hebrew Slaves by Verdi, performed by the Chorus and Orchestra of the Deutsche Oper Berlin, Giuseppe Sinopoli 3 Wild Theme by Mark Knopfler and Alan Clark, performed by Mark Knopfler 4* Gloria in Excelsis Deo by Vivaldi, performed by The English Concert and Choir and Trevor Pinnock 5 Radio Ga Ga by Roger Taylor, performed by Queen 6 Your Song by Elton John and Bernie Taupin, performed by Elton John 7 The Way It Is by Bruce Hornsby, performed by Bruce Hornsby and The Range 8 Who’s Crying Now by Jonathan Cain and Steve Perry, performed by Journey Book: Wainwright Walks: Lake District box set Luxury: A guitar and sheet music * Choice if…

Africa isn’t the “hellhole” we think it is Matthew Parris The Times For some time now, the top people in Whitehall and Westminster have been turning their back on Africa, says Matthew Parris. They see it as little more than a charity case. And now one of Britain’s biggest banks seems to be giving up on it too: last week we learnt that Barclays was ending “a century’s huge presence on the continent”. But in my view, this rejection of Africa is a “historic mistake”. If anything, we should be stepping up our involvement with this vibrant continent. Africa’s GDP is expanding by more than 4% a year, it “now has a bigger middle class than India”, and countries including China, Brazil and Turkey are hastening into its new markets.…

Zika link to Guillain-Barré Scientists have found compelling evidence that the Zika virus can – as suspected – trigger Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS), a rare neurological disorder that causes temporary paralysis, respiratory collapse and, in one in 20 cases, death. Researchers in France and Tahiti analysed blood samples from the 42 people in French Polynesia who developed GBS during the Zika outbreak there in 2013-14. All had Zika antibodies in their blood, suggesting they had contracted the virus before developing GBS. From the data, the researchers estimate that infection with Zika raises the risk of developing GBS from about one or two in 100,000 to 24 in 100,000. Study leader Professor Arnaud Fontanet, of the Institut Pasteur in Paris, warned that countries experiencing Zika epidemics could expect a significant spike in…

The whirlwind romance between Rupert Murdoch and Jerry Hall culminated in a wedding last week at St Bride’s in Fleet Street – known as the “parish church of journalism”. The media mogul, 85, and the Texanborn supermodel, 59, tied the knot just five months after their first date. Guests included Michael Caine, Bob Geldof, Bill Wyman, Barry Humphries and Michael Gove. But not everyone approved of the choice of venue: it was Murdoch’s battle with the print unions, and his decision to relocate The Times to Wapping, that ended Fleet Street’s long tenure as the home of British journalism. Or as one former union member told The Independent: “It’s like Dracula getting married in a blood bank.” “There is no love stronger than a mother’s for her son,” declared a…

The world witnessed a rare spectacle after last week’s “Super Tuesday” elections in America, said The Observer: a speech by a reasonablesounding, gracious Donald Trump. But the mogul’s “feigned switch towards moderation and bonhomie” didn’t last long. By the end of the week, he was once again “insulting his rivals and, almost unbelievably, given what is at stake, bragging about the size of his penis”. Speaking at a debate, Trump hastened to rebut Marco Rubio’s claim that he had small hands – and the insinuation that this might correspond to another body part. “I guarantee you there is no problem,” boomed Trump. “I guarantee.” America has had rabble-rousing candidates before, as well as ones from the business world with no political experience (Herbert Hoover, for instance, who also promised to…

Tennis: Sharapova’s shock doping ban When Maria Sharapova called a press conference on Monday, everyone assumed she was going to announce her retirement, said Jim Caple on ESPN.com. A month short of 29, with a history of chronic injury, the tennis legend’s best days are probably behind her. Instead, when she took the podium, “dressed in all black”, Sharapova made a shocking confession: she had failed a drugs test at the Australian Open, in January, when she tested positive for meldonium. She claims she was prescribed the drug years ago, for legitimate medical reasons, and had no idea it had been banned at the start of the year. Even so, the news “sent shock waves through tennis”, said Matthew Syed in The Times. One of the few stars in the…

To The Times Jeff Probyn’s assertion that “rugby is no more dangerous than cycling, horse riding, hockey or football” is not supported by the facts. On 19 March 2009, The Times reported that “67,000 rugby injuries require a trip to A&E in the UK every year, and studies of competitive rugby players have found there is one injury per person for every ten games played, or around two injuries per match. That rate makes rugby a more dangerous sport than boxing, mountain climbing and even American football.” Partly because of the statistics – but mostly because, as a 14-year-old boy playing in a school rugby match, I witnessed the death on the pitch of a friend and teammate – my son was only ever allowed to attend football-playing schools. Anthony…

Anatomy of a Soldier Faber 320pp £14.99 The Week bookshop £12.99 (incl. p&p) “Anatomy of a Soldier is a great novel,” said Anthony Loyd in the New Statesman. Set in Afghanistan, it tells the story of a British officer who is blown up by an improvised explosive device while returning from a patrol. However, it is told from the point of view of a series of inanimate objects: a tourniquet, a bullet, a mother’s handbag, a surgeon’s saw. “Only a wounded soldier could have written this book”: Harry Parker suffered this fate himself, and his novel brings “illumination back from the abyss”. It’s an interesting technique, but it also impedes the story, said Chris Power in The Guardian. Some of the chapters are unnecessarily puzzling, and sometimes you wonder, distractingly,…

Few movies can have as much of a claim to be a work of art as Loving Vincent. Billed as the first ever “fully painted feature film”, this animation, about the life of Vincent van Gogh, was created by 85 professional painters, working in the impasto style pioneered by the Dutch artist. The action was first filmed using live actors, said Jack Malvern in The Times. Then the painters set to work, producing expressionist canvases they repeatedly painted over, moving the action on by a split second every time. The project began back in 2010 when animator Hugh Welchman – who won an Oscar in 2006 for Peter and the Wolf – visited the Royal Academy’s van Gogh show. He was thinking of making a short film about the artist,…

The decision to move a world-renowned photographic collection from Bradford’s National Media Museum (NMM) to the Victoria & Albert in London has been condemned by some of Britain’s leading cultural figures, including the Yorkshire-born artist David Hockney, the photographer Don McCullin (pictured) and the film-maker Mike Leigh. In a letter sent to both The Times and The Guardian, signed by 83 people, they say transferring the 400,000 objects in the collection – which charts the development of photography over 200 years – is a “backward step” that goes against the Government’s Northern Powerhouse strategy. They also point out that many photographers deposited pieces at the NMM because they wanted their work to be preserved in the North. The museum attracted some eight million visitors in its first ten years after…

Tom catches Helen on her own and asks if she’s OK. Helen insists she’s fine. A year on from the flood, Bert pays tribute to Freda in a speech at St Stephen’s. Henry wets Rob and Helen’s bed. Ursula says it’s an act of attention-seeking because he’ll soon have a little brother. She thinks it’s time he went back to sleeping in his own bed. Pat helps Rob in the shop. Rob spins the home birth idea so it sounds as if it was Helen’s plan. Pat mentions it to Tom, who’s not convinced. Rob tells Helen that Henry doesn’t listen to her, and attributes this to her volatile moods. Rob says he thinks she isn’t coping. Justin agrees to invest in the Fairbrothers’ pastured egg business. Ursula brings Henry…

Chip Shop BXTN 378 Coldharbour Lane, SW9 (07894-353561) Chip Shop BXTN (that’s Brixton to you and me) is just four months old, but it looks “as if it was born in 1981”, says Tanya Gold in The Daily Telegraph. “This is one of the skills of the clever restaurant: it fits so neatly into its surroundings, you think you remember it from your teenage haze of licking schoolboys while crying to Wham! in a puffball skirt.” Photographs of hip-hop artists adorn the walls; more graffiti – depicting hip-hop stars – is painted on the shutters. But even if (like me) you know nothing about hip-hop, don’t be put off: this is an “excellent”, superb-value fish restaurant that it would be foolish to ignore. Scallops and chorizo on samphire are partially…

Tips… how to buy an ex-council property ● Be wary of flats in high-rise blocks; many mortgage companies won’t lend on flats that are more than five storeys up. ● If you’re considering a flat on a large estate, find out how many properties there are privately owned. Even the more sympathetic lenders will only finance a purchase if less than half still belong to the council. ● You’re more likely to get a mortgage for a property built in brick (rather than concrete). The prefabricated Airey houses build after the Second World War, for instance, struggle to qualify for mortgages. ● Owners of former council flats must pay a service charge to the freeholder (usually the local authority) for maintenance of the building and grounds. Find out exactly what…

Alma Histórica Boutique Hotel, Montevideo, Uruguay With its crumbling 19th century palaces, museums and restaurants, Montevideo’s old town is its most “atmospheric” neighbourhood – and this new guest house is its most stylish lodging, says Elaine Glusac in The New York Times. Occupying a 1920s townhouse, it is an “antiques-filled haven” that balances “vintage flair” with “modern efficiency”. The 15 rooms and suites are large, with “unfussy decor” and sleek bathrooms. The hotel has no restaurant, but the breakfast room is charming, and there’s a rooftop terrace with a Jacuzzi and fine views over the city’s working port. Doubles from £140 b&b. +598 2914 7450, www.almahistoricahotel.com…

The actress who became a force at the White House Nancy Reagan 1921-2016 Nancy Reagan, who has died aged 94, devoted her life to furthering her husband’s political career, as he made his “improbable climb” from Hollywood actor, to governor of California, to 40th president of the United States, said The New York Times. A former actress, she was often photographed at Ronald Reagan’s side, gazing at him adoringly. Yet she was far more than just a loyal wife, said The Daily Telegraph. Reagan was, by and large, the uncomplicated nice guy he seemed – but nice guys don’t get to be president. It was Nancy who provided the necessary strength and drive. Determined to do everything she could to support “my Ronnie”, she advised on White House hirings and…

Since opening its first shop in Brixton, south London, in 1928, British Home Stores has been “at the centre of a string of corporate battles”, said The Times. But none has been as potentially calamitous as its current fight for survival. The struggling chain – sold for £1 last March by Sir Philip Green’s Arcadia Group to a little-known consortium called Retail Acquisitions – has been placed into a controversial form of insolvency known as a “company voluntary arrangement”, and is at risk of going bust within weeks. Directors hope to use the measure to force landlords to renegotiate the leases and rents on half of BHS’s 164 stores, and have told creditors to back the “drastic turnaround plan” or face a £1.3bn loss, said Christopher Williams in The Daily…

Could a row over a golf course sour investment relations between Britain and China? The London-based head of Reignwood – the Chinese leisure conglomerate which bought Wentworth in Surrey in 2014 – believes it could, said Jonathan Ford in the FT. “Members talking to journalists and telling them we are socially cleansing the club and making way for Chinese party members… [is] all a bit off-track,” said Songhua Ni in an interview this week. Beijing is reportedly anxious that that “a high-profile but relatively small acquisition might damage the pitch for much bigger projects such as plans to build nuclear power stations in the UK”. The battle for Wentworth is certainly highly charged. Reignwood wants to charge existing members a one-off £100,000 fee, and to slash membership from around 4,000…

Aubrey McClendon The Oklahoma City oilman and sports mogul, who has died in a car crash aged 56, was “a pioneer of the US shale gas boom”, but his “career was marred by a series of scandals”, says the FT. McClendon was among the first to grasp “just how big the shale gas industry could be”. And, until his ousting from Chesapeake Energy in 2013, the “Fracking Cowboy” spent big, too: on everything from fine wine and antique maps to flying a group of his wife’s friends to Bermuda. At one point, he had personal borrowings of $1.1bn secured on stakes in the company’s wells. The cause of McLendon’s fireball car crash is still unclear. What we do know is that he drove into a bridge pillar the day after…

Who’s tipping what The week’s best buys Carillion The Times The support services and construction group has renewed its banking facilities, and its workload and pipeline is reassuringly strong. The Middle East arm is stable despite the oil-related downturn. Yields 6.6%. Buy. 291p. Lloyds Banking Investors Chronicle Lloyds is benefiting from a lack of emerging markets exposure, and continues to build a simple, UK-focused retail bank. Underlying profits (excluding PPI payments) have increased 5% and the dividend has been hiked. Buy. 73.49p. Regus The Times Regus has increased its global network of serviced offices by 22%, with 554 new locations and another 300 planned. The roll-out is a strong basis for further growth: the group’s mature properties deliver a 23% return. Buy. 296p. SSP Group Investors Chronicle SSP operates food-to-go…

In March 1946, scientists recorded the birth of almost every British baby born in one, cold week. They have been following thousands of them ever since, in what has become the longest-running major study of human development in the world. These people – who are now turning 70 − are some of the best-studied people on the planet. And the analysis of them was so successful that researchers repeated the exercise, starting to follow thousands of babies born in 1958, 1970, the early 1990s or at the turn of the millennium. Altogether, more than 70,000 people across five generations have been enrolled in these “birth cohort” studies. No other country in the world is tracking generations of people in quite this way: the studies have become the envy of scientists…

When a canny chancellor wants to make the kind of tough, controversial decisions that will shape politics for years to come, he usually does so in the spring Budget after a general election, says Steve Richards in The Independent. But that – you can be sure – is not how George Osborne is going to play it next week. With the referendum looming, this Budget is, for the Chancellor, almost like a pre-election Budget: he’ll do anything possible not to alienate key voters. So motorists are likely to be spared a hike in fuel duty; and as for his radical pension reforms, they’re off the agenda. His eye is not so much on the referendum, though, as on the Tory leadership contest that could follow it, said Tory MP Nadine…

Detroit, Michigan Sanders victory: Bernie Sanders scored his biggest win of the Democrat race this week, when he defeated Hillary Clinton in the Michigan primary. The left-winger had been trailing by some 25 points in the polls, but in the event, he won with a margin of about two points. His opposition to free trade deals, in a state hit hard by the decline in manufacturing, clearly helped his cause; he is also thought to have won some African American voters away from the Clinton camp. However, she still ended the night ahead, with a decisive victory in Mississippi – where she won enormous support from African Americans. In the Republican race, Donald Trump solidified his position as front runner by taking Michigan, Mississippi and Hawaii; Ted Cruz won Idaho…

A 61-year-old academic at Manchester University has admitted he has an alter ego – a porn star known as Old Nick. Although he has now decided to quit the industry, Oxford-educated chemical engineer Nicholas Goddard has starred in scores of X-rated movies over the past decade. The divorced father of three told The Sun he saw nothing wrong with adults watching porn films, but said starring in them wasn’t a great way to make a living. “I don’t get paid much, mainly travel expenses.” A pair of doppelgängers from opposite sides of the world have met for the first time – and even their boyfriends struggled to tell them apart. Maddy Renslow, from Washington in the US, and Amber Eckart, from Perth, Australia, found each other on the website TwinStrangers.com,…

Some 55 years ago, renowned primatologist Jane Goodall discovered that chimpanzees are capable of making tools. Now, scientists think they may have found something even more unexpected – that chimps engage in ritual. Researchers studying the creatures in the forests of the Republic of Guinea noticed odd marks on the base of a tree, so they set up an unmanned camera. Resulting footage showed male chimps picking up small rocks and hurling them at the tree’s base – and, less frequently, placing them in between large roots, creating what resembled a cairn. It was this second aspect that intrigued the researchers: the rock flinging could be a way for chimps to assert their dominance, but the cairn building served no obvious practical use. “Marking pathways and territories with signposts such…

There’s nothing the modern mob enjoys more than throwing stones at a “dirty nonce”, said Katie Hopkins in the Daily Mail. Hence the gleeful opprobrium that was heaped on Adam Johnson last week, after he was convicted of sexual activity with a minor. The judge at Bradford Crown Court told Johnson, 28, to expect a “substantial prison sentence”, and sent him home to say goodbye to his baby daughter. The Sunderland midfielder – who until four weeks ago earned £60,000 a week – has lost his job, his girlfriend and his freedom. And for what? A kiss and a grope with a 15-year-old girl that has been over-dramatised into claims of child abuse. His supposed “victim” was no innocent child but a “hormonal teen” who pursued him relentlessly. Having managed…

“Boo! Chizz!! Frantic news!!!” said Jane Shilling in The Daily Telegraph. The Department for Education (DfE) has launched a clampdown on exclamation marks. Teachers have been told that, in this summer’s grammar tests for seven-year-olds, sentences ending in exclamation marks will only be judged correct if they begin with “how” or “what”. Here are two that would pass the test, said Sam Leith in the London Evening Standard: “How ignorant education ministers are!” and “What absurd advice!” The English literary canon – from Beowulf to P.G. Wodehouse – is stuffed with exclamation marks used in other ways, to indicate desire, despair, alarm, instruction and “general all-purpose shouting”. In everyday language, too, there are any number of sentences not beginning with “how” or “what” that might require an exclamation mark. “Consider:…

The “Bradley Wiggins farewell tour” arrived at the Lee Valley VeloPark last weekend, where the 35-year-old cyclist was reunited with Mark Cavendish, the greatest road sprinter of all time. Eight years after their first world title in the Madison relay format, the pair were hoping to repeat their feat. When Cavendish crashed, 11 laps from the end, their lead seemed briefly to be “in jeopardy”, said William Fotheringham in The Guardian – but the Manxman was quickly back on his bike, and the duo (pictured) crossed the line to the tune of the Thin Lizzy hit The Boys are Back in Town. Their gold was Britain’s fifth of the week, putting the team top of the medals table. At the Olympics in Brazil this summer, Wiggins will try to cap…

Theatre Don Quixote Playwright: Miguel de Cervantes Director: Angus Jackson RSC, Swan Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon (01789-403493) Until 21 May Running time: 2hrs 40mins (including interval) It’s “quatercentenary a-go-go” in Stratford this spring, said Michael Coveney on WhatsOnStage.com. The RSC has honoured Cervantes – who, like Shakespeare, died in April 1616 – with an adaptation of his sprawling masterpiece Don Quixote. And they have made the most stunning job of it. James Fenton’s “gorgeous and lyrical” script, and Angus Jackson’s inventive direction, have “brilliantly energised” an epic novel that has “no plot and too much philosophising”. Full of playful touches and irreverent wit, this is one of the most “seriously enjoyable evenings” at the RSC for a long time, with “some wheezily Hispanic songs” (music by Grant Olding); a pair of knackered,…

Modern culture is “intoxicated” by Botticelli (1455-1510), said Jonathan Jones in The Guardian. The Renaissance master’s great painting The Birth of Venus is one of the most widely reproduced images in the world: go to Florence, the city of his birth, and you’ll find it printed on “keyrings, bags, statuettes, notebooks and kitchen aprons galore”. Museums are hypocritical. “They are happy to sell the tourist tat, but when it comes to curating Renaissance art, they affect a remote scholarly dignity.” By contrast, this fascinating new exhibition at the V&A “embraces the tackiness” of the souvenirs and pop culture reproductions. A “mad mix” of old and new, it consists of more than 50 works by Sandro Botticelli and his workshop, along with pieces by the various artists and designers who have…

The Reckoning: The Murder of Christopher Marlowe by Charles Nicholl, 1992 (Vintage £11.99). Nicholl not only recreates the Elizabethan underworld in all its seediness but also investigates the young playwright’s murder with the pace of a mystery novelist. He doesn’t quite convince me, but his book should be compulsory reading for popular historians. They Called It Passchendaele by Lyn Macdonald, 1978 (Penguin £9.99). Books like this transcend ordinary literature and provide a service to humanity. Macdonald has collected the stories of the men who fought in WWI. It’s humanity in the raw and it’s not all bleak. In Search of the Trojan War by Michael Wood, 1985 (BBC £8.99). In children’s nonfiction books, it’s not enough to inform the readers, you have to engage them. Wood is an engaging writer…

Programmes Behind Closed Doors With unprecedented access to a specialist Thames Valley Police team, this documentary – shot over 12 months – follows three victims of domestic violence, to show the terrifying nature of the crime, and the complexity of prosecuting its perpetrators. Mon 14 Mar, BBC1 9pm (60mins). Art of Scandinavia Andrew Graham-Dixon explores the history of Scandinavia through its art. Mon 14 Mar, BBC4 9pm (60mins). Inside Obama’s White House: 100 Days A fourpart series looking at Obama’s successes and failures in office, made with full access to his inner circle. Tue 15 Mar, BBC2 9pm (60mins). Brendan O’Carroll: My Family at War To mark the centenary of the Easter Rising, actor Brendan O’Carroll looks at how Irish Republicans – his uncles among them – held off British…

Wilted spinach and lettuce Serves 2-4 grapeseed oil or melted coconut oil 1 large shallot, finely chopped 2 little gem lettuces, trimmed (leave the core intact), quartered lengthways 1 large, or 2 small, garlic cloves, finely chopped 200-250g baby leaf spinach For the dressing: 1 tsp traditionally fermented soy sauce, tamari or shoyu 1 tsp umeboshi vinegar (also known as umeboshi seasoning) or brown rice vinegar 1 tsp untoasted (virgin) sesame oil 1 tsbp white and black sesame seeds, lightly toasted in a dry frying pan until the white ones are golden ½ tsp honey pinch of kombu (kelp) flakes (optional) ½ tsp ground Sichuan pepper 1 tsp freshly ground nutmeg grated zest of 1 tangerine • Make the dressing by combining all the ingredients in a jar; shake well…

Auto Express We’ve never been big fans of the Prius. Though the hybrids have been popular with “environmentally conscious celebs” and minicab drivers, none of the previous models have been much fun to drive. However, this all-new, fourth-generation Prius promises to be different: the engine, battery, electric motor and gearbox have all been revised, and it’s even more eco-friendly than previous models, too. The Daily Telegraph This is the “best-looking Prius ever”. Longer and wider than before, it still appears a bit odd – with weird rear wings and a “snouty” front – but it’s attractive nonetheless. The interior is a tad “gimmicky”. It looks like a 1960s idea of the future, and some of the materials feel cheap. But the seats are more comfortable than in previous models, and…

Wild Canada, Hollywood style Situated on the west coast of Canada’s Vancouver Island (“Next stop, Japan”), the tiny town of Tofino is where Hollywood stars filming in Vancouver (five hours away by road and sea) go to relax. Set on a peninsular in the Pacific Rim National Park Reserve – famous for the wild beauty of its lakes, ancient forest and rugged coast – the town offers a unique blend of comfort and wilderness, says Bryan Appleyard in The Sunday Times. There are some lovely places to stay – including the five-star Wickaninnish Inn, and the “warm, wooden, very Canadian” Middle Beach Lodge, and several sensational restaurants. During the day, you can walk along the “dramatic” shoreline, or watch whales from an inflatable Zodiac; you might spot black bears, too,…

Schroders: unrepentant sinner You might expect Schroders to abide by the standards it expects from the kind of bluechip companies it invests in, said Nils Pratley in The Guardian. But in promoting its £8m-a-year chief executive, Michael Dobson, to chairman, the “grand old City firm” has broken a cardinal rule of the UK code of corporate governance: that aside from in exceptional circumstances, a chief executive should not become chairman of the same company. There’s no question that Dobson has had a “terrific 14-year innings” – a fund house that made a loss in 2001 now makes profits of £600m. But there’s a reason for the code: it’s there to prevent one individual from ending up with “too much power”. “Schroders is not a conventional FTSE 100 company,” said Alistair…

Carney had a right to speak his mind… Nils Pratley The Guardian Mark Carney has enraged pro-Brexit MPs by calling a transition out of the EU “the biggest domestic risk to financial stability”, says Nils Pratley. But has he really jeopardised the Old Lady of Threadneedle Street’s reputation for “Olympian detachment”, as MP Jacob Rees-Mogg suggested? Carney’s delivery might have been better, but accusations of toeing the Downing Street line are wide of the mark: he was “well within neutral territory” when he outlined the short-term risks. Half the Leave camp concedes that exit could be “bumpy in the short term” – a price worth paying, they say, if “the bumps will lead to greater long-term prosperity”. The truth is that no one knows how the markets would react to…

This week’s crossword winner will receive an Ettinger (www.ettinger.co.uk) Brogue Collection coin purse in black, which retails at £150, and two Connell Guides (www.connellguides.com). ACROSS 1 A head of College praises inspiring quiet achievements (15) 9 Unremarkable month in Alpine resort (5-4) 10 US state capital about to sack bishop is wrong (3,2) 11 Prying? Certainly, on looking back (5) 12 Corbyn’s group getting on working party (3,6) 13 Emergency transport provided in rearranged trial (7) 15 Checks on popular vice (5,2) 17 No conclusion from the French interrupting last head of state (7) 19 Shoot if criminal goes on foot (5,2) 20 Chief financial backer in Russian port (9) 21 Full beer bottles head of government returned (5) 23 After beginning with batter, I love flipping pancake (5) 24…