Innholdsfortegnelse for V. 1083 i The Week

What happened Erdogan’s ruthless purge Turkey’s authoritarian president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, mounted a sweeping purge of state officials this week after heading off an attempted coup. More than 6,000 soldiers were arrested, along with more than 100 generals and admirals – just under a third of the military high command. The authorities have also sacked or suspended tens of thousands of police officers, judges, teachers, university deans and civil servants. The abortive coup began on Friday night, when an army faction commandeered tanks, jets and helicopters, strafed the Turkish parliament in Ankara and seized the main airport and bridges in Istanbul. But the takeover crumbled within hours after Erdogan called on followers to take to the streets. Around 265 people were killed in clashes. Western leaders condemned the failed putsch,…

Trident gets green light MPs have overwhelmingly voted to renew the Trident nuclear deterrent, meaning the renewal will now go ahead (see page 11). Following a heated debate, the motion was passed by 472 votes to 117. Jeremy Corbyn, a long-standing campaigner for nuclear disarmament, opposed the motion, but Labour MPs were given a free vote; 140 backed renewal and 47 opposed it. All 54 SNP MPs voted against renewal, as did one Tory. Making her first Commons appearance since becoming PM, Theresa May said she would be prepared to press the nuclear button, even if it meant hundreds of thousands of people died. Brexit legal challenge The High Court has heard details of the first legal challenge over Brexit. Senior judges heard that a judicial review application has been…

The untraumatised victim Lyle Zimmerman is extraordinarily cheerful for a man who almost had his head cut off last December. The American-born scientist and musician had just got off the Tube at Leytonstone station in east London when a stranger jumped on him from behind, kicked him unconscious and then tried to saw his head off with a bread knife while shouting: “This is for Syria, my Muslim brothers… all your blood will be spilled.” Miraculously, the knife broke just before it reached Zimmerman’s windpipe. His assailant, Muhiddin Mire, was found guilty of attempted murder last month, and is now awaiting sentencing. Zimmerman, 56, bears him no ill will. “I just think he’s a really unwell guy,” he told Simon Usborne in The Guardian. “I’ll be very disappointed if he…

In one of her first acts as the new Prime Minister, Theresa May will have been “indoctrinated” about Britain’s nuclear plans by the Chief of the Defence Staff, General Sir Nicholas Houghton. If past practice is observed, said The Guardian, she will by now have issued her orders to her nuclear submarine commanders in the form of handwritten letters, to be placed in a safe aboard each of the four Vanguard subs. They will outline her orders to be followed in the event of her being killed or rendered uncontactable by a surprise nuclear attack. The options are said to include: “retaliate”, “put yourself under the command of the US, if it is still there”, “use your own judgement”, and “go to Australia”. According to the historian Lord Hennessy: “The…

Be honest: globalisation hurts people Lawrence Summers The Washington Post People everywhere are revolting against globalisation – and they must be listened to, says Lawrence Summers, the former US treasury secretary. The Brexit vote and the rise of Donald Trump are clear signs that anger over open trade and immigration is growing; so is the fact that candidates as varied as Trump, Clinton and Sanders all took stances against the Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement. Yes, as economists tell us, trade agreements and immigration do help the economy overall, but “the most extravagant predicted benefits have not materialised”. We’re too slow to acknowledge that millions have been hurt by competition from abroad. Elected leaders now need to embrace the idea that the fundamental responsibility of government “is to maximise the welfare of…

A London hospital was forced to close its intensive care unit for almost two weeks last month after patients became infected with a relatively new deadly superbug, it has emerged. Candida auris – a variant of thrush – was first identified in Japan in 2009, and has since spread to countries including South Africa, India, Colombia and South Korea. Most likely to prey on those with weakened immune systems, it is especially virulent in hospitals. The bug cannot easily be detected, and has shown resistance to the most common anti-fungal drugs. However, the more resistant strains have not yet been detected in the UK. Overall, an estimated 60% of patients infected have died, although since many were already seriously ill, it isn’t clear whether the bug was responsible. At London’s…

Until the morning of 24 June, David Cameron thought he would have another two years in which to secure his “legacy”. Even after the referendum result came through, he assumed he would at least have the summer to tie up loose ends. Instead, the removal van drew up at the back of Downing Street last Tuesday morning, and just like that, the Cameron era came to an end. It wasn’t the exit he wanted, said the Daily Mail – but as he drove away, he could afford a sense of pride. In 2005, he had taken over a party that was deep in the doldrums, having just suffered its third election defeat. He didn’t have much support among MPs, yet the confident, engaging young leader, the “heir to Blair”, did…

The greatest doping scandal in history Doping scandals are nothing new, said Martha Kelner in the Daily Mail. Think of East Germany’s notorious State Plan 14.25; think of Ben Johnson, Lance Armstrong. Yet even those disgraces pale beside Russia’s doping programme. We already had some idea of its grip on Russian athletics; but it was only this week, with the publication of a World Anti-Doping Agency (Wada) report, that we discovered state-sponsored cheating has “touched every corner of Russian sport”. Between 2012 and 2015, Russian officials covered up 312 positive drug tests in 28 Olympic and Paralympic sports; its athletes even tested positive in sailing and table tennis. So shocking are the revelations that the International Olympic Committee (IOC) is considering a blanket ban, which would rule all Russian competitors…

To The Guardian Donald Tusk is setting what he considers “tough terms” for us walking away from the EU. He says if we wish to trade with the EU then we must accept “free movement of people”, the very thing that caused many people to vote Leave. It would do no harm to mention to Mr Tusk that, while access to the Single Market is desirable, it is not essential for the UK. On the other hand, EU access to British markets is a virtual necessity. Outside the EU we have nearly 200 other nations with which we can trade, and many of them have already said they want deals and terms with us – terms that will not include unlimited immigration as part of the deal. Meanwhile, trade goes…

The Allegations Picador 464pp £16.99 The Week Bookshop £14.99 Mark Lawson’s The Allegations is an “act of revenge through satire”, said Andrew Billen in The Times. In 2014, Lawson resigned from his job presenting BBC Radio 4’s Front Row after he was accused of bullying. The novel he has now produced focuses on two professors at the “University of Middle England”, both of whom see their careers jeopardised by dubious charges – in one case, of sexual abuse; in the other, of bullying and insubordination. Lawson’s satirical skills remain as sharp as ever, but the novel is let down by its refusal to admit even the possibility that the two professors are “guilty of anything greater than being products of their time”. Lawson has a “great ear” for jargon, and…

The Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov, 1966 (Vintage £7.99). Maddening, perplexing, a book you might throw across the room. But you keep reading because it’s too funny, too absurd, too much like real life even with a gun-toting, talking cat. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen, 1813 (Penguin £4.99). Because nobody has ever been sharper with irony, slyer with character, and more humane with inhumane characters. Emma is Austen’s most fully realised novel, but Pride and Prejudice is the one I reread. Shame by Salman Rushdie, 1983 (Vintage £8.99). Writers know: there’s the novel in your head, and the novel you think the public wants to read. Kafka gave Márquez permission to write the former. Rushdie gave me permission with this book. Dogeaters by Jessica Hagedorn, 1990 (Penguin £12).…

Programmes Keith Richards – The Origin of the Species Julien Temple explores the hard-living Rolling Stone’s formative years in postwar London. Sat 23 July, BBC2 9pm (60mins). Saddam Goes to Hollywood The former Iraqi leader spent millions bankrolling a movie about the birth of modern Iraq. Unfortunately, its star, Oliver Reed, wreaked havoc; and filming coincided with the start of the Iran-Iraq war. Here cast and crew talk about the film, recently found hidden in a garage in Surrey. Sun 24 July, C4 8pm (60mins). Arena: 1966 – 50 Years Ago Today Based on Jon Savage’s book 1966, this film explores how one pivotal year changed British culture. Sun 24 July, BBC4 10pm (60mins). How School Bosses Spend Your Millions The Dispatches team investigates the financing of the UK’s much-vaunted…

Bengal baked curd with tamarind berries Serves 4 250ml Greek yoghurt 200ml condensed milk 150ml double cream 50g ground almonds 10g unsalted butter sugar 300g mixed berries (e.g. raspberries, blueberries and strawberries) 1 tsp tamarind paste (or to taste) • Preheat the oven to 150°C. Pour the yoghurt, milk and cream into a bowl and whisk until fully mixed, then divide between 4 ramekins. • Place the ramekins in a roasting tray and pour just-boiled water around them to two-thirds up their sides. Bake for 25 minutes, then remove, leave to cool, and refrigerate for about 2 hours, until set. • When set, put the almonds, butter and 1½ tsp of sugar in a nonstick pan over a medium heat. Stir for about 2 minutes, until the almonds start to…

Relax in Suffolk Orchard Lodge, a beautifully presented cottage in Old Newton, offers a week’s stay for 4 from £574 (saving £101) until the end of August. 0333-202 0899, www.cottageholidays.co.uk. Pamper yourself in Surrey Enjoy a luxurious break at Foxhills Club and Resort. An overnight stay from £310 includes breakfast, dinner and a choice of spa treatment or a round of golf. 01932-704480, www.foxhills.co.uk. Baltics and St Petersburg A 12-night cruise aboard the CMV Magellan – sailing from Tilbury to St Petersburg, Tallinn and Helsinki – costs from £699pp full board. 020-3696 9451, www.iglucruise.com. Depart 15 August. Stunning Slovenia Get back to nature at Triglav National Park during a 7-night stay at the 4-star Hotel Jezero. From £499pp half board, including Edinburgh flights. 01483-791116, www.inghams.co.uk. Depart 20 August.…

The IMF cut its growth forecasts for the UK and the global economy following the Brexit vote, saying there would be a “substantial increase in economic, political and institutional uncertainty”, especially in Europe. The Bank of England signalled it will be announcing stimulus measures next month, though an outgoing member of its Monetary Policy Committee, Martin Weale, urged the Bank to wait for more evidence about the impact of the Brexit vote before cutting rates. Theresa May said that as part of her Government’s new “industrial strategy”, all foreign takeovers of UK companies will be scrutinised to check they’re in the national interest. The pledge coincided with controversy over the proposed sale of Arm Holdings to SoftBank of Japan. May’s plan to make shareholder votes on executive pay binding, rather…

What has happened? SoftBank, the acquisitions-hungry Japanese telecoms group, has agreed a £24.3bn deal to buy Arm Holdings, the undisputed jewel in the crown of UK tech. Cambridge-based Arm, which was founded 25 years ago and employs 4,000 people, is a major global leader in the design of computer chips, licensing its technology to the likes of Apple and Samsung, and ultimately powering more than 95% of the world’s smartphones. The deal, which values Arm at a 43% premium to its pre-bid share price, is the largest ever acquisition of a European technology business. Is this related to sterling’s Brexit slide? SoftBank chief Masayoshi Son says not. Certainly, the sharp drop in sterling since the Brexit vote has made it cheaper for foreign buyers to acquire UK firms. In the…

Who’s tipping what The week’s best buys Amino Technologies Investors Chronicle The video-streaming technology specialist’s acquisitions have underpinned a rally following its October profit warning. An influx of new orders has improved revenue visibility, and there’s a strong prospective yield of 5.4%. Buy. 112p. Begbies Traynor Group The Daily Telegraph The insolvency specialist has offset a drop in revenues with one-off consultancy fees, cost savings and acquisitions. It is well-placed to pounce as Brexit clouds gather over the business world. Buy. 47.5p. Experian The Daily Telegraph The data analytics and credit services specialist is cash generative, with a solid record of share growth and dividend returns. The firm is innovative and expanding into related areas, including healthcare and fraud. Buy. £14.59. Joules Shares This high-growth premium lifestyle brand is rapidly…

France was left reeling last week after a third Islamist-inspired mass killing in 18 months left 84 people dead and more than 200 injured. The victims were mown down by a truck on the seafront in Nice, where they had gathered for a fireworks display to mark Bastille Day. The driver zigzagged through the dense crowd on the Promenade des Anglais for more than a mile before he was finally killed in a shootout with police. Isis later claimed responsibility for the massacre. The killer was identified as Tunisian-born Mohamed Lahouaiej Bouhlel, a petty criminal described by detectives as an “ultra-violent sadist”. Until recently, police said, he had shown no interest in Islam, drinking alcohol, taking drugs and engaging in “unbridled sexual activity” with both men and women. But a…

Würzburg, Germany Axe attack: An Afghan teenager who launched an axe and knife attack on a train in Bavaria on Monday is reported to have earlier made a video in which he called himself a “soldier of the caliphate”, and said he was preparing for a suicide mission. The 17-year-old asylum seeker (pictured) shouted Allahu Akbar – God is great – during his attack, in which four tourists were injured. A home-made Isis flag was later found in his room. The teen – who was shot dead by police – arrived in Germany at least a year ago, and had recently moved in with a foster family near Würzburg. Prosecutors say he had just learned of a friend’s death in Afghanistan, and wanted vengeance against “infidels”. Berlin Genocide admission: Germany…

1 Master Blaster (Jammin’), written and performed by Stevie Wonder 2 War by Alan Cole and Carlton Barrett, performed by Bob Marley and the Wailers 3* Walk On By by Burt Bacharach and Hal David, performed by Dionne Warwick 4 Many Rivers to Cross, written and performed by Jimmy Cliff 5 Respect by Otis Redding, performed by Aretha Franklin 6 Declaration of Rights by Bernard Collins, performed by The Abyssinians 7 Single Ladies (Put a Ring On It) by Christopher Stewart, Terius Nash, Thaddis Harrell and Beyoncé Knowles, performed by Beyoncé 8 Hello Mama Africa, written and performed by Garnett Silk Book: Long Walk to Freedom by Nelson Mandela Luxury: A guitar * Choice if allowed only one record…

Democrats can’t just eat jelly babies Rosemary Goring The Herald (Glasgow) Like Owen Smith, I “deeply regret and even resent the future” to which the Brexit vote has consigned us, says Rosemary Goring. But I also think that his pledge, should he become Labour leader, to push for another referendum once the outline of a deal with the EU is agreed, is “staggeringly” misguided. Smith and his fellow Leave deniers seem to feel that as millions of voters have taken an “ill-informed and reckless” decision, “proper grown-ups” should have the chance to revoke it. Doesn’t he realise that a big chunk of Labour’s prime constituency voted Leave? And doesn’t he see that a democratically elected politician simply can’t afford to suggest that 17.4 million legally cast votes should be negated…

Thumb-sucking cuts allergy risk Children who suck their thumbs – or bite their nails – are less likely to suffer from common allergies later in life, scientists have found. When researchers analysed data from a New Zealand longitudinal study of 1,037 people born in the early 1970s, they discovered a link between “frequent” childhood thumb-sucking or nail-biting and a reduced risk of “atopic sensitisation” – sensitivity to common allergens such as dust mites, cats, dogs, horses and mould – when older. Moreover, children who had both habits were less at risk of developing allergies than those with only one. The findings lend credence to the “hygiene hypothesis”, which holds that exposure to potentially harmful bacteria strengthens children’s immune systems – and that it’s our overzealous attitude to germs that lies…

What was Theresa May thinking? That’s the question many people asked last week when they heard that she had appointed Boris Johnson, a man known for his diplomatic gaffes, as Britain’s new Foreign Secretary, said Alex Dean in Prospect. Johnson’s French counterpart described him as a “liar with his back to the wall”, while the former prime minister of Sweden tweeted: “I wish it was a joke.” A Labour MP called Johnson’s promotion “the most remarkable appointment since Caligula made his horse a senator”. But from May’s point of view, this move does make sense. The last thing she needed was to have her leadership rival Johnson languishing on the backbenches, free to criticise her government’s response to Brexit and to stir up mischief with his Daily Telegraph column. Now,…

“Lord’s has seen its share of dramatic matches,” said Mike Selvey in The Guardian. But few have been as nail-biting as Pakistan’s historic Test win over England. The hosts “battled throughout”, but were still “throttled”, falling 75 runs short. Led by the “masterful” Misbah-ul-Haq, Pakistan have long been stereotyped as lazy. But they prepared for this tour at a ten-day boot camp with Pakistani soldiers, and all that work paid off, particularly for the bowlers – Yasir Shah became the first Asian bowler to take ten wickets at Lord’s. With an astonishing 11 wickets, England’s Chris Woakes outdid Yasir, said Lawrence Booth in The Mail on Sunday. He was handy with the bat, too, making a stand of 56 with Jonny Bairstow. If only their teammates had been as tenacious,…

Franz Liszt The Week Bookshop £22.50 (incl. p&p) Beautiful, debonair and “unstoppably priapic”, Franz Liszt was the most glamorous and charismatic of the great composers, said Rupert Christiansen in the Literary Review. Born in Hungary in 1811, he became famous as a piano prodigy while still in his teens; a brilliant improviser and “unabashed” showman, he drew huge crowds – which led to the coining of the term “Lisztomania”. Yet Liszt was always ambivalent about his career as what he called a “performing dog”, and when his bookkeeper father – who’d pressured him into becoming a recitalist – died in 1827, he gave up touring and moved to Paris. There he became a prolific womaniser, taking up with a string of (generally married) aristocrats. One union, with Countess Marie d’Agoult,…

Musical Into the Woods Music and lyrics: Stephen Sondheim Book: James Lapine Directors: Noah Brody and Ben Steinfeld Menier Chocolate Factory, London SE1 (020-7378 1713) Until 17 September Running time: 2hrs 40mins (including interval) “These days in Theatreland you often feel as if you cannot see the woods for, well, the Woods,” said Ann Treneman in The Times. This much-loved show, which intertwines four fairy tales into a musical morality play for grown-ups, enjoyed a revival in Manchester last Christmas. A hip-hop dance reworking, Into the Hoods, has been touring to great acclaim. Another production has only recently finished playing in Leeds. And, of course, there was the lavish 2014 Disney film. “It’s not hard to conclude that the Woods are a little overcrowded.” And you may well wonder whether…

Beatrix Potter at Dreweatts & Bloomsbury Strange though it seems, few authors have penetrated a nation’s psyche quite like Beatrix Potter. Even today, few children in Britain can be unfamiliar with the 24 fablelike children’s stories she wrote and illustrated between 1902 and 1930; and the anthropomorphic characters within – Pigling Bland, Squirrel Nutkin, Mrs Tittlemouse – could well lay claim to being among the most famous literary creations of all time. This forthcoming auction of John Cawood’s collection of Potter ephemera takes in more than 100 items, from the author’s sketches and watercolours to one of only 250 copies of the first edition of her debut book, The Tale of Peter Rabbit. Perhaps most enticing, though, are the more personal lots. A Christmas card depicting two mice sheltering in…

Showing now Terence Donovan: Speed of Light at The Photographers’ Gallery, London W1 (020-7087 9300). Overdue retrospective of the acclaimed British photographer who, in his 40-year career, captured everyone from Roald Dahl to Jimi Hendrix. “Brilliant, mercurial and never for an instant dull” (Telegraph). Ends 25 September. Book now Patrick Marber directs Tom Stoppard’s 1974 comedy Travesties. Tom Hollander plays British diplomat Henry Carr, who reminisces about his encounters with Joyce, Lenin and Tristan Tzara while posted in Zurich in 1917. 22 September-19 November, Menier Chocolate Factory, London SE1 (020-7738 1713). Pianist Murray Perahia performs a cycle of Beethoven’s piano concertos in the series Perahia Plays Beethoven. 21 November, then 20 February, 7 April and 11 June 2017, Barbican, London EC2 (020-7638 8891). Matthew Bourne brings Powell and Pressburger’s classic…

The Rías Baixas region of Galicia, on Spain’s Atlantic northwest coast, remains the place where most albariño is made. For a budget buy, Aldi’s The Exquisite Collection Rías Baixas Albariño 2015 (£5.29) captures the grape’s characteristic crispness well. If you’ve got a little more to spend, I’d go for Majestic’s Martin Codax Caixas Albariño 2015 (£8.99), or Sainsbury’s Taste the Difference Albariño 2015 (£8). Or best of all, Wine Rack’s Pagos del Rey Pulpo Albariño, Rías Baixas, 2014 (£9.99) has a bit more floral subtlety and peachy charm. While under-£10 albariños can be very good, it does also reach into fine wine territory. The original and still best producer of the wine, Palacio de Fefiñanes, shows the way. Its Albariño, Rías Baixas, 2015 (£15.99, Waitrose) plays up the mineral-saltiness and…

The Lanesborough, London SW1 Built as St George’s Hospital in 1827, and reopened as a hotel in the 1990s, The Lanesborough emerged from an £80m revamp last year feeling more like a “spectacular” Regency country house, says Condé Nast Traveller. There’s gold leaf everywhere, Reynolds originals on the walls, “gizmos galore” – and the rates reflect this “unrepentant excess” (the Royal Suite costs £26,000 a night). But there’s also continuity: the “beloved” Library Bar and cigar terrace are “still there, and still superb”. The service is excellent, with butlers for all, and the restaurant, Céleste, is one of London’s “loveliest” dining rooms. Doubles from £720. 020-7259 5599, www.lanesborough.com.…

War reporter whose writing inspired The Killing Fields Sydney Schanberg 1934-2016 In 1975, as the guerrilla forces of the Khmer Rouge approached Phnom Penh, Western journalists and diplomats fled the city. The New York Times issued successive orders that its reporters should join the exodus. But Sydney Schanberg, who has died aged 82, and his assistant, Dith Pran, refused to go. In two years of reporting the brutalities of the civil war, the two had formed a close personal and professional bond; and they were determined to remain in Phnom Penh, to witness its bloody fall. But while Schanberg was subsequently able to get back to the US, Dith was caught up in the genocidal horror that followed. Years later, Schanberg would write their story, which in turn inspired the…

I do feel sorry for George Osborne, said David Smith in The Sunday Times. He was never in favour of an EU referendum: no sane chancellor would have taken the risk. Yet while Cameron left office with applause from MPs ringing in his ears, Osborne slipped out the back door of Downing Street – surplus to requirements. His tweeted self-evaluation, that he left the economy in a better state than he found it, is broadly accurate. The recovery is the strongest in the G7; employment rose to record levels; inequality levels have fallen (“not that you would notice from the general debate”). And the budget deficit is down from 10% to 4% of GDP – a steadying of the public finances, though a long way from “job done”. Osborne also…

The two faces of globalisation Philip Aldrick The Times It is an article of faith for laissez-faire free traders – “globalisation warriors” – that they are acting in the interests of the poor and downtrodden; that openness and competition boost productivity and bring prosperity for all. But the vote for Brexit is part of a growing global backlash against such complacency, says Philip Aldrick. Arguments for globalisation tend to be “big picture” – but the devil is in the detail. For example, UK national output (GDP) is up 7% since the financial crisis, but per person (high net immigration means there’s a lot more of us) it’s up a meagre 0.3%. And net national disposable income has actually fallen, by 3.1%. Carlos Fuentes, the late Mexican novelist, once compared globalisation…

It is “a measure of the drama of recent political events” that this week’s disturbances inside the Labour Party hardly caused a stir, said The Daily Telegraph. “At any other time, the misadventures of the Opposition might be a matter of national fascination and even horror.” On Monday, party leader Jeremy Corbyn voted against the renewal of Trident – “in direct contradiction” of Labour policy – while the 140 Labour MPs who toed the party line were “viciously abused by Mr Corbyn’s cult-like followers”. Last month, 172 of the party’s 230 MPs backed a motion of no confidence in Corbyn. Yet attempts at regicide “have so far been unimpressive”. Challengers Angela Eagle and Owen Smith “engaged in a Byzantine tussle”, before Eagle stepped aside this week because Smith had more…

Cleveland, Ohio Trump nominated: Donald Trump secured the Republican presidential nomination on Tuesday, at one of the party’s strangest conventions in recent memory. The gathering in Cleveland was notable in part for the high-profile figures who were absent: none of the Bush clan was there, nor was the Ohio governor, John Kasich. And many of those who had turned up seemed to have done so not to show their support for Trump, but to warn Republicans that the alternative to uniting behind the billionaire – Hillary Clinton being elected president – would be a worse fate. Then when Trump secured his coronation, the news was largely overshadowed by a controversy surrounding his wife Melania’s speech: critics noted that large swathes of it seemed to have been copied, almost word for…

A 91-year-old visitor to a gallery in Germany was questioned by police last week after filling in a crossword that was actually an artwork worth some £67,000. The 1965 piece, by the avant-garde artist Arthur Köpcke, features a partially completed puzzle and the phrase “insert words”. Taking this as an instruction, the woman got out a ballpoint pen and did exactly that. The Neues Museum in Nuremberg reported the incident to the police for “insurance reasons” – but said they knew the woman hadn’t meant “any harm”, and didn’t want her to have “sleepless nights” about it. A man who was stopped at Stansted Airport with what looked like a handgun stuck in his back pocket has been ticked off for being an idiot – and told he was lucky…

EUROPEAN UNION A “disastrous symbol” of EU corruption Libération (Paris) It’s no surprise to see an EU panjandrum cashing in after retirement, says Jean Quatremer, but it’s “shocking” nonetheless. The Portuguese politician José Manuel Barroso, who retired as president of the EU Commission almost two years ago, is now joining Goldman Sachs in London, advising it on how to “limit the negative effects of Brexit”. Goldman Sachs is one of the investment banks most to blame for the dodgy loans that caused the financial crisis of 2007-08. It also contributed to the collapse in Greece, which would never have been able to join the euro if the bank hadn’t helped hide the true extent of Greek debt from EU auditors. For a Commission president to join such an outfit is…

Bronze Age Britons seem to have had a penchant for “exquisite” clothing, and may have worn the kind of long flowing robes more normally associated with Ancient Rome, according to archaeologists working at the Must Farm site in Cambridgeshire. They have uncovered 100 fragments of textile, unspun processed fibre and yarn that include some of the most finely made textiles ever found in Europe: some of the threads are just one-tenth of a millimetre in diameter, and some of the textiles are so finely woven that they have just 28 threads per centimetre – fine even by modern standards. There’s also evidence the fabric (mostly linen) was folded, in up to ten layers, suggesting it could once have formed part of large capes or cloaks. Five circular houses have been…

At the age of 72, and already a great-grandfather, Mick Jagger is to become a father again. The Rolling Stone and his girlfriend, 29-year-old American ballerina Melanie Hamrick – who have been dating since 2014 – were described by a source as “surprised and happy” about their baby’s impending arrival. Jagger has plenty of experience of parenthood: he has seven children, aged 17 to 45, by four mothers. However, he is not expected to be very hands-on with the latest addition to his brood, as Hamrick plans to live near her family in the US, while Jagger is mainly based in London. The French have been outraged, and bemused, by the revelation that their balding president – a man known as Mr Normal – employs a fulltime hairdresser. The coiffeur…

“The battle of the generations is one you get to fight on both sides.” An old French saying, quoted in a letter to The Times “The most important quality in a leader is that of being acknowledged as such.” André Maurois, quoted on The Browser “An ambassador is an honest man sent to lie abroad for the good of his country.” Sir Henry Wotton, quoted in a letter to The Guardian “An expert is a man who has made all the mistakes that can be made in a very narrow field.” Niels Bohr, quoted on Forbes.com “Memory is the way we keep telling ourselves our stories – and telling other people a somewhat different version of our stories.” Alice Munro, quoted on Flavorwire.com “Summer bachelors, like summer breezes, are never…

Let dictators be To The Observer In all the discussion of Chilcot, including on regime change in Iraq, there seems no recognition of the unpleasant fact that virtually every successful removal of a dictator has come from that individual’s own people and not from an outside force. Whether it was Suharto in Indonesia, Marcos in the Philippines, Galtieri in Argentina or even Franco and Salazar in Europe – and, more recently, Miloševic in Serbia – it is a salutary record. Compare this with the miserable outcome of the allies’ removal of Saddam Hussein in Iraq and Gaddafi in Libya. The worthy aim of Western allies to relieve the desperate situation of civilians struggling under a vicious regime needs to be set against the likelihood of the resulting situation being probably…

Allen Lane 512pp £30 The Week Bookshop £27 (incl. p&p) The idea of Siberia “runs like a skein” through Russian literature, said David Aaronovitch in The Times. Pushkin, Chekhov and Tolstoy all set works there, while Dostoevsky was himself a prisoner there for five years – an experience that “shaped almost everything he wrote”. The region was “Russia’s Australia” – a vast, nearly empty semi-continent. And like Australia, its colonisers had two competing impulses: to develop it, and to use it “as a gigantic natural prison”. As Daniel Beer shows in this “fascinating” history of Siberian exile under the Tsars, in Russia’s case the “punitive function” was to the fore. Between 1801 and 1917, more than one million Russian subjects were sent to Siberia, said Dominic Sandbrook in The Sunday…

Is it by a great artist – or is it a fake? During WWII, the artist Denis Wirth-Miller – who died in 2010 – was rootling through a junk shop when he stumbled across a painting titled Man in a Black Cravat (pictured). He bought it, convinced it was a work by Lucian Freud. Equally convinced were the auction houses, which planned to list it as a genuine Freud when Wirth-Miller got round to selling it. But then something very odd happened. Despite the evidence to the contrary, Freud rang up the galleries and insisted that he had not painted Man in a Black Cravat. The reason, according to an episode of BBC1’s Fake or Fortune series which aired this week, is that the two men – who had both…

Pip visits Toby to find out what he’s up to later. Toby tries to let Pip down gently. Pip finds the fact Toby thought she was after a serious relationship hilarious – she just wants some fun. They agree to a no-strings-attached fling. Bruce, Rob’s father, phones to announce he is visiting the next day. Bert cooks Rex a birthday breakfast. Rex feels glum about being 29 and only having a part-share in a business that’s barely breaking even. Ursula goes to great lengths to make the perfect treacle tart with proper custard for Bruce’s arrival. Bruce tells Ursula it’s time she came home. Ursula pleads to stay a little longer and is told she can stay until the end of the week. Josh finds Rex doing the early shift…

Orwells Shiplake Row, Binfield Heath, South Oxfordshire (0118-940 3673) The set-lunch menu at Orwells – though it lacks an apostrophe, the restaurant is named after the writer, who spent part of his childhood down the road in the village of Shiplake – is a fantastic-value £25 for three courses, says Kathryn Flett in The Daily Telegraph. And “frankly, if you’re within a hundred miles” of here “and you’re at a looseish end”, you should drop everything and go now. This place offers near faultless modern British cooking – grown-up and imaginative without being “tediously hip”. Red mullet worked brilliantly with tomato and pearl barley. Asparagus soup with goat’s curd and pine nuts was “perfect”. The lamb (neck fillet with puy lentils and artichoke) was the “best I’ve had in years”.…

New cars: what the critics say Auto Express Since its launch in 2007, the Audi A5 coupé has been the Prince Harry to the A4 saloon’s Prince William – it’s the “better looking, more athletic and more likeable younger brother”. And the new, second-generation model of this “two-door offering” has inherited the saloon’s best traits, in an effort to do battle with its popular rivals: the BMW 4-Series and the Mercedes C-Class. Top Gear On first appearances, you could mistake this for the old A5. But that’s no bad thing: like its predecessor, this is a handsome car, in a minimalist sort of way (and it looks better in real life than in photos). Most of the dashboard is borrowed from the A5, and it comes with “excellent” satnav as…

Stylish seclusion on Serifos Not much has happened on Serifos since Perseus took Medusa’s head there and turned evil King Polydectes to stone. But if you’re looking for a relatively little-visited Greek island with elegant accommodation and “glorious” beaches, it’s a good bet, says Tom Robbins in the FT. Opened in 2013, Coco-Mat Eco Residences – a hotel occupying a row of former miners’ cottages – has an “almost monastic” air that is “in tune with Serifos’s stark beauty”, and there are several stylish holiday lets with a similarly “raw” aesthetic. Hiking trails criss-cross the island’s barren hills, and there are three beachside tavernas. Beyond that, there’s not much else to see, except the main town, Hora, a “magical” maze of alleyways leading off a café-lined square “as pretty as…

BT Openreach: on the naughty step “Another day, another blast at BT,” says Nils Pratley in The Guardian. A damning report from the MPs’ media select committee has found that the telecoms giant has been “significantly underinvesting” in its Openreach broadband network, perhaps to the tune of “hundreds of millions of pounds” a year. “It may have preferred the thrills of BT Sport over the hard graft of providing the country with slick broadband connections.” They conclude that BT should put its house in order, or Openreach, which most UK broadband providers rely on, should be spun off. Quite right too, said The Times. This country should be aiming for an ultra-fast all-fibre network, but the MPs’ report (and a similar one from Ofcom) shows that it’s proving “impossible to…

Philip May Sir Denis Thatcher’s image was of a “gin-soaked, golfobsessed halfwit whose sole aim in life was to sneak another snifter”, said Simon Goodley in The Guardian. Alas, it appears highly unlikely that Philip May, the investment management City stalwart who has been married to Theresa May for 35 years, will add to the gaiety of the nation in quite the same way. Mr May has been best known in politics (if at all) as someone who has “taken a back seat” and allowed his wife to shine. “His reputation in the City is very similar” – as a quiet and modest hard-worker. He was once a reasonably high-profile investment manager, collecting a fund management award at the Extels (the “City’s Oscars”) in 1998 when working for Prudential. In…

An Ettinger coin purse and two Connell Guides will be given to the sender of the first correct solution to the crossword and the clue of the week opened on Monday 1 August. Send it to: The Week Crossword 1014, 2nd floor, 32 Queensway, London W2 3RX, or email the answers to crossword@theweek.co.uk. Set by Tim Moorey (www.timmoorey.info) This week’s crossword winner will receive an Ettinger (www.ettinger.co.uk) Brogue Collection nut coin purse, which retails at £150, and two Connell Guides (www.connellguides.com). ACROSS 1 American can trash writer (4,3) 5 Trim wood (6) 9 Unruly lout with the Queen is a foreigner (9) 10 Primate is behind line with other ranks (5) 11 Did engaging exercises? That’s what teachers may need (3,2) 12 Complex lecture following European party (9) 13 Anthem…