Innholdsfortegnelse for V. 1185 i The Week

What happened The Brexit backlash Theresa May narrowly survived a series of Commons votes this week that intensified the Tories’ bitter divisions over Brexit. On Monday, the Prime Minister bowed to pressure from Eurosceptic MPs by accepting four amendments to the Customs Bill. No. 10 insisted the changes were consistent with the soft Brexit blueprint agreed by the Cabinet at Chequers earlier this month. But the concession enraged pro-EU MPs, who claimed the amendments – the most controversial of which could prevent the UK from collecting tariffs for the EU unless Brussels agreed to a reciprocal arrangement – were clearly designed to scupper the plan. There was a second round of Tory infighting on Tuesday when the Government, with the help of Labour Eurosceptics, saw off an attempt by Remainer…

Build-A-Bear, which was criticised for a marketing campaign that led to in-store chaos, angry parents and tearful children. In a fiasco compared to Hoover’s free flights promotion in 1992, Build-A-Bear had offered customers £52 bears discounted to match their child’s age. There were reports of people being turned away after queuing for four hours and of fights breaking out. Gardeners, with the imposition of a hosepipe ban affecting seven million people in the northwest of England. As the hot weather continued, farmers warned that lettuce and pea crops were at risk. On Salisbury Plain, the Army had to stop live-fire exercises after grassland was set ablaze during a training session. The BBC, which faces renewed criticism after new figures revealed that all 12 of its highest earners in 2017-18 were…

Innaarsuit, Greenland Iceberg peril: A coastal village in Greenland was partially evacuated this week over fears that an ten-million-tonne iceberg lodged in front of it would break apart and cause a tsunami. The 100-metre-high block of ice is literally casting a shadow over the tiny settlement of Innaarsuit (population 169). Strong winds may shift the berg, but if it rains, it could calve. Thirty-three residents have been moved to higher ground, to be on the safe side. “We are used to big icebergs,” said Susanna Eliasson, a villager, “but we haven’t seen such a big one before.” Dublin Dumping fossil fuels: Ireland is to become the first nation in the world to move its public investments out of fossil fuels. A bill passed with cross-party support in the Irish parliament’s…

1 Respect by Otis Redding, performed by Aretha Franklin 2 Ain’t No Mountain High Enough by Nickolas Ashford and Valerie Simpson, performed by Diana Ross 3 Winds Of Change (Mandela To Mandela), written and performed by Nona Hendryx 4 World in Union by Gustav Holst and Charlie Skarbek, performed by Katherine Jenkins 5 If I Dare by Sara Bareilles and Nicholas Britell, performed by Sara Bareilles, featured in Battle of the Sexes 6 You Don’t Have to Say You Love Me by Pino Donaggio, Vito Pallavicini, Vicki Wickham and Simon Napier-Bell, performed by Dusty Springfield 7* Philadelphia Freedom by Elton John and Bernie Taupin, performed by The Elton John Band 8 Hey Jude by John Lennon and Paul McCartney, performed by The…

Spearheading the Thai cave rescue effort were two cave divers from the British Cave Rescue Council, described as some of the best in the world: John Volanthen, an IT consultant from Bristol, and his diving partner Richard Stanton, a retired firefighter from Coventry. They catagorised the dive that found the children as “a bit gnarly”, because the currents were strong and visibility was poor, but it was simple compared to some of their other operations. In 2004, they set a British record by diving 76 metres down at Wookey Hole. A world record followed in 2010, when they dived 8.8km along the Pozo Azul cave system in Spain. In 2014, they went 100 metres down into a cave in Norway to try to find the bodies of two dead divers.…

Canada bucks the populist trend Derek Thompson The Atlantic A tide of xenophobic populism is sweeping Europe and America, says Derek Thompson. But one country has remained immune to this backlash: Canada. Why? It’s partly down to geography. Encircled by cold oceans and isolated from the world’s biggest migratory movements, Canada has “been spared from sudden, shocking influxes of undocumented foreigners”. And with lots of empty space to fill, it has always valued newcomers. But another big factor behind Canada’s ease with multiculturalism is sheer habituation. The US may think itself a nation of immigrants, but it’s a beginner compared to its northern neighbour. Foreign-born Canadians have almost always accounted for between 15% and 20% of the nation’s population since its founding. In the US since the 1850s, immigrants have…

More than a third of fish caught around the world is wasted – either thrown back dead into the sea or rotting before it can be eaten – an overview of the world’s fisheries has revealed. The biannual report by the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) estimates that 35% of global catches never reaches the plate. About a quarter of the losses are caused by unwanted fish being thrown back because they are either too small or the wrong species. Most of the wastage, however, is the result of a lack of knowledge or equipment, such as fish not being refrigerated quickly enough. The FAO has worked with developing nations to tackle the problem: in the Indian Ocean, better facilities for handling crabs cut losses by 40%. But more…

“There has never been anyone quite like Elon Musk in my lifetime,” said Pilita Clark in the FT. Other tech billionaires have built big companies, but few have been “compared with Thomas Edison” or amassed the SpaceX founder’s “rock star-sized fan base”. None has sent a red electric sports car into orbit with a dummy in the driver’s seat, as Musk did in February, or designed a giant rocket to go to Mars code-named the BFR, or “Big F**king Rocket”. Musk’s exuberance and irrepressible ambition are part of his charm, but since his Tesla car business began to experience setbacks, failing to hit production targets and burning through cash, his behaviour has “noticeably soured”. Witness his petulant response last week when experts in Thailand declined his offer of a specially…

To The Times Justine Greening’s suggestion of a second referendum to resolve the controversy over the Brexit proposal has considerable merit. It would give the electorate the chance to vote for a concrete proposal rather than the wishful thinking of the 2016 referendum. Also, if used skilfully by Theresa May, it has the potential to address the concerns of the right-wing of her party. Their preferred strategy of leaving on World Trade Organisation terms would be one of the options, and they would have the opportunity to present the arguments in favour to the electorate. Stephen West, Ipswich To The Times Even as a Remain voter, I am shocked at the unprincipled cynicism of Greening’s proposal for a second vote. Her three questions split the Leave vote, but unite the…

Theatre The Lehman Trilogy Playwright: Stefano Massini Adaptation: Ben Power Director: Sam Mendes Lyttelton, National Theatre, South Bank, London SE1 (020-7452 3000). Until 22 September Running time: 3hrs 20mins (including two intervals) ★★★★ This 2013 drama, written by Stefano Massini, the Italian playwright, is “grown-up theatre at its best”, said Ann Treneman in The Times. It charts the “skyscraper rise and tumultuous fall” of the investment bank Lehman Brothers – from the arrival of Henry, Emanuel and Mayer Lehman in the US from Germany in the mid-1840s, all the way through to the firm’s dramatic collapse in 2008. Spanning more than 160 years and three generations of the family, it is a story “as large as the American dream” itself. And as soon as British director Sam Mendes saw a…

Summer Show 2018 at Chris Beetles Gallery Summer exhibitions at the veteran dealers of St James’s can be hit-and-miss affairs, but just occasionally a gallery will strike the right balance of thorough scholarship and top-quality pictures. This show is just such an event, mixing mainly 19th and early 20th century paintings and drawings by both familiar names and obscure and forgotten artists. In the former camp, it features talents as diverse as John Piper, Edward Lear and Thomas Rowlandson, the incomparable caricaturist. However, it’s the new discoveries here that really make this worthwhile. The Victorian war correspondent William Simpson provides a view of the multi-ethnic community of 19th century Aden, while Cecil Arthur Hunt’s renderings of Blitz-ravaged Chelsea and demolitions of large buildings in the West End are fraught…

There are some disappointing sparkling wines around this summer, says Susy Atkins in The Daily Telegraph. But if you know where to look, you can pick up “refreshing, lively froth” at bargain prices. Aldi’s ever reliable, toasty and rich Exquisite Collection Crémant du Jura, France (£7.99), stands up well to light food. And its Pianeta Organico Organic Prosecco Extra Dry NV, Italy (£7.99) is a new, superior Prosecco, lightly peachy with a hint of honey in its off-dry finish. At Lidl, I like the Crémant de Bordeaux Brut (£7.99) – good on “its own or as the base for sparkling cocktails”. Tesco has its own Cava Semi Seco (£5.75), a medium-sweet and lightly honeyed version that “aces it with fresh fruit salads”, and the Finest Prosecco DOC NV, Italy (£6.40),…

In Bengeo, Hertfordshire, the rivers Beane, Rib and Lea all meet on an ancient common. (Pass from St Leonard’s Church through the gate on Hartham Common, then on to the footbridge.) Nestled in the corner of Delamere Forest Park, Cheshire’s dappled Hatchmere lake, south of Frodsham, has long been a popular swimming spot. (Next to The Carriers Inn.) While Wiltshire’s picture-perfect Lacock is well-known, the idyllic river beach hidden in the meadows beyond it is not. (From the National Trust car park, turn right down the lane, then left on the footpath.) The River Wey in Old Woking, Surrey, makes for a great swim just outside the M25. (Head south from the Old Woking roundabout and take the left footpath.) Gormire Lake, on the edge of the North York Moors…

A remote Moroccan oasis A “brilliant green gash” on the edge of the Sahara in southern Morocco, the oasis of Tighmert is a peaceful place to escape from the country’s more touristy corners, says Alice Morrison in the FT. Seventeen kilometres long and only four wide, it is occupied not by Berbers or Arabs but Sahrawis, literally “people of the desert”, who have their own language, and a social code “with hospitality at its core”. Their low red-clay houses sit among vegetable gardens and pomegranate groves, and there’s a small museum that explains their traditional way of life. Combine a trip there with a stay at one of the region’s luxurious kasbah hotels, and visit nearby Amtoudi too, where ancient forts sitting atop huge rocks look like ships “run aground…

Netflix: $20bn gut punch After a barnstorming run, which caused shares to more than double in the year to date, Netflix investors have been dealt “a nasty surprise”, said Hannah Boland in The Daily Telegraph. Shares in the TV and movie streamer, which in late May “surpassed Disney as the most valuable media company in the world”, slumped by more than 14% on Monday after it missed its own forecasts for subscriber growth by more than one million users. Netflix’s “stock lives and dies on subscriber growth”, said Ashley Rodriguez on Quartz, and “it has now missed on its forecast three times in the past ten quarters” – enough to thoroughly spook some investors. One analyst called it a “gut punch”. Netflix’s content bill “has ballooned” of late: it expects…

A very raw deal for services Tommy Stubbington The Sunday Times Theresa May “burnt through considerable political capital” to persuade her government to sign up to her Brexit White Paper, says Tommy Stubbington. Now she faces “rumblings” from Britain’s boardrooms. While most lobby groups welcomed plans to create a “free trade area” with the EU for goods, the fear is that it comes “at the expense of a close relationship for trade in services”, which drive some 80% of the economy. The powerful financial services lobby is “up in arms” that the PM has “ditched” the model favoured by the City to keep cross-border trade flowing (involving the “mutual recognition of standards”) in favour of “equivalence” – an EU principle that recognises regulations in certain areas as equivalent to its…

Controversy of the week The Great Disrupter When he meets tyrants and dictators like Kim Jong Un, Xi Jinping or Vladimir Putin, Donald Trump “remembers his manners”, said Jonathan Freedland in The Guardian. It’s only when he meets democratic leaders – particularly women – that he likes to play the tough guy, “visiting humiliation” on America’s faithful allies. Last week, Britain provided the US president with a full-dress banquet at Blenheim Palace, followed by tea with the Queen and an itinerary that allowed him to “chopper around” the country pretending there weren’t large crowds gathering to protest their hatred for him. And what did Theresa May get in return? “A series of insults calculated to undermine and weaken her.” Trump trashed May’s plans for Brexit, telling The Sun that she…

The official Brexit campaign exceeded its £7m spending limit by improperly funnelling £675,315 to the youth group BeLeave, the Electoral Commission has found. The watchdog fined Vote Leave £61,000 and referred David Halsall, one of its officials, to the police. Darren Grimes, the founder of BeLeave, who was 22 at the time of the referendum, was also referred to the police. The commission concluded that the two groups were effectively one because they were working to a “common plan”. The money was paid to the digital marketing firm Aggregate IQ, on which Vote Leave had already spent £2.7m. Vote Leave, which was fronted by Michael Gove and Boris Johnson, called the report “inaccurate” and politically motivated.…

Big Sur, California Woman survives cliff plunge: A woman who miraculously survived an accident in which her car fell 61 metres down a cliff, only to get trapped at the bottom, was found last week, after a seven-day search. Angela Hernandez, a 23-year-old musician, had last been seen at a petrol station 50 miles away. Attempts to find her were hampered by fog, but on Friday she was spotted by two hikers. Suffering from concussion, broken bones and a collapsed lung, she had managed to pull herself out of her Jeep, but had been unable to climb back up to the road. She survived by drinking spring water dripping down the cliff. San Antonio, Texas Nuclear theft: Small samples of plutonium and caesium were stolen from US government workers last…

“The purpose of the Brexit referendum was to quell the decades-long psychodrama within the Conservative Party. Not only did it achieve the opposite, it spread the infection to the whole country. In negotiating with Brussels, the party is hovering between delusional and deranged, bluster and buffoonery. Insisting on concessions that have not been offered; suggesting solutions that have already been rejected; showing up to negotiations with nothing to offer; refusing to concede anything, only to capitulate to everything. If it were a dog you’d put it down; if it were a wedding you’d call it off. Not only for their own sake, but to prevent the harm they might do to others.” Gary Younge in The Guardian…

Why China is treading softly with the US James Kynge Financial Times How odd that China’s response to Donald Trump’s escalating trade war has been so restrained, says James Kynge. Beijing used to come out rhetorical guns blazing whenever international relations went sour. When Russia split with China in 1956, Mao insulted Moscow, saying: “Not all Soviet farts smell sweet.” After 1989’s Tiananmen Square massacre, Deng Xiaoping accused the US of stirring up counter-revolution. Its atypically calm reaction today suggests it prefers a more clinical response: by imposing retaliatory tariffs on farmers and other core Trump voters, it hopes to spark a domestic backlash against US policies. At root, however, China has no wish to let tit-for-tat tariffs escalate. Its economy is surprisingly vulnerable; this year, it could suffer its…

Why open plan means less chat Open-plan offices are meant to get workers talking – in the process boosting teamwork and creativity – but a study suggests that, in fact, they discourage face-to-face interaction. Researchers at Harvard Business School followed workers at two US companies before and after they shifted from cubicles to open-plan arrangements. Employees were fitted with specially designed “sociometric badges” that recorded where they were standing and whether they were talking, while their use of email and instant messaging was also monitored. After the companies switched to open plan, face-to-face interaction fell by 70%, but there was a surge in electronic communication: instant messaging, for example, increased by 68%. Writing in the journal Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B, the researchers speculate that the loss of…

Elon Musk may object to being called a billionaire, but it’s not a label that seems to bother Kylie Jenner. At 20, she is the youngest member of the Kardashian-Jenner TV family – she first appeared on Keeping Up with the Kardashians aged ten – but she’s also the richest, said Rupert Neate in The Guardian. She is already thought to be worth $900m, thanks to her make-up company, Kylie Cosmetics. (Her sister Kim Kardashian West is worth $350m, by contrast.) Forbes magazine thinks she’ll be worth a billion dollars by the time she’s 22, a year younger than Mark Zuckerberg when he joined the billionaire club. It would make her the youngest self-made billionaire of all time. Kylie is a tycoon for “the era of extreme fame leverage”, said…

Never write off Novak Djokovic. That’s the lesson of last Sunday’s Wimbledon final, a straight-sets victory over South African player Kevin Anderson, said Mike Dickson in the Daily Mail. Almost two years had passed since the 31-year-old Serb had even made it beyond the quarter-finals of a Grand Slam. But over the past fortnight, he has reminded us that he is an “extraordinary athlete and competitor”. For the first time since 2016, a player other than Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal has triumphed at a Grand Slam; Djokovic has now won 13, putting him behind only Federer, Nadal and Pete Sampras. Two years ago, Djokovic completed “arguably the greatest feat of Open-era tennis”, said Simon Briggs in The Daily Telegraph. He won four Grand Slams in a row, culminating in…

Thirteen years ago, aged 39, Pete McKee quit his job at Tesco to become an artist, says Colin Drury in The Guardian. Inspired by an issue of Tintin, he painted a bright pop art scene of a childhood caravan holiday. The painting was shown in a pub in Sheffield – and it sold, along with half-a-dozen others produced in the same style. Since then, McKee has gone from strength to strength. He has designed T-shirts for Paul Smith and posters for Oasis. His fans include Ken Loach, Maxine Peake and the Arctic Monkeys. His last exhibition brought in 8,000 people over two days. His new show, This Class Works, which opened in Sheffield last weekend, is a celebration of northern working-class life. In one typically “bittersweet” piece, a woman weighed…

Emma hopes Jim has found a way to stop Damara reducing the number of affordable homes, but he’s learnt what they’ve done is legal. Debbie returns home after Brian’s SOS call, but tells him that she isn’t going to be his spokesperson – she’ll form her own opinions. Brian says he can’t bear the idea of selling the house; he’s always been reassured by the fact Jennifer will stay in her own home if he predeceased her. Anisha has another go at explaining to Alistair why she took the job. Losing her mum motivated her to stretch herself. Alistair isn’t impressed – he’s sick of people using him to get what they want. Ruth tells Adam that Brian’s asked her to keep quiet at the next meeting. Ruth assumes Adam’s…

Ynyshir Eglwys Fach, Machynlleth, Powys (01654-781209) In the 18 months since it opened, Gareth Ward’s restaurant in a beautifully refurbished country house in Snowdonia has found its way onto every where-to-eat list that counts, says Grace Dent in The Guardian. And if it stays at just the one Michelin star I’ll be amazed. The first course of our 19-course tasting menu, called “Not French Onion Soup”, was a “sublime” and “silken rabbit punch of miso, fermented fruit, seaweed and shiso- pickled vegetables. It was a taste of the joys to come, but I’d already “fallen madly in love with the place”. For the first 14 courses or so, there was nothing creamy or soothing: lamb saddle was flavoured with kombucha; a riff on Welsh cawl featured fermented mussels, raw…

Boater hats A classic floppy straw hat will never go out of style, but boaters are coming back too. This is a high-fashion example, probably best regarded as inspiration (£785; emily-london.com). Wide-leg trousers For a while now, it’s been out with the skinny and in with the wide, and summer is the time to go as wide as possible. These twill trousers also take full advantage of the current trend for bold florals (£242; matches fashion.com). Gingham is a summer staple that can edge into outdated territory. But find a new way to wear it, as in this tiered maxi dress by MDS Stripes, and it comes right back in again (£218; shopbop.com). Pearls The bedrock of the jewellery box, pearls have been given a modern twist, like in these…

RHS Garden Wisley break Explore the seasonal delights of the garden during a relaxing 3-night stay at The Talbot Inn. From £276pp b&b, with a 3-course dinner. 01905-792801, www.greatlittlebreaks.com. Arrive 24 August. Four-star Dubrovnik The Grand Hotel Park, on the Lapad peninsula, is 100 metres from the beach. A 5-night stay costs from £559pp b&b, including London flights. 020-8475 7671, www.holidaygenie.com. Depart 24 August. Tropical Sri Lanka The Club Hotel Dolphin, Waikkal, by Negombo Beach, offers 6 nights, all-inclusive, from £870pp, including Birmingham flights. 0800-144 8127, www.awayholidays.co.uk. Depart 2 September. Brisbane to Cairns Zip over dunes in a 4x4 and sail on a yacht during a 10-day tour. Accommodation and several meals from £1,007pp, excluding flights. 0333-321 0099, www.statravel.co.uk.Depart 25 September.…

A combination of political uncertainty and weaker than expected inflation figures caused the pound to whipsaw. It fell to $1.30 on Wednesday, the lowest since September 2017. But given the extent of the uncertainty, some traders thought the volatility could have been worse. UK inflation came in lower than expected in June: sinking by 0.1% when it had been expected to rise by 0.3%, and prompting debate about the chances of an interest rate rise next month. Official figures showed that average UK house prices increased by 3% in the year to May – the lowest annual growth rate since 2013. Prices in London fell for the fourth consecutive month. In a strong rebuttal of White House protectionism, the European Union and Japan signed a major trade deal in Tokyo…

Down on the farm British farmers seem to have lost interest in buying land, said James Pickford in the FT. According to estate agent Strutt & Parker, the share of purchases made by farmers, which traditionally hovers around 60-65%, has dropped to 50% in the past six months. Meanwhile, the proportion bought by “private investors and lifestyle purchasers” has jumped. Strutt & Parker cites two likely reasons. First, Brexit uncertainty: particularly on the question of what may replace the EU’s agricultural subsidies regime, which is “key to the viability of many farm businesses”. Second, price. Investment farmland has risen “stratospherically” in recent years, peaking around 2015 at about £10,000/ acre and pricing many farmers out. The upshot is that “more than one-third of the farms on sale in 2017 are…

Lloyd Blankfein It’s the end of an era at Goldman Sachs, said the FT: CEO Lloyd Blankfein is stepping down after 12 years in the post. Most departing bosses are rated by how their companies grew, or the returns reaped by investors. “On both of these metrics, Blankfein is unexceptional.” He’ll be measured instead against his peers at Lehman Brothers, Bear Stearns and Merrill Lynch, who failed to steer their firms to safety during the 2008 financial crisis. One of Goldman’s “unique strengths” then was Blankfein’s “ability to keep his head when others were losing theirs”. Colleagues remember the New York-born former risk manager as “consistently calm and maintaining his sense of humour throughout”. “Some top bankers cultivate a hushed and patrician vibe,” said Bloomberg. But Blankfein, 63, “sports a…

Academics at the University of Bath have been urged not to use the words “as you know” in lectures, in case it makes students who don’t know feel stupid. Berenice Dalrymple, the co-chair of the student union’s race equality group, warned that the phrase “could make students feel at fault for not knowing, and make it difficult to engage with the course content”. Forget having a horse and carriage at your wedding – it’s all about alpacas now. Alpaca farms across the UK are increasingly being asked to supply animals for weddings, thanks to an American trend for using alpacas as ring bearers, or just to surprise guests. Stuart Ramsay, a farmer in Scotland, says his alpacas now work seven or eight weddings a year.…

53% of British adults disagree with the statement that “Donald Trump is a good ally to the UK and has our best interests at heart”; 29% agree. 60% of adults (and 53% of Tory voters) disagree with the US president’s claim that Boris Johnson would make a “great” prime minister. ComRes/Daily Mirror Labour has taken a lead over the Tories for the first time since March, with the parties now on 41% and 36% respectively – the first indication that the row over the Chequers Brexit plan has damaged the Tory party. 43% of voters now think Theresa May should stand down, up from 32% in November. Only 13% think the Government is negotiating Brexit well; 75% think it is handling it badly. YouGov/The Times…

Albright’s life in England In 1939, Madeleine Albright fled Prague with her parents, and ended up living in a flat on London’s Portobello Road. The former US secretary of state was only two, yet she remembers her sense of dislocation: “My parents were very continental European and I didn’t have siblings,” she told Andrew Rawnsley in The Observer. “I felt isolated.” But later, after they’d moved to Walton-on-Thames, she began to love her new life: “I went to school and we spent a lot of time in air-raid shelters singing A Hundred Green Bottles Hanging on the Wall.” Their hosts were welcoming – up to a point. “The British would say, ‘We’re so sorry your country has been taken over by a terrible dictator. What can we do to help…

A Spanish civil servant has been banned from holding public posts, after it emerged that he had skipped work for a decade. Carles Recio, who was paid a s50,000 salary as an archive director in Valencia, only visited the office at 7.30am to clock in and at 4pm to clock out. Recio claimed to have been working from home, but an administrative tribunal found no evidence for this. On the contrary, it seems that he had spent his time running a male brothel and drawing erotic comics: he created a busty superhero named Fallarela, who hurls flaming Valencia oranges at her enemies. The man with the world’s longest fingernails has finally cut them – after 66 years. Shridhar Chillal, of Pune, India, hadn’t cut the nails on his left hand…

BULGARIA A country killed by emigration Trud (Sofia) “The bells are tolling Bulgaria’s death,” says Petar Ivanov. Since the fall of the Iron Curtain, when the borders opened and mass emigration to the West became possible, it has been losing citizens. Back in 1989, it had nearly nine million residents. Today, there are fewer than seven million, a loss of 22% in barely three decades. The brain drain has robbed us of the young people who should be giving birth to the next generation of Bulgarians: all we’re left with are the old and feeble. As such, Bulgaria’s mortality rate is the highest in the world – higher than in Syria, where war is raging. “We’re melting away more rapidly than Swaziland, where there’s an Aids epidemic.” Bulgaria sheds 220…

When Sudan, the world’s last male northern white rhinoceros, died earlier this year in Kenya at the age of 45, it seemed to augur the extinction of the subspecies. Yet an ambitious project is now under way to resurrect it, using sperm samples extracted from the last males before their death. Although there are two surviving females, they have reproductive problems that prevent them conceiving naturally – and in vitro methods, while commonly used in cattle and horses, have never been tried on rhinos. As a first step, a team from Berlin has used a 6.5-foot-long device to extract eggs from female southern white rhinos (a closely related subspecies that is not endangered). These have been fertilised in the lab and the embryos are set to be implanted into surrogates,…

Theresa May lost her fourth minister in a week last Friday – but Andrew Griffiths, 47, didn’t resign in a protest over Brexit. The minister for small business stood down after it emerged that he’d sent 2,000 explicit text messages to two constituents 20 years his junior. “Take off the bra and panties... you’ve got Daddy in a frenzy,” read one. Griffiths – who recently had a baby with his wife, Kate, and who has separately been accused of bullying and harassment – has vowed to seek “professional help”. While tens of thousands of people took to the streets to demonstrate against President Trump’s visit, the Queen held a quiet protest of her own, through her choice of brooches – or claims one eagle-eyed Twitter user. According to Julie (@…

“[Hope and fear] march in unison like a prisoner and the escort he is handcuffed to… [Both] project our thoughts far ahead of us instead of adapting ourselves to the present.” Roman Stoic philosopher Seneca, quoted in The Guardian “I do maintain that if your hair is wrong, your entire life is wrong.” Morrissey, quoted in The Daily Telegraph “It doesn’t help to worry about what others think, as they will think it anyway.” Suzanne Moore in The Guardian “Stardom isn’t a profession; it’s an accident.” Lauren Bacall, quoted in The Times “The trouble with Margaret Thatcher is that when she speaks without thinking, she says what she thinks.” Norman St. John-Stevas, quoted in The Times “Man does not simply exist but always decides what his existence will be.” Austrian…

Stifling innovation To The Daily Telegraph In the 1970s, as a keen radio ham, I made for myself a small unit to improve the clarity of speech, which plugged into a popular transmitter. I got positive feedback from other radio hams, so I started making the speech processors and selling them in Britain. Soon the news got around, and I sold hundreds worldwide. I did not make a fortune out of the idea, but it brought in much-needed cash, generated valuable publicity for my small business and demonstrated to a leading ham radio equipment manufacturer a simple way of improving their equipment. I am long since retired, but it is now not possible for a single individual to innovate and sell small quantities of electronic equipment in this way, because…

The Shepherd’s Hut by Tim Winton Picador 256pp £14.99 The Week Bookshop £13.99 Tim Winton, one of Australia’s most lauded novelists, has a “gift for making the vernacular lyrical”, said Rachel Seiffert in The Guardian. His protagonists tend to be “outsiders, beyond the pale” – and his latest novel “opens true to form”. Jaxie Clackton is a teenager whose mother has died of cancer and who lives in a small town in western Australia with his violently alcoholic father. When an accident with a car jack results in the latter’s death, Jaxie “knows who will be blamed” – so “he cuts and runs” in a stolen car. Jaxie’s flight leads him into an “inhospitable hinterland”, where he chances upon a defrocked Irish priest “living like an old church father in…

Britain has always nurtured a “special enthusiasm” for Rembrandt, said Rachel Campbell-Johnston in The Times. Although the Dutch master was little-known on these shores in his lifetime, the “trickle” of paintings that began to arrive here after his death in 1669 “aroused a keen interest”. Until this point, art in this country had tended towards rigid classicism, and the boldness of Rembrandt’s work – his evocation “not just of physical, but of emotional reality” – struck British viewers as “excitingly fresh”. By the mid-18th century, British collectors had become gripped by “Rembrandt mania”, and his popularity has never waned; even today, his art is a “failsafe crowd-puller”. This new exhibition explores Rembrandt’s “particular significance” to our nation, tracing our attitudes to his work and evaluating its impact on this country’s…

Best books… Jonathan Ray Jonathan Ray, wine expert and drinks editor of The Spectator, chooses five of his favourite bedside books on booze. His own latest book, Drink More Fizz!, is published by Quadrille at £14.99 Grogan’s Companion to Drink by Peter Grogan, 2010 (Ebury £25). A wise, witty, frequently hilarious trawl through the wonderful world of alcohol by the antiquarian book dealer Peter Grogan. Featuring everything from crisp analysis of the major (and minor) wine regions, to musings on the horrors of alcopops and delights of bath time lychee martinis. Lickerish Limericks by Cyril Ray, 1979 (out of print). My late father was an inveterate limerick writer who considered a dirty mind to be a perpetual feast. He wrote and edited dozens of award-winning books on wine, but was…

Programmes Who Is America? Sacha Baron Cohen continues his tour of the US, holding toe-curling hoax interviews with politicians (Sarah Palin and Dick Cheney), celebrities and Joe Public. Mon 23 July, C4 22:00 (40mins). Stacey Dooley: Gypsy Kids Taken from Home Hungary has more Roma children in care than any other EU country. Dooley investigates why the children are being taken from their families – and what happens to them in the care homes. Tue 24 July, BBC1 22:45 (45mins). The Bletchley Circle: San Francisco The Bletchley Park codebreakers-turneddetectives return for a new series. It’s the mid-1950s and Jean (Julie Graham) and Millie (Rachael Stirling) are in San Francisco tracking down a killer from their War days. Wed 25 July, ITV1 21:00 (60mins). Films The Lavender Hill Mob (1951) Ealing…

Fresh raspberry lemonade Makes a generous 1 litre 450g raspberries 100g caster sugar, plus more to taste finely grated zest and juice of 4 unwaxed lemons 1 litre of cold sparkling water ice cubes, to serve • Toss the raspberries in a bowl with 4 tablespoons of the sugar, and leave for 1 hour. • Puree the raspberries with the rest of the sugar in a food processor (not a blender, because they crush the seeds, making the mixture bitter). Push the resulting puree through a nylon sieve (the acidity of the raspberries would react with a metal sieve). • Mix the puree with the lemon zest and juice, and the sparkling water. Check to see whether you need to add any more sugar, because this will depend on how…

Don’t water your lawn – it’s too wasteful. Grass is a hardy plant that, in our climate, will recover quickly when the rain comes. Watering little and often encourages plants to develop a shallow root system – the opposite of what they need to survive. Instead, give each plant a really thorough soaking every week or two. This excludes potted plants, which need water daily. Juvenile plants that have yet to properly establish themselves need the most care. Beyond those, vegetables are the most vulnerable to drought, especially succulent, soft ones (tomatoes, courgettes, lettuces) that are mostly made up of water. Don’t water when the Sun is out; much of it will evaporate. Dusk is the best time, but avoid the popular post-work 7pm slot when water pressure in the…

White, São Miguel, Azores Occupying two 18th century summer houses by the sea, this stylish new hotel is the best in the Azores, says Condé Nast Traveller, and the first to do justice to the stark beauty of this volcanic mid-Atlantic archipelago. Driftwood is used “to dramatic effect” in its nine suites and single villa, which have polished concrete floors and exposed stone walls. Bedrooms open onto a flagstone terrace with a heated infinity pool, a “sheltered breakfast corner” with a roof of reeds and a firepit. The restaurant serves good food in local style, and there’s even a yacht available if you fancy “island hopping or dolphin spotting”. Doubles from £175. 00 351 296 249 153, www.whiteazores.com .…

Much-admired politician who resigned over the Falklands Lord Carrington 1919-2018 The last surviving member of Winston Churchill’s postwar government, and one of the last politicians to have fought in the Second World War, Lord Carrington, who has died aged 99, was a patrician, pragmatic “one-nation” Tory of the old school, said The Times, a man who believed in “selfless public service” and distrusted ideology. “Not only was he honest and courteous, he was so self-effacing” he failed to mention in his own memoirs that he had won a Military Cross in 1945. “Pot luck,” he told an interviewer. Carrington held senior posts in every Tory administration from Churchill’s in 1951 until Margaret Thatcher’s in 1979, said The Independent – but his best-remembered act was probably his resignation as Foreign Secretary,…

There’s a saying that credit insurers do a better job than auditors when it comes to highlighting risk. In which case, watch out Debenhams, said Sabah Meddings in The Sunday Times. After recently issuing its third profit warning this year, the department store chain’s financial health is once more under scrutiny amid reports that credit insurers – including Euler Hermes, Atradius and Coface – are reducing their cover to its suppliers. “Credit insurance is a vital part of the retail supply chain”, protecting suppliers against the risk of a customer going bust before a payment is made. If their cover “dries up”, Debenhams’ suppliers are likely “to seek payment up front”, piling further financial pressure on the group. The problem isn’t just confined to Debenhams. There are complaints across Britain…

Damaged Goods by Oliver Shah (Portfolio Penguin £18.99). Shah’s “detailed and entertaining dismantling of the ‘king of the high street’”, Philip Green, is a damning account of “hubris”. An expletive-ridden account of a man who “spent a lifetime ruthlessly trying to avoid being on the wrong end of any deal”, says Tim Adams in The Observer. Meltdown: Why Our Systems Fail and What We Can Do About It by Chris Clearfield and András Tilcsik (Atlantic £14.99). “An exciting and insightful analysis of why things go wrong and how to avoid catastrophe,” says Andrew Hill in the FT. Companies and governments are ignoring “simple fixes that could avert disaster”. Adam Smith: What He Thought, and Why it Matters by Jesse Norman (Allen Lane £25). Norman, a Conservative MP, argues that the…

The week’s best buys Amryt Pharma The Sunday Times The rare diseases specialist has “ambitious plans” for Lojuxta – a drug used to treat a genetic cholesterol disorder. A treatment for skin condition epidermolysis bullosa is in late-stage trials. Buy. 16p. Carnival The Share Centre With 100 ships and 212,000 berths, Carnival is the world’s largest cruise operator. Shares have fallen, but revenues are up 13% to a record $4.4bn, and should improve on expansion into emerging markets like China. Buy. £42.98. Diageo The Share Centre Diageo boasts an impressive array of brands: from Gordon’s to Smirnoff and Pimm’s. US sales are “resilient” and prospects for emerging markets are “excellent”. A hot summer should boost demand. Buy. £27.98. Inchcape The Daily Telegraph This cash-generative car dealership focuses on growth markets.…

Burberry Earlier in July, Burberry revealed it had got off to a good first quarter with underlying sales up by 3%. The fashion house’s chief operating and financial officer, Julie Brown, has pounced, spending £180,000 on shares. Form guide Shares tipped 12 weeks ago Best tip JD Sports Fashion Investors Chronicle up 23.26% to 460p Worst tip Carnival The Times down 5.93% to £43.96 Market view ”The UK has agreed to remain under EU medicine regulation. Good – many of us now require a headache tablet and a strong antacid.” Michael Every of Rabobank on Brexit uncertainty. Quoted in the FT…

Experience wine that is satisfyingly different I‘ve been a customer of Corney & Barrow for more than 40 years and always rely on them for the very best examples of Pomerol and Burgundy. Their exclusive agencies include the finest in each category; far from everyday wines, these are the very grandest wines on the planet. Corney & Barrow are forever finding obscure examples of fascinating wines throughout Europe and the rest of the world, which is what makes them so good at their job. The wines I’ve picked for July demonstrate this at prices that are thankfully more purse-friendly. If you want to experience something satisfyingly different, the Egy Kis from Hungary ticks that box, while the Italian Barbera is thrilling with its sheer drinkability at such a tender age.…