Innholdsfortegnelse for V. 1250 i The Week

What happened Brexit in limbo Boris Johnson this week won MPs’ backing in principle for the legislation implementing his Brexit deal. However, the Commons rejected the tight timetable for passing the law, thwarting the Prime Minister’s “do-or-die” pledge toleave the EU by 31 October. Johnson had suggested he might pull the plug on the Withdrawal Agreement Bill (WAB) if MPs forced a further delay, but he instead announced that he was “pausing” the bill, while he waited to hear how long an extension the EU would grant. Anything but a short one, he said, would prompt him to drop the WAB and force an election. The PM had hoped to get the Commons to ratify his Brexit deal in a “meaningful vote” on Saturday. But that plan was derailed when…

People bored by Brexit, who now have their own dedicated news channel. Sky News Brexit-Free is to run from 5pm to 10pm on weekdays, on the broadcaster’s pay-TV platform. Londoners, with the news that the capital’s pollution charge has cut its toxic fumes by a third. Nitrogen dioxide and other pollutants have fallen sharply since the daily charges for older cars, raised to £12.50 this year, were introduced in 2017. Long-distance flying, after the first non-stop flight from New York to Sydney was successfully completed. A Qantas Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner flew the longest ever scheduled commercial passenger flight, which took 19 hours and travelled 10,066 miles.…

Boris Johnson has overtaken Jeremy Corbyn in terms of support among 18-to 24-year-olds. Asked who would make the best PM, 32% say Johnson and 29% Corbyn. 29% are unsure. YouGov/The Daily Telegraph 50% of people in the UK think the country should now leave the EU, and 42% want it to remain. 30% think we should leave with a deal, and 20% are in favour of leaving without a deal. Channel 5/The Times 72% of those aged 18 to 22 said they would fear being branded a “snowflake” if they took a sick day because of poor mental health. 63% of Britons do not realise there is no legal difference between a sick day taken for mental or physical issues. Milkround/The Times…

Jerusalem Bibi concedes defeat: The Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu has failed in his efforts to form a new coalition government following September’s inconclusive election. His political rival and former army chief, Benny Gantz, leader of the centrist Blue and White alliance, will be given 28 days to form a government. If he too fails, Israel could face its third general election in less than a year: Netanyahu had similarly failed to cobble together a workable coalition after a previous general election in April. Gantz, a political newcomer who has capitalised on pending corruption cases against Netanyahu, won one more seat than Likud in the recent poll but, like Netanyahu, he has no clear path to a parliamentary majority. Both are under intense pressure from the president to form a government…

“‘Justice,’ wrote Pascal, ‘is as much a matter of fashion as charm.’ Seldom have the demands of justice been so faddish: everything depends on whether the group to which people belong is in vogue. Tibetans are no longer à la mode, though the destruction of their civilisation by the Chinese state continues, and few consider the persecution of Christians in the Middle East worth mentioning. The Kurds are receiving attention, but it will surely not be long before they are re-forgotten. Being identified as a victim of injustice has become a kind of privilege, handed out to favoured groups according to the shifting diktats of progressive opinion.”…

Fake news is better than censored news Niall Ferguson The Times An odd thing happened last week, says Niall Ferguson. “Mark Zuckerberg gave a speech with which I mostly agreed.” Within legal limits, declared the Facebook boss, people should be able to say anything they want on his platform. At a time when so many seek to shrink the space of acceptable debate, how refreshing to hear it argued that free speech means tolerating not only “views we disagree with, but also views that are downright mendacious”. It’s for that reason that Facebook has a policy of not fact-checking political ads and has refused to take down a Trump campaign ad accusing ex-vice president Joe Biden of corrupt practices. Another Democratic presidential candidate, Elizabeth Warren, was so enraged she created…

Slow walkers have slower brains A slow walking pace in middle age could be a sign of accelerated ageing, scientists have found. Researchers analysed the walking speeds of more than 900 men and women from New Zealand, all of whom were 45 years old, and also gave them tests to determine their biological ages. Walking speeds – their maximum speed, and their average speed –proved to be remarkably accurate predictors of mental and physical health. In IQ tests, the slowest walkers averaged 16 points lower than the fastest; they typically had lower total brain volumes and cortical thickness; and their lungs, teeth and immune systems were less healthy. Furthermore, strangers who were shown pictures of their eyes, and asked to estimate their ages, assumed them to be older than their…

Margaret Thatcher was a plain eater, happiest with a boiled egg – which caused problems when she lunched with the German chancellor Helmut Kohl in his home town, according to Charles Moore’s new biography (see page 29). Kohl arranged for his favourite dish – sow’s stomach – to be served, but the sight of the fatty meat horrified Thatcher. “She kept chasing it round her plate,” her private secretary Charles Powell reported. “She ended up trying to hide it under her fork.” Kohl then presented her with a bottle of what she later described as “filthy sweet wine” as a parting gift. “Oh Charles,” she exclaimed to Powell on the flight home, “that man is so German!” Michael Sheen (pictured) believes that his home town, Port Talbot, is a stopping-off…

“It’s starting to feel like another annus horribilis for the monarchy,” said Camilla Tominey in The Daily Telegraph. First there were the shocking allegations made against Prince Andrew. Then the Queen was dragged into a constitutional crisis over Brexit. Now the Duke and Duchess of Sussex “have given a television interview that feels on a par with Diana, Princess of Wales’s explosive sit-down with Panorama”. It seems from ITV’s film Harry & Meghan: An African Journey, that the couple are close to the edge. Meghan said that she was “existing not living” under the pressures of royal life. Harry, for his part, revealed that his mental health requires “constant management”, and that being in the media spotlight is an awful trial; he said he would “not be bullied into playing…

It was “a defining moment for this England team”, said Mick Cleary in The Sunday Telegraph. Their 40-16 victory over Australia in the World Cup quarter-finals on Saturday proved they are more than capable of handling “the stress of the big occasion”. The demons of 2015, when England were knocked out ofthe tournament in the pool stage, have been “well and truly banished”. Their biggest test came early inthe second half, said Chris Foy in the Daily Mail. The Wallabies scored a try, narrowing the deficit to just one point. But England didn’t panic. They “held the line and rallied”, securing their “finest World Cup victory for a generation” – and a place against New Zealand in this Saturday’s semi-final. On paper, at least, Australia were the better side “by…

Rugby Union In the World Cup quarter-finals, South Africa beat Japan 26-3 to set up a semi-final against Wales. Football Manchester United drew 1-1 with Liverpool. Tottenham drew 1-1 with Watford. Manchester City beat Crystal Palace 2-0. Chelsea beat Newcastle 1-0. Cricket Rashid Khan, the Afghan spin bowler, was the first pick in the draft for The Hundred, the new competition that will begin next summer. Australian cricketers Steve Smith and Mitchell Starc were among the other players picked.…

Ben Turnbull at Bermondsey Project Space London-based Ben Turnbull (b.1974) is an artist simultaneously fascinated and revolted by American culture. The lively, large scale collages in American History X, Volume III initially appear to be straightforwardly cartoonish, poppy depictions of the US’s most prominent historical figures and cultural icons (a skewed Stars and Stripes, a cigar chomping GI and, yes, Donald Trump), but on closer inspection they turn out to be composed of thousands of illustrations and speech bubbles cut from magazines, cowboy stories and comic books. The intention behind this repurposing of banal, kitschy imagery, one senses, is to demonstrate some of the heroic falsehoods behind the US’s founding myths: titles like How The West Was Won, It’s A Lie But It’s Made To Sound Like Fun do not…

Great pinot can be famously pricey, says Fiona Beckett in The Guardian. But there are plenty of excellent value wines to root out, especially from less high-profile pinot-producing countries such as Romania, Germany and Chile. Try, for example Waitrose’s dark-fruited Romanian Pinot Noir at just £5.99, or the lush, full-bodied Cono Sur 20 Barrels (£16; Tesco). Walt Pinot Noir 2017 (£9.99; Simply Wines Direct) is a “deep, plummy pinot from, of all places, Germany” (which produces some terrific pinot). Try with duck or pheasant. Domaine Denis Carré Hautes Côtes de Beaune 2017 (£21.50; Berry Bros & Rudd) is inexpensive (for burgundy), “silky, sexy and delicious”. Morrison Chilean Pinot Noir 2017/18 (£8.50) has “bright, sweet raspberry notes”; try with brie. And I was “utterly blown away” by New Zealand’s Prophet’s Rock…

● Egg shells are especially high in calcium, and while they might not seem appetising, they’re easy to add to food. First, to get rid of the risk of salmonella, soak them in boiling water, or roast them. Then just crush them into a powder and add to any meal. ● Watermelon seeds are a great source of protein and vitamin D. To make them into a snack, add spices and put them in the oven for ten minutes. ● The outer leaves of green vegetables like broccoli, Brussels sprouts or cauliflower are perfectly edible and high in vitamins. You can eat them roasted, in a stir fry, or even raw. Just be sure to wash them well first. ● The peel of citrus fruit often contains more vitamins and…

Lundies House Sutherland Occupying a former manse in the village of Tongue on Scotland’s north coast, this newly opened guest house is a great retreat for outdoorsy types and “dreamers” alike, says Steve King in Condé Nast Traveller. Danish owners Anne and Anders Holch Povlsen – well known for their plans to “rewild” huge tracts of the Highlands – have created “Scandi-Scot” interiors that feel “rustic” but “sumptuous”, with “museum-quality” furniture and collectable art. Food is “scoffable”, locally sourced and includes plenty of “foraged exotica”, and activities such as cycling, sailing and stalking (from the Povlsen’s Kinloch Lodge, nearby) are all easily arranged. Doubles from £400. wildland.scot…

Critic who defended the primacy of the Western canon Harold Bloom 1930-2019 Harold Bloom, who has died aged 89, was a colossus of American letters, said The Daily Telegraph, regarded by some asthe greatest literary critic in the English-speaking world, “and by others as a dyed-in-the-wool reactionary –an ‘Eeyore of Academia’, with nothing new to say”. Either way, he was “impossible to ignore”. He claimed, not unreasonably, to be the best read man in America – he was said to be able to read and absorb a 400-page book in an hour, and he re-read The Pickwick Papers twice a year for fun. From his elevated perch at Yale, he lectured on“Kafka, Dostoevsky, Proust or Cervantes, quoting huge chunks off the cuff and discovering numerous hitherto unimagined connections between them”.…

The Boeing board met in Texas this week amid “renewed heat” over the 737 Max affair, said The New York Times. The plane-maker has been navigating the fall-out from two fatal crashes – one in Indonesia in 2018, the other in Ethiopia this year – which were found to be at least partially caused by the jet’s automated flight system. It has now transpired that a pilot “warned about trouble” while the plane was still being tested in 2016. “Granted, I suck at flying,” Mark Forkner, the company’s then-chief technical pilot, texted a colleague – but “this was egregious”; he added that the aircraft’s anti-stall system was “running rampant” in flight simulator sessions. But the problems were never raised and the US Federal Aviation Administration cleared the 737 Max for…

The investment industry puts huge effort into encouraging you to buy funds – but rather less into telling you when to sell, said Mark Atherton in The Times. Here are some warning signs that it may be time to get out… Too many mistakes Every fund manager is entitled to make a few, says Justin Modray of Candid Financial Advice. But watch out for “a worrying trend”. Alarm bells should have rung when Woodford’s fund suffered a series of setbacks, as holdings in Purplebricks, Provident Financial and AA crumbled. A surge in redemptions An exodus of money can really damage a fund, said Brian Dennehy of Fundexpert. “Woodford was forced to sell his most liquid holdings to meet redemptions, increasing the proportion of unquoted holdings. It became a vicious circle.”…

Controversy of the week A decent deal? Boris Johnson came to power because many people thought he’d drive a harder, better bargain with the EU over Brexit than Theresa May, said Tim Shipman in The Sunday Times – and that he would sell it much more effectively to MPs. He has not disappointed. Faced with the obstacle of the dreaded Irish “backstop”, which would have kept Northern Ireland in the customs union in the absence of a comprehensive border agreement, Johnson picked up a new idea: creating an EU customs partnership just for Northern Ireland, as long as the devolved assembly in Stormont gave its democratic consent. He also appointed the diplomat David Frost as the new Brexit “sherpa”. European officials found Frost’s approach “a blast of fresh air”. “We…

Britain’s apple farmers, who have been forced to leave more than 16 million apples rotting in orchards as EU fruit-pickers stay away. A weakening pound and confusion over visa regulations have been blamed for a 16% shortfall in the seasonal workforce. Las Vegas weddings, after one of its most famous venues, A Little White Wedding Chapel, failed to find a buyer after six months on the market. The city has been struck by a “love recession” in recent years, with nuptials falling from 128,238 in 2004 to 74,534 in 2018. Millennials, who are the first generation since the Second World War to be poorer than their predecessors. A study by the Institute for Fiscal Studies found that people born in the early 1980s had an average median income of £27,884…

Ruinerwold, Netherlands “Cult” captives released: Dutch police have arrested the 67-year-old father of a family of six held captive for nearly a decade in a farmhouse in the village of Ruinerwold. Gerrit Jan van Dorsten (pictured) is alleged to have formed his own cult, and to have forced his children, aged between 18 and 25, to stay inside the house as they awaited “the end of time”. Police discovered five of the children and their father in a secret basement after the sixth escaped and raised the alarm. The tenant of the farm, an Austrian named Josef Brunner, has also been arrested. Both are thought to be ex-members of the Unification Church, popularly known as the “Moonies”. The Hague, Netherlands Most-wanted list: The EU’s crime agency, Europol, has published a…

Atwood on her childhood Margaret Atwood was born just after the start of the Second World War, and the bleakness of that era shaped her world view, says Horatia Harrod in the Financial Times. “There’s an atmosphere that children pick up. People were very worried. I remember cities in the winter, the blackouts, the radio: ‘This is London calling North America.’ In my juvenile writing, wars featured very largely.” Her concern for the environment was born of summers spent in the Canadian backwoods, where her father – an entomologist – had a research station. “There was no electricity, no running water, no people... the big fears in those environments were forest fires, thunderstorms, bears and drowning.” Yet she has no time for critics who want to explore the psychological roots…

A mortuary in Cleveland, Ohio is offering bereaved families a new type of memento: their loved one’s tattoos, presented as a parchment-like artwork. The Save My Ink Forever service involves the surgical removal of skin, which is then sent to a laboratory for preservation before being mounted and framed. “With the art in tattoos and how much they mean to people, why not keep them after they die?” said Kyle Sherwood, who developed the idea with his father Michael. “We are helping families and fulfilling their last wishes – we are not trying to create a freak show.” The Vatican has launched an interactive rosary bracelet with a crucifix interface to help tech-savvy worshippers. The Click To Pray eRosary is activated when the user makes the sign of the cross,…

UNITED STATES Trump’s hypocritical cry of nepotism CNN (Atlanta) Truly, Donald Trump knows no shame, says Jill Filipovic. To deflect attention from the impeachment inquiry against him, the president has been noisily denouncing Hunter Biden, accusing him of trading on the name of his father, the former vice-president Joe Biden. This is “stunningly hypocritical” given the behaviour of his own family. “The Trump clan has gone far beyond even normal self-dealing – that is, you get rich after you leave office – and are explicitly profiting during his presidency.” Eric and Donald Jr are actively promoting the Trump business overseas in countries such as Turkey, the Philippines, India, Indonesia and Uruguay. Ivanka Trump dined with Chinese President Xi Jinping and her father at Mar-a-Lago in April 2017 on the same…

You have to take your hat off to Extinction Rebellion (XR), said Catherine Bennett in The Observer. Considering how little time it has been around, this loose collection of what the Prime Minister described as “uncooperative crusties” has achieved a lot. The group has “persuaded a previous government to declare a climate emergency, changed the national conversation and initiated policy change”. And it has done all this while keeping the public largely on side – or at least it had until now. But the group’s targeting of blue-collar workers at Canning Town Tube station in East London last week severely depleted the stock of goodwill. Some demonstrators climbed on top of a train during rush hour, causing chaos. Footage of the ensuing scene, “showing the climate protesters looking, literally de…

Could there ever be a less offensive proposal, asked Tom Slater in The Spectator, than Manchester’s city council’s decision to erect a 9ft statue of Mahatma Gandhi outside its cathedral? Howbetter to promote peace in thewake of the 2017 Manchester Arena attack than by commemorating the apostle of non-violence on the 150th anniversary of his birth. No one, you’d think, could object to that. You’d be wrong. The Gandhi Must Fall campaign, promoted by Manchester University’s student union “liberation and access officer”, opposes the plan on the grounds that Gandhi made racist comments about Africans. So the students are claiming the moral high ground over a man who led amovement that gave birth to the world’s biggest democracy. It’s as hilarious as it is tragic. But Gandhi’s record in South…

To think that Ireland were once considered rivals to New Zealand’s crown, said Peter O’Reilly in The Sunday Times. They had beaten the All Blacks twice in three years, most recently last autumn. But the two sides’ reunion, in the World Cup quarter-finals on Saturday, was no “contest of equals”. The All Blacks were “merciless”, scoring seven tries en route to winning 46-14. Nothing worked for the Irish: all their moves were “mistimed or misconceived”. Even the things they’re meant to do best – building territorial pressure, holding onto the ball – went awry. Joe Schmidt, the head coach, was hoping for a fairy-tale end to his Ireland career, said Daniel Schofield in The Sunday Telegraph. Instead, he bowed out with this uncharacteristic performance, in which “the most clinical and…

Boris’s false boast To The Independent “Boris’s deal” reminds me of “Boris bikes”. For they too were imagined, proposed, planned and developed by his immediate predecessor, only for Johnson to take credit for them within a few weeks of assuming office. There are even many who still believe the original scheme would have been significantly better. I searched for a word for “one who takes credit for the work ofothers”. Aside from “plagiarist”, I was offered “fraud, charlatan and impostor”. Simon Hinks, Brighton Harry should clam up... To The Times I understand why Prince Harry is suffering mental torment in his attempts to shield his wife and son from media coverage he considers false and malicious, but starring in a lengthy television documentary to voice his anguish can only attract…

Girl, Woman, Other by Bernardine Evaristo Hamish Hamilton 464pp £16.99 The Week bookshop £13.99 Bernardine Evaristo took up writing after becoming “frustrated by how few black women were depicted in British fiction”, said Johanna Thomas-Corr in The Sunday Times. Last week, the 60-year-old writer (pictured) became the first black woman to be awarded the Booker Prize (winning it jointly with Margaret Atwood) for this “triumphantly wide-ranging” novel about the “struggles, longings, conflicts and betrayals of 12 (mostly) black women”. A “big, bold, sexy book that cracks open aworld that needs to be known”, it richly deserved the award. With acast-list that includes a lesbian radical playwright, a mixed race orphan and gender-neutral social media influencer, Girl, Woman, Other admittedly sounds like “some sort of ‘woke’ nightmare”, said Siobhan Murphy in…

Official Secrets Dir: Gavin Hood 1hr 52mins (15) Tense fact-based thriller with Keira Knightley ★★★ This “pacy, palm-clammying” thriller takes us back to a time, not so long ago, when a Western government telling lies “still counted as a major scandal”, said Phil de Semlyen in Time Out. An “on-form” Keira Knightley plays Katharine Gun, the GCHQ whistle-blower who, early in 2003, received an email from the US security services that asked her to help blackmail the UN into endorsing the invasion of Iraq. She was so outraged, she printed out the email and posted it to The Observer. Gavin Hood’s “polished” if rather “colourless” film boasts a “raft of great British character actors”, from Rhys Ifans as a shouty reporter to Ralph Fiennes as Gun’s barrister, said Ian Freer…

The dawn chorus is a wonder of the natural world you seldom get to hear in the city. But from 31 October, says The Independent, you’ll be able to hear something very like it in central London. In an installation at Somerset House, the artist Alexandra Daisy Ginsberg has created a ten-minute version featuring the songs of chiffchaffs, goldfinches, wood pigeons and other species. But the birds’ warbling is not all it seems: it is interspersed with synthetic birdsong created by the scientists from an AI company that helped with the project – birdsong that sounds eerily like the real thing. The aim is to highlight the way noise and light pollution is distorting the repertoire of Britain’s birds, forcing them to sing louder and higher, disrupting mating patterns and…

Elizabeth shows Ruairi photos of Siobhan and tells him how brave his mother was during her last weeks at Lower Loxley. They agree to retrace Siobhan’s favourite walk. The Grundys keep busy after Joe’s death. Clarrie’s shocked to see Susan arrive with flowers. The two of them apologise to each other. Clarrie has her best friend back and claims Joe had a hand in it. Eddie puts off calling Alf. Emma brings round cards from the children. Ed tells her that Joe thought she was one in a million. Things become awkward when Keira says she liked it when Ed came home at night. Emma hurries away. Elizabeth tells Brian about her afternoon with Ruairi. Brian broaches the subject with Jennifer, and the two of them chat to Ruairi. Jennifer…

Bubala 65 Commercial Street, Spitalfields, London E1 (020-7392 2111) Helen Graham, the chef at this terrific new vegetarian restaurant, has worked at every cool Israeli eaterie in London – and her menu here reads like “hip-restaurant bingo”, says Marina O’Loughlin in The Sunday Times. “Eyes down for freekeh, za’atar, tahini and labneh.” The decor is minimalist: “done on a shoestring, plus the odd plant”. But the food is “so technicolour that the surroundings barely register” – and it’s all on a happy continuum from “mmm, nice” to “bloody hell, that’s eye-openingly gorgeous”. In the latter category, there’s a “truly electrifying” ezme, a Turkish cross between salad and dip – made from grapefruit, tomato and onion, and scooped up with toasty, oily laffa flatbread. It’s a long time since I…

New cars: what the critics say The Independent There was a time when Volvo buyers were proud that their car would last them 20 years. The new models still could – but they won’t. Technology is simply moving too fast for that to be plausible. So what fate awaits the nation’s vast fleet of SUVs, now that cars are going green? Volvo has decided that its best hope of lengthening the XC90’s shelf-life lies with the “mild hybrid” B5 version. The Daily Telegraph The new system consists of a small electric motor and battery to aid the diesel engine and reduce emissions. The electric assistance in the mild hybrid (plug-in hybrid and petrol engine models are also available) comes in delightfully “unnoticed”, with an exceptionally smooth stop-start. The air suspension…

The nature reserve around Holkham Hall in Wells-next-the-Sea, Norfolk, has salt marsh, pine woodland and beaches. The hall is owned by the 8th Earl of Leicester, who joins the park run each Saturday. England’s only “mountain forest”, Whinlatter Forest Park in Keswick, Cumbria, is a World Heritage Site. Come prepared for a tough and hilly trail, though. The world’s first all-sand beach park run, Northern Ireland’s East Strand Beach route heads from the resort town of Portrush down a golden beach popular with surfers. The dramatic medieval ruins of Fountains Abbey in Ripon, Yorkshire (another World Heritage Site) make for a beautiful run in a mysterious landscape, with intricate bridges and Studley Royal Water Garden. In the Surrey Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, the Mole Valley park run is…

Walking in tiger country It sees fairly few foreign visitors, but India’s Jim Corbett National Park is justly famed for its “amazing” birds and its burgeoning population of tigers, says Harriet O’Brien in The Daily Telegraph. Located in the foothills of the Himalayas, a seven-hour drive north of Delhi, it was named after the early 20th century conservationist, author and hunter who lived nearby, and whose Raj-era heyday is conjured by the “wonderfully shabby-chic” hotel at its heart, Jim’s Jungle Retreat. From there, guests strike out on “exhilarating” 4x4 safaris and village visits. Still more “magical”, however, is Vanghat Lodge, a low-key “eco-haven” you can reach only on foot. Guided walks in its environs yield rich wildlife sightings; there are many birds, of course, and also the possibility of tigers.…

WeWork: $39bn discount Back in January, WeWork’s largest backer, SoftBank, valued the office space company at $47bn. What a difference ten months makes, said James Cook and Michael O’Dwyer in The Daily Telegraph. Around $39bn, in fact. After being forced to pull its flotation, the once red-hot property group desperately needed a financial lifeline, and has now accepted a “rescue proposal” from SoftBank valuing it at just $8bn. The $10bn refinancing deal was one of two WeWork considered. But a rival debt package offered by JPMorgan faced “headwinds” because the Wall Street bank wasn’t underwriting the debt itself. Even though SoftBank already owns about a third of the “embattled” company, the bailout is humbling for WeWork, said CNBC. The deal will hand the Japanese conglomerate, led by billionaire Masayoshi…

Let’s end the guessing game at the Bank Alex Brummer Daily Mail “The choice of the next governor of the Bank of England has become the City’s longest soap opera,” says Alex Brummer. Time to end it. Mark Carney’s term comes to an end on 31 January next year, and we were promised an appointment in the autumn to ensure “a smooth transition which leaves markets untroubled”. The longer the Chancellor, Sajid Javid, drags the decision out, the less likely that becomes. The choice, it is true, “has never been more critical”, given the “volatility around Brexit” and “the need for a stable counter-force to Westminster in the Square Mile”. But though the search for “a rock star appointment” with international status, is “understandable” – it isn’t “essential”. Britain runs…

The week’s best shares Aggreko The Motley Fool The Glasgow-based supplier of temporary power generators, chillers and air conditioners has a $200m deal to power the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games, and earnings are forecast to rise by a quarter next year. Buy. 782p. Ashmore Group The Times This emerging markets investment specialist has an excellent track record and is careful to avoid over-exposure. The chief caveat, though, is that it is “only for those in it for the longer term”. Buy. 490p. British American Tobacco The Times E-cigarettes and vaping are controversial, but could yet prove a “momentous opportunity” for the tobacco giant, which aims to generate £5bn from this market by 2022-23. Shares are “a smoking hot bargain”. Buy. £26.93. PayPoint The Mail on Sunday The payments service –…

The average congregation at a Sunday service in an Anglican church numbered just 27 people last year, according to figures from the Church of England (C of E). However, Church leaders claimed that Anglicanism was booming online; C of E prayer apps have been used more than five million times during the last year, and its prayers and sermons receive 3.6 million clicks every month. Channel 4 is set to screen a new reality show next year in which contestants pitch their plastic surgery “dreams” to a jury of 12. If three-quarters of the jurors approve the plans, the procedures are given for free. The Surjury, to be hosted by Love Island’s Caroline Flack, aims to allow people “to explore their choices more thoroughly”.…

Abortion within the first 24 weeks of pregnancy became legal in Northern Ireland at midnight on Monday, following a chaotic day in Stormont. Westminster MPs had amended a bill in the summer to end the outright ban in Northern Ireland (previously applied in almost all circumstances, including rape and incest), and to introduce same-sex marriage, which will become legal in January. Opponents of abortion, led by the DUP, tried to recall Northern Ireland’s Assembly, which has been suspended since 2017, but were unable to block the legislation as other parties walked out. The UK Government will now assume responsibility for providing terminations locally by April 2020, until which time women will be offered free transport to abortion services in England.…

New York Closing Rikers Island: New York’s city council has voted to close down the notorious Rikers Island prison, one of the world’s largest penal facilities and a byword for violence and neglect. Under the $8.7bn plan, approved last week, the sprawling complex of ten jails, on an island in the East River between the boroughs of Queens and the Bronx, will be shut by 2026, to be replaced by four smaller jails located closer to the city’s main courthouses. “Rikers Island is a symbol of brutality and inhumanity,” said thecity council speaker Corey Johnson. “As a city we must do everything we can to move away from the failed policies ofmass incarceration.” The movement to close Rikers gained steam following the death ofKalief Browder, a remand prisoner who killed…

1 Loch Lomond, written and performed by Sir Harry Lauder 2 Scarlet Ribbons by Evelyn Danzig and Jack Segal, performed by Harry Belafonte 3 Ride a White Swan by Marc Bolan, performed by T. Rex 4* Solsbury Hill, written and performed by Peter Gabriel 5 The Ride of the Valkyries by Richard Wagner, performed by the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra 6 Piano Concerto Number 2 in G Minor, Second Movement by Camille Saint-Saëns, performed by Stephen Hough and the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra 7 I Shot The Sheriff by Bob Marley, performed byBob Marley and The Wailers 8 Soave sia il vento – Così Fan Tutte by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, performed by Renée Fleming, Anne Sofie von Otter and Michele Pertusi, and the Chamber Orchestra Of Europe Book: The Oxford…

The raising of game has had a surprisingly big impact on British social history. The game laws – developed out of the Norman forest laws – decreed that only large landowners had the right to pursue and kill game: rabbits, hares, partridges etc. The aristocracy upheld its feudal “game privilege”, with all its ferocious penalties, well into the 19th century. In his classic history of the subject, The Long Affray, Harry Hopkins compares it to a low-level civil war: keepers easily outnumbered the police; their woods were mined with mantraps. There were hundreds of fatalities, and thousands of casualties. Those convicted of poaching were often transported or condemned to penal servitude. Until the mid-19th century, only 0.5% of the population was entitled to hold a game licence. So the man…

SWEDEN An ignoble taste in literature Politico (Brussels) It’s “shocking” that this year’s Nobel Prize in Literature was handed to “an apologist for genocide”, says Edi Rama. The Austrian author Peter Handke is a long-standing supporter of Slobodan Miloševic; he applauded the late Serbian leader’s “genocidal” campaigns in the Yugoslav wars and delivered a eulogy at his funeral. Handke presents the atrocities committed byMiloševic’s regime as Western allegations, rather than “iron-clad” facts. He ignores Serbia’s state-sponsored genocide, and even credits Miloševic with making a peace that was in fact forced on him. Defenders say Handke’s political beliefs should be ignored, and we should just focus on his work. But his political pamphlets are “calls to hate”, and even his literary works show great ethical blindness, depicting the Serbs “as ordinary,…

Today, plastic bags are considered a major environmental menace. But the bags were invented to save the planet. A Swedish engineer named Sten Gustaf Thulin developed them in the 1950s as a green alternative to paper bags, which required trees to be chopped down. They were strong and light – and he figured people would use them again and again. “To my dad, the idea that people would simply throw these away would be bizarre,” his son Raoul told the BBC. It didn’t work out that way: half a century on, a trillion of the bags are produced each year, and they cause so many problems, several countries have banned them – but there are still no perfect alternatives: paper uses so much energy and water to produce and transport,…

“The end came not with a bang, but with a written statement,” said Rowland Manthorpe on Sky News. Last week, Nicky Morgan, the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, quietly announced that the Government had abandoned its proposal to require users of online pornography to prove they’re 18. Under its “porn block”, commercial porn sites would have been obliged to require all UK-based users to complete an age-verification process – either online, by supplying documentation such as passport or credit card details, or by purchasing “porn passes” from newsagents, which could then be used to access the sites. No one who’d followed the proposal was “remotely surprised” by the decision: the much-delayed plan was never “coherent”. Morgan said its “objectives” would instead be delivered by new regulation…

“A signature always reveals a man’s character – and sometimes even his name.” US humourist Evan Esar, quoted in the San Francisco Chronicle “If they don’t give you a seat at the table, bring a folding chair.” Shirley Chisholm, quoted in The Washington Post “The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong.” Mahatma Gandhi, quoted on Business Insider “To know all is not to forgive all. It is to despise everybody.” Quentin Crisp, quoted in Lapham’s Quarterly “Only those who will risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can go.” T.S. Eliot, quoted on BookRiot.com “Destiny is a name often given in retrospect to choices that had dramatic consequences.” J.K. Rowling, quoted on Parade.com “Absolute faith corrupts as absolutely as absolute power.”…

In April, Andy Murray stepped out of his car, entered a sports club near his Surrey home, and hit a tennis ball against a wall, said Stuart Fraser in The Times. It was the first time he had practised his forehand and backhand since undergoing a hip operation earlier this year, and he didn’t know if he would ever play again without pain. Now, just six months later, the Scot has won an ATP singles title – the 46th, and undoubtedly the most impressive, of his career. On Sunday, in an “enthralling” European Open final, he came back from a set down to beat Stan Wawrinka. Murray has had to dig deep many times before – but coming back from hip surgery is “the deepest hole he has ever emerged…

To The Times Your leading article treats the objections of the Democratic Unionist Party to Boris Johnson’s Brexit deal as if they are only a matter of whether the Prime Minister can secure enough votes in the House of Commons. I am afraid they go much wider than that. They represent real fears among Unionism that this is the beginning of a slippery slope to a united Ireland. The creation of a hard border with the rest of the UK imperils their identity as British citizens. And the changes in the principle of cross-community agreement at Stormont to accept a simple majority in this case threaten the very basis of power-sharing enshrined in the Good Friday Agreement. It is essential to remember there are two communities in Northern Ireland and…

Best books… John Humphrys The veteran broadcaster, who retired from the Today programme after 32 years last month, picks his favourite novels. He is talking about his memoir, A Day Like Today, at the Stratford Literary Festival Winter Weekend, on Saturday 2 November (stratlitfest.co.uk) Predictable, perhaps, but my list must start with To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, 1960 (Arrow £7.99). It passes one crucial test: it appeals to children as well as adults. There are two heroes: the young Scout and her father Atticus, a lawyer who defends a black man wrongly accused of raping a white woman. Their overpowering sense of what is right shines through the pages. A young girl is also at the heart of Markus Zusak’s The Book Thief, 2005 (Black Swan £8.99), which…

Programmes Westwood: Punk – Icon – Activist A look at the life and career of Vivienne Westwood, the artist and punk who became the doyenne of British fashion. Sat 26 Oct, BBC2 21:00 (80mins). For Sama An extraordinary, harrowing documentary, filmed over five years by Waad al-Kateab – a Syrian woman living in Aleppo. She documents falling in love, getting married and giving birth, all while bombs fall around her. Sat 26 Oct, C4 21:00 (105mins). Pose Ryan Murphy’s stylish drama about ballroom culture in 1980s New York returns for a second season. Sat 26 Oct, BBC2 22:20 (110mins). Seven Worlds, One Planet David Attenborough’s latest blockbuster nature series explores the differing wildlife and landscapes of the world’s seven continents. Sun 27 Oct, BBC1 18:15 (60mins). Inside Lehman Brothers Documentary…

This creamy, cardamom-scented carrot pudding is widely enjoyed during the Hindu festival of Diwali, which falls this weekend. And it is also a popular sweet among India’s Jewish community at Passover, says Leah Koenig. Carrot halwa Serves 6-8 85g unsalted butter, cut into chunks 455g of carrots, grated on the large holes of a box grater ¼ tsp kosher salt 710ml milk 100g sugar 45g golden raisins (sultanas) ½ tsp ground cardamom ½ tsp ground cinnamon, plus more for serving finely chopped pistachios and toasted coconut, for topping • In a medium saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the carrots and salt and cook, stirring occasionally, until the carrots start to soften. About 5 minutes. • Add the milk, increase the heat to medium-high, and bring to a…

Historic Canterbury hotel Have a relaxing 2-night stay at the 17th century Broome Park Hotel, a stately home once owned by Lord Kitchener, from £109pp b&b. 01227-831701, broomepark.co.uk. Arrive 16 January. Seven nights in Costa Rica Designed for relaxation, stay at the delightful Wyndham Esplendor Tamarindo hotel with sea views, from £897pp b&b, including London flights. 020-3636 1931, tui.co.uk. Depart 6 January. All-inclusive Mexico break Escape winter with a 7-night stay at the four-star Óleo Cancun Playa Boutique Resort, from £1,268pp, including London flights. 0844-493 0787, britishairways.com. Depart 2 December. Bristol quayside stay Overlooking the waterfront, spend 3 nights at the four-star Bristol Hotel, a member of The Doyle Collection, from £133pp room only. 0871-277 1070, lastminute.com. Arrive 19 December.…

As news of the UK’s deal with the EU broke last week, the pound jumped – and so, by her own admission, did the new head of the IMF, Kristalina Georgieva. Both the IMF and the World Bank had identified a no-deal Brexit as one of the key factors that could turn a slowdown in the global economy into full-blown recession. The Government’s subsequent setbacks in Parliament saw sterling edge back from a six-month high above $1.30, steadying at $1.28 mid-week. The Chinese economy grew at its weakest rate in almost three decades in the third quarter as the trade war with the US, and weakening domestic demand, hit home: GDP expanded by 6%, down from 6.2% in the previous quarter. Local governments are reportedly facing increasing strains as tax…

Christine Lagarde One Halloween deadline likely to be met is the changing of the guard at the European Central Bank. But the former IMF boss Christine Lagarde will need all her celebrated political savvy to deal with “an unprecedented revolt” in the ranks, said Bloomberg. Appointed in July – as the continuity candidate to succeed Mario Draghi – Lagarde is already under big pressure to reverse her predecessor’s plan to restart quantitative easing. Following a September meeting described by one participant as “the most tense he can remember”, a cabal of hawkish big-hitters, led by the Bundesbank’s Jens Weidmann (who she beat to the top job), is shouting for a change of strategy. Lagarde, it seems, has a big “German problem”. A magic wand is needed. Stéphane Courbit One of…

● Industry ripples It has been a rough couple of weeks for the wealth management industry “capped by the final throes of Neil Woodford’s investment fund empire”, said Kate Burgess in the FT. Shares in the 300-year-old wealth manager Rathbone Brothers, a noted “adviser to the moderately affluent”, plummeted almost 10%, following a strategic update underlining “past, present and future strategic challenges”. This update – unfortunately timed within days of Woodford’s defenestration – was “telling”. Clearly, the “large-scale collapse” of such a prominent fund manager as Woodford has badly dented “already weak investor confidence”. ● In the dark The alarm is all too understandable, said Tanya Jefferies on Thisismoney.co.uk. An army of small investors in Woodford’s flagship Equity Income Fund had hoped to recover some of their losses before the…