Innholdsfortegnelse for V. 1199 i The Week

What happened The Saudi assassins Saudi Arabia came under mounting international pressure over the killing of a dissident Saudi journalist this week when Turkey’s President Erdogan confirmed leaked accounts of the murder. Speaking publicly about the affair for the first time, Erdogan condemned the “savage” assassination of Jamal Khashoggi at the Saudi consulate this month. He described the killing as “political” and premeditated, but stopped short of directly implicating Saudi Arabia’s de facto ruler, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS). According to lurid accounts of the murder leaked earlier in the week, Saudi hitmen cut off Khashoggi’s fingers while he was still alive. Some of those involved were reportedly members of the prince’s own security team. Before Erdogan’s speech, Saudi officials finally admitted that Khashoggi was murdered (having previously insisted…

Minibreaks, with the launch of a new chain of hotels offering tiny “pod-style” rooms for only £19 a night. The hotels, called Zip by Premier Inn, will be located on the outskirts of cities and major towns, and will have 8.5-square-metre rooms designed by the consultancy that creates the first-class cabins for Air France. The first is due to open early next year in Cardiff. Instant wealth, after a lottery ticket holder in South Carolina scooped the largest jackpot in US history. Following successive rollovers, the prize had reached a whopping £1.2bn.…

MPs have accused the Government of taking its foot “almost entirely off the pedal” in tackling street harassment, which they said is a “routine and sometimes relentless” experience for women. In a new report, the cross-party Women and Equalities Committee found “no evidence of any programme to achieve” the pledged goal of eliminating sexual harassment by 2030. Among other things, it has recommended that the Government forces public-transport operators, universities and pub owners to tackle harassment, and to treat pornography as a public health issue.…

“Growing up in a working-class home with few books, not going abroad until I was 16, attending an aspiration-free comprehensive, I had two strokes of luck. First, that my parents didn’t care for music and listened constantly to Radio 4; the other was Blue Peter, my main portal into the world. Blue Peter is mocked for its sticky-backed plastic naffness, but as a knowledge-thirsty child, it gave me the suffragettes, William Wilberforce, India, Thailand. It took me up Nelson’s Column and shot me down the Cresta Run. And in the end, it made me leave Doncaster, because every fascinating item on, say, Tutankhamun, would end with the message: ‘and this can be seen on display in London’. I knew it is where I must be.” Janice Turner in The Times…

The rise of buzzword scholarship Sophie McBain New Statesman Did you know that by analysing the rampant sexuality of dogs, you can help “train” men out of sexual violence? If you’d read a recently published article in the journal Gender, Place and Culture, you would, says Sophie McBain. And were you aware that masturbating with dildos makes men more feminist? You would be if you’d read another academic study, Going in Through the Back Door. Actually, these were only two of 20 hoax papers (another was a “feminist” reading of Mein Kampf) submitted by three American scholars to peer-reviewed journals in the past ten months: seven were accepted for publication. They weren’t gunning at feminism or other liberal causes, as some have claimed: indeed, they profess to be broadly on…

Male birds can’t have it all In the avian world, there are few all-rounders: some male birds attract their mates with a stunning plumage, others with their impressive singing voices – but they rarely have both. That, it seems, would be asking too much of evolution. The discovery was made by researchers at the University of Oxford, who compared the birdsong of 518 species with the pattern and colour of their plumage. In particular, they paid attention to the degree of difference between the males and the females, because this sexual dimorphism is often a sign that sexual selection has played an evolutionary role. (Famously, the peacock is far more gorgeous than the dowdy peahen.) They found that in species where the male had a more striking plumage, his call…

One of the key reasons for making pot smoking illegal, said J.J. McCullough on MSN.com, is that it serves “to reinforce a message every civilisation benefits from hearing: drugs are bad and should not be consumed”. Even if, as in Canada, the law was never strongly enforced, the low-level sense of guilt and anxiety around the drug ensures the message gets through. But last week Canada’s liberal PM, Justin Trudeau, “took a wrecking ball to this delicate social order” by pushing though a new law that makes use of marijuana legal for over-18s. Canada is only the second nation – Uruguay did it in 2013 – to do this. Nearly five million Canadians currently smoke dope, said The Independent, and they were so excited to mark the end of prohibition,…

“The records, none of them desirable, are plentiful,” said Craig Hope in The Mail on Sunday. Nine matches into the season, Newcastle sit bottom of the table, with just two points. For the first time in “126 years of existence”, they have lost their opening five home games. In their past four games – none of them against sterling opposition – they have failed to score a single goal. Never before have they made such a sorry start to a top-flight season. Last Saturday, they were even beaten 1-0 at home by Brighton – a side that hadn’t won any of their previous 17 away ties. This is “a club disunited, going through the motions of a season that appears destined for disaster”. No manager could feel secure in such…

A victory for terror? To The Sunday Times After any terrorist attack we hear the mantra that we must not change the way we live our lives, because terrorism cannot be seen to win. Now we are told there cannot be a hard border between Northern Ireland and the Republic because it could lead to a breakdown of the Good Friday Agreement and the re-emergence of violence. Does this not mean that the threat of violence has won the day? Robin Dickson, Edinburgh The orphaned state To The Times The elephant in the room is that no one really wants Northern Ireland. Ireland can’t afford its engorged public sector costs, while British taxpayers have no option but to feed that expensive fly in the political ointment, and keep a stiff…

Musical Company Music and lyrics: Stephen Sondheim Book: George Furth Director: Marianne Elliott Gielgud Theatre, Shaftesbury Avenue, London W1 (0844-482 5138). Until 30 March Running time: 2hrs 35mins (including interval) ★★★★ Before the opening of this revival of Stephen Sondheim’s 1970 musical comedy, expectations were already “stratospherically high”, said Ian Shuttleworth in the FT. Incredibly, this production by Marianne Elliott has managed to exceed them. Sondheim has allowed her to recast his central character, Bobby (a commitment-shy Manhattan bachelor) as a woman. Bobbie, like Bobby before her, has reached her 35th birthday and has to confront the big decision on whether to settle down – but with the added pressure of a ticking biological clock. Elliott and Sondheim have “retooled his songs” and tweaked the script for a female protagonist.…

Edward Burtynsky at Flowers Gallery “Awe inspiring” is an overused term, but few others will do when it comes to discussing the work of Canadian photographer Edward Burtynsky. Since the 1980s, he has been creating monumental aerial images of humanity’s impact on landscape, taken in extraordinarily high resolution to better capture the details of vast industrial, agricultural and urban environments. This show brings together a recent body of work and presents us with images including views of oilfields in the Niger Delta, the Carrara marble quarries and potash mines in Russia. The message is clear: mankind has been no friend to the planet. It is somewhat odd, then, that Burtynsky’s God’s-eye views of industrial devastation are quite so beautiful: his compositional skills and gorgeous use of colour evoke the paintings…

Conventional wisdom has it that serious wines get better with age, says Fiona Beckett in The Guardian. And yes, good red burgundy, for instance, usually benefits from having four to five years after bottling, as do northern Italian reds such as barolo and barbaresco. But in general, “more wines are wasted by keeping them too long than by drinking them too soon”, so don’t be scared to open a decent young bottle sooner rather than later. For example, Felton Road Bannockburn Pinot Noir 2014 from Central Otago, New Zealand (houseoftownend.com; £33.95) tastes of beautifully “pure, singing fruit”. It’s “too good to hoard”. Vigna Corvina Pecorino 2017 from Abruzzo (Booths; £8) is a crisp Italian white that “owes everything to its youth” and should be drunk pronto. Adnams Riesling Marlborough 2018…

Sage Barista Express If you want to play barista, Heston Blumenthal’s Sage machines are a good place to start. This stainless steel one has 18 settings (from coarse to fine) for grinding beans, as well as helpful “clean me” and “empty me” lights (£478; johnlewis.com). De’Longhi Nescafé Dolce Gusto Eclipse New from Nescafé, this unique machine, which twists open and closes back into a neat doughnut shape, uses capsules and a special high-pressure system that aims to achieve a rich flavour (£70; currys.co.uk). Jura S8 The upmarket S8 grinds up coffee beans each time you want a cup. It’s easy to use, though, and makes 15 types of coffee, including those with frothed milk (£1,380; puregusto.co.uk). Francis Francis Illy X7.1 This retro-looking machine makes a great espresso, and has a…

This 5,000-acre estate sits in the “rolling hills” of Val d’Orcia, a region of Tuscany that’s barely changed “since Renaissance times”, says Fiona Duncan in The Daily Telegraph. The hotel itself, Rosewood Castiglion del Bosco, was created from an abandoned hamlet with a castle and a tiny church that has frescoes by the 14th century painter Pietro Lorenzetti. Elegant and comfortable, it is all very “spoiling”, but the wines from the surrounding vineyards are the real focus. There are daily tours and tastings, plus an annual Harvest Experience, when guests, armed with secateurs and leather gloves, fill their baskets with “sweet, fat bunches” of sangiovese grapes, and watch them being processed for fermentation, before sampling wines from the barrels. And after all that hard work, they do “slip down very…

The stock market sell-off reignited as investors grappled with a host of worries – including fears over global growth, Brexit and Italy’s spat with the EU. The FTSE 100, which fell below the 7,000 mark, is on track to register its worst monthly performance in a decade. But the pain in October has been felt globally. The FTSE All-World index has lost 7%: its worst performance since the peak of the eurozone crisis in 2012. The FT reported that “the only major asset classes to remain in the green this year are the equities of large US companies and US junk bonds”. Politicians in Brussels rejected Italy’s increased spending plans – the first time the EU has ever done so with a member state’s draft proposals. The Saudi Future Investment…

New banking… Fintech start-ups “staffed by trendy millennials” are sprouting up everywhere and “rapidly amassing customers and revenues”, said Iain Withers in The Daily Telegraph. But the country’s largest banks are now launching a “fightback” against the upstarts (Monzo, Starling, Tandem et al) by “pitching up in Shoreditch and elsewhere” with digital ventures of their own. Among the most advanced is Bó – the name is apparently inspired by the Danish word “to live”– an online spin-out from RBS which is expected to launch next year. And with rivals and HSBC getting stuck in, too, David Parker of Accenture reckons we’re on for a veritable “arms race”. …old dynamics? The people at Monzo, which has topped one million customers and is attracting 100,000 sign-ups a month, claim to be “relaxed”…

Controversy of the week Facebook’s new recruit The question we must ask ourselves is this, said Stefano Hatfield in the I newspaper. Does Nick Clegg have a moral leg to stand on? The politician who, as deputy PM, went out of his way to slap down Facebook for not paying its tax dues (it paid only £7.4m in tax in the UK last year despite recording £1.3bn in sales); who criticised its monopoly grip and its “messianic, Californian new-worldy-touchy-feely culture”, has now taken up a job as chief lobbyist for the social media giant. Hypocrisy? Maybe. But whatever our politicians do for second acts, we love to take “a pop at them”. We resent the fact that Barack Obama nets $400,000 for every speech he makes; that David Cameron gets…

Female trumpeters, with a survey suggesting women are badly under-represented in the brass sections of leading orchestras. In the world’s top 20 orchestras, there is only one female trumpeter, among 103 male players, according to a list in Gramophone magazine. The trombone, bassoon and tuba are also largely male preserves. By contrast, 94% of harp players are female. Ryanair, which came under fire for failing to eject from a flight a passenger shouting racist abuse. In footage recorded by a fellow passenger, the white man can be seen abusing a 77-year-old black woman who was having trouble moving out of his way on the plane headed for Stansted. Rather than remove the man (and risk delaying the flight) cabin crew moved the woman (see page 51). Gig economy workers, after…

Given a choice between a Brexit no deal and a second referendum, 43% of voters would prefer a referendum and 38% would choose to leave the EU without a deal. If there were to be a second referendum and a majority voted to remain in the EU, only 16% of voters think this would settle the issue for the foreseeable future; 31% say they think people would campaign for a third referendum and 31% say they think the outcome would lead to civil unrest. YouGov/The Times Boris Johnson’s net favourability rating among people who voted Tory in 2016 has fallen from +26 at the start of September to -4. Among people who voted Leave, his score has fallen from +25 to -1 over the same period. YouGov/The Independent…

Snooker’s melted Ice Man Stephen Hendry dominated snooker in the 1990s, winning seven world championships, says Donald McRae in The Guardian. Aside from his talent, he puts his success down to his iron will to win. Known as the Ice Man, he refused to socialise with his rivals as a young player – and when that changed, so did his game. “It affected my invincibility,” he says. “You need that coldness. But I missed out as a teenager and thought, ‘I want to enjoy being with people and going out for dinner.’” The result was a small tear in his psychological armour. “It started about 12 years before the end,” he says. “When you strike a cue ball, you’re supposed to accelerate through the ball. But as you tighten up…

A coven of witches in Brooklyn has put a curse on the US Supreme Court justice Brett Kavanaugh. The witches placed their hex by carving Kavanaugh’s name into a black candle, dousing it in “revenge oil” and setting it on fire. Their aim, they said, was to discredit the judge and expose “the fact that he’s a crook”. But it’s not clear if it will work: Father Gary Thomas, a Catholic priest and exorcist from California, has already said two special Masses to undo the curse. “This is a conjuring of evil – not about free speech,” he said. “Conjuring up personified evil does not fall under free speech.” The residents of Benidorm woke up one morning last week to find a naked British man, wrapped in cling film and…

HUNGARY Gender studies are unchristian, says Orbán Der Standard (Vienna) First he stepped in to save his people from a wicked (but non-existent) plot by George Soros to flood Hungary with Muslim refugees. Now prime minister Viktor Orbán claims to have saved them from yet another sinister scheme dreamt up by the philanthropist: gender studies. Orbán’s ruling party, Fidesz, has long had the subject in its sights, says Gerald Schubert. To call into question gender-specific role models, it argues, would “destroy the Christian foundations of the nation”, and bring in a communist-style “class struggle between man and woman”. So the government has declared it will no longer fund university courses in the subject, on the pretext that no one’s interested in it. Gender studies is mainly taught at Budapest’s Central…

The discovery of a distant dwarf planet in a region way beyond Pluto has added weight to the theory that there is a ninth planet lurking in the outer reaches of our solar system, says The Guardian. Spotted by astronomers using a telescope on a dormant volcano on Hawaii, the dwarf, known as “The Goblin” and 200 miles in diameter, traces a highly elongated orbit: at its closest point to the Sun, it is about 7.4 billion miles from the star, or two-and-a-half times the distance of Pluto (and just visible to powerful telescopes). Then it heads off into the darkness, travelling as far as the mysterious area known as the Oort Cloud. At its furthest point, it is 200 billion miles from the Sun – making its orbit so…

The Thor star Chris Hemsworth startled a hitchhiker, by giving him a lift in a helicopter. The Australian actor (pictured) and a friend were in a car in Brisbane when they picked up the hitcher – a US tourist who had just arrived from Mexico. They then drove to a helipad, where they offered to fly the man the next 100 miles. “They’re so nice and I couldn’t believe it was happening,” said the tourist, Scott Hildebrand. Actors don’t always relish being recognised, but the opposite can be worse. According to Michael Caine’s new memoir, Alec Guinness once got into a taxi, only to be told by the driver that he knew who his passenger was. Before the actor could say anything, the cabbie went on: “No, don’t tell me.…

“The power to hurt is a kind of wealth.” Novelist Naomi Alderman, quoted on TheAtlantic.com “The thing that makes you exceptional, if you are at all, is inevitably that which must also make you lonely.” Playwright Lorraine Hansberry, quoted in The Observer “Fear is that little darkroom where negatives are developed.” Comedian Michael Pritchard, quoted in the New York Post “If the facts are against you, argue the law. If the law is against you, argue the facts. If the law and the facts are against you, pound the table and yell like hell.” Poet Carl Sandburg, quoted on RedState.com “Every great cause begins as a movement, becomes a business, and eventually degenerates into a racket.” Philosopher Eric Hoffer, quoted on…

For the first time in 13 years, a British tennis player other than Andy Murray has won an ATP singles title, said Simon Briggs in The Daily Telegraph. The country’s newest champion is Kyle Edmund, who defeated Gaël Monfils on Sunday to win the European Open. The 23-year-old is usually “an understated character”, but after he fired a final forehand winner past his opponent “he dissolved into tears for several minutes”. It was a “rousing way” for him to demonstrate that he merits his career-high world ranking of No. 14. This was a “watershed” victory for Edmund, said Mike Dickson in the Daily Mail. He has enjoyed a “breakthrough” season: in January, he exceeded expectations by making it to the semi-finals of the Australian Open. But in his first ATP…

To the Financial Times I greatly enjoyed Yuan Yang’s article on how performances of Shakespeare’s plays in present-day China are posing challenging questions to a regime reliant on political and artistic control. It is worth pointing out, however, that Shakespeare’s world had much more in common with the Chinese Communist Party’s attitude to literary censorship than to 21st century Britain’s. Shakespeare had to submit his plays to the Revels Office for licensing and authorisation. The Master of the Revels – without whose authorisation no play could be (legally) performed – would scrutinise them with the aim of editing out content that might have displeased the authorities, the Church or the monarch. A 1606 Act of Parliament ordered that “any Person or Persons [who] do or shall in any Stageplay, Enterlude,…

They Shall Not Grow Old ★★★★ An electrifying documentary that transports you to the trenches Dir: Peter Jackson 1hr 40mins (15) You might have thought there was “nothing new to say about the First World War”, said Geoffrey Macnab in The Independent, but Peter Jackson’s “astonishing” new documentary proves otherwise. Working with 600 hours’ worth of grainy, silent black-and-white footage of British soldiers in the trenches, which had been preserved in the vaults of the Imperial War Museum, he has edited it to feature length, and used cutting-edge technology to polish and colourise it, so it now looks as if it were filmed yesterday. He employed lip-readers to work out what the men were saying and cast actors to dub the voices. The effect is “electrifying”, said Peter Bradshaw in…

Historians assumed the walls of the Tower of London had few secrets left to give up – until conservators scraped away layers of plaster and paint in the Bloody Tower, and discovered a 17th century sketch of a man’s head. The profile is adorned with a laurel wreath, which would suggest high status, and was found in a chamber occupied by Sir Walter Raleigh – raising speculation that it could have been the work of the explorer and politician himself, and perhaps even a self-portrait. Accused of plotting against James I, Raleigh spent 13 years in the Tower of London from 1603. He was eventually freed by a Royal Pardon, but, later accused of breaking its terms, he was beheaded on 29 October 1618 – exactly 400 years ago. “To…

Adam tells Ian that he is worried about the rumours that Freddie dealt drugs to the pickers – the farm’s had enough scandal. Elizabeth can’t find a solicitor willing to take on Freddie’s case. Peggy is appalled when Jennifer tells her that Freddie gave Noluthando drugs. Jennifer notices that Peggy paid Christine’s bill at The Laurels. Peggy claims there was a bank transfer glitch. Justin emails the BL board to say he doesn’t think it makes financial sense to buy Home Farm. Tom tells Hannah that Natasha isn’t replying to his messages. He apologises for putting a stop to their booty calls. Hannah makes him apologise again before they jump into bed together. Elizabeth tells Shula that Freddie hasn’t approved her and Lily’s requests to visit him. She can’t stand…

Roots 68 Marygate, York ( rootsyork.com ) Tommy Banks is the brilliant young Yorkshire chef behind The Black Swan at Oldstead, the family-run gastropub rated as the “best restaurant in the world” on Trip Advisor – a “rare example of the website churning out the merest nod towards common sense”, says Grace Dent in The Guardian. Now the Banks family have tastefully renovated a “gargantuan” old boozer in York to create a first-rate restaurant with a “Noma-esque swagger” and an intense focus on seasonality. Earthy crapaudine beetroot, stewed slowly in beef fat and topped with curd, is “fiendishly delicious”. Pink cured trout on a vibrant fennel kimchi is “delightful”. A bowl of turbot in cream with chopped strawberry might sound all wrong but tastes “100% right”. And…

Tips of the week… how to lay a new lawn ● Clear perennial weeds from the plot. ● Remove old grass by skimming it off with a sharp spade, or hire a turf cutter. Dig over the area to a depth of at least 25cm. ● For most soils, you’ll need to add sharp sand to break it up and aid drainage – the key to a lawn’s success. If you have sandy soil, dig in some well-rotted organic matter. ● Leave the area to settle for a few days, and when it’s dry, walk over it. ● Rake it over (with a hard rake), take out stones and break up lumps. You can also use a level board to make sure it’s even. ● Try to leave the top…

Billionaire philanthropist who co-founded Microsoft Paul Allen 1953-2018 As co-founder of Microsoft, Paul Allen, who has died aged 65, helped revolutionise the way people work, play and communicate in the late 20th century. With a 40% stake in the business, he was integral to its early success. But in 1983, after being diagnosed with Hodgkin lymphoma, he quit to spend the rest of his life indulging his passions and interests: he founded an institute for brain research; invested in a range of companies, from DreamWorks to Ticketmaster; and was involved in efforts to promote private space travel. A long-term resident of Seattle, he owned a Seattle-based sports team, and hired Frank Gehry to design the city its Museum of Pop Culture, housing guitars owned by Jimi Hendrix. He also owned…

A week after the French government published emergency draft legislation to cater for a no-deal Brexit scenario, the UK Government has announced it will “start issuing direct instructions to UK-based companies”, said James Blitz in the FT. Hitherto, Whitehall’s engagement with business on “no-deal planning” has extended no further than publishing some 100 technical notices assessing the potential impact by sector. Now, with the clock ticking ever more urgently, Brexit Secretary Dominic Raab has urged civil servants “to step up their effort” and move “from warning businesses to telling them to act”. Many companies haven’t waited for the official nod “to hit the red button”, said Anna Isaac in The Daily Telegraph. More than two-thirds of large and smaller firms plan to implement “Brexit contingency plans” by December, according to…

As the clocks go back, thoughts tend to turn to heating bills, says David Byers in The Times. There’s currently no shortage of competition in the market – at the last count, there were 73 companies offering energy, six times more than ten years ago. But three have gone bust this year, and many more will “struggle to maintain the heavy initial discounts they offered to entice customers”. Here’s how to get the best deal from a supplier you can trust Check customer service ratings Bad service is often “an indicator that a company is overstretched and cannot cope”. Which? and Citizens Advice both produce online tables of firms’ ratings. Monitor the best-buy tables Currently the top five energy companies, based on overall price and customer service, are Octopus Energy,…

George Soros The international investor behind the Open Foundation is “a frequent target of conspiracy theories”, says the New York Post. On Monday an explosive device was sent to his home – and his troubles didn’t end there. A Campbell’s Soup senior exec has tweeted, falsely, that Soros has been funding the “caravan” of Central American migrants heading for the US border. The allegation, made by Kelly Johnston, a government lobbyist at the food brand, is the latest in a series of “relentless verbal attacks by far-right conservatives” against Soros, 77, and his foundation, which aims to support democracy and human rights, says the FT. The foundation is demanding that Campbell’s – which has distanced itself from the remarks – take action against Johnston. For the moment, he is hanging…

Liberty Wines have maintained their original purpose – selling the finest Italian wines – while diversifying to discover the best wines elsewhere. They are now offering a number of exceptional Indian wines, which are rarely seen in this country (except for a couple of sparkling wines) and I’ve included a fascinating example in my selection this month. David Gleave MW started Liberty Wines 20 years ago and his business is primarily aimed at premium restaurants including high-end places such as the River Café or The Ledbury. They don’t have any High Street presence but such is their reputation, their staff of more than 100 are kept fully occupied dealing with their behind the scenes customers. They have diversified into other fine Italian produce and offer a wide range of the…

It is a wet Saturday morning in September. In Regent’s Park in London, a man in a black shirt, shorts and socks jogs over to a group of parents watching their 14-year-olds warm up in the drizzle. “I need two linesmen,” he says. I step forward. A few days earlier, I had met one of Britain’s leading assistant referees – whose decisions have had him jeered from the stands and mocked in the House of Commons. I try to remember what he told me: when one team is attacking my half, I don’t watch the ball; I look across the pitch, along the line of the last defender, to see if any attacking player is about to run offside. I sprint up and down the touchline, level with that last…

Kleenex has finally ditched its “Mansize” branding on large tissue boxes following complaints from customers. The tissues will henceforth be known as “Extra Large”. Waitrose, meanwhile, has bowed to online pressure and agreed to rename a “sexist sandwich“. However, it pointed out that its Gentleman’s Smoked Chicken Caesar Roll was so called not because it’s for men, but because it has an anchovy flavour similar to that in Gentleman’s Relish. So few people now buy DVD players, John Lewis is to stop selling them. Sales are down 40% year-on-year at the retailer, as more people watch streamed films. Sales of alarm clocks and trousers presses have also slumped. On the up, though, are 70in TV sets and vegan beauty products.…

About 180,000 people who did not receive disability benefits they were entitled to will receive backdated payments averaging £5,000, the Department for Work and Pensions has said. Some are owed as much as £20,000, amounting to £1.5bn in total. The underpayments are the result of an administrative error that occurred when 1.5 million people were assessed during the transfer from old incapacity benefits to the employment and support allowance between 2011 and 2014. At that time, the Tories were accused of creating a “hostile environment for sick and disabled people”.…

Brussels A warning to Italy: In an unprecedented rebuke to a member state, the European Commission has rejected Italy’s draft 2019 budget, and has told the country’s government to rewrite it within three weeks or face heavy fines. The radical intervention reflects fears in Brussels (and in European capitals) about the impact of the government’s spending plans on Italy’s already high levels of debt and the stability of the eurozone. Italy’s coalition government of populists and far-right nationalists has proposed running a deficit of 2.4% of GDP, three times what the previous government had agreed with Brussels – thus further increasing its vast national debt of 131% of GDP (more than twice the supposed 60% ceiling, and second only to Greece’s). This week, deputy PM Matteo Salvini – who came…

1 Ring of Fire by June Carter Cash and Merle Kilgore, performed by Johnny Cash 2 Sakala Graha by Purandara Dasa, performed by Sikkil C. Gurucharan, Sumesh S. Narayanan and M.S. Anantha Krishnan 3 Chhaap Tilak Sab Chheeni by Amir Khusro, performed by Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan 4 America by Paul Simon, performed by Simon & Garfunkel 5 Partita in D minor for solo violin by Bach, performed by Nathan Milstein 6 O mio babbino caro by Puccini, performed by John Pritchard with Kiri Te Kanawa and the London Philharmonic Orchestra 7* Große Fuge by Beethoven, performed by the Takács Quartet 8 Piano Trio No. 3 in F minor by Dvorák, performed by the Horszowski Trio Book: The Feynman Lectures on…

The idea of dividing the day into 24 hours dates back to the ancient Egyptians. The Romans cut up the daylight into 12 periods of equal length that they called hours – but which actually varied in duration according to the time of year, from about 45 minutes in winter to 75 in summer. This wasn’t very precise, but it gave them their own version of daylight saving. Measuring time – done by sundial and water clock, if at all – remained an impressionistic business until the 17th century, when the pendulum clock was introduced. Even so, until the 19th century time was a local affair. It was determined by local solar mean time: Bristol was ten minutes behind Greenwich. That all changed with the railways. The Great Western Railway…

Don’t turn schools into fortresses Jeet Heer The New Republic Every disaster can be turned into a business opportunity, says Jeet Heer – even, it seems, school shootings. Since February, when a former student shot and killed 17 people at a Florida high school, security companies have been on a serious sales drive, presenting school fortification as the answer to averting future massacres. Their pitch is that schools are soft targets and need to be “hardened” – just as airports have been in the war on terrorism – in order to prevent attacks and negligence lawsuits. The firms have taken the lead in defining minimum standards for school security, and are hawking high-end products such as “ballistic attack-resistant” doors and “smoke cannons that spew haze from ceilings” to confuse shooters.…

Folic acid is to be added to flour in the UK to reduce the number of children born with spina bifida and other related birth defects, according to a report in The Guardian. Since 1991, when a major study established a link between neural tube defects and low levels of folic acid in the first 12 weeks of pregnancy, 81 countries have introduced mandatory fortification, to “catch” the women who fail to take folic acid supplements in time. (In many cases, this is because they don’t know they are pregnant.) However, Britain has resisted, partly because of research suggesting that getting too much folic acid can cause neurological damage. Now it seems ministers are on the verge of announcing a U-turn. Every day on average in the UK, two pregnancies…

Signed by Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev in 1987, it was the first – and only – nuclear arms agreement to eliminate an entire class of weapons. As a result of the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Force (INF) Treaty, more than 2,600 missiles with ranges of 310 to 3,420 miles (giving them the potential to strike, from Russia, any number of European capitals) were scrapped, said W.J. Hennigan in Time. The treaty is credited with helping to end the Cold War and with preserving global stability ever since – but not for much longer. This week, the hawkish US national security adviser John Bolton (a long-term opponent of arms controls treaties) arrived in Moscow, where he was due to inform his hosts that the US is pulling out of the landmark treaty.…

Danny Cipriani knew the red card was coming, said Ben Coles in The Sunday Telegraph. The “look of resignation” on his face said it all. Once the Gloucester fly-half’s shoulder met Rory Scannell’s head, in a 36-22 loss to Munster, there was no way he was staying on the pitch. Under the laws on high tackles set by World Rugby, the sport’s governing body, any tackle above the line of the shoulders is illegal. If the referee thinks the player could have anticipated that they would make contact with an opponent’s head, the rules call for a red or yellow card. Having been left out of the squad for England’s autumn internationals, Cipriani was already having a miserable week; now, he could be facing a lengthy ban. High tackles can…

Cricket England lost the fifth ODI to Sri Lanka by 219 runs (DLS method), but still won the series 3-1. Formula One Kimi Räikkönen won the US Grand Prix. It was the Ferrari driver’s first victory in five years. Lewis Hamilton came third. Motorsport Marc Marquez won a fifth MotoGP title – his third in a row – then dislocated his shoulder while celebrating. Rugby union In the European Rugby Champions Cup, Newcastle beat Montpellier 23-20. Meanwhile, Saracens beat Lyon 29-10.…

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, 1925 (Penguin £6.99). I read this book every couple of years, if only for the joy of reaching the finest sentence to end a book: “So we beat on, boats against the current...”. I first read Fitzgerald’s masterpiece as an impressionable, soppy teen and his story of love lost and social decadence has stayed with me. The Fire Next Time by James Baldwin, 1963 (Penguin £8.99). Baldwin writes with such power that you have to pause every few sentences to allow the artistry to seep into your pores. His style – part polemic, always poetic – is a call to action, which resonates now as much as it did 55 years ago. And he spotted something before anyone else – that our identities…

Programmes The Little Drummer Girl Six-part adaptation of John le Carré’s espionage thriller, from the makers of The Night Manager. Florence Pugh plays an actress recruited as a double agent. Sun 28 Oct, BBC1 21:00 (60mins). Iran Unveiled – Taking on the Ayatollahs An undercover camera crew follows four women challenging the religious autocrats who have ruled Iran for 40 years. Mon 29 Oct, ITV 22:45 (65mins). Imagine: Becoming Cary Grant For all his charm and sophistication, Cary Grant was a complicated man, plagued by insecurity. This documentary explains how a working-class boy from Bristol became a screen legend. Tue 30 Oct, BBC1 22:45 (85mins). Dark Heart Tom Riley plays a police detective, haunted by the murder of his parents, who is investigating attacks on unconvicted paedophiles. Wed 31 and…

Roasted apples, Basque-style 4 apples (preferably reinette, russet or golden delicious) 6 tablespoons granulated or brown sugar 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon 4 teaspoons anisette liqueur ½ tablespoon unsalted butter, cut into 4 pieces • Preheat the oven to 190°C. To prepare the apples, cut out the core from the top in an upside-down cone-shaped piece. Do not cut a hole all the way to the bottom; only cut through three-quarters of the apple. Discard the cone-shaped piece. • With a sharp knife, make a thin incision in the skin around the diameter of the apple, halfway between the base and the equator. This prevents the apple from bursting and helps it to keep its shape. apple and top with a piece of butter. • Bake until golden, tender and bubbling…

Top Gear Jeep has given the Cherokee a major facelift in an effort to keep it current, but it’s more of a window-dressing exercise. While off-road ability remains one of its “trump cards”, having only a 2.2-litre diesel engine available (in the UK) puts it behind the times, and the car is frankly lacking any other USP. For this price in the competitive, fashionable midsize SUV class, you could do a lot better. Auto Express The Cherokee is roomy (but there’s no seven-seat option) and the boot is a respectable 570 litres with the sliding back seats moved forward. But while it matches premium rivals for practicality, it falls behind on design. The old model’s pointy face has thankfully been scrapped and a new infotainment system has been installed, but…

Think of the Maldives and a picture of stilt villas strung over implausibly blue waters springs to mind. But there’s more to the place than “reclining by the ocean and occasionally getting down on one knee”, says Rose Astor in The Sunday Times. Pick the right resort and you’ll find enough activities to satisfy the worst case of “holiday hyperactivity disorder”. The “world-class resort” at Como Maalifushi is a good example: the island is tiny but “cleverly laid out”, with “green jungly walls” to separate family bungalows, and the overwater villas, snaking out over the lagoon “like driftwood dominoes”, have their own plunge pools. “So far, so predictable.” But here there’s an unstuffy vibe, and for those who are so inclined, the resort offers an action-packed itinerary. A day might…

Babcock: battered by boatmen The defence giant Babcock is set to announce the closure of its 163-year-old shipyard in Appledore, north Devon – a piece of bad news apparently delayed until after the recent Tory party conference, said John Collingridge in The Sunday Times. The FTSE 250 engineering company, which repairs the Royal Navy’s submarines and warships, cites “a dearth of orders”. But the £20m bill it faces for shutting the site, and the loss of 200 jobs, is likely to create a “political storm”. Babcock’s struggles have been highlighted by an anonymous research report slamming management for “systematically” misleading investors and “burying bad news”. That knocked a further 4% (about £130m) off the shares, which have halved since their peak four years ago despite a “record of 15 years…

Germany: not as good as we think? Matthew Lynn The Daily Telegraph We tend to think of Germany as Europe’s powerhouse: driven by brilliant technology, investing for the long term and creating world-beating products that are exported around the world, says Matthew Lynn. Yet there’s little evidence of this prowess on the country’s benchmark stock index. In fact, the DAX, down 11% this year, is “a dog of a market” – the worst performer of any major developed market. Almost half the index is comprised of companies in some form of crisis: from the once-mighty Deutsche Bank, which “may not survive the next few years”, to Volkswagen, which is still caught up in the “dieselgate” scandal. Industrial giants such as Thyssenkrupp are also struggling. No one would judge the US…

The week’s best shares Avast The Daily Telegraph The cybersecurity expert, which claims to produce the world’s most popular antivirus software, has delivered good growth since listing in May. Benefiting from a heightened interest in data protection. Buy. 285p. Imperial Brands Investors Chronicle Imperial’s focus is on the premium end of tobacco, as well as ramping up investment in next-gen vaporiser products. Resilient, with an unbroken record of increasing dividends. Forward yield 8.1%. Buy. £26.48. RWS Holdings The Times This translation specialist has had a record year thanks to buying Moravia, which tailors websites and social media platforms to individual countries. Customers include Facebook and Amazon. “Clear potential.” Buy. 476p. Horizon Discovery Group The Sunday Times Shares have seesawed, but Horizon’s gene-editing platform, Crispr, seems to be delivering – the…