Innholdsfortegnelse for V. 1098 i The Week

What happened Clinton on the skids? The US presidential campaign took another bizarre turn last week when the FBI announced that it had uncovered new emails that might be relevant to its inquiry into Hillary Clinton’s use of a private server when she was secretary of state. Clinton had looked set for a comfortable win next Tuesday, but the dramatic news cast doubt on the result. Furious Democrats accused FBI director James Comey, formerly a registered Republican, of violating the bureau’s political neutrality by dropping the bombshell just days before the election. But Donald Trump seized on the potential lifeline, describing his rival’s handling of classified data as a scandal “bigger than Watergate”. The FBI spent a year investigating Clinton’s use of a private email server, concluding in July that…

Cannon Ball, North Dakota “Last stand” for pipeline protesters: Native American protesters and their supporters were this week set to take a “last stand” against the construction of an oil pipeline through Standing Rock, a Sioux reservation in Cannon Ball, North Dakota. The $3.8bn Dakota Access pipeline will transport around 470,000 barrels of crude oil every day from the state’s Bakken oil field to a refinery near Chicago, 1,172 miles away. The North Dakota section was scheduled for completion this month but has been delayed by a series of protests by Native American activists – who say it risks contaminating the Sioux Indians’ water supply – and climate change campaigners. Some 400 people have been arrested so far, and as the campaign intensified this week, President Obama intervened, saying the…

Universities cement the class divide Emma Duncan The Times The “chasm” in our education system between state and private schools is “one of the worst things about this country”, says Emma Duncan. And the bad news is that the class divide is now rearing its ugly head at university level, too. In my day, undergraduates from all backgrounds mixed on a pretty equal footing. But now that our “marketised” universities are seeking to boost profits by offering a premium service to those who can afford it, all that has changed. Gone are the days when every student had to queue for a tepid shower; now, at many places, you can upgrade to a superior hall of residence where you’ll get a double bed and en-suite bathroom. And “social stratification follows…

SOUTH KOREA The president who’s in thrall to a mystic Quartz (New York) South Korea is a land given to mysticism and cults, says Ilaria Maria Sala, a land in which Buddhism, Christianity and Muism (magical shamanism) mix together in weird ways. It gave us the Moonies (aka the Unification Church); it even has an official union of some 20,000 (mostly female) shamans, the Kyongsing, who claim to be able to link the spirit world with our own. And one of these shamans, Choi Soon-sil, has brought Korean President Park Geun-hye (daughter of the late dictator, president Park Chung-hee) under her spell, reportedly by promising to put Park in touch with her dead mother’s spirit. But Choi doesn’t confine herself to the spirit world: she also, it’s alleged, tells the…

The world is heading towards its sixth “mass extinction event”, according to the WWF’s Living Planet report. For the annual study, researchers analysed 14,000 populations of 3,706 species of fish, birds, mammals, amphibians and reptiles, and found that between 1970 and 2012, their global populations had declined 58%, on average – a figure that, without urgent action, is likely to reach 67% by 2020. They also found that the extinction rate is running at 100 times its natural level. To qualify as a mass extinction, two-thirds of species must disappear entirely. Some experts believe that we have already reached that point; others say we won’t for at least 100 years. But one thing is clear: whereas the last mass extinction, 65 million years ago, was probably caused by an asteroid…

“I don’t care what people say behind my back. What I want is for them to be nice to my face.” Raine, Countess Spencer, quoted in The Daily Telegraph “‘It’s good to talk’ [is] the most specious and misleading injunction since ‘all you need is love’.” Alan Bennett, quoted in the Daily Mail “Thatcher wanted a society of people like her father, but produced a society of people like her son.” Eliza Filby, quoted in the London Review of Books “How good bad music sounds, when we march against an enemy.” Friedrich Nietszche, quoted on The Browser “The believer is happy; the doubter is wise.” Hungarian proverb, quoted on Forbes.com “Wealth is like seawater: the more we drink, the thirstier we become; and the same is…

A refugee’s gratitude To The Guardian My family and I fled my home nation of Kurdistan in 1999 due to the civil war. My father, like many other Kurds, sought a better life in Europe for his family as a result of the oppression faced from Saddam’s regime. He always said that if he had to choose between the wrath of Saddam and risking his family’s life, or negativity from a minority that didn’t want him in Britain, he would have always chosen the latter. Compassion shown by Gary Lineker about the treatment of refugees led to an outcry and negative responses including “they come here and take our jobs”, and the classic “they come for our benefits”. I wanted to share my story of coming to Britain, and of…

Doctor Strange Dir: Scott Derrickson 1hr 55mins (12A) Benedict Cumberbatch gets mystical This “silly romp” of a superhero movie is Benedict Cumberbatch’s big push to become a top Hollywood star, and he just about pulls it off, said Camilla Long in The Sunday Times. In Marvel Studios’ latest blockbuster, he plays Dr Stephen Strange, an arrogant Manhattan neurosurgeon who mangles his hands in a car crash and goes to Nepal in a desperate search for treatment. There he’s initiated by the Ancient One (a shaven-headed Tilda Swinton) into a cabal of magicians, and soon finds more pressing matters to worry about than his hands – namely stopping a rival magician (Mads Mikkelsen) from destroying the world. On screen, Cumberbatch can seem a little smug, said Tim Robey in The Daily…

Mill houses Berkshire: Sandford Mill, Sandford, Berkshire. A renovated and refurbished Grade II mill house set over the River Loddon in the pretty hamlet of Sandford. Vaulted master suite with balcony, guest suite, 2 further beds, family bath, breakfast/ kitchen with balcony overlooking the river and garden, 3 receps, utility, pantry, cloakroom, double garage, gardens, grounds, raised vegetable beds, river frontage, mooring, about 1 acre. £1.55m; Savills (01491-843000). Gloucestershire: Crowell Brook Mill, North Nibley. A former mill in a private spot in an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The house is divided between the original mill cottage and the mill building, which incorporates a self-contained flat, but there is no distinct division. Mill building: 4 suites, 2 studies, 2 kitchens, 2 receps, utility, cloakroom, games room, 2-bed flat. Mill cottage:…

Whether Chianti “dazzles or is a dud” is down to the tricky sangiovese grape, says Jane MacQuitty in The Times. It is more temperamental and site-sensitive than pinot noir, and its thin skin and slow ripening make it a nightmare to grow. In the past, Chianti’s reputation has been damaged by illicit passing off and blending. At its best, though, the grape produces elegant, tangy, violet-scented reds with polished tannins and fine, dried cherry fruit. Here are a few dazzlers. This month I found a decent Chianti riserva: the fruity, violet-scented 2013 Extra Special Chianti Riserva, at Asda for £5.98. Moving up a step, try the gentle, herby 2014 Chianti Classico from Marks & Spencer (£9). Selvapiana’s herb and violet-spiked 2014 Chianti Rufina Fattoria (£14.99; Cambridge Wine, 01954-214528) is also…

› It is tempting to put your subject in the centre, but do try other compositions. › Our eyes tend to be drawn to an animal’s, so make sure you focus on them. If one of them is blurry, the photo is unlikely to succeed. › Don’t worry if you get a wonky horizon on a landscape shot. It’s something professionals struggle with, and is easily remedied in Photoshop or other software. › If you need to blur out a distracting background, reduce your f-stop in order to alter the aperture. You’ll usually need a low f-stop in Britain, anyway, to accommodate the gloomy conditions. › To capture birds in flight – or any kind of action – you’ll need a high shutter speed. A thousandth of a second should…

Brooks Country House, Herefordshire Carla and Andrew Brooks have gained a loyal following with their guest houses in Bristol, Bath and Edinburgh. Their latest venture is a 22-bedroom hotel in a Georgian manor house that aims to prove “a country weekend needn’t break the bank”, says The Sunday Times. There are roaring fires, a games room, a heated outdoor pool, a lake with swans, and a restaurant with lovely views. Rooms are “cheeky” (e.g. lamp bases shaped like pugs) but stylish, and the bathrooms have underfloor heating. The pretty market town of Ross-on-Wye is five minutes’ drive away, and there’s beautiful walking country all around. Doubles from £89 b&b. www.brookscountryhouse.com .…

Alistair Urquhart 1919-2016 Alistair Urquhart became a bestselling author seven years ago, when, at the age of 90, he published a harrowing account of his extraordinary three-and-a-half-year ordeal as a prisoner of war in Japan. A Gordon Highlander captured during the fall of Singapore in 1942, he survived the infamous Death Railway; two death marches; confinement on a “hell ship” torpedoed by the US navy; and, finally, the atom bomb. The bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki killed up to 250,000 people, but Urquhart believed it had saved his life, by preventing a massacre of Allied PoWs due to take place three days later. The son of a teacher, Alistair Urquhart was born in Aberdeenshire in 1920. He excelled at school, academically and at sport, but had to leave aged 14,…

Global stock markets fell as investors woke to the risk of Donald Trump winning the race to the White House, and the gold price jumped – climbing by more than $8 dollars on Wednesday as the dollar fell against a basket of currencies. Investors sought safety in government bonds, pushing up the price of UK gilts. Official figures showed that Britain’s economy grew by 0.5% in Q3 – a much faster rate than expected – although the manufacturing sector contracted during the quarter. Lending to small businesses rose at its fastest annual pace since 2012, according to BoE figures, suggesting that the Brexit vote has done little to dampen companies’ appetite to take on debt. Canada cut an 11th-hour deal with the EU to rescue the Ceta trade agreement, which…

The week’s best buys British American Tobacco The Sunday Times Pricing flexibility has contributed to BAT’s growing profits and rising dividend. A deal with Reynolds, maker of Camel, would increase US exposure and secure access to a portfolio of e-cigarettes. Buy. £47.08. Luceco The Mail on Sunday Luceco makes keenly priced, superior-quality electrical products for factories, hospitals, schools and mainstream retailers. Its LED division is driving growth. Recently floated; shares should rise. Buy. 147.75p. Motorpoint Group The Daily Telegraph The car dealership chain’s shares have been hit by a profit warning. But this has created a speculative buying opportunity, and directors have increased their holdings. Margins are up and there’s a pipeline of new sites. Buy. 140p. RELX The Times Growth looks set to continue at the “grindingly reliable” information…

Controversy of the week The threat from Russia The security of Europe has not looked as perilous since the late 1970s, said Max Hastings in the Daily Mail. In recent months, Russia’s President Vladimir Putin has “massed 330,000 troops on his country’s western frontiers; despatched a carrier task group through the English Channel to join the murderous bombing of Syria; put 40 million Russians through civil defence exercises; and unveiled a new intercontinental ballistic missile” (the RS-28 Sarmat, or Satan II, can obliterate an area the size of Texas or France). No doubt much of this is mere “sabre-rattling” – but it’s worrying nevertheless, since most of history’s conflicts have come about “because an aggressor overplayed his hand”. The fear is that Putin may try to exploit the period around…

Cornwell’s family reunion Having sold 20 million books, Bernard Cornwell is the world’s most successful historical novelist. He is also a smoker, a drinker and an atheist – which makes sense, given his past, says Frances Hardy in the Daily Mail. The product of a wartime liaison, he was adopted as a baby by the Wigginses, a couple from Essex who were members of a Protestant fundamentalist sect called The Peculiar People. Family life was bleak, and brutal. “The list of prohibitions was endless,” he says. “Alcohol, tobacco, TV and cinema, for a start. Military service was also prohibited, though Joe [Wiggins] was very harsh. He was a man drunk on God, and the Bible said: ‘Beat your children’, which he did, very brutally, with a 4ft cane.” Yet he…

This election will haunt us for years Heather Wilhelm National Review Americans are united today on at least one issue, says Heather Wilhelm: we’re all desperate for Tuesday’s election to be over and done with. The “most embarrassing” presidential contest of all time, it “has ruined countless perfectly good dinner parties, made cringing a national pastime” and forced us to choose between two “widely disliked” candidates. No wonder many US states have seen record rates of early voting – the 2016 poll can’t finish soon enough for the public. People just want “to evict both Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton from their brains. Imagine: no more sex scandals on the debate stage! No more faux ‘grandmotherly’ moments or strange bouts of fake, cackling laughter!” You just need to do your…

The Jungle: bulldozed – but now what? No one would say that Calais’ “Jungle” camp was a pleasant place to live, said Barbara Speed in the i newspaper. But it had churches, schools, shops. It was a community of sorts. Now, the camp has been bulldozed; and this week, the last 1,500 children still living on the site were finally bussed out. They had hoped to be sent to the UK: instead they were taken to reception centres around France. As for the camp’s 6,000 or so adult residents – most of whom were young men from East Africa and Afghanistan – hundreds have disappeared, perhaps to live in yet more squalid camps elsewhere; the rest are now living in hastily arranged transit camps, ranging from a former children’s holiday…

Cricket: Bangladesh’s “greatest win” England’s cricketing history is littered with “low moments”, said George Dobell on ESPNcricinfo. There have been whitewashes and thrashings: in 1992, the side were routed by a Zimbabwean chicken farmer who wasn’t even a professional. And now, we can add the second Test in Bangladesh to that “catalogue of shame”. England didn’t just lose; they lost ten wickets for a pathetic 64 runs. It was like watching a “Greatest Hits compilation” of their historic failings: there was “the comical fielding, the impotent bowling” and, worst of all, the batting collapse. “Yes, Bangladesh were good” – but the visitors were unusually dreadful. The collapse made for grim viewing, said Simon Hughes in The Times. The opening partnership started the second innings promisingly, with a century stand. But…

Chick’n’Sours 1a Earlham Street, London WC2 ( www.chicknsours.co.uk ) “Forget subtlety,” says Marina O’Loughlin in The Guardian. The food at Chick’n’Sours “biffs and pows”, making you “gasp and grin”. There’s “outrageously crisp” chicken, and fantastically spicy “Mexi-Nese” nachos that come with ragu made from chicken, fermented chilli paste and smoked bacon, lashings of pickled jalapeños, kimchi and a glorious anchovy-tinged cheese sauce. There’s a vast “guest fry” of drumstick and thigh from what “seem to be the world’s biggest birds”, crisp-fried and sticky with a hot and fragrant glaze. Even the sides and starters are “firecrackers”: Szechuan aubergine; ginger miso slaw; pickled watermelon; “electrifying” hot-and-sour pineapple. In short, Chick’n’Sours (the sours bit refers to its range of excellent cocktails) is “sluttily great”. It is like returning to…

Voice assistants have been on our phones for a long time, said James Titcomb in The Daily Telegraph, but “they haven’t really taken off”. It’s not hard to see why: Siri and Cortana are unreliable and awkward. But the Amazon Echo is different. Available in the US since last year, but only just released in this country, it’s a smart wireless speaker that uses Amazon’s voice assistant Alexa. And it’s just about “the most exciting gadget in years”. The size of a wine bottle, the “sleek” Echo is an inconspicuous machine, said Tom Morgan in Stuff. It can lurk on a table “without becoming the centre of attention” – like a 21st century kitchen radio. To activate it, you just say “Alexa”; you can then ask it to answer general-knowledge…

The White Bear Hotel, a friendly inn in Masham, North Yorkshire, gets its name from the polar bear that looks out across the bar. The “unfortunate creature” was shot in Alaska in 1901 (www.thewhitebearhotel.co.uk). The Little Mill Inn, on a riverside terrace in Rowarth, Derbyshire, has a 70ft Pullman railway carriage – fitted with three guest bedrooms – in its garden. The pub is traditional, with horse brasses and a crackling log fire (www.thelittlemill.co.uk). The Victoria Inn in Durham offers “the simple life, 1899-style”. A late-Victorian hostelry, it has no music, its shelves are rammed with Toby jugs, and it serves no food unless you stay on a b&b basis (www.victoriainn-durhamcity.co.uk). The Minerva Inn, on a cobbled street in Plymouth, is said to have been visited by Sir Francis Drake…

The Deep South’s hidden past First opened to the public in 2014, the Whitney Plantation in Louisiana is the US’s first museum dedicated to slavery, says Nigel Richardson in The Sunday Telegraph. At the heart of this 18th century estate on the banks of the Mississippi is a big house noted for its grand Spanish Creole design. But visitors enter through the back door, as slaves would have done, and only after touring various outbuildings, including original slave cabins and the slave pen. Slaves who broke minor rules faced being strapped into this iron cage, and left out in the hot sun. Elsewhere is a granite Wall of Honour featuring the names of 354 people enslaved here. All in all, it is a sobering corrective to the more prettified approach…

Howard Davies 1945-2016 Howard Davies, who has died aged 71, was “quite simply one of the great postwar theatre directors”, said Michael Billington in The Guardian. He directed the original 1985 production of Christopher Hampton’s Les Liaisons Dangereuses, extracting performances from Alan Rickman and Lindsay Duncan that “glistened like a stiletto blade”; then reunited the pair for a sizzling West End revival of Noël Coward’s Private Lives, 16 years later. Revealing the passion and pain of a couple who can neither live together nor apart, his production did much to “rescue Coward from his fusty Saturday matinee reputation”, said The Daily Telegraph. But Davies was also considered one of the great interpreters of American drama: in 1988, wanted to be in them,” he said. “I had to bribe them with…

The City is an engine of social mobility Iain Dey The Sunday Times The Government seems to be “bending over backwards” to help foreign carmakers navigate Brexit, says Iain Dey, but “there is still little outward encouragement for our most important industry”. Whether measured by crude GDP performance or the tax take, “it is financial services that make the British economy tick – in almost every corner of the country”. It is widely assumed that the City is an old boys’ network. And that was true in the past. Yet in the three decades since the Big Bang, banking has been “a great tool for social mobility”. A whole generation of grammar and comprehensive school kids made their way to the top; this is “one of the few industries where…

“Markets have got jittery about Donald Trump,” says Quartz. The S&P 500 closed at a four-month low after a poll this week showed the GOP presidential nominee with a one-point lead over Hillary Clinton, and the Vix index – a measure of volatility known as the “fear gauge” – rose to its highest level since the Brexit vote. But if Trump were to win, what exactly would happen? “The conventional wisdom is that, right off the bat, the stock market would fall precipitously,” said Andrew Ross Sorkin in The New York Times. Indeed, economist Simon Johnson of MIT thinks a Trump presidency would “plunge the world into recession”, because of his “anti-trade policies”; that could also “precipitate a serious banking crisis” in Europe. But, in fact, “it’s impossible to predict…

Reykjavík Pirates surge: Iceland’s anti-establishment Pirate Party, founded four years ago by a group of left-wing activists, anarchists and former hackers, tripled their share of the vote in last weekend’s general election, to become the joint second-biggest party in the world’s oldest parliament, the Althing. The leader of the Pirates, Birgitta Jónsdóttir (pictured), a former WikiLeaks activist, said she hoped to take the party into government as part of a broad centre-left coalition. A centre-right coalition, led by the winning Independence Party, is seen as the more likely outcome. Amsterdam Wilders on trial: Geert Wilders, the leader of the Netherlands’ far-right Party for Freedom (PVV), went on trial this week, to face charges of hate speech. The charges relate to a council meeting in 2014, when he asked activists whether…

The FBI isn’t the only state organisation to have taken an interest in Hillary Clinton-related emails, said Mark Galeotti in Foreign Policy: the Kremlin has, too. The bureau may have got its hands on thousands of messages which have passed through Clinton’s private server, but for several weeks before this, the website WikiLeaks had been releasing emails damaging to Clinton that were hacked from servers belonging to the Democratic National Committee (DNC), and to Clinton’s campaign chief, John Podesta. It’s widely believed Moscow is behind this sabotage campaign. And with good reason. For Vladimir Putin, the “temptation to meddle” in the US election “must have been irresistible”: what easier way could there be to weaken Clinton, help out the more Russia-friendly Donald Trump, and generally sow distrust in the US…

Diet drinks linked to diabetes Drinking two glasses of fizzy drink a day doubles a person’s risk of developing type 2 diabetes – even if those drinks are the diet variety, according to a Swedish study. Researchers at the Karolinska Institutet interviewed more than 1,000 people with diabetes about their diets in the previous year, and compared them with a diabetes-free control group. They found that consuming more than two 200ml servings of soft drinks a day was associated with a 2.4-times increased risk of type 2 diabetes, while drinking a litre a day was associated with a tenfold increased risk. There was also a strong link between soft drinks and the rarer latent autoimmune diabetes. The researchers speculate that diet drinks leave people hungrier, and craving sweet foods. It…

Michael Heseltine found himself at the centre of a Twitter storm this week, when it was reported that he had strangled a dog with his bare hands. The Tory grandee, nicknamed Tarzan, had told Tatler he was once bitten by his mother’s pet Alsatian, Kim. “So I took Kim’s collar… and pulled it tight. Suddenly he went limp. I was devoted to Kim, but he’d obviously had some sort of mental breakdown. There was no choice.” Lord Heseltine later insisted he only meant that the dog “went limp” as it calmed down; it was put down by a vet the next day. But he did recently admit to having shot 350 squirrels on his country estate. Mariah Carey has been dumped by one of the world’s richest men – reportedly…

Murray’s best season yet Seven years have passed since Andy Murray first reached the World No. 2 spot, says Mike Dickson in the Daily Mail. And he is now “tantalisingly near” to leapfrogging Novak Djokovic at the top of the rankings. On Sunday, the Scot’s “autumn surge” continued: he beat Jo-Wilfried Tsonga to win the Vienna Open – his third successive title and his career-best seventh of the season, putting him equal with Djokovic. After 122 weeks at the top, the Serb could be overtaken by his rival in a matter of days, depending on the outcome of this week’s Paris Masters. Fatigue threatens to be Murray’s “biggest enemy” – but there was little sign of that in Vienna when he outplayed the “explosive” Tsonga. New coach, old problems Once…

Theatre Amadeus Playwright: Peter Shaffer Director: Michael Longhurst Olivier, National Theatre, London SE1 (020-7452 3000) Until 1 February 2017, with further dates to be announced. In cinemas on 2 February Running time: 3hrs (including interval) What a great pity that Peter Shaffer, who died in June at the age of 90, did not survive to see such a “thrillingly fresh and imaginative revival” of his masterpiece, said Paul Taylor in The Independent. For the first time since its triumphant debut in 1979, Amadeus has returned to the National Theatre. The play takes the form of a dying man’s confession, in which the ailing Salieri, court composer to Joseph II of Austria, relives through extended flashbacks the story of his rivalrous envy of Mozart, and his fury with God for touching…

Best books… Reverend Richard Coles Richard Coles, the vicar, Radio 4 presenter, and former pop star, picks six of his favourite books. He is talking about his new book, Bringing in the Sheaves, on 15 Nov at the Stratford ArtsHouse (www.stratlitfest.co.uk) The Changeling by Robin Jenkins, 1958 (Canongate £9.99). This novel is about a well-meaning teacher in Glasgow who intervenes in the life of a poor, tenement-raised kid – with unintended consequences. It should be much better known south of the border, or indeed wherever people read. The Diary of a Country Parson, 1758-1802 by James Woodforde, 1924 (Canterbury Press £25). Woodforde was an 18th century parson in Norfolk who kept a diary in which he tells, with unaffected appeal, the everyday story of his parish, from heartbreaking burials of…

Spanish chicken casserole Serves 4 8 chicken thighs on the bone, skin removed 1 tbsp paprika 1 tbsp coconut oil 50g chorizo, chopped 200g red onions, sliced 2 garlic cloves, chopped 2 fennel bulbs, sliced 2 red peppers (bell peppers), deseeded and sliced 400g waxy potatoes, peeled and quartered 100g sun-dried tomatoes, halved 75ml medium or sweet sherry, or Marsala 1 x 400g tin chopped tomatoes 500ml chicken stock handful of parsley, chopped small handful of olives • Preheat the oven to 150°C/300°F/gas mark 2. • Dust the chicken thighs with the paprika. Melt the coconut oil in a large ovenproof frying pan that has a lid, or in a flameproof casserole, then add the chorizo and fry for peppers, and fry for 10 minutes over a medium heat, until…

Audio Technica AT-LP5 This new turntable from the Japanese manufacturer is a superb all-rounder. With a specially designed cartridge, and a built-in phono stage, it sounds warm and balanced (£329; www.richersounds.com). Sony PS-HX500 The sleek, minimalist PS-HX500 lets you record unusually high-res digital versions of your records, so you can listen to them on a portable device. It takes a bit of effort to set up, but once it’s going it has a big, lively sound (£400; www.johnlewis.com). Lenco L-85 Excellent value, the L-85 is a good beginner’s turntable. It’s extremely easy to set up – you won’t have to adjust anything – and has a USB port, enabling you to convert your records into MP3s (£120; www.johnlewis.com). Flexson Vinylplay If you have a Sonos system, this turntable…

Winter sun in Cyprus The 5-star Almyra Paphos, a minimalist seafront property, offers a 7-night half-board stay from £519pp incl. Gatwick flights. 01204-824619, www.destinology.co.uk. For travel until 17 December. City escape in Bristol A 2-night stay at the Bristol Harbour Hotel – with dinner on arrival at The Jetty – costs from £230 per couple b&b. 0844-811 1103, www.bristol-harbour-hotel.co.uk (code WEB01). Until 23 December. Coastal South Africa An 11-day, self-drive itinerary with 3 nights in Cape Town, then onward to Paternoster and the Cederberg Mountains, costs from £1,745pp b&b, incl. flights and car. 020-7838 5892, www.wexas.com. 5-star Dominican Republic Spend 7 nights at the Dreams Punta Cana Resort and Spa, Playas Uvero Alto, from £949pp all inclusive (with Gatwick flights). 01293-762456, www.hayesandjarvis.co.uk. Depart 6 December.…

Tesco: legal punt Tesco is being sued in the High Court for more than £100m in damages, said Deirdre Hipwell in The Times. The claimants are more than 125 institutional investors who allege that they suffered “millions of pounds of losses” as a result of the grocer’s accounting scandal. Their suit – bankrolled by Bentham Europe, a litigation funding group owned by the “aggressive” US hedge fund Elliott Management – will seek to prove that Tesco made misleading statements to the stock market ahead of the 2013 discovery of a £263m black hole in its accounts, triggering a dramatic share price plunge. Tesco subsequently reported “the biggest loss in British corporate history”, of £6.3bn, in 2015; three former UK executives have been charged with fraud and false accounting. The latest…

Peter Thiel The billionaire tech investor behind Paypal and Facebook likes to take the road less travelled, says The New York Times. But he is under attack for “his most contrarian move yet”: supporting Donald Trump. Two weeks ago, Thiel revealed that he has donated $1.25m to Trump’s coffers. “As these things go, it was a small gift”: Facebook co-founder Dustin Moskovitz has given some $20m to the Clinton campaign. “But the news has made Thiel a pariah in much of the tech community”, and there have been calls for his resignation from Facebook’s board. Thiel has struck back, railing against the Washington and Silicon Valley “elites” whom he claims ignore the economic difficulties afflicting many Americans. “What Donald Trump represents isn’t crazy,” he says, “and it’s not going away.”…

Gilts glisten According to the latest data, sterling was “the world’s worst performing currency” in October, trailing behind 150 others, said Natasha Clark in City AM. But the month’s 6% plunge – the second-largest drop this year, after June – may not affect the confidence of foreign investors. “If the value of a currency falls, it’s rather like the country’s stock price is falling,” remarked WPP’s Sir Martin Sorrell earlier this week. Yet the latest data from the Bank of England shows that overseas holdings of UK Government bonds (gilts) “climbed by a hefty £13.3bn in September, after a modest rise of £1.8bn in August”, said Alex Brummer in the Daily Mail. “If UK plc has become such a basket case, then why is growth firmer than most G7 nations”,…