Innholdsfortegnelse for V. 1211 i The Week

What happened May’s plan B for Brexit Following the emphatic rejection of her Brexit deal by MPs last week, Theresa May returned to the Commons on Monday to table a motion outlining her plan B – which turned out to be a barely revised version of plan A. The Prime Minister said she would return to Brussels to seek legal guarantees about the Irish backstop, in the hope that this would win over Brexiters and the DUP. She refused to rule out a no-deal exit and reaffirmed her opposition to a second referendum. Brussels dismissed any renegotiation of the backstop, but Poland’s foreign minister backed UK calls for an end date to the arrangement, suggesting it be set at five years. MPs tabled several amendments to May’s motion. One, introduced…

Washington DC Shutdown continues: The shutdown of the US federal government, the longest in history, entered its second month this week, with no sign of a resolution. (The previous longest shutdown, under Bill Clinton, was 21 days in 1995-96.) More than 800,000 federal workers – from welfare officials to airport screeners – have been left without pay. Even though he is widely blamed for the disruption, President Trump insists the shutdown will continue as long as Democrats refuse to sign off on the $5.7bn in funding for his proposed border wall with Mexico (see page 16). Trump tried to win the public over on Saturday by offering three years of protection from deportation to 700,000 “Dreamers” (people who were children when their parents entered the US illegally), but the Democrats…

1 Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini by Rachmaninov, performed by Simon Rattle with Cécile Ousset and the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra 2 A Boy Named Sue by Shel Silverstein, performed by Johnny Cash 3 Main Title Theme – Isandhlwana 1879 by John Barry, featured in Zulu 4* A New England by Billy Bragg, performed by Kirsty MacColl 5 Lipgloss by Jarvis Cocker, Russell Senior, Steve Mackey, Nick Banks and Candida Doyle, performed by Pulp 6 Way Over Yonder in the Minor Key by Woody Guthrie and Billy Bragg, performed by Billy Bragg and Wilco 7 Chateau Lobby #4 (in C for Two Virgins) by Josh Tillman, performed by Father John Misty 8 Mississippi Goddam, written and performed by Nina Simone…

Economists who argue that Brexit on WTO terms would benefit Britain rather than wreak considerable damage are in a small minority. But there are some who suggest that Britain could become a beacon of free trade by unilaterally cutting or abolishing tariffs, like Singapore or Hong Kong. This move would be perfectly legal under WTO rules – though on the nondiscrimination principle, we’d have to do it for everyone, not just the EU. This could, in the short run, be good for consumers, because it would have the effect of attracting a great wave of cheap imports, which currently face the EU’s common external tariffs (12% on clothing, for instance, and 4% on footwear). The problem is that tariff levels are an important bargaining chip. If the UK were to…

SWITZERLAND All aboard the jingoist bandwagon Neue Zürcher Zeitung (Zürich) Switzerland’s right-wing nationalists are too successful for their own good, says Christina Neuhaus. The anti-immigrant Swiss People’s Party (SVP) thought splashy patriotism was its unique brand: it started every meeting with the national anthem, and sought out “yodellers or flag-wavers or Alpine trumpet-blowers” to perform at its conventions. But in this election year, all the other parties have jumped on the jingoist bandwagon, working the word “homeland” into speeches and slogans. The pro-business Free Democrats are campaigning under “Our Switzerland, Our Homeland”; the head of the centre-right Christian Democrats says globalisation calls for “not less, but more homeland”. Even the Left has succumbed: a prominent Social Democratic lawmaker is even now working on a book titled Homeland for the Left-Leaning.…

“Drip, drip, drip.” That, said David Leonhardt in The New York Times, is the sound of President Trump’s approval ratings steadily dissipating as a result of the longest government shutdown in US history. The crisis began last month when Trump, egged on by right-wing pundits, refused to sign a government funding bill on the basis that it didn’t provide the $5.7bn required for the building of his famous wall on the Mexican border. This, in turn, prompted a stand-off with the Democrats, who now control the House of Representatives, and the partial shutdown of the government. For a month, around 800,000 federal workers have either been furloughed or have been working without pay. Trump has previously taken proud ownership of the shutdown, but the clash is “not going well for…

Fewer elderly people would die after traumatic operations if they were given more to eat in hospital. That, at least, is the implication of an NHS pilot scheme involving hip fracture patients. Launched in six NHS trusts in 2016, it involved patients being given a fourth meal each day by a nutritional adviser, who would then sit down with them while they ate. During the period in question, it was found that mortality rates halved (from 11% to 5.5%), while the average time patients spent in hospital fell from 25 days to 20. “At that point, it’s all about getting calories into the patient,” said Dominic Inman, an orthopaedic surgeon and one of the scheme’s architects. However, doctors believe that having someone sit with the patients may have boosted their…

“Dying is easy, comedy is hard.” Actor Edmund Kean, on his deathbed in 1833, quoted in the Daily Mail “I would rather be an opportunist and float, than go to the bottom with my principles around my neck.” Stanley Baldwin, quoted in The Guardian “If they don’t give you a seat at the table, bring a folding chair.” Congresswoman Shirley Chisholm, quoted in Vogue “I myself have never been able to find out precisely what feminism is: I only know that people call me a feminist whenever I express sentiments that differentiate me from a doormat.” Rebecca West, quoted on Bustle “Censorship is the strongest drive in human nature; sex is a weak second.” Journalist Phil Kerby, quoted on WGBH.org “Success is having to worry about…

Tennis Roger Federer was knocked out of the Australian Open in the fourth round by Stefanos Tsitsipas, a 20-year-old from Greece. Serena Williams lost to Karolína Plísková in the quarter-finals. Football Arsenal beat Chelsea 2-0. Liverpool beat Crystal Palace 4-3. Manchester United beat Brighton 2-1 to record their seventh straight victory under their interim manager, Ole Gunnar Solskjær. Huddersfield appointed Jan Siewert, the coach of Borussia Dortmund’s second team, as their new manager.…

Brian tries to fix the fence between Willow Cottage and Willow Farm as a goodwill gesture after his spat with Kirsty. Kirsty says he’s making too much noise, so he gives up. She later rebukes him for leaving wood with a nail in it lying around. Brian apologises, but says they can’t go on like this – they have to find a way to get along. Kirsty agrees to a fresh start. Jennifer accidentally cuts through Roy and Kirsty’s phone line while pruning. Alice shows Brian a brochure for Pryce Bauman’s new robotic fruit picker; she wants to trial it on Home Farm’s strawberries. Brian’s keen, but says it’s up to Adam. Alice is interviewed about the trial on Radio Borsetshire, but Adam soon squelches her idea. He says they…

Food trends of the year: what we’ll be eating in 2019 M&S is about to launch a pulled-jackfruit pizza; Yotam Ottolenghi’s new restaurant has a celeriac shawarma on the menu; faux mince made from pea protein is about to go on sale in Sainsbury’s. Yes, the big food trend of 2019 is plant-based and vegan cooking, said Harry Wallop in The Times. Admittedly, this was also the big trend of 2018. And of 2017. But even if you think tofurkey is a “culinary crime”, veganism is only going to get bigger. Mock, ersatz and sham This year’s big thing will be vegan fish. Look out in the more upmarket supermarkets for smoked “salmon” (described by some as “spongy in texture”) and fishless fingers made from seaweed. You might also see…

The best… new cars for 2019 Tesla Model 3 With minimalist controls and a ”sparse” cabin, the all-electric Model 3 executive saloon feels “genuinely futuristic”. Despite early promises on affordability, though, the full-spec Performance version, which should do 0-60mph in 3.5 seconds, will cost some £60,000. That’s quite a leap from the BMW M3 it intends to rival. On sale late this year, from £35,000 (est.). Mercedes EQC Entering the premium electric SUV race – with high hopes of rivalling the Jaguar I-Pace and the Tesla Model X – is the Mercedes EQC. It will have an 80kWh battery pack that will give it a 280-mile range and a claimed 0-62mph time of 5.1 seconds. It should also be able to top up from 10% to 80% charge in only…

Playing 007 in New York If you’ve ever fancied yourself as the next James Bond, there’s a place you can test your mettle. Spyscape in Hell’s Kitchen is “part museum, part interactive challenge”, says Lizzy Dening in The Independent. Visitors are given a wristband on entry, which records their performance and assigns them a “spy career” at the end. There are six main zones – Encryption, Deception, Surveillance, Hacking, Special Ops and Intelligence – with games to complete in each. In Encryption you’ll use a virtual enigma machine to “save an undercover agent”; Special Ops has a cat’s cradle of green laser security beams to dodge; and in Deception you’re filmed telling “porkies” to expose your “tells”. The museum is “packed with tips” for would-be spooks, along with sobering reminders…

Patisserie Valerie: cookie crumbles Three months after an alleged accounting scam sucked the cream from Patisserie Valerie’s millefeuille, the café chain has collapsed into administration, said Russell Hotten on BBC News. Administrators from KPMG will close 70 outlets immediately with the loss of about 900 staff; the remaining 121 shops will continue trading “in the hope of finding a buyer”. It emerged last week that the state of Pat Val’s accounts was even “worse than the £40m black hole originally discovered”, said Laura Onita in the London Evening Standard. After a deal with lenders, HSBC and Barclays, expired last Friday, the chain’s biggest shareholder, chairman Luke Johnson, failed to secure an extension of the lifeline. “It is hard to choose the most shocking ingredient in Patisserie Holding’s latest confession,” said…

Jack Bogle Although he was “a folk hero to investing nerds” and an “outspoken enemy of self-serving financial advisers”, Jack Bogle, who has died aged 89, was never a household name, said Bloomberg. A strange omission, because “the father of the index fund” arguably did more than anyone else in recent decades to shape the way ordinary people invest. Bogle’s key insight – don’t bother with stock-picking banker types, they’re mediocre, just buy all the stocks in the index – was incendiary back in the 1970s when he founded his fund house, Vanguard, said The Wall Street Journal. So was his assault on rapacious fees. But his message that investment could be “simple as pie and cheap as dirt” struck home forcefully, and sparked a revolution. Some $10trn globally is…

Controversy of the week Corbyn’s contortions Over the years, Jeremy Corbyn “has sat down with IRA bombers, Hamas, Hezbollah, Assad, foreign spies, performance poets and Piers Morgan”, said Matt Chorley in The Times. “He’ll have a cuppa with anyone” – except, it seems, the Prime Minister. Last week, Theresa May invited the Labour leader to No. 10 to help break the Brexit deadlock. But, displaying a “tediously familiar sectarian small-mindedness”, Corbyn refused to join the talks, said the Daily Mail. His price for face-to-face discussions was a demand that the PM could not conceivably agree to: he wanted her to “take a no-deal Brexit off the table”. It was a “disingenuous” request, said Tony Yates in The Independent. It is not in May’s power to take no deal off the…

Khartoum Violent unrest: At least 24 people have been killed in anti-government protests that have spread across Sudan. This week, Omar al-Bashir, the country’s authoritarian president, sought to blame the killings on “infiltrators” who are, he said, trying to “fuel the conflict and destroy the country”. Sparked by price rises, the demonstrations began on 19 December and, despite a brutal crackdown, were ongoing this week. Protesters are now calling on Bashir, who has ruled the country since he seized power in a coup in 1989, to resign. Kinshasa Rival presidents: The constitutional court of the Democratic Republic of Congo has confirmed that Félix Tshisekedi, the leader of the country’s main opposition party, was the winner of the presidential poll held in late December – despite election observers and leaked official…

“M&S, once the bellwether of prosperity, has just announced another raft of closures. A host of branches in the North and the Midlands are being dropped. Deciding to shut an M&S store is not a simple act of putting a red line through a name. Of course, it entails loss of jobs, the scrapping of community relationships and harm to the neighbouring retailers. It’s much more, though. To the places affected, it’s seen as signifying rejection, that somehow they are not deemed ‘good enough’ to have an M&S. While there was an M&S there was a high street that looked like the high street of yesteryear; there remained hope as well of a bustling, rich future. Not now.”…

Tory? Labour? I’ll be glad to see them gone Giles Fraser UnHerd Could Brexit lead to the break-up of our two main political parties? I do hope so, says Giles Fraser. If our recent contortions over Brexit have shown us anything, it’s that the vaunted benefits of this ancient duopoly – and the first-past-the-post system – just don’t apply any more. It doesn’t deliver stability and it doesn’t engage voters. Each party has become too broad for its own good. Labour tries to speak simultaneously for Remain voters in north London and Leave voters in Sunderland, while the Tory party has become an ungainly coalition between pro-business, free-market types such as George Osborne and one-nation Tories who prize “family, faith and flag”. Holding the line between these opposing factions requires…

Unlike the Germans and French, Poles have little experience of terrorist violence, said Philipp Fritz in Die Welt (Berlin). So the killing of Paweł Adamowicz, the popular liberal mayor of Gdansk and one of the government’s sternest critics, has sent them into a collective state of shock. Adamowicz was speaking at a charity fundraiser when an assassin walked on stage and stabbed him – shouting revenge against the Civic Platform party to which Adamowicz had once belonged, and which was in office when his killer was jailed for bank robbery five years ago. The ruling Law and Justice Party (PiS) insists the crime wasn’t politically motivated. The killer had a criminal background, it points out, and Adamowicz was no longer a member of Civic Platform, and never held responsibility for…

Fibre could be a lifesaver Most Britons could substantially reduce their risk of developing a host of serious diseases by making a few simple tweaks to their diets, a new meta-analysis suggests. Commissioned by the World Health Organisation, this review of the existing evidence concluded that a high-fibre diet, consuming 25-29g a day, is associated with a substantially reduced risk of heart disease, type 2 diabetes, stroke and colorectal cancers. Yet in Britain, fewer than one in ten adults consume the 30g of fibre per day recommended by the NHS: most adults get only about 18g a day. “Our findings provide convincing evidence for nutrition guidelines to focus on increasing dietary fibre and on replacing refined grains with wholegrains,” said Professor Jim Mann of the University of Otago, New Zealand,…

Gillette: the best an ad can be? “Do brands have beliefs?” That is the question we are forced to ask by Gillette’s new advert, said Kaitlyn Tiffany on Vox. Created by a New York-based agency, the glossy 108-second commercial is entitled We Believe, and it seems the razor brand chiefly believes that in the Me Too era, its old slogan – “The Best a Man Can Get” – is ripe for an update. Previously, Gillette ads featured square-jawed hunks shaving in front of a mirror, before kissing beautiful women and triumphing on sports fields. The new ad, by contrast, shows men groping women; demeaning them at work; and standing at barbecues, intoning “boys will be boys” as their sons brawl. “Is this the best a man can get?” asks the…

Rugby union: why are English clubs struggling in Europe? “And then there was one,” said Stuart Barnes in The Sunday Times. For the second season in a row, English rugby teams have endured a “miserable time” in Europe: once again, Saracens are the sole Premiership side to progress to the quarter-finals of the Champions Cup, the top European club competition. None of the other six English sides in the Cup even came close to qualifying for the last eight; four of them finished bottom of their respective groups. English clubs have a distinguished history in the competition: they have triumphed eight times, a tally matched only by France. As recently as three seasons ago, five of them reached the quarter-finals, and three made it to the semis. But today, Sarries…

In praise of going private To The Observer I am from Germany, having been educated here until the age of 16 at state schools, but was fortunate enough to complete my A levels at a boarding school in Cambridge, going on to study at the LSE. You mention Germany as a positive example of how to do it differently. The German state system groups children at the age of ten into a three-tier system, hugely dependent on your social background. Generally, only the top-tier allows you to go on to university – and even this top tier has many shortcomings. The school I attended was in an affluent area and a third of my year group moved to British boarding schools to complete sixth form. If you try to curtail…

Just before Christmas, Ian Lewis, a steelworker from Port Talbot in south Wales, was scrolling through Facebook when he saw an image of a new Banksy artwork painted on a garage wall. To his shock, he realised that the garage in question was his own, says Steven Morris in The Guardian. From one angle, the work shows a child trying to catch snowflakes on his tongue; from another, it becomes clear that the snow is actually a shower of ash from a burning skip. Lewis’s Banksy has given him sleepless nights. Some 20,000 people have visited since it appeared in December and round-the-clock security has been needed to protect the artwork. But last week, Lewis agreed to sell it to a dealer, John Brandler, for a six-figure sum. He turned…

Programmes The Clinton Affair Second episode in this six-part documentary about Bill Clinton‘s affair with Monica Lewinsky and his subsequent impeachment. Sun 27 Jan, More4 21:00 (60mins). Walter Presents: Ride Upon the Storm Borgen creator Adam Price’s new ten-part drama about a Danish priest (Lars Mikkelsen) and his troubled family relationships. Sun 27 Jan, C4 23:00 (75mins). Inside Europe: Ten Years of Turmoil Three-part series in which Jean-Claude Juncker, Donald Tusk and others discuss the impact on the EU of the financial meltdown in Greece, the refugee crisis, and Brexit; while William Hague and George Osborne talk about the decision to call the referendum. Mon 28 Jan, BBC2 21:00 (60mins). Imagine... Jo Brand: No Holds Barred Alan Yentob explores the life of the psychiatric nurse-turned-comedian. Mon 28 Jan, BBC1…

Cavolo nero and potatoes with chilli and garlic Serves 4 4large waxy potatoes, about 750g 10 leaves of cavolo nero 6 tbsps extra virgin olive oil 2 garlic cloves 2 pinches of chilli flakes sea salt • Scrub the potatoes and put them, still in their skins, in a saucepan. Cover with cold water, add 1 tbsp of salt and cook at a lively simmer until just tender when tested with the point of a small knife. Lift them out of the water with a slotted spoon and place them in a colander until cool enough to peel. Keep the water. Peel the potatoes and cut into chunks. • Remove the tougher end of the cavolo nero stalks, wash the leaves and cut into strips. Bring the potato water back…

Heart of Dublin Stay 4 nights at the charming and stylish Cassidys Hotel. From £366pp b&b (based on two sharing), including London flights. 01904-717362, superbreak.com. Depart 28 February. Self-catering in Portugal A 5-night stay at the Grand Muthu Oura View Beach Club, near Praia da Oura in the Algarve, costs from £146pp, including flights. 020-3897 1185, loveholidays.com. Depart 27 February. 5-star stay in Turkey Spend 7 nights at Kusadasi Golf Resort & Spa Hotel on an all-inclusive basis. Prices from £409pp, including Bristol flights. 020-3474 0372, blueseaholidays.co.uk. Depart 30 April. A week in Costa Rica The Falls Resort is in the heart of Manuel Antonio and situated near the beach. Prices from £1,156pp, including Birmingham flights. 020-8974 7200, travelrepublic.co.uk. Depart 7 March.…

China’s economy grew at its slowest pace in almost 30 years in 2018, according to official data, adding to fears of a global slowdown. Beijing’s efforts to rein in risky debt, compounded by a trade war, pushed down growth to 6.6% as business and consumer confidence faltered. Setbacks in US-China trade talks this week indicated the first half of 2019 may be no easier. The IMF cited weakness in Europe and some emerging markets as it cut global growth forecasts for 2019 and 2020. John Williams, the head of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, warned of signs that the continuing US government shutdown was beginning to hit the economy. In Britain, the pound rose to its highest level since November, rallying above $1.30, as Labour signalled it might…

Great news for savers, said Jessie Hewitson in The Times. “The stars have aligned” for those “who wish to beat inflation but don’t want to lock away their money for years”. Inflation has dropped to 2.1%, according to official figures, and challenger banks, led by the likes of Gatehouse, are putting up the rates of their savings accounts. Gatehouse’s 12-month product now pays 2.15%, meaning that “for the first time in three years, savers can beat inflation without having to commit their money for more than a year”. That’s quite a milestone. The Financial Conduct Authority reports that 29% of savings accounts now pay below the Bank of England base rate of 0.75%. But the “one-year market has grown increasingly competitive over the past year”, as new players, such as…

The week’s best shares City Pub Group The Times Since floating 14 months ago, the pub group has traded well and expanded its asset base. Benefiting from the strength of “wet sales” (from drink) and increasing numbers of £100-a-night bedrooms. Buy. 207p. Consort Medical The Sunday Times Delays have caused shares in the maker of medical devices to tumble. But its new Wixela inhaler – a generic version of the lung disease treatment Advair – can “only boost the stock”. Rewards “should be lucrative”. Buy. 800p. Fresnillo The Sunday Telegraph The Mexican-based miner had a “rotten 2018”: shares fell 39%. But gold and silver prices are rallying, and volatile stock markets and “scarcity value” (a rival has delisted) should boost shares. Buy. 887.6p. MP Evans Group The Daily Telegraph This…

Nantes, France Missing plane: The search for a light aircraft that vanished close to the Channel Islands on Monday was ongoing this week, but police said that the chances of finding any survivors were now “slim”. The single-engine Piper Malibu plane was en route from Nantes to Cardiff with two people on board: the pilot and the Argentinian footballer Emiliano Sala, 28, who had just signed to Premier League side Cardiff City from Nantes. Shortly before the plane disappeared from radar, Sala had recorded a voicemail message to his father in which he said that the aircraft “looks like it’s about to fall apart”. Barcelona, Spain Taxi drivers at war: Thousands of taxi drivers went on strike in Barcelona last week over what they see as unfair competition from ride-hailing…

The inevitable referendum David Cameron has taken a lot of flak for his decision to hold the Brexit vote – but his former director of communications, Craig Oliver, reckons he had no choice. “I have spent the past two-and-a-half years with Remainers saying, ‘Why did you do it?’ as though we woke up one morning and decided to roll the dice,” he told Rachel Sylvester and Alice Thomson in The Times. But “the right-wing press were in full battle cry, and 80 Conservative MPs were rebelling on anything and everything to do with Europe”. Cameron was aware that it was a dangerous move. “You could unleash demons of which ye know not,” he once intoned. (Oliver assumed his boss was quoting the Bible; in fact he was ad-libbing.) “He predicted…

A stone circle estimated to be 4,500 years old caused huge excitement when it was found in Aberdeenshire in December. The county council called it an “amazing” discovery; Historic Environment Scotland said its “rich lichen cover” was proof “of the ring’s antiquity”. But research into it has now come to an abrupt halt: the former owner of the land has called to explain that it was he who built the circle 20 years ago. “It’s disappointing to learn of this development,” said the council, “but it adds an interesting element to its story.” The Isle of Wight has acquired its own superhero: an anonymous masked man called the Wight Knight who has been seen patrolling the island looking for troublemakers. It turns out he’s the UK’s first member of the…

PAKISTAN Skewering the evils of Valentine’s Day Asia Times (Hong Kong) Pakistan is gearing up for a highly controversial event next month, says Turyal Azam Khan: Valentine’s Day. The annual celebration of love is increasingly popular among the young urban population, with many taking up the custom of giving cards and gifts to their sweethearts. But this has been matched by a growing determination on the part of conservative Pakistanis to stamp out what it sees as a pernicious Western import – one that promotes nudity and immorality. And their “unhealthy obsession” with it “seems to intensify with each passing year”. For the past two years, the high court in Islamabad has prohibited Valentine’s celebrations in public spaces and government offices across the country, and Pakistan’s media regulator has banned…

Hermit crabs are best known for the way they “wear” discarded mollusc shells, to protect their soft bodies from predators. But they have another, less well-known trait: the males of some species have huge penises that can grow to half the length of their bodies. Now, it seems the two may be connected: males may have evolved their large penises to help them defend the shells they call home. Each time a crab with a shorter penis creeps out to mate, he risks having his shell stolen – but crabs with longer penises can accomplish the task without leaving home, by simply extending their supersized organs towards a female. To test his hypothesis, biologist Mark Laidre of Dartmouth College, New Hampshire, looked for a correlation between penis size and shell…

Ozzy Osbourne is notorious for having bitten the head off a bat during a Black Sabbath gig in 1982. It was, in fact, a mistake. As he explained years later, a fan had hurled the bat on stage and, assuming it was made of rubber, Ozzy sank his teeth into it. “Immediately something felt wrong. Very wrong. I thought, ‘I didn’t just go and eat a bat, did I?’” Now, though, he is celebrating the event. “Today marks the 37th anniversary since I bit a head off a f***ing bat,” he wrote on Instagram. “Celebrate with this commemorative [bat toy] with detachable head.” The toy is marketed at $40, but has already sold out. Gunhild Stordalen (pictured), the Norwegian environmental campaigner funding the “planetary health diet” (see opposite) is no…

When England beat Australia last April to win gold at the Commonwealth Games for the first time, it sent shock waves through the netball world, said Liam Napier in The Guardian. The Australians are the giants of the sport: they have won 11 of the 14 World Cups that have taken place, and continue to top the world rankings. But in the Quad Series on Sunday, England proved that last year’s victory was “no fluke” by beating Australia 52-49. It wasn’t enough to win the tournament – Australia retained the trophy on goal difference – but it bodes well for the year ahead. England will host the World Cup this summer and, despite a disappointing defeat to South Africa last week, they are more than capable of triumphing. At one…

Is Brexit a British identity crisis? To The Guardian Somebody give Fintan O’Toole a goldfish; amid the glut of Brexit analyses, his dispassionate insight (“Brexit is a very British neurosis”) hits the bullseye. Brexit was, as he rightly points out, never really about Europe – it is a British identity crisis plain and simple; made here, raised here, played out here. The fact that vested interests from the Left and the Right are seeking to use this as a means to pursue their own vanity projects is really incidental. Watching it unfold from north of the border – where we’ve already gone through our own examination of national identity in 2014 – you can’t help but agree with his conclusion that what passes for Britain and British democracy is no…

Mary Queen of Scots Dir: Josie Rourke 2hrs 4mins (15) Was the queen a 16th century feminist? ★★★ The artistic director of the Donmar Warehouse theatre, Josie Rourke, makes her cinematic debut with this vivid retelling of the story of Queen Elizabeth I and her troublesome cousin from north of the border. And if the result were any more fun, it would be “barely legal”, said Nigel Andrews in the FT. Rourke grabs our attention from the off with drama, intrigue and graphic sex scenes. The script, however, is a little too verbose, said Kevin Maher in The Times. What carries the film is a magnificent performance from Saoirse Ronan as a steely Mary, and strong support from Margot Robbie as a more tentative Elizabeth, who takes refuge in thick…

Best books… Caryl Phillips The award-winning author and playwright picks his six favourite books about colonial life. His latest novel, A View of the Empire at Sunset, explores the life of Jean Rhys and is published by Vintage at £8.99 In the Shadow of a Saint by Ken Wiwa, 2000 (Black Swan £9.99). In 1995, Wiwa’s father, the writer and activist Ken Saro-Wiwa, was executed by the Nigerian military regime for his opposition to the exploitation of his country by an oil company in tandem with a corrupt government. A lyrical and moving evocation by Saro-Wiwa’s son of growing up between Nigeria and England. The Poetry of Derek Walcott 1948-2013, 2014 (Faber £30). Published three years before his death, this big volume is a testament to the love and compassion…

The use of animal-derived fining agents (typically casein for white wines and egg whites in red) in traditional winemaking puts many bottles out of bounds for vegans, says Jane MacQuitty in The Times. But there are vegan-friendly wines, which use bentonite clay instead, and plenty of them – Waitrose and M&S, for example, both stock hundreds. At Waitrose, try the light but lushly smoky 2018 Earth Vine & Sun Sauvignon Blanc Sémillon (£5.99) or the 2014 Pernand-Vergelesses Les Belles Filles JJ Girard (£20.79), a brilliant, nutty, tip-top white burgundy. From M&S, go for the “southern Rhône’s finest red”, the 2015 Les Closiers Châteauneuf-du-Pape (£21) – “a warming, fig, dried strawberry and garrigue herb-scented triumph”. At the Co-op, my vote goes to its “perky, peach-scented” 2017 Irresistible Viognier Pays d’Oc (£8)…

Making its maiden voyage in 1969, the QE2 was “the fastest ship in the merchant navy”, says Edwin Heathcote in the FT. Today, she’s “going nowhere fast”, as she’s moored permanently as a 13-deck floating hotel complex in Dubai’s Mina Rashid, with 224 cabins. Outside, the ship still has its familiar “streamlined” profile; inside, it has been restored in an unexpected and “utterly fascinating” way. The decor is “pure provincial 1980s German luxe”, with hints of art deco and a “time capsule of mid-20th century British art” on the walls. By contrast, the restaurants just look “tired”, which is a pity as the food and service are both excellent. Doubles from £115. 00 971 4 526 8888, qe2.com .…

Broadway legend who starred in Hello, Dolly! Carol Channing 1921-2019 A superstar of the New York stage, Carol Channing was best known for two great roles. In 1949, she created the part of the gold-digging Lorelei Lee in the musical Gentlemen Prefer Blondes. With her showstopping rendition of Diamonds Are a Girl’s Best Friend, the show ran for 700 performances. Fifteen years later, Channing, who has died aged 97, starred as the matchmaking widow Dolly Levi in the first production of Hello, Dolly!, and brought the house down. When those musicals were turned into films, her parts went to other actresses – Marilyn Monroe and Barbra Streisand – and her own big-screen career never took off. But with her saucer eyes and long fake lashes, deep rasping voice…

The bank formerly known as “the great vampire squid” is in the middle of a “front to back” review under squeaky clean new boss David Solomon – or “D-Sol”, as he’s known to his fans on the DJ circuit. But one big stain on its legacy is proving hard to remove, said Laura Noonan in the FT. Last week, Solomon apologised to the “people of Malaysia” for “the role one of his top bankers played” in a massive embezzlement scandal at the country’s national investment fund, 1MDB, which US and Malaysian authorities allege was plundered to the tune of at least $4.5bn. But he insisted that “Goldman itself had done nothing wrong”. Apology be damned, said The Straits Times. That won’t “cut it for Malaysia”, which filed criminal charges against…

In defence of ageing populations Matthew Lynn The Daily Telegraph “Investors fret over demographic trends, and steer clear of countries with falling populations like Japan, because they assume they cannot grow,” says Matthew Lynn. You can see the logic: total GDP, after all, is “just output multiplied by the number of workers”, and thus suffers if you have fewer people. Ageing populations are also “less innovative and dynamic”, and “cost a heck of a lot to look after”. Maybe, though, that’s not the whole story. According to Bank of Japan governor Haruhiko Kuroda, rapid progress in robotics means “we might need fewer workers than in the past”. And as pensioners cash in their savings, demand for labour-intensive industries, like healthcare and leisure, could kick-start entrepreneurship. Kuroda is so convinced of…