Innholdsfortegnelse for V. 1186 i The Week

What happened Deal or no deal? Fears of a no-deal Brexit grew as Theresa May’s Chequers blueprint for the UK’s future relationship with the EU was politely shredded in Brussels and roundly attacked at home. Responding to May’s Brexit White Paper – which proposes keeping the UK close to Europe on goods trade, but allowing for divergence on services – Brussels’s chief negotiator, Michel Barnier, suggested that key elements were neither legal nor feasible, and breached “fundamental” EU principles. Besides, he added, “we have all seen that this debate in the UK is not over”. Meanwhile, in his resignation speech to MPs last week, Boris Johnson said the plan would mean “volunteering for economic vassalage”. Dominic Raab, the new Brexit Secretary, expressed confidence that a deal could be reached, but…

Nick Drnaso, a 29-year-old author from Chicago, after his book Sabrina became the first graphic novel to make it onto the longlist for the Man Booker Prize. Treasure hunters, after divers found the wreck of a Russian warship that is believed to have been carrying £100bn worth of gold when it was scuttled in 1905, to stop it falling into Japanese hands after the Battle of Tsushima. A South Korean team found the Dmitrii Donskoi lying at a depth of 1,400ft near Ulleung Island, off the Korean peninsula. They say there are several iron boxes in the hold, but they have not yet been able to open them.…

A House of Lords committee has criticised the use of children as spies in covert operations against terrorists and criminal gangs. The use of juvenile Covert Human Intelligence Sources to infiltrate gangs is not new, but now the Home Office wants to extend the authorisation period for their use from one month to four. The Lords expressed concerns about the risks these children may face while gathering information for police and intelligence services, and about what systems were in place to monitor the impact on their mental and physical health.…

Washington DC Iran fury: Donald Trump ramped up tensions with Iran this week, by tweeting the following advice to President Rouhani: “NEVER, EVER THREATEN THE UNITED STATES AGAIN OR YOU WILL SUFFER CONSEQUENCES THE LIKES OF WHICH FEW THROUGHOUT HISTORY HAVE EVER SUFFERED BEFORE.WE ARE NO LONGER A COUNTRY THAT WILL STAND FOR YOUR DEMENTED WORDS OF VIOLENCE & DEATH.BE CAUTIOUS!” Rouhani had earlier warned the US against the reimposition of sanctions on Iran – due to take place on 6 August – and said that the US “must understand that war with Iran is the mother of all wars”. The Iranian rial fell to an all-time low against the US dollar after Trump’s tweet. Many commentators speculated that the message was intended to distract attention from the controversy over…

1 Mustang Sally by Mack Rice, performed by The Commitments, featured in The Commitments 2 Puppy Love by Paul Anka, performed by Donny Osmond 3 Oops Up Side Your Head by Lonnie Simmons, Ronnie Wilson, Charlie Wilson, Robert Wilson and Rudy Taylor, performed by The Gap Band 4 You’re the One That I Want by John Farrar, performed by John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John, featured in Grease 5 You To Me Are Everything by Ken Gold and Michael Denne, performed by The Real Thing 6 (I’ve Had) The Time of My Life by John DeNicola, Donald Markowitz and Franke Previte, performed by Bill Medley and Jennifer Warnes, featured in Dirty Dancing 7* Fields of Gold, written and performed by Sting 8 Bring…

Online dating has developed its own rules and codes, and at the centre of it is the profile: the curated, stylised version of yourself that you project to potential partners. Photos are all-important. “Look like someone you’d want to meet,” advises eHarmony; posing with a dog is sometimes advised, to show a caring side. But for men seeking women, height also seems to be crucial: it is often included with no other information at all. Women rarely mention their own height, but frequently specify the height they want in a partner. On dating apps, men are much more likely to swipe yes indiscriminately, in the hope of matching with whoever will have them and figuring out later if they’re actually interested; women tend to do the opposite. Male behaviour is…

SWEDEN It’s pointless to engage with extremists Sydsvenskan (Malmö) It’s worrying how much attention political extremists are getting from Sweden’s mainstream media, says Malin Krutmeijer. The Nordic Resistance Movement, a neo-Nazi outfit, has been making a big effort to get itself noticed ahead of elections in September. At a recent “political festival” it subjected the audience to racist harangues; on its website – which it boasts has 300,000 visitors – it claims that the Holocaust is a hoax. Such nonsense hardly needs answering, yet for some weird reason the national broadcaster, SVT, felt the need to publish a “fact check”? This new trend of pandering to people on the outer margins of political debate is simply “incomprehensible”. One shouldn’t have to cite the UN, leading historians and Nuremberg judges to…

A growing number of patients in England are being refused hip and knee operations even though their GPs believe them to be in their clinical interests, according to a report in The BMJ. Under NHS rules, doctors must make “exceptional funding requests” for certain treatments, which are then decided by clinical commissioners. The system was originally mainly used to restrict access to cosmetic procedures and fertility treatments, but cash-strapped health authorities are now applying them to hip and knee operations too. According to The BMJ, nearly 1,700 requests for operations were rejected last year – a 45% increase on 2016-17. “The money has in effect run out, and clinical commissioning groups have got to find ways of delivering greater efficiencies,” said Julie Wood, chief executive of NHS Clinical Commissioners.…

There was a time when the Tories considered themselves the party of law and order, said the Daily Mail. But that claim starts to look “increasingly thin” when you examine the latest crime figures for England and Wales. They show crime spiralling out of control: robbery is up 30%, year on year; knife crime up 16%; burglaries and car break-ins have also risen. And in nine cases out of ten, nobody is even charged; indeed, the detection rate for rape – at just 3% – is a cause for national shame. What message does this send to moped thugs and machete-wielding burglars, other than “keep calm and carry on”? We hear a lot about crime in the big cities, but it isn’t just an urban phenomenon, said Henry Bodkin in…

“Acting is the shy person’s revenge on the world.” Sinéad Cusack, quoted in the Daily Mail “In the beginner’s mind there are many possibilities, but in the expert’s there are few.” Zen master Shunryu Suzuki, quoted in Forbes “I bring out the worst in my enemies and that’s how I get them to defeat themselves.” Attorney Roy Cohn, quoted in The Washington Post “It is always a risk to speak to the press: they are likely to report what you say.” Former US vice-president Hubert Humphrey, quoted on BBC News online “Stop worrying about your identity and concern yourself with the people you care about, ideas that matter to you, beliefs you can stand by, tickets you can run on.” Zadie Smith, quoted on Voice-Online.com “I’m…

For years, Geraint Thomas has been “the most loyal of lieutenants”, said Tom Cary in The Sunday Telegraph. Since joining Team Sky in 2010, the Welsh cyclist has played a supporting role at the Tour de France: first to Bradley Wiggins, then to Chris Froome. But this year’s race has followed a different pattern. Froome, who has won four of the past five Tours, remains Sky’s nominal leader. Yet at the start of the final week, it was Thomas who wore the yellow jersey, while Froome was second. Last week, the Welshman won two successive Alpine stages – a rare achievement on the Tour. And while he insists that he “still sees Froome as the team’s leader”, it’s becoming harder and harder to believe him. Thomas has previously kept in…

Electric planes prepare for take-off The future of flight is electric, industry experts say, after a recent £343m government investment in electric and hybrid aerospace research. The flagship project that will benefit from the cash is the E-Fan X, an experimental version of the BAe146 aircraft developed jointly by Rolls-Royce, Airbus and Siemens. Instead of the usual four jet engines, the prototype will have two jets and two electric motors, powered by an onboard generator. At the Farnborough International Airshow last week, Business Secretary Greg Clark said he wanted the UK to lead the race to create electric aircraft. The benefits will not just be environmental. Electric aircraft will be quieter, allowing airports to be built nearer cities. The new aircraft will also be more efficient, cutting fuel bills, one…

My Year of Rest and Relaxation by Ottessa Moshfegh Jonathan Cape 304pp £12.99 The Week Bookshop £11.99 Ottessa Moshfegh’s second novel, set in New York in the run-up to 9/11, is a “bleakly comic tale of a disenchanted 24-year-old who spends a year hibernating in a narcotic haze”, said Johanna Thomas-Corr in the London Evening Standard. Its unnamed narrator works in a gallery and has a “comfy inheritance”, but “longs to drop out of society and live like a bum”. With the help of her “terrible” psychiatrist, she enters drug-induced sleep in the hope of becoming a “better person”. Moshfegh’s “wickedly funny” novel “takes on alienation, big pharma and the emptiness of consumption”. “As a recipe for drama, it’s far from obvious,” said Anthony Cummins in The Observer. And yet…

“It is 20 years since the Liverpool Biennial, Britain’s largest festival of contemporary art, was established,” said Alastair Sooke in The Daily Telegraph. The city itself has flourished since then: a walk down its once-neglected waterfront reveals a “booming metropolis” – yet this thoughtful anniversary edition of the biennial is a distinctly “sombre” affair. Entitled Beautiful world, where are you? (a line from a Friedrich Schiller poem), it brings together the work of 44 artists from 22 countries, spread across the city’s venues. It has a distinct focus on the political, economic and environmental uncertainty of the present day: at the Bluecoat arts centre, Iranian-Canadian Abbas Akhavan presents a sculptural display based on Islamic State’s destruction of ancient statuary; at Tate Liverpool, one of the late Annie Pootoogook’s drawings depicts…

Best books… Rupert Thomson Rupert Thomson, whose novel The Insult was chosen by David Bowie as one of his top 100 reads, picks his all-time favourites. He is talking about his new novel, Never Anyone But You, at the Edinburgh Festival on 25 August Giving up the Ghost by Hilary Mantel, 2003 (Fourth Estate £8.99). Mantel has never been more psychologically acute than she is in this highly charged, intensely moving and sometimes eerie memoir. Although her life has not been easy, she is brave and generous enough to give us glimpses into the darkest corners of her mind, the place where her brilliant writing originates. Honeymoon by Patrick Modiano, 1990 (Verba Mundi £12.76). This slim masterpiece begins on a hot August afternoon in the bar of a Milan hotel,…

Programmes A Year in the New Forest This four-part series follows a year in the life of the people and animals who inhabit the New Forest. Sat 28 July, C4 19:00 (60mins). Travels in Trumpland with Ed Balls The former shadow chancellor travels to the Deep South to meet the people who put Trump in power. Sun 29 July, BBC2 21:00 (60mins). Whoever Heard of a Black Artist? Britain’s Hidden Art History Over the past three years, Sonia Boyce has uncovered in British public collections hundreds of works by black artists, many of which are rarely, if ever, shown. Mon 30 July, BBC4 21:00 (60mins). Murder in Soho: Who Killed Freddie Mills? In 1965, Freddie Mills, a boxing champion-turned-actor, was found shot dead. Fifty years on, his family still isn’t…

Watermelon and mint granita My mother made sure that in the summer there was always watermelon in the fridge, says Lisa Valmorbida. Combined with just mint and ice (granita all’anguria e menta), it’s lovely. But you could fork some vodka or Prosecco through it. Serves 4 500g seedless watermelon, cut into small chunks 300ml filtered water 10 large mint leaves 200g caster sugar • It’s important to pay attention while making granita to make sure you get the right slushy consistency. And eat it straight away – if you leave it in the freezer it’ll go rock hard. • Add the watermelon, water, mint and sugar to a bowl and blend with a handheld blender until completely smooth. • Pour the mixture into a pre-cooled stainless steel tray and put…

Gentlemen’s Hardware Suitcase BBQ Weighing only 3.4kg, this portable case transforms into a simple barbecue with a coal tray in a few quick steps. It’s small, but good for a picnic (£65; www.amazon.co.uk). Lotus Grill Forget faffing about with hairdryers to fan the flames: the Lotus Grill, available in seven cheerful colours, has a built-in, battery-powered fan, so the coals are ready for cooking in only a few minutes (£123; www.johnlewis.com). everdure CUBE From Heston Blumenthal’s everdure range, this stylish charcoal barbecue comes with a bamboo food prep board and has a porcelain enamel interior, but the grill is on the smaller side (£149; www.johnlewis.com). Weber Q 1200 If you’re looking for an easily portable gas cooker, this convenient Weber model has a cast-iron cooking grate, a tall lid with…

3 nights in Birmingham Saint Pauls House, in a former rope factory in the heart of the vibrant Jewellery Quarter, is offering a room-only stay from £156pp. 020-3811 7925, www.chicretreats.com. Arrive 6 September. Parisian short break Spend 2 nights b&b at the lovely Hôtel Eiffel Blomet, with a sauna and hammam, from £220pp. Eurostar from London included. 020-3897 1185, www.loveholidays.com. Depart 21 August. Malta’s biggest bay The 4-star Hotel Mellieha Bay has 2 pools and a private beach. A 7-night all-inclusive stay is from £828pp, Newcastle flights incl. 020-3451 2720, www.firstchoice.co.uk. Depart 4 September. A week in Antigua Experience the breathtaking beauty of Antigua at the all-inclusive Verandah Resort & Spa from £1,407pp. Glasgow flights incl. 020-8974 7200, www.travelrepublic.co.uk. Depart 31 August.…

Barclays: old bogies, new opportunities Barclays scored “a significant victory” over the Serious Fraud Office in May, when the Crown Court threw out charges arising from its Qatar fundraising during the 2008 financial crisis, said Jasper Jolly in City AM. But the bank isn’t out of the woods yet. Determined to continue pursuing the case, the SFO has now applied to the High Court “to reinstate all of the charges dismissed by the Crown Court”. The SFO alleges that Barclays greased the £11.8bn emergency cash call with a £2.3bn loan to the state of Qatar, which was allegedly used illegally to prop up the value of Barclays’ shares – in effect, lending to itself. Four of the bank’s leaders at the time, including former CEO John Varley, face a separate…

Barbera d'Alba Giulia Negri 2015, 14% Italy I was blown away by the sheer drinkability of this lovely Barbera, once known as “the people's wine” due to its widespread popularity in northern Italy. Giulia Negri only recently took over these vineyards, which have been in the family even before Italy was unified in the nineteenth century. One of the rising stars of Piedmont, she also makes a renowned Barolo, but that takes far more time to come around. I don’t want to wait to see whether this wine improves with age; it’s exquisite as it is, with hints of fresh cherries and red fruit. Pouilly- Fumé Les Chaumiennes A&E Figeat 2017, 13% France It may be 100% Sauvignon Blanc, but unlike its Antipodean cousins, Pouilly- Fumé is more understated with…

Irish Moggmentum As Jacob Rees-Mogg’s political profile has risen, so too has interest in Somerset Capital Management, the investment company he co-founded in 2007, said Harry Wilson in The Times. Last week, the firm opened its second Dublin-registered fund, leading to accusations of “hypocrisy” against the leading Tory Brexiteer, “who has argued that leaving the EU will boost the British economy”. Dominic Johnson, Somerset’s CEO, is having none of it: he says that Rees-Mogg has nothing to do with the firm’s management – and that the decision to double up in Dublin was “driven by client demand, rather than Brexit”. Racy investments Somerset currently manages £6.4bn on behalf of clients ranging from sovereign wealth funds and large investment institutions to high-net-worth individuals. Large holdings in India, China and Brazil chime…

David Solomon The new boss of Goldman Sachs has been charged with taming “the Vampire Squid” as the company “tries to persuade ordinary people to put their savings” into Marcus, its new retail banking concept, says Oliver Shah in The Sunday Times. David Solomon certainly makes a change from the long line of work-obsessive “rough-and-tough traders” who’ve traditionally dominated “the most red-toothed investment bank in the world”. He made his career as an investment banker on the back of close relationships with clients such as Sheldon Adelson, owner of the Las Vegas Sands casino. Known as “DJ D-Sol at weekends”, Solomon, 56, spins dance music and practises yoga, noting recently that if he didn’t find time to “pursue passions”, it would be harder “to keep moving forward professionally”. Rico Back…

Controversy of the week Defining anti-Semitism At this “crunch point” in the Brexit negotiations, you’d expect Labour to be focusing on, well, the future of the country, said The Independent. Instead, Jeremy Corbyn’s party is embroiled in yet another row over anti-Semitism – in particular, whether it should adopt the definition of it approved by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA). This definition is accepted by “the Government, the devolved administrations, the Crown Prosecution Service, more than 100 local authorities and 31 countries” – but it’s not good enough for Labour’s National Executive Committee. Last week, it signed up to the broad 38-word definition itself, but to the fury of Labour MPs, it baulked at including the IHRA’s examples of what constitutes anti-Semitism. You’re “a f***ing anti-Semite and a racist”…

Aldi and Lidl, with reports that Tesco is about to start a rival discount chain. The speculation is that the new chain will launch with up to 60 stores (some replacing existing Tesco Metros), and that it will be called Jack’s. Burberry, which caused uproar by admitting that it had burnt up to £28m’s worth of unsold stock last year. In fact, fashion houses routinely destroy excess stock, because they know that if they allow it to be sold at a discount price in the “grey” market, it will undermine their exclusive image; and they fear that if they send it for recycling, it will end up on the black market. Sunbathers, who were warned that they’re not using enough sunscreen. Researchers at King’s College London have found that people…

Only 17% of voters think the Labour Party “does not have a problem with anti-Semitism”, including 32% of Labour voters. 32% overall think anti-Semitism is on the rise in the UK, 25% disagree and 43% don’t know. ComRes 86% of UK adults think that the press should not be allowed to name someone who is being investigated for a crime, but has not been arrested or charged. Only 5% think the opposite. YouGov/Press Gazette Two-thirds of British 16- to 18-year-olds say they have never had sex, while 24% never drink alcohol. 82% say good grades and career success are a priority; 68% say the same of spending time with peers. British Pregnancy Advisory Service/The Independent…

Golan Heights White Helmets evacuated: Almost 100 members of the Syrian Civil Defence, known as the White Helmets, together with their families, were evacuated from Syria by Israel via the Golan Heights last weekend – and were given refuge in Jordan, in a surprise rescue operation backed by several Western countries, including Britain. The plans had been drawn up after discussions at the recent Nato summit, it emerged. The families will be given asylum in countries including the UK, Canada and Germany. The White Helmets are credited with saving 115,000 lives and documenting multiple regime atrocities, including gas attacks. They are treated as terrorists by the Assad regime, and face reprisals following its recapture of almost all remaining rebel areas, including the cradle of the 2011 uprising, Daraa. Harare Crocodile’s…

“Hatchimals are eggs containing small animals covered in fur, with a fabricated mythology designed to hook children’s interest in the way football cards once did. This adds to the fun of opening the package, but does nothing to make the toys more attractive: they get tossed on the pile, and on we go to the next. Collecting worthless stuff is an important part of childhood, yet the marketing seems more sophisticated than when I was a kid: designed to encourage some instinct to consume purely for the experience of consuming, rather than to put any value on the object itself. My kids do not love their Hatchimals, yet still they clamour for more.” Emma Brockes in The Guardian…

A threat to the planet that lies in your pocket John Harris The Guardian It isn’t Heathrow expansion that should most concern you if you worry about climate change, says John Harris. It’s the threat to the environment lurking in your pocket: your smartphone. The threat isn’t in the handsets; it lies in the vast data centres that process all the messages, photos and videos we send from them. (Most of the big centres are located in Loudoun County, Virginia, through which 70% of the world’s online traffic is said to pass.) Such centres, with their vast servers and industrial cooling systems, require colossal amounts of energy: soon their carbon footprint will surpass that of the entire aviation industry. Worse still, their energy usage is predicted to triple within ten…

Pregnancy depression on rise Today’s expectant mothers are far more likely to be depressed than their mothers were during pregnancy – a result, scientists believe, of the combined strains of work and social media. Between 1990 and 1992, researchers at the University of Bristol recruited 2,390 pregnant women aged between 19 and 24, and quizzed them about their moods and feelings. They repeated the procedure between 2012 and 2016 with 180 pregnant women in the same age group, who were either daughters of the women in the first cohort or the partners of their sons. Among the first generation, 17% exhibited symptoms of depression or anxiety; among the second, 25% did. “Pregnancy is getting harder,” Dr Rebecca Pearson told The Daily Telegraph. Dual-income households are more common today, and more…

Margaret Thatcher was not a particularly cuddly PM, but according to newly released papers, she had two teddy bears – Humphrey and Mrs Teddy – who were so in demand, Downing Street staff had to turn down invitations on their behalf. A letter received in April 1988 read: “Four years ago you were kind enough to allow Humphrey to come to our picnic at Woburn. Would he be available now to go to the Piazza in Covent Garden to help release 10,000 balloons on behalf of the British Diabetic Association?” To this, a Downing Street aide replied that Humphrey is “already engaged for this date”. A month later, Gyles Brandreth made a similar request and was also told that the bears had “other commitments”. He says that Thatcher later told…

Sir Cliff Richard was on holiday in Portugal in August 2014 when he got a call from a friend, warning him that the police were outside his home in Berkshire, said The Daily Telegraph. Soon after, he learnt that he’d been accused of assaulting a minor at a Billy Graham rally in 1985 – and when he switched on the TV, footage of police ransacking his apartment was all over the news. It turned out that a BBC reporter had got wind of the fact that Sir Cliff was under suspicion and, in return for not reporting on it then, South Yorkshire Police had tipped him off about the search. Desperate to make the best of its scoop, the BBC’s editors had decided not just to report the facts, but…

On Sunday, the Open boasted “one of the great leader boards” in the British competition’s history, said James Corrigan in The Daily Telegraph. Tiger Woods was at the top for a brief period; Rory McIlroy, Jordan Spieth and Justin Rose all seemed to be in contention. But in the end, they fell behind Francesco Molinari, an “unassuming 35-year-old from Turin”. The first Italian golfer to win a major, he sealed his victory with a “ridiculously clinical” closing stretch. It was one of the most impressive – and “most disciplined” – final rounds the Open has ever hosted. On a day when “the wind played havoc”, Molinari recorded a remarkable 16 pars and two birdies to end the stranglehold that American golfers have had on the majors since April 2017. It…

An honourable Brexit To The Independent The £39bn we have committed to pay to the EU upon our exit is not a gratuity or a divorce payment. It represents a legal liability. It represents historic infrastructure commitments and liabilities entered into by our nation that are to be completed by 2030. It represents the remaining one year and nine months of the seven-year budget we committed to pay in 2014. It represents liabilities to contribute towards pensions to public servants who represented our nation within the EU (Mr Farage included!). It represents our contribution to joint research and development projects (to renege on these would decimate the UK’s science and research community). The list of legally binding liabilities goes on. The calculation of all these liabilities amounts to an estimated…

4IR tech: changing business The fourth industrial revolution should be seen as an opportunity, not a threat – and embracing change could bring new jobs and profits to the UK, according to a report from Barclays. The first industrial revolution was powered by steam, the second by electricity and the third by electronics. Now, a new industrial revolution (‘4IR’) is based on the internet and artificial intelligence. 4IR could be regarded as a set of hazards, where autonomous, thinking robots take jobs from humans; but leading economists and politicians agree Britain must embrace 4IR and meet its challenges. Mark Franckel, group chief executive of Coventry-based automotive and aerospace firm Arlington Industries, says robots have transformed his sector – and are becoming more flexible and versatile all the time. Yet Arlington,…

Theatre A Monster Calls Adapted from the novel by Patrick Ness Director: Sally Cookson The Old Vic, The Cut, London SE1 (0844-871 7628). Until 25 August Not suitable for under-tens Running time: 2hrs 20mins (including interval) ★★★★ This “strange, soaring yet miraculously unsentimental” adaptation of Patrick Ness’s book – about a troubled 13-year-old boy, Conor, whose mother is dying of cancer – is a must-see production, said Dominic Maxwell in The Times. Bring your teenagers and your parents; bring your friends and your neighbours. And “bring tissues, lots of tissues”. It is “heartbreaking, spectacular, harsh, happy”, and it leaves you, as my 13-year-old observed, “about as unbored as you could ever be in a theatre”. Working with writer Adam Peck and the actors themselves, Sally Cookson has devised a show…

Peter Blake at Waddington Custot Behind David Hockney, Tracey Emin and Damien Hirst, Peter Blake is arguably this country’s most famous living artist. His status as a pioneer of British pop art is inarguable, and though his work has never been quite as fashionable as that of some contemporaries, his popularity has never waned. A Life in Drawings and Watercolours collects a selection of his works dating from the 1950s to the present day and showcases his formidable draughtsmanship. While some recent watercolours are offputtingly twee, the rest are a joy. Perhaps the best thing that can be said is that Blake makes it all look so easy: his life drawings have an astonishing economy of line; sketches of social gatherings appear so spontaneous that you can almost hear…

Tips of the week… how to make money as a writer ● Be realistic: these days, very few full-time writers make enough to live on, even if they supplement their income by writing book reviews and the like. The Literary Review pays £40 for a book review; you’d be lucky to get £100 for an interview on Radio 4. ● It helps to be young and attractive: it makes you more marketable. If you’re not, try to think up a good “story” a publicist can tell about you – or wait until you’re old. Being ancient can be marketable in itself. ● Look beyond the book. The likes of Netflix have an appetite for adaptations, so think about your story’s on-screen appeal. ● Try to hit the zeitgeist. At the…

Feel Free by Zadie Smith The hype around Zadie Smith’s latest book is well warranted. With subjects ranging from Jay-Z and Tarantino to Facebook and Trump, this “brilliant” collection of essays “is at once delightful, challenging, and important”, says Esquire. Our price: £16.00, usually £20.00 The Only Story by Julian Barnes Opening with the question, “Would you rather love the more, and suffer the more; or love the less and suffer the less?” the book struggles to answer and explores the possibilities of both. Our price: £12.99, usually £14.99 The Female Persuasion by Meg Wolitzer Wolitzer “has always found a way to write engrossing, smart, and breezy books that also cut to the heart of the conundrum of living as a woman in the world”, says Vulture, and her latest…

Equity markets were jittery midweek ahead of a key meeting in Washington between President Trump and Jean-Claude Juncker, the European Commission chief. European investors were reported to have pulled cash from mutual funds at the fastest rate in almost five years in June, withdrawing s38.3bn on fears of a trade war. Stocks in Asia enjoyed a stimulus-driven rally following China’s announcement of a $386bn fiscal stimulus. The price of bitcoin, which has languished in recent months, shot up again through the $8,000 barrier. The UK head of Amazon, Doug Gurr, reportedly warned Brexit Secretary Dominic Raab that a no-deal Brexit could result in civil unrest “within weeks”. Wall Street banks warned the Treasury that it should cut taxes and red tape or risk an exodus. Begbies Traynor, the restructuring specialist,…

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. As usual, you can purchase any…

goHenry A popular saving and spending app aimed at six- to 18-year-olds. Parents sign up, open a linked account for each child and transfer their pocket money into it. The kids then have access to a debit card, which parents can monitor. You can set weekly limits “so they can’t go overboard”. RoosterMoney This app uses virtual money to help children to see how cash accumulates, and to learn the principle of saving. Children can move money into different pots for future goals. If they want to buy something, you can deduct the cost from the balance (while paying for it in real money), so they can see their balance diminish. vouchercloud A useful way for teenagers to source discounts on eating out, takeaways and shopping. A location function helps…

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Girl Guiding badges are being comprehensively overhauled to make them relevant to the skills people value today. Among the 100 new badges (introduced following a consultation with members) are mindfulness, vlogger, upcycling, human rights and craftivism. The last involves “crafting items that make a statement, advocate for change and challenge injustice” – for instance, a sunglasses case decorated with a message about global warming. Organisers of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe are bringing in a contactless payment system so that street performers can be tipped by card. Festivalgoers who don’t carry cash will be able to pay a fixed amount on “tap-to-tip” stations on the Royal Mile.…

A million public sector workers are to receive their biggest pay rise in nearly ten years, the Government announced this week. However, in most cases, the rises will still fall below the CPI rate of inflation of 2.4%. The Armed Forces are being awarded a rise of 2%, plus a one-off payment of 0.9% in September; GPs, junior doctors and police will get 2%; and teachers (except those in leadership roles) 3.5%. There is no new money coming from the Treasury, however, so it will have to come from savings in existing budgets. The move marks an end to the 1% pay cap introduced in 2012.…

Brussels Google fined: The European Commission last week fined Google a record $5bn for breaching EU competition laws. Having conducted a three-year investigation, the commission concluded that since 2011, the tech giant has gained an unfair advantage by requiring smartphone manufacturers using its Android operating system to pre-install the Google search engine and apps such as the Chrome browser. The Android system accounts for 80% of the global smartphone market. Google has been given 90 days to end the practice, or Alphabet, its parent company, will face further penalties of up to 5% of daily turnover. The decision reflects a growing gulf between the EU and America over the regulation of big US tech firms. President Trump tweeted his outrage at the fine. EU regulators have steadily increased pressure on…

Reviving Sir Les Patterson Barry Humphries did not fare well when he first arrived in Britain in the late 1950s. He managed to befriend his hero, Peter Cook, but he struggled with his acting, and ended up almost drinking himself to death, says Simon Hattenstone in The Guardian. The nadir came in 1973, when he was found beaten unconscious in a gutter. Admitted to hospital, he finally dried out. “I got sick and tired of being sick and tired,” he explains. He hasn’t touched a drop since: he leaves the boozing to his alter ego, Sir Les Patterson, the Australian cultural attaché. They haven’t much in common. Whereas Sir Les is rude, vulgar and boorish, Humphries is courteous, urbane and bookish. But the comedian, 84, loves playing the character and…

Natasha Crown is dreaming big: she wants to have the world’s largest bottom. Her bum already has a circumference of six feet, and 88,000 followers on Instagram, but that isn’t enough for the 21-stone model from Gothenburg in Sweden. Crown is on a mission to gain another four stone, and to that end she eats 15 jars of Nutella every month. “I just love the feeling of having a big bum,” she told The Sun. “My bum makes me feel sexy and makes me feel powerful.” A London baker has been branded a “serial killer” after posting videos of herself cutting into cakes designed to look like animals. Hannah Edwards, aka The Cake Illusionist, is known for her ultra-realistic sponge creations, but clips of her slicing through the heads of…

RWANDA America picks a petty fight over clothing The Washington Post You’d think America had enough on its plate, what with its trade wars with China and the EU, says Grant T. Harris. But no: it has also found time to pick a fight with Rwanda over second-hand clothing. In an effort to wean itself off US hand-me-downs and bolster its local garment industry, the tiny African country recently increased import duties on used clothes from America. In response, the Trump administration has suspended duty-free access to US markets for Rwandan clothing, saying Rwanda had violated the terms of the African Growth and Opportunity Act. Although the US had every right to retaliate under the terms of the act, it’s a petty and “shortsighted” reaction. The administration can hardly claim…

Shark sightings are rare in Britain, but this may change over the coming decades as rising sea temperatures bring ever larger species to UK waters, a leading expert has claimed. In a report commissioned by the TV channel Nat Geo Wild, Dr Ken Collins, a senior research fellow at the University of Southampton, predicts that as many as ten species currently found in warmer climates are likely to swim off Britain by 2050 – adding to the estimated 40 species currently present. They include great hammerheads, which can grow up to six metres long; and oceanic whitetips, a species that rarely strays from deep waters, but is believed over the years to have been responsible for thousands of human deaths – mostly after shipwrecks. Yet despite the variety of species…

Parliament has many bizarre conventions, said Zoe Williams in The Guardian. You are allowed to “honk like a goose” while another MP is speaking, but not use his or her name. You can accuse a colleague of “misspeaking”, but never of “lying”. Free snuff is provided by the Commons doorkeeper. But if you want to take a right as basic as maternity leave, you have to rely on an arcane procedure known as “pairing”. This means that pairs of MPs on opposing sides agree not to vote so that an absence, whether because of maternity leave, illness or travel problems, is cancelled out. But it is only a “gentleman’s agreement”, which rests on trust. And that trust can be abused. Last week, it seems Julian Smith, the Conservative chief whip,…

If there’s one area in which today’s students are consistent, said Tom Slater on Spiked, it’s their dogged commitment “to crushing evil where it doesn’t exist”. Two years after the asinine campaign at Oxford to remove a statue of Cecil Rhodes, our brightest and best are “raging” against another “long-dead colonialist”. In the stocks this time: Rudyard Kipling. As part of recent renovations at the University of Manchester, the Nobel Prize-winner’s perennially popular poem If was painted on a wall in the students’ union. That triggered an immediate backlash from the union’s leaders, who scrubbed off the offending piece and wrote in its place Still I Rise, by the black American poet Maya Angelou. Kipling, they righteously explained, was a “racist” who “stands for the opposite of liberation, empowerment and…

Lewis Hamilton has enjoyed some remarkable victories in his career, said Joe Downes in the Daily Mail. There was the 2008 British Grand Prix, in which he prevailed by a staggering 68 seconds; there was Bahrain in 2014, where he somehow held off Nico Rosberg’s attacks. But his “flawless” win in Sunday’s German Grand Prix stands comparison with any of those triumphs. To think this was meant to be an exercise in damage limitation, said Giles Richards in The Guardian. Hamilton’s car had suffered a mechanical failure in qualifying, forcing him to start from 14th on the grid. But by the 14th lap, he had zoomed into fifth place. And he kept his tyres in such good shape that he was able to go 42 laps without pitting. At that…

To The Guardian Your leader claims that the judge’s ruling against the BBC and in favour of Sir Cliff Richard [over the corporation’s coverage of a 2014 police raid on the singer’s home] puts a ban on the press reporting on police activities. But this is a distortion of what the judge ruled. He stated that the press only has the right to report police investigations where there is a clear public interest in doing so. In this case, where a single accusation was being looked into, there was no such public interest. As in the Christopher Jefferies case, the press acted in a highhanded, prurient manner and broke the law as it stands. The press is not being muzzled, it is being told to act responsibly. James Pullen, St…

Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again ★★★ My my, how can you resist it? Dir: Ol Parker 1hr 54mins (12A) The “plotless melange” of the first Mamma Mia! musical had me breaking out in “a combination of hives and bubonic plague”, said Peter Bradshaw in The Guardian. Yet something in the “relentless silliness” of this sequel won me over. The fantastically flimsy storyline – enlivened by rousing renditions of songs by Abba – has the original cast, including Colin Firth, Pierce Brosnan and Julie Walters, returning to the idyllic Greek island of Kalokairi to help Sophie (Amanda Seyfried) relaunch her late mother Donna’s guest house. Meryl Streep, whose relaxed charisma as Donna was central to the earlier film’s charm, appears only briefly, said Deborah Ross in The Spectator; and though…

Art historians have long thought that the moody skies and menacing clouds in the late watercolours of John Constable “mirrored his dark emotional state after the death of his wife”, says Dalya Alberge in The Daily Telegraph. But now a leading scholar has proposed a simpler theory: he was just accurately representing bad weather. Mark Evans, head of paintings at the Victoria & Albert Museum, has matched Constable’s watercolours of the skies over Hampstead Heath from 1833 and 1834, which were marked with date and time, with records of meteorological data compiled by Charles Henry Adams, the then headmaster of Latymer School in Edmonton, six miles away. Constable, said Evans, was “shattered” by his wife Maria’s death from tuberculosis in 1828; but these dramatic works were “founded on what he…

After the partnership meeting, Debbie decides not to delay returning to Hungary. Adam says there’s not much she can do now that Brian and Jennifer have decided to sell the house. Kate’s sure they’re bluffing. Alice asks Brian if he wants to move. Of course he doesn’t, but Jennifer’s convinced him it is the best option. Alice accuses her siblings of forcing their parents out of their home. Alistair and Shula’s mediation session is heated. Alistair has had to rethink his finances following Anisha’s decision to leave the business, and he wants Shula to pay more for the house. Alistair explains that some of what Anisha put into the practice went towards their mortgage. Shula reminds him that they only have a mortgage because of his gambling. Lilian learns about…

Root Unit 9 Cargo 1, Gaol Ferry Steps, Bristol (0117-930 0260) Situated in a renovated cargo container in Bristol’s Wapping Wharf, and serving small plates that give vegetables top billing, Root “couldn’t be more on trend if it tried”, says Tom Parker Bowles in The Mail on Sunday. Yet there’s nothing pretentious about this friendly place. It’s clearly a “labour of love”, and the cooking is simple, well thought-out and confident. Bream carpaccio is made with “suitably spanking fresh fish”, with a bitter orange dressing that both “piques the palate and flatters the fish”. Better still is asparagus with dukkah – “England meets the Middle East” – and immaculate Welsh rarebit. “The whole plate is a joy.” Other standouts include “beautifully balanced” beetroot with hazelnuts and blueberries; and aubergine…

The Daily Telegraph The trusty old Honda Jazz “doesn’t exactly scream excitement” – something the maker hopes to change with the new Sport model. Incongruous as a fast, dynamic Jazz may seem, it is “certainly surprising when it gets going”, and does a “semi-respectable” 0-62mph in 8.7 seconds. But for the younger buyers it’s intended to reel in, it’s still going to seem about as thrilling as a “built-in wardrobe”. Auto Express The visual changes are “minimal”, but the beady-eyed will notice a new grille and bumper. The interior has new fabrics, leather on the steering wheel and gearstick, and a rather “fiddly” infotainment system. You do get “unrivalled” cabin and boot space, and Honda’s famous folding Magic Seats, but that’s true in the cheaper original Jazz too, which is…

Hotel Tamariu, Catalonia, Spain One of the oldest hotels on the Costa Brava, this “bright and airy” 17-room establishment is a good base for a family seaside holiday, says Eddi Fiegel in The Sunday Telegraph. It is set right beside the sandy beach in Tamariu – a village on a small bay two hours’ drive from Barcelona – and is in easy reach of larger beaches and medieval hilltop towns such as Begur and Pals. Rooms are simple but clean and light, with “crisp” linen and walk-in showers. The restaurant serves “delicious” Catalan seafood dishes, and the “friendly” young staff can arrange kayaking, diving and other local activities. Doubles from £100 b&b. 00 34 972 62 00 31, www.tamariu.com .…

One of the youngest Spitfire pilots in the Battle of Britain Geoffrey Wellum 1921-2018 In the mid-1970s, Geoffrey Wellum was at his lowest ebb, said The Independent. His marriage had ended, his business was failing and he had nowhere to live. In despair, he sat down to write about his youth. “I just wanted to sit quietly and convince myself that at some point in my life I had been of use,” he recalled years later. Wellum’s story was extraordinary: he’d joined the RAF on the eve of the Second World War and become one of the youngest pilots to fly in the Battle of Britain. But he hadn’t written it for publication and the manuscript sat in a drawer for decades. Then, in 2000, he sent it to a…

The long battle for Rupert Murdoch’s media empire is “drawing to a close” – and it looks like being “a thriller without a final twist”, said Nils Pratley in The Guardian. The US cable giant Comcast has ended its battle with rival Disney in the £55bn fight for 21st Century Fox, “conceding, in effect, that the bidding had become too hot”. The bulk of Murdoch’s empire is thus “destined for Disney”, assuming US regulators approve. The action has now shifted to Europe and “the scrap for Sky”, which Comcast currently leads with a £26bn (£14.75-per-share) offer. “The open question” is whether Fox, which already owns 39% of the broadcaster, “will return with a better bid”. Comcast’s concession to Disney ends “one of the biggest bidding wars in media history”, which…

It’s now up to Brussels to compromise Editorial The Observer The International Monetary Fund has quite rightly highlighted how harmful the impact of a “hard Brexit” would be on the remaining EU27, says The Observer. Its analysts reckon the EU could lose 1.5% of gross domestic product from a no-deal Brexit. Compared with the 4% loss of national income predicted for Britain, that looks relatively tame. But, as the IMF notes, neighbouring countries such as Ireland, the Netherlands and Belgium are particularly vulnerable to “adverse shocks”. Indeed, output losses in Ireland could be “of similar magnitude to those estimated for the UK”. EU officials recognise that “a deal is becoming more unlikely”, but don’t appear willing to resolve the situation. Yet were they to reinterpret workers’ rights – not just…

The week’s best shares Applegreen Investors Chronicle This petrol forecourt retailer has good domestic growth and is expanding its US footprint fast. Performance has been “reassuringly resilient” under challenging conditions. Could be a takeover target. Buy. 527p. Ideagen Investors Chronicle Ideagen, which provides information management software to highly regulated industries, is diversifying revenue streams and expanding globally. Earnings and the dividend are growing. Buy. 132p. Speedy Hire Investors Chronicle Better fleet management and improved efficiencies have “supercharged” profits, prompting upgrades for the equipment hire firm. Recovery is in “full swing”, the balance sheet is strong and it is winning market share. Buy. 61p. Icade The Daily Telegraph This French property company, which owns much of La Défense, is set to benefit from a “hard Brexit” forcing financial firms to relocate…