Innholdsfortegnelse for V. 1085 i The Week

What happened A halt on Hinkley Beijing warned this week that a “golden era” of UK-Chinese cooperation could be at risk following Britain’s surprise decision to reappraise plans for a new nuclear plant at Hinkley Point in Somerset. Britain’s first new nuclear power station in a generation, it is due to be built by the French energy company EDF, with the help of Chinese financing. China’s leading news agency, Xinhua, an official mouthpiece, lamented Britain’s “suspicious approach” towards Chinese investment in its infrastructure. “For a kingdom striving to pull itself out of the Brexit aftermath,” it said, “openness is the key way out.” The UK Government had been expected to give the go-ahead to the Hinkley Point C plant last Friday, a day after the board of EDF voted to…

Dublin Bankers jailed: Three senior Irish bankers have been convicted of conspiring to defraud investors in the run-up to the financial crisis in 2008, and sentenced to prison terms of up to three-and-a-half years. At the end of Ireland’s longest ever criminal trial, the trio – two from the Anglo Irish Bank, and one from Irish Life and Permanent – were found to have used “obvious sham transactions” to disguise the state of the Anglo Irish Bank in the months before it collapsed. They had conspired to transfer s7.2bn between the institutions, and to present it as customer deposits. Willie McAteer, the former finance director at Anglo Irish, and John Bowe, its ex-head of capital markets, were sentenced to 42 months and 24 months respectively. Denis Casey, the former boss…

1 Das Wandern by Schubert, performed by Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau and Gerald Moore 2 Something Good (from The Sound of Music) by Richard Rodgers, performed by Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer 3 Piano Concerto No. 1 in D minor, Op. 15 by Brahms, performed by John Lill, The Hallé orchestra and James Loughran 4 Can’t Help Falling in Love by Hugo Peretti, Luigi Creatore and George David Weiss, performed by Elvis Presley 5 Des Helden Weltflucht und Vollendung by Strauss, performed by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and Daniel Barenboim 6 Buffalo Soldier by Bob Marley and Noel Williams, performed by Bob Marley 7* He, Watching Over Israel, Slumbers Not by Mendelssohn, performed by the London Symphony Orchestra, the London Symphony Chorus and Roderick Elms 8 Here’s to the Heroes by John…

Why Southern rail is such a basket case Ben Chu The Independent If politicians really want to improve the UK’s poor productivity, says Ben Chu, they should start by restructuring the firms that run its communications infrastructure. Take broadband. Mine, for example, has been on the blink for two months. It’s not the fault of Sky, my broadband provider: it’s because BT, whose subsidiary BT Openreach owns the phone line to my house (and most of the UK’s ducts and cables), can’t be bothered to fix it. Why would it? Why improve its record of underinvestment when to do so would benefit its rivals in broadband services, the more profitable side to its business? The obvious answer would be to hive off Openreach, making it a separate company. But the…

The fear that a US presidential candidate could be a secret agent of some enemy power “is an old theme in American pop culture”, said Anne Applebaum in The Washington Post. The 1962 film The Manchurian Candidate famously imagined a Chinese plot to engineer a coup d’état. But in 2016, the truth may be even “stranger than fiction”. Republican nominee Donald Trump has never made any secret of his admiration for Russia’s President Vladimir Putin. He has called him a “strong leader” and has openly promoted his agenda, by, among other things, casting doubt on the future of Nato. Putin, in turn, has used his propaganda network, RT, to cheer on Trump’s candidacy. When Democratic Party emails reportedly stolen by Russian hackers were released last month with the express purpose…

Talking to the honeyguides Instances of “mutualism” – collaboration between humans and wild animals – are rare. But one famous example is that of the greater honeyguide, a bird native to sub-Saharan Africa, which leads humans to bees’ nests. The humans open the nest (not something the bird could safely do), and take the honey, leaving the wax for the honeyguide to eat. In most areas, the bird finds the nest, uses a unique call to attract human helpers and then guides its helpers to the nest, by flitting from tree to tree, there to await its reward. However, a Cambridge University team has discovered that among the Yao people in the Niassa National Reserve in Mozambique, the system works in reverse. Yao hunters leave their village to seek honey…

Jean-Claude Juncker has revealed his secret weapon: a notebook in which he records the names of anyone who wrongs him. In an interview with Le Soir (Brussels), the president of the European Commission said he calls the notebook Little Maurice, and warns his opponents: “Be careful. Little Maurice is waiting for you.” The book is not too full, he added, because “it had a dissuasive effect”. Perhaps surprisingly, Nigel Farage may not appear in his list of enemies. “I respect the man,” says Juncker. “He’s very funny and very erudite.” Ed Balls may become the first male politician to appear on Strictly Come Dancing, claims the Daily Mirror. The former Labour MP, who lost his seat at the last election, is rumoured to have signed up for the new season…

It was in 1957 that it was first seen on British TV – a fleeting glimpse in the background of a documentary about naturism, said Rupert Hawksley in The Daily Telegraph. Almost 60 years on, we find multiple penises being featured in lingering, full frontal close-up, at 10pm on a Monday night. Channel 4’s Naked Attraction is a dating show with a familiar format: contestants must choose between six potential dates, each hidden behind a screen. The twist is that these dates are naked, and they are to be selected purely on the basis of their bodies, which are revealed, “bit by wobbly bit”, as the screens are raised. We see the feet first, but inevitably, contestants are encouraged to focus on the genitalia: last week’s episode featured 282 shots…

The swimmer Modern Olympians aren’t known for their erudition, says Jessica Halloran in The Daily Telegraph (Sydney). The singlemindedness demanded by their sports leaves little time for studying. But Cameron McEvoy, a 22-year-old Australian swimmer, has “a voracious love for all things dealing with space”: he studies physics and applied mathematics at Griffith University, and dreams of working for Nasa. For now, however, he is intent on winning a gold medal, having set a Commonwealth record for the 100-metre freestyle earlier this year. One passion helps him with the other – at big meets, he relaxes by imagining what aliens might think if they were watching the swimmers from up in outer space. The rugby player Jillion Potter is a truly “ferocious” rugby player, says Lars Anderson on BleacherReport.com. Watching…

To The Times It has been suggested that David Cameron’s resignation honours list was even worse than Harold Wilson’s famous, or infamous, “lavender list” – so called because I said that it had been written on lavender notepaper in the hand of Lady Falkender. (My wife told me it was misnamed, the paper was actually lilac-coloured.) Mr Cameron’s list is more extensive but I think the Wilson list trumped it in notoriety. After all, one of the recipients, Sir Eric Miller, committed suicide as the Fraud Squad moved in on him; another, Lord Kagan – into whom I had warned Wilson the Inland Revenue were inquiring – went to prison; and a third, Rudy Sternberg, was probably a Soviet spy. Wilson offered me a peerage at the same time –…

Heroes of the Frontier Hamish Hamilton 400pp £18.99 The Week Bookshop £15.99 Each Dave Eggers novel is utterly different from the one before, said Claire Lowdon in The Sunday Times. This, his seventh, describes an unlikely road trip undertaken by 40-year-old Josie, a dentist with alcoholic tendencies. Having lost both her practice and her nogoodnik boyfriend, she takes off to Alaska with her two small children, buys an RV and “limps aimlessly from campsite to campsite”. Psychologically perceptive and full of memorable characters, this is a book for those who like writing that swings from the “micro-detail of daily life” to “big questions” about modern society. On their trip, Josie and her children face a range of “uniquely Alaskan dangers”, said Alex Preston in The Observer: forest fires, “threatening” men,…

It’s the most expensive movie ever made in China, and it’s directed by China’s greatest living director, Zhang Yimou. But The Great Wall, which cost more than £100m to produce, is also one of history’s biggest whitewashes, says Jen Yamato on The Daily Beast. Why? Because the hero who leads the defence of China’s iconic landmark in this fantasy action blockbuster, set in medieval China, is not Chinese at all. He’s Matt Damon. Turns out it took a white man to save one of the oldest civilisations in human history. It’s but the latest example, said Julia Carrie Wong in The Guardian, of what the popular blog Angry Asian Man calls “the grand cinematic tradition of the Special White Person”. And it has stirred even more of a backlash than…

Mastering the Art of French Cooking, Volume 1 by Julia Child, Louisette Bertholle and Simone Beck, 1961 (Penguin £12.99). I own an embarrassing number of cookbooks. This is foolproof and clear. You can’t go wrong. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë, 1847 (Penguin £5.99) and The Tenant of Wildfell Hall by Anne Brontë, 1848 (Penguin £8.99). The sisters were corseted in 19th century social subservience. But in Jane Eyre, Charlotte Brontë writes, “women feel just as men feel”. In The Tenant of Wildfell Hall Anne writes of a woman leaving her abusive husband to care for her child alone. These are proto-feminist writers of great power. A Critical Dictionary of Psychoanalysis by Charles Rycroft, 1968 (Penguin £9.99). Slyly witty and effortlessly informative about this arcane subject. Freud’s influence is so pervasive,…

Programmes The Mystery of Van Gogh’s Ear This fascinating documentary casts new light on the most notorious act of self-harm in the history of art. Sat 6 Aug, BBC2 9pm (60mins). Brexit: The Battle for Britain The BBC’s political editor Laura Kuenssberg explores how the Vote Leave camp won the EU Referendum, and what it may mean for Britain’s future. Mon 8 Aug, BBC2 9pm (60mins). Inside the Factory: Baked Beans Literally everything you ever wanted to know about the mighty bean, from its distinguished history to long-concealed trade secrets. Tue 9 Aug, BBC2 8pm (60mins). Films Super 8 (2011) In J.J. Abrams’s haunting sci-fi movie, a group of children discovers something uncanny amid the wreckage of a train crash. With Elle Fanning. Sat 6 Aug, C4 9pm (112mins). About…

I often get asked for advice on what drinks to serve at weddings, says Fiona Beckett in The Guardian. So, assuming you have a venue that lets you arrange your own booze, here are some ideas for “versatile crowd-pleasers” which aren’t the usual suspects and won’t break the bank. From Majestic, try the bright, fruity Incanta Pinot Noir 2015, from Romania, which is £5.99 on the store’s “mix six” deal; and the refreshingly citrussy Krasno Sauvignon Blanc Ribolla 2015 from Slovenia, which is £6.99 (on the same deal). Instead of champagne, try a champagne-style French crémant such as the handsomely bottled Crémant de Bourgogne 2012 (£13.95; FromVineyardsDirect.com). Or go for Waitrose’s stylish La Gioiosa Prosecco, on offer at £9.99. I like the idea of serving cider at a wedding feast,…

Knight’s Village, Warwick Castle Today’s Warwick Castle is like “a theme park version of history”, says Mark Wilkinson in the London Evening Standard. Its ramparts and towers stand tall, amid food kiosks, re-enactments and souvenir stalls. Now, you can stay within the castle grounds, in one of 28 new timber lodges. “They look medieval, with shields and swords on the walls, but come with mod cons like wet rooms and Wi-Fi.” Guests get special access to attractions, which include a knight’s training school, archery and falconry. Children love it: it’s a way of “bringing history to life for the iPad generation”. Two-bedroom lodge from £200 per night (sleeps five). 0871-265 2000, www.warwick-castle.com/sleepovers.…

The former factory worker who predicted the digital age Alvin Toffler 1928-2016 Personal computers and the internet; teleworking; single parent families; gay marriage; cloning; egg freezing; “information overload”; and a world changing so fast, we can barely keep afloat in the “roaring current”. All these and more were predicted half a century ago, by the futurologist Alvin Toffler in the first of a trilogy of books he co-wrote with his wife. Published in 1970, Future Shock sold millions of copies, and catapulted Toffler to global fame. Among its most prescient observations was that “the illiterate of the 21st century will not be those who cannot read and write, but those who cannot learn, unlearn, and relearn”. Toffler, who died in June aged 87, didn’t get everything right, said The Daily…

Uber tried harder than any other American internet firm to build a company that “could win in China”, said Eva Dou in The Wall Street Journal. But it still wasn’t enough. After almost three years, and a massive investment, it has now agreed to sell Uber China to its local rival Didi Chuxing. The ride-hailing giant will keep some skin in the game: as part of the deal, it will take a 20% stake in Didi, becoming the Chinese firm’s largest shareholder. Even so, the deal marks a notable retreat from the Middle Kingdom. “For the first time in its long march to dominance of the taxi trade worldwide, Uber has failed,” said Christopher Williams in The Daily Telegraph. Some $13bn in funding and know-how were no match for its…

“It might be the hot weather”, or “the fact that all the really important people are away” on holiday, or maybe it’s “pure coincidence” – but August is often a “torrid month for markets”, says Matthew Lynn in The Daily Telegraph, Here are five possible triggers: The Bank of England relaunches QE. A blast of printed money should be a market booster, but not if investors “wonder what the Bank is so worried about”. Recent bazookas in Japan and Europe “met with falls” in markets. A Trump surge. The Donald’s “mix of protectionism, industrial intervention and strategic isolationism” spells disaster for global growth. Investors will take fright at signs he is winning. A unicorn falls. Markets have been riding “a wave of tech euphoria”. If one of the major unicorns…

Jim O’Neill “Nuclear conflicts usually create shocking casualties,” says Alistair Osborne in The Times, “so Britain should count itself lucky if the fallout from blowing up Hinkley Point can be confined to Lord O’Neill of Gatley”, who has threatened to quit as commercial secretary to the Treasury over Theresa May’s attitude to China. Jim O’Neill is “a talented fellow”. Fifteen years ago, in a previous life at Goldman Sachs, he coined the phrase “Brics” to describe the economies of Brazil, Russia, India and China. But he’s an isolated China champion in government now. O’Neill has threatened to quit once before – “last month he warned he’d be off if the new Government went soft on the Northern Powerhouse”. Maybe he’s just casting around for an excuse. “He sounds quite keen…

Hillary Clinton became the first female presidential candidate of a major party after being nominated at the Democratic convention in Philadelphia last week. The convention had got off to a rocky start when the whistle-blowing website WikiLeaks released emails revealing that supposedly neutral party officials had discussed ways of smearing her rival, Senator Bernie Sanders. Evidence suggests the emails had been hacked by Russian intelligence (see page 13). But unity was restored when Sanders urged the party to rally behind Clinton. Polls now put her nine points ahead of Republican candidate Donald Trump. Trump himself endured one of the worst weeks of his campaign after getting locked in a public spat with the Muslim parents of a US soldier killed in Iraq. He was also denounced as “unfit to serve”…

Washington DC Hinckley to go free: The man who tried to assassinate president Ronald Reagan in 1981 is to be released from a psychiatric hospital in Washington dc: A court ruled last week that after 35 years, John Hinckley Jr was no longer a threat to himself or others, and could be released into the care of his 90-year-old mother. He had already been spending periods at her house in Virginia. Reagan had only been in office for a couple of months when Hinckley (pictured) shot and wounded him and three others; press secretary James Brady spent the rest of his life in a wheelchair. Hinckley said he had wanted to get the attention of actress Jodie Foster, and was found not guilty by reason of insanity. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Trump…

A copy of Michelangelo’s David – recently erected in St Petersburg – may have to be clothed, because a local woman objected to its nakedness. Organisers of a sculpture exhibition in the city said they couldn’t ignore the criticism, and that they would be conducting a poll of local residents. The complainant told the children’s rights ombudsman that the 16fttall plastic statue was an eyesore, and a corrupting influence on local youngsters. “How could you put this bloke without any trousers on in the centre of St Petersburg, next to a school and a church?” she demanded. “This giant spoils the city’s historic appearance and warps children’s souls.” Organisers of a children’s charity event were delighted when they looked up – and saw Winnie the Pooh in the clouds. Or…

MEXICO If Trump wins, prepare for a fight Letras Libres (Mexico City) If Donald Trump becomes US president in November, we Mexicans will again be “at war” with our neighbours, says Enrique Krauze. In 1846, America picked a fight on the pretext that our soldiers had violated its territory: that led to the loss of our northern territories (today’s California, Arizona, New Mexico, and beyond) and as many as 50,000 Mexican lives. The new war, by contrast, will be economic, social and legal, but the consequences will be no less devastating. Trump has threatened to abandon trade deals and impose tariffs on our exports; confiscate remittances from undocumented Mexicans in the US (our main source of foreign exchange); and begin a mass deportation. Yet so far our president, Enrique Peña…

Dolly the Sheep was plagued by health problems throughout her life, and had to be put down when she was only six – raising uncomfortable questions about the safety of cloning. Could it be that the process results in animals that age prematurely? Now, scientists at the University of Nottingham have examined 13 cloned sheep – including four copies of Dolly (Daisy, Debbie, Denise and Dianna) – and confirmed what Dolly’s creators at the University of Edinburgh always suspected: she was just unlucky. The Nottingham team subjected the sheep, who were all aged seven to nine, to a range of tests, and found that none had diabetes, high blood pressure or serious joint disease, while only a few had mild osteoarthritis – a condition Dolly developed aged four. “By and…

Byron’s employees thought they were being summoned to a meeting about the dangers of undercooking burgers, said The Guardian. But when the staff, from several London branches of the restaurant chain, turned up at the appointed venue, at 9.30am on 4 July, there were no health and safety experts to be seen. Instead, four immigration officials burst into the room. “Nobody move,” they apparently shouted. Names were called out, and 35 workers, from Egypt, Brazil, Albania and other countries, were led away. Most have since been deported – prompting a furious public backlash from activists who accuse Byron of betraying its workers. Last Friday, protesters said they had released thousands of insects, including cockroaches, into two Byrons in central London; on Monday, one of those branches was forced to close…

Kevin Roberts, chairman of Saatchi and Saatchi, once proudly declared that “nothing is too politically incorrect” for his advertising agency, “because we are creative mavericks and vagabonds”. But it appears he “may have been mistaken”, said Matthew Garrahan in the FT. Roberts was put on enforced leave this week, after giving an interview in which he said the debate about gender bias in the advertising industry was “over”, and suggested that women lack “vertical ambition”. Saatchi and Saatchi’s parent company, Publicis, swiftly distanced itself from his comments, saying it would “not tolerate anyone speaking for our organisation who does not value the importance of inclusion”. Roberts is certainly wrong about one thing, said The Times. Gender bias is far from “over” in his profession. In the lower ranks, granted, female…

This was meant to be the year of golf’s “Big Three”, said James Corrigan in The Daily Telegraph. Jason Day, Rory McIlroy and Jordan Spieth were tipped to dominate, returning the sport to the rivalries of its glory days. Instead, all four majors were won by first-time champions – including Texan golfer Jimmy Walker, who lifted the US PGA Championship on Sunday. Day came close to winning, losing to Walker by just one shot; and Spieth seemed certain to triumph at the Masters until he collapsed on the final day. But not once, at any major, did McIlroy threaten, and at the US PGA he missed the cut, exiting halfway through the tournament. Two years ago, when he won the Open and the US PGA, McIlroy looked unbeatable, said Nick…

Theatre The Plough and the Stars Playwright: Seán O’Casey Directors: Howard Davies and Jeremy Herrin Lyttelton, National Theatre, London SE1 (020-7452 3000) Until 22 October Running time: 2hrs 40mins (including interval) If Seán O’Casey had written nothing else, this brilliant portrait of the inhabitants of a Dublin tenement before and during the 1916 Easter Rising would “have put him among the great dramatists of the past two centuries”, said Ian Shuttleworth in the FT. Unlike some other O’Casey plays, The Plough and the Stars – seen at its best in this masterful production from Howard Davies and Jeremy Herrin – “overdoes neither the comic bombast of working-class language nor the melodrama when events turn grave”. Famously, when this “powerful” play premiered at Ireland’s national theatre, the Abbey, in 1926, the…

Petit Pois 9 Hoxton Square, Hackney, N1 (020-7613 3689) Petit Pois, with its “short, elegant, very reasonably priced and visually gratifying menu, is a paean” to the French talent for simple dishes, cooked exquisitely, says Grace Dent in the London Evening Standard. There’s no “Michelin-chasing faffery” or sous-vide silliness here – just good French food to fill the stomach and lift the spirits. Bavette steak with Béarnaise sauce and excellent, salty, skin-on frites; Stilton soufflé; duck confit; moules marinière – these are some of the pleasures that await. The croque madame is “marvellous”; a small salad of pea shoots and Parmesan is “starkly fresh and zinging with flavour”. And a side of roasted glazed baby onions with lardons for £3 was so sublime it got us playing that much-loved restaurant…

New cars: what the critics say Autocar The new 718 Cayman arrives with quite a pedigree. Its predecessor is “the best sports car in the world” – or at least the best sub-supercar sports car. Now, following on the heels of Porsche’s revamped Boxster convertible, it too has a turbocharged engine, with four cylinders (down from six). That engine hasn’t done the Boxster any favours: will the Cayman fare any better? Auto Express The top-of-the range Cayman S churns out “near unbeatable” numbers: it does 0-62mph in just 4.6 seconds and has a top speed of 177mph. And it’s “significantly sharper and better” in most areas – the steering, handling and ride are “breathtakingly good”. There’s just one problem: the engine sounds dull, and lacks the “initial hit of throttle…

Yellowstone in winter It is beautiful in summer, but Yellowstone National Park is “a different world” in winter, says Katie McGonagle in The Daily Telegraph. In the frosted air, its “steaming geysers and bubbling mud pools take on an ethereal quality”. You come across waterfalls, frozen in mid-flow, and even the vast expanse of Yellowstone Lake is liable to be completely covered in ice. And when the bears go to sleep, other wildlife, including bison, elk and wolves, “come out to play”. Dining at the Old Faithful Snow Lodge’s restaurant, “it feels a bit wrong to be spotting bison by day, then tucking in to bison ribs by night”, but they taste so good you may “overcome the moral quandary”. Tauck (0800-810 8020, www.tauck.co.uk) has eight days from £2,960, departing…

European banks: getting stressy Anyone poring over the results of last Friday’s EU bank stress tests will have had “a strong sense of déjà vu”, said the Financial Times. Italy, the problem country in 2014, once again “topped the dishonours list”; and two of Britain’s largest banks – Barclays and Royal Bank of Scotland – “languished near the bottom of the rankings for capital strength”. In fact, the European Banking Authority, which conducted the tests, gave most lenders a clean bill of health. Only the world’s oldest bank, Monte dei Paschi di Siena (MPS), had its capital wiped out in the test’s riskiest scenario, noted Alex Ralph in The Times. And bang on cue, the Italian government agreed to a s5bn rescue deal, enabling MPS to offload around s9.2bn of…

If you want a clear example of “the corruption that still blights British politics”, said Ian Birrell in The Daily Telegraph, then check out David Cameron’s resignation honours list. Leaked to The Sunday Times this week, it proposes knighthoods for four Cabinet members who backed him against Brexit, and for two businessman donors who together gave more than £3m to the Tory party and the Remain campaign. Numerous other cronies were also on the list, said Lucy Fisher in The Times. Even the stylist who managed his wife’s diary and wardrobe, Isabel Spearman (or “Bells” as the Camerons call her), is down for an OBE. So too is Thea Rogers, said Damian Thompson in the Daily Mail: she’s the former aide to George Osborne, who, it’s said, “persuaded him to…

Tim Locks: on a mission Until recently, Tim Locks was living a pretty ordinary life. Six foot two, and 17 stone, he had been a nightclub bouncer – but was now running his own business, and doing well. Then he started reading about events unfolding in Syria and Iraq. He’d hear about Isis’s rise on the news, and talk about it with his friends. “And of course, everyone was appalled,” he told Robert Crampton in The Times. “But the next day it was forgotten. We as a society are appalled by stuff – Lee Rigby, Jo Cox, the Paris attacks, that little boy washed up on a [Turkish] beach – but the next day we move on.” But Locks couldn’t move on. Having spent many holidays in Turkey, he has…

The most recent incarnation of the anti-gluten philosophy is the trend for “clean eating”. Its standardbearers in Britain are young, attractive food bloggers and cookbook authors such as Madeleine Shaw, Ella Woodward, Tess Ward and the Hemsley sisters. They encourage people to eat raw, natural foods and to reduce – or eliminate – ingredients such as sugar, dairy, wheat and, of course, gluten. Instead of wheat, they sing the praises of courgetti (courgette spaghetti), cauliflower rice and other exotic grain alternatives. While people certainly benefit from eating less refined, sugary food, questions have been raised about clean eating. It is based on an irrational fear of gluten (which Shaw calls “sandpaper for the gut”). Catherine Collins, principal dietitian at St George’s Hospital, London, worries that “clean eating plans” are “extremely…

If Hillary is so likeable, why isn’t she liked? Rich Lowry New York Post If only Americans could get to know “the real Hillary Clinton”. This has been the constant refrain of Clinton’s handlers over the years, says Rich Lowry. At the party’s convention in Philadelphia last week, they sought, yet again, to unveil “the Hillary we supposedly don’t know”. How many relaunches can one politician have? The commentator Jonathan Rauch has a theory that no one is ever elected president more than 14 years after winning election as a governor or senator. Given that Clinton was elected to the Senate from New York in 2000, she’s “technically only a couple of years past this benchmark for staleness”, but she has been a constant face in US politics since Bill…

New Zealand has announced an ambitious project to wipe out the country’s entire rat population, as well as that of other “invasive predators” – including stoats, possums and feral cats – by 2050. According to the government, non-native predators are responsible for killing 25 million native birds each year; they cost the country’s economy NZ$3.3bn (£1.76bn) annually; and also pose a threat to the iconic, grounddwelling kiwi, whose numbers have fallen to below 70,000. New Zealand is already a world leader in pest control, having pioneered controversial methods such as aerial drops of the pesticide 1080, to contain possum populations over large areas. Experts predict that, since possums breed once a year, eradicating them should be relatively straightforward; however, getting rid of all the rats is likely to pose a…

For the past two decades or so, there has been a political consensus about Britain’s role in the globalised economy, said Bagehot in The Economist. Everyone from Peter Mandelson to George Osborne has signed up to the view that our service-based, “buccaneering” economic model thrives under a light-touch regulatory regime. Not for us the statist approach of manufacturing nations such as Germany. But for the first time since the Thatcher era, both main parties are questioning this consensus. Prime Minister Theresa May has promised to rein in executive pay, to adopt a stricter approach to foreign takeovers, and to put workers on company boards. She has even included “industrial strategy” in the title of a department, a move that would once have been unthinkable. “Mrs May is on to something,”…

“A man you can bait with a tweet is not a man to trust with nuclear weapons.” Hillary Clinton, quoted in The Mail on Sunday “If I only had a little humility, I’d be perfect.” Media mogul Ted Turner, quoted on Aeon.co “A reputation once broken may possibly be repaired, but the world will always keep their eyes on the spot where the crack was.” 17th century bishop Joseph Hall, quoted in The Times “The line separating good and evil passes not through states, nor between classes, nor between political parties either – but right through every human heart – and through all human hearts.” Alexander Solzhenitsyn, quoted in the Richmond Times-Dispatch “The single biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place.” George Bernard Shaw, quoted…

Invisible workers To The Sunday Telegraph You report that Patrick McLoughlin wants the Tories to appeal to “struggling” working families by praising “teachers, nurses and other public sector workers” more often. Am I alone in noticing that when politicians talk about “ordinary working people”, they can only think of these groups? Teachers and nurses are highly educated members of a profession. They are well-paid, with generous pension provision, and have relative if not absolute job security. Most working people are overlooked. They include shop workers, cleaners, order pickers, clerical workers, customer care staff, van drivers and machine operators, and rely on being employed in a business to put food on their tables. The Conservatives should familiarise themselves with these people and explain how conservatism is relevant to them. Labour has…

Simon & Schuster 496pp £20 The Week Bookshop £17 When David Bowie died in January this year, the rock journalist Paul Morley decided to turn down all requests for comment pieces on the singer and to write a book about him instead. As he put it: “It was the only way I could begin to say what I wanted.” The result, written in just ten weeks, is a moving “paean” that “gets to the heart” of its subject’s appeal, said Lynsey Hanley in The Guardian. Any number of people could have written a straightforward tribute, but Morley’s thesis, developed over 496 pages of “clearly rushed” but “engaging” writing, is that “Bowie will stay alive, and will continue to keep changing”, for as long as his music is listened to. The…

Jason Bourne Dir: Paul Greengrass 2hrs 3mins (12A) Business as usual for Matt Damon’s killing machine It has been nine years since Matt Damon’s last appearance as rogue CIA assassin Jason Bourne, so you’d imagine director Paul Greengrass had thought up some urgent narrative reason for bringing him out of retirement, said Tom Huddleston in Time Out. Alas, no: it’s basically “business as usual”. Bourne, it turns out, has been passing his time bare-knuckle boxing on the Greek-Albanian border, but is lured back to the US by the discovery of his father’s involvement in the mysterious Operation Treadstone, which turned him into a killing machine. Now he wants answers. It’s a shame the “magnificent” cast, which includes Tommy Lee Jones as a dastardly CIA chief, and Alicia Vikander as his…

Armada triumph A magnificent portrait of Queen Elizabeth I – painted to commemorate the defeat of the Spanish Armada, and once owned by Sir Francis Drake – has been saved for the nation. Known as The Armada Portrait, the picture has for the last 425 years been in the possession of the Tyrwhitt-Drake family; most recently, it has been hanging in their family home in Hampshire. The portrait was bought from Drake’s direct descendants for £10.3m, says The Daily Telegraph. The bulk of the money (£7.4m) came from the Heritage Lottery Fund, and a further £1m came from the Art Fund. There were also more than 8,000 donations from individuals: among them was a seven-yearold from Wakefield, Christina Ryder, who raised money by baking and selling 400 cupcakes iced with…

Visitor numbers are flagging at Elfworld. Joe’s latest wheeze is to fix a pair of “magical wings” to his pony, Bartleby, as a new attraction. But Bartleby promptly shakes them off and tramples them. Shula confides in Caroline that she is wracked with guilt. She’d had a glimpse of Rob’s violent side when she saw him attack a hunt saboteur: if only she had told the police, or Helen, at the time, Helen might have left him before it was too late. Anna visits Ian to ask him to be a character witness for Helen; deeply touched that Helen still values their friendship, he agrees. Neil also agrees, but with reservations: he won’t badmouth Rob in court. Fallon is struggling to organise the fête without Lynda’s expertise. But Lynda insists…

Creamy strawberry and rhubarb soup Serves 8-10 2 large stalks of rhubarb, peeled and roughly chopped 2 litres water 1 tsp cloves (about 7 or 8) ½ vanilla pod 1kg strawberries 4 tbsp caster (superfine) sugar 300ml single cream 50g cooked conchigliette pasta per person (or any other small pasta shapes you like) • Place the rhubarb into a large pan with the water, cloves and vanilla pod, and bring to a boil. • Reduce the heat to medium and simmer for 20 minutes, or until the rhubarb is soft. • Meanwhile, mash the strawberries and sugar together in a bowl with a potato masher. Add to the pan, reduce the heat to low and cook together for a further 20 minutes. • Let the soup cool (cover it and…

Summer in the New Forest Explore the national park during a 2-night stay (Sun-Thur throughout September) at Cottage Lodge Hotel, Brockenhurst. From £70pp b&b. 01590-622296, www.cottagelodge.co.uk. Passage to St Petersburg A 5-night trip from Helsinki to St Petersburg, with stays in both cities and on board the MS Princess Maria, costs from £795pp b&b, incl. flights and tours. 020-3553 3722, www.vjv.com. Select dates Sep-Oct. Balkan odyssey A tour-filled, 14-night trip through Serbia, Macedonia, Bosnia, Montenegro and Kosovo, costs from £2,345pp b&b, incl. flights and guide. 020-7183 6371, www.traveltheunknown.com. Depart 3 Sep. Trekking in India Spend 16 days trekking the renowned Singalila Ridge, Darjeeling district. From £1,198pp incl. most meals, guide and transport (excl. flights). 0114-352 0060, www.highplaces.co.uk. Dep 7 Oct.…

The Bank of England prepared to launch a “package” of measures to combat the economic fallout from Brexit. The consensus among commentators was for a quarter-point cut in interest rates and possibly an extension of the Bank’s credit easing and QE programmes. New PMI figures for the services industry showed a sharp deterioration in the month following the vote. The National Institute of Economic and Social Research said that Britain had a 50/50 chance of recession within the next 18 months, and would certainly suffer a “marked economic slowdown”. Japanese PM Shinzo Abe relaunched Abenomics with an additional ¥4.6tn (£34bn) stimulus to boost the struggling economy. The market was unimpressed. Stocks in Tokyo slumped: investors fear the limits of policy to stimulate growth. HSBC reported a 29% fall in pre-tax…

● Brexit bargain hunt Directors’ share dealings are often a useful indicator for investors, said Claer Barrett in FT Money. And their mood has certainly been bullish. Brexit prompted “the biggest boardroom bargain hunt in a decade”, according to broker Olivetree Financial, which notes that directors in FTSE 100 and 250 companies spent more than £18.5m buying shares in the month following the referendum – and profited “handsomely” from the market bounce. The lion’s share of deals can be put down to what the Americans call JBTFD (“just buy the flipping dip”); £14m-worth of trades took place the week after the vote, when firms with the most exposure to the UK – particularly financials, property and consumer stocks – were “heavily punished”. But, “in an important counterweight to gloomy economic…

A dodgy health test for Europe’s banks Larry Elliott The Guardian Hoping to impart confidence, the European Banking Authority’s stress tests have given Europe’s banks a clean bill of health, says Larry Elliott. But it didn’t fool investors, as the fall in bank shares across Europe shows. What the tests failed to highlight is that the failing Italian bank Monte dei Paschi di Siena is just the tip “of a barely concealed iceberg” of bad debts. In fact, unless action is taken quickly, “Europe’s banks will continue to exist in a nether world where they remain in business, but are unable to fulfil their prime function” of lending to the private sector. The best solution would be for Europe to follow the US example of providing ample quantities of federal…

Who’s tipping what The week’s best buys Asos The Mail on Sunday The tech-savvy online fashion retailer’s costs are in sterling, yet 50% of sales are overseas. Profits have soared, and growth potential abroad should offset any uncertainty in the UK. Buy. £45.05. AstraZeneca The Times The pharmaceutical giant has a promising pipeline in immuno-oncology. This next generation of cancer drugs should be harder for generic manufacturers to copy. There’s the tantalising prospect of a possible takeover too. Buy. £50.48. Breedon Aggregates Investors Chronicle The need for UK infrastructure investment should benefit Breedon, with its large aggregate reserves, and concrete and asphalt plants. Margins are up, and the acquisition of Hope Construction Materials should boost profits. Buy. 67.75p. Games Workshop Group The Daily Telegraph The weak pound bodes well for…

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 Wife’s over-theatrical stunning, blow (6) 4 Framework of Wounded Knee? Lots (8) 9 Precise demand (5) 10 Facial hairstyle of Fringe poet? (9) 11 Dark part of moon shows something terrifying (9) 12 John, a sort of councillor (5) 13 Girl’s dress is good? Simply awful! (7) 15 False alarm and it is concerning the military (7) 17 Acrobat, one that holds a drink (7) 19 Number fixed on house a failure (2-5) 21 Stick with tense European (5) 22 Ballet dancer in tin boat (9) 24 Guard in danger fighting? That’s right (9) 26 GP facing condition with temperature shows indecision (5) 27 Out…