Innholdsfortegnelse for V. 1257 i The Week

Decision time: Britain goes to the polls As the UK counted down to what has been described as its most important general election in decades, both main parties suffered last-minute blows to their campaigns. Boris Johnson was thrown on the defensive after a reporter confronted him with a photo of a four-year-old boy lying on a pile of coats on a hospital floor, owing to a lack of beds. The PM initially refused to look at the picture, then pocketed the reporter’s phone. Labour, meanwhile, was embarrassed by the leak of a recorded conversation in which shadow health secretary Jonathan Ashworth implied his party had no hope of winning and that Jeremy Corbyn was a risk to national security. (He insisted he was joking.) The Tories maintained their poll lead…

Kirk Douglas, who celebrated his 103rd birthday. The veteran actor was born in 1916, and made his film debut in 1946. Netflix, which secured 34 nominations at the Golden Globes. Three of the five best picture nominations were produced by the US streaming giant (The Irishman, The Two Popes and Marriage Story), while its nominations in the TV category included four for The Crown. Netflix now releases many of its films into cinemas for a limited period, to make them eligible for film awards. Audacity, after the Michelin-starred chef Tom Aikens produced a £145 ten-course tasting menu at his new restaurant, Muse, which gives no information about the food. Inspired by Aikens’ childhood love of guessing games, dishes have names like “Just down the road”, and “We all have our…

A violent rapist who attacked 11 people during a fortnight-long rampage in April and May has been given 33 life sentences. Mr Justice Edis described Joseph McCann, 34, as a “classic psychopath”, and called for an inquiry into the failures that had allowed him to be released from prison for an earlier crime. Having previously been given an indeterminate sentence, for public protection, he should not have been paroled without a hearing. McCann first made headlines aged 14, when he was one of the first teenagers to be given an Asbo, for terrorising his neighbours in Manchester.…

The high-wire walker Just the sight of Philippe Petit performing his most famous feat – anillegal high-wire walk between the twin towers of the World Trade Centre in1974 – is terrifying to most people. But Petit was enjoying himself so much, he spent 45 minutes on the wire: at one point, he even danced on it. “I’m never scared,” he explains. “I always put myself in a state of mind before the walk that, when I perform the first step, I know that I’ll perform the last step successfully.” Although he grew up in France, Petit has lived in America for 45 years. Now 70, he still wire-walks and juggles each day, and is still challenging himself. He recently learnt to cook, and on the wall of his home, in…

A dentist in Alaska has admitted removing a patient’s tooth while standing on a hoverboard. Seth Lookhart carried out the procedure on Veronica Wilhelm while she was heavily sedated; she had no idea what had happened until investigators showed her a video Lookhart had shared with friends boasting that it was “a new standard of care”. He was subsequently charged with reckless endangerment. “I don’t have anything bad to say about taking out my tooth,” said Wilhelm when they met in court. “I just think that what you did was outrageous, narcissistic and crazy.” The chief medical examiner for the US state of Maine has been criticised for posting a recruitment ad for a deputy that promises a “low-stress work environment” in a region where freezing winters mean a “really…

THE NETHERLANDS How China conquered the world De Volkskrant (Amsterdam) China’s “colonisation of the world” continues apace, says Sheila Sitalsing. According to the Global Diplomacy Index, it has overtaken the US as the top diplomatic superpower – with 276 embassies, consulates and mission posts (three more than America) now busily doing deals and furthering its interests around the globe. The Chinese approach to diplomacy is like “stringing beads”: no country is too small to bother with. Take the case of tiny Suriname, a former Dutch colony: dwarfed by its neighbour Brazil, it lacks any geopolitical advantage, yet Chinese workers fly there in droves, as they do to countries all over Africa, Asia and South America. The Chinese face no competition from Suriname’s former colonial masters – the Netherlands has cut…

The obliteration of the Neanderthals, around 40,000 years ago, has often been laid at the door of humans. It took place about 20,000 years after Homo sapiens began spreading into Europe and western Asia – regions which Neanderthals had long inhabited. Palaeontologists have suggested that the arrival of humans triggered a competition for resources, which humans won, thanks to their superior intelligence. But according to a new Dutch study, the Neanderthals’ demise may not have been human-related. Genetic analyses of Neanderthal remains suggest that at the time they only numbered between 10,000 and 70,000 –and were spread out into isolated groups. Small populations are inherently vulnerable, because limited mate choice makes inbreeding common and there may not be enough people to do the various jobs needed for survival. Researchers at…

“It’s a crazy contest between an orange and a spaceship and a potted plant and a spoon – which one do you like better?” That was how the singer Anohni summed up awards in 2005, said Ian Youngs on BBC News. She had just won the coveted Mercury Prize, but still railed against the absurdity of pitting diverse musical forms against each other for the sake of a trophy. Now, there is a sense that the whole business of prize-giving is going out of fashion. In August, the winner of the James Tait Black Prize for fiction said she was sharing the £10,000 with her fellow nominees, as “competition has no place in art”. In October, the Booker Prize judges couldn’t decide between two authors, so awarded it to them…

If you are familiar with Peloton, it might be because it is beloved bymany celebrities, said Molly Fleming in Marketing Week. But if the firm has only just come to your notice, chances are that is due to its Christmas ad –which has got everyone talking, for all the wrong reasons. For those who don’t know, Peloton is a brand of upmarket exercise bike. Fitted with a tablet, these cost £1,900; you then pay £39 a month to take part in spin classes from home. Tapping into the lucrative “wellness” market, Peloton was recently valued at $4bn. But last week, 15% was knocked off its value after social media users complained that its new ad – about a woman who is given a bike by her husband – is sexist,…

“There have been many dramatic occasions in Anthony Joshua’s career,” said Matt Dickinson in The Sunday Times. But his fight on Saturday night was an occasion for “getting the job done”: for winning back the four heavyweight title belts that Andy Ruiz took from him so unexpectedly in June. And that’s what he did in Saudi Arabia, with a “highly successful, if not spectacular” unanimous points victory. The 30-year-old from Watford is only the fourth fighter in the 127 years of the heavyweight class – after Floyd Patterson, Muhammad Ali and Lennox Lewis – to reclaim it in a direct rematch. Ruiz’s victory “disrupted one of boxing’s most indomitable laws”, said Sean Ingle in The Observer: that a good tall fighter usually beats a good smaller one. This time, “the…

Tree diplomacy To The Daily Telegraph Since 1947, Norway has sent a Christmas tree to be placed in Trafalgar Square asan expression of thankfulness for Britain’s support during the Second World War. This year we sent a mighty 69ft-tall spruce. The British media have criticised this year’s tree, deeming it too sparse, skinny and sad. On behalf of many Norwegians, I urge you to respect the tree and the qualities it represents. The Trafalgar Square Christmas tree is quintessentially Norwegian. Unlike artificial and glitzy trees, it is honest and unpretentious. It symbolises our common effort as allies in the struggle against totalitarianism. The values with which we persevered were resolve and sacrifice in the face of adversity. The current tree had overcome 80 dark and cold winters, before being cut…

Adam Kay’s This is Going to Hurt, his diary of life as a junior doctor, has sold more than 1.5 million copies, said Cathy Rentzenbrink in The Times. “In Twas The Nightshift Before Christmas (Picador £9.99), we get more ofthe same – hurrah! – but with a festive flavour.” A&E departments, Kay points out, are “busier than turkey farms” at Christmas, with people finding anarray of mind-boggling ways to injure themselves, many involving “sexual antics”. The anecdotes are sidesplitting – if often “disgusting” – but Kay (right) can do “heart-wrenching” too. Funny Ha Ha (Head of Zeus £25) is Paul Merton’s anthology of what he considers “the funniest stories everr written”, said Matt Rudd in The Sunday Times. Ranging from P.G. Wodehouse and Dorothy Parker to “less obvious curiosities”, this…

Five Little Pigs by Agatha Christie, 1942 (HarperCollins £7.99). I think this is by far the best book Christie wrote – so simple, so sparse, ahandful of characters. The denouement and the character dynamics are resolved in astunning twist, and you realise you’ve been looking at the story the wrong way up from the start. Genius. A Judgement in Stone by Ruth Rendell, 1977 (Arrow £8.99). My favourite book by Ruth Rendell. The audacious opening line is possibly the best in all crime fiction: “Eunice Parchman killed the Coverdale family because she could not read or write.” The rest of it explains that statement. The perfect why dunnit. Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn, 2012 (Weidenfeld & Nicholson £8.99). In my mind, this has always been the one to beat. It’s…

Programmes Responsible Child Powerful drama about the trial of a 12-year-old boy for murder in an adult court, inspired by real-life events. Mon 16 Dec, BBC2 21:00 (90mins). Sticks and Stones New three-part psychological drama (continues Tue and Wed), by the writer of Doctor Foster, about workplace bullying. Mon 16 Dec, ITV1 21:00 (60mins). The Brexit Storm Continues: Laura Kuenssberg’s Inside Story The BBC’s political editor describes how events were unfolding behind the scenes in the turmoil around the October Brexit deadline. Tue 17 Dec, BBC2 21:00 (60mins). Charles I: Killing a King Three-part documentary (continues Wed and Thur) about the execution of King Charles I in 1649. Tue 17 Dec, BBC4 21:00 (60mins). Heston’s Marvellous Menu: Back to the Noughties The chef attempts to recreate a 2001 tasting menu…

Impala Holographic Rollerskates A classic pair of rollerskates will never go out of style; these are available in an array of designs (£89; smallable. com). Electro Guitar Kit Children build their own electric guitar and amp from scratch with this clever kit (£30; techwillsaveus.com). In the Forest pop-up Anouck Boisrobert’s beautiful pop-up book introduces children to the world’s rainforests and their wildlife (£15; shop. tate.org.uk). Jonathan Adler Lips Puzzle This 750-piece puzzle featuring the New York designer’s signature swirling-smokestack lips may keep teenagers entertained at Christmas (£30; trouva.com). Imagination Station Rocket Money Box Covered in glow-in-the-dark stars, this fun money box is both functional and great value (£7; argos. co.uk). Polaroid 600 Camera – MTV Stereo Take your kids back to the pre-digital age with one of Polaroid’s refurbished instant…

North Pembrokeshire stay Spend New Year in a 17th century carthouse with outdoor undercover hot tub and log-burner, for £400 for two. To book, please contact glanyfer1@gmail.com. 30 December to 2 January. All-inclusive in Italy Stay four nights at Limone’s charming Hotel Leonardo da Vinci, perched alongside Lake Garda, from £273pp, including Edinburgh flights. 020-3897 1146, loveholidays. com. Depart 1 April. Dream relaxing holiday Six nights at the colourful hideaway of Avani Seychelles Barbarons Resort & Spa cost from £1,670pp b&b, including Manchester flights. 0344-739 2555, virginholidays.co.uk. Depart 10 March. Four-star St Lucia retreat Stay seven nights at the Coconut Bay Resort & Spa, on the south coast of the island, from £1,687pp all-inclusive, including London flights. 020-3993 3495, bestattravel.co.uk. Depart 6 February.…

Saudi Aramco: the world’s biggest non-event? The world’s “biggest-ever IPO” finally got under way last week, said The Wall Street Journal. Saudi Aramco priced its initial public offering at the high end of the targeted range, giving the oil giant a total value of $1.7trn when it floated in Riyadh. The $25.6bn tops the previous $25bn record set by the Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba in 2014, and establishes Aramco as the most valuable company on Earth. Even so, “the share sale falls well short of the initial $2trn valuation targeted by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman”. This cash-raising flotation is a crucial part of MbS’s ambition “to transform an economy dependent on oil as the global shift to cleaner fuels accelerates”, said the Financial Times. But although some…

The WTO is sick. Will it ever recover? Juliet Samuel The Daily Telegraph “If Britain cannot agree a trade deal with the EU, there’s no reason for alarm... we just fall back on the ‘WTO option’.” That is what many are saying, says Juliet Samuel. But there’s one big problem: the World Trade Organisation, the main arbiter of global trade governance since WWII, is quietly disintegrating. The US has systematically blocked the appointment of judges to its highest (appellate) body, so when two of its remaining three judges retire this week, it will no longer be able to function. This isn’t a sudden or unexpected crisis: it has its deep roots in a dispute with the US that began long before Donald Trump. US lawyers argue that the appellate body…

Equal: A Story of Women, Men and Money by Carrie Gracie (Virago £18.99). The BBC’s former China editor recounts her hard-fought battle with the broadcaster to secure equal pay, says Andrew Hill in the FT, “artfully weaving in the history of gender inequality” and tips for women – and men – who want to change things. The Ride of a Lifetime by Robert Iger (Bantam £20). Too many business autobiographies are ghostwritten “man of destiny tales”, says Rosamund Urwin in The Sunday Times. Disney boss Robert Iger’s is “rather better”. It starts with a crisis – an alligator has killed a toddler at Disney World Florida while Iger is supposed to be focusing on the opening of the Shanghai resort – and ends with his “business bon mots”. The Story…

Controversy of the week Exit the Brexit Party? It was the “ultimate humiliation” for Nigel Farage, said Kate Proctor in The Observer. Farage has had a dismal election campaign: his Brexit Party is haemorrhaging voters, and “flatlining on about 3%” at the polls. Then last week came a new, devastating blow: four of his own MEPs declared that they were quitting his party to back the Conservatives at the general election. In a joint video message, the foursome – Annunziata Rees-Mogg, the sister of Tory Cabinet minister Jacob; Lance Forman; John Longworth; and Lucy Harris – said the public should support Boris Johnson to “get Brexit done”. Farage reacted furiously, suggesting that they had been offered inducements by the Tories to quit. But their argument was actually “unassailable”, said The…

Christmas jumpers, with warnings that they are helping to fuel the plastic waste crisis. Almost all festive jumpers sold in the UK are made wholly or partly of plastic – and although 65 million are already languishing in the nation’s wardrobes, consumers are expected to buy a further 12 million this year. Nutella, after Matteo Salvini, Italy’s former deputy prime minister, declared that he was boycotting the spread, because it is made with hazelnuts from Turkey. The leader of the hard-right anti-immigrant League party said he preferred to “help companies that use Italian products”. His opponents described him as “nuts”, pointing out that Italian producers are not able to supply all the hazelnuts required by Nutella.…

The Hague, Netherlands Suu Kyi leads defence: Aung San Suu Kyi, the former political prisoner and Nobel Laureate, travelled to The Hague this week to defend her country against allegations of genocide. The charges, at The International Court of Justice, relate to atrocities committed during a campaign against Myanmar’s minority Rohingya Muslim population, which forced around 740,000 people into squalid camps over the border in Bangladesh. The case was brought by Gambia (though it has no direct connection to the alleged atrocities) with the backing of the 57-member Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, and is expected to last several years. Suu Kyi was under no obligation to attend the hearing, but as the civilian head ofthe military-influenced government, she backed the campaign against the Rohingya – and her attendance is said…

This week’s edition of Radio 4’s Desert Island Discs featured the professor of circadian neuroscience Russell Foster 1 Ode to Joy from the 4th movement of Symphony No. 9 by Beethoven, performed by Elisabeth Schwarzkopf, Elisabeth Höngen, Hans Hopf and Otto Edelmann 2* Die Walkure, Act 3, Finale by Wagner, performed by Hans Hotter with the Vienna Philharmonic 3 Don Giovanni, K. 527: Mi tradì quell’alma ingrata by Mozart, performed by Kiri Te Kanawa 4 Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This) by Annie Lennox and David A. Stewart, performed by Eurythmics 5 Nimrod (Adagio) by Elgar, performed by the BBC Symphony Orchestra 6 Chasing Sheep Is Best Left To Shepherds, written and performed by Michael Nyman 7 The Sun Whose Rays from The Mikado, Act II by Gilbert and Sullivan,…

Britain’s medicine prices are among the lowest in the world, thanks to the NHS’s buying power, and the tough value-for-money tests imposed by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence. This is a major bone of contention. US prices are 2.5 times higher than ours, and Donald Trump thinks that Americans are “subsidising” low prices abroad, which is “unfair” and “ridiculous”. The US pharmaceutical industry wants to charge the NHS more, not just because the UK is a big market: NHS prices are used as benchmarks for 14 other nations. Dr Andrew Hill of Liverpool University calculates that, in the worst-case scenario, the NHS drugs bill would rise from £13bn to £45bn – a massive extra expense. The Tory manifesto promises that neither the NHS nor drug prices will…

Why it all went wrong for Harris Karen Tumulty The Washington Post What a brutal process it is, running for president, says Karen Tumulty. High expectations are so quickly dashed. Take poor Kamala Harris. When the Democrat senator launched her campaign in January, she “seemed to have it all” – charisma, experience and an ideal background. Her candidacy raised the “tantalising prospect of seeing a woman, and a woman of colour no less, sit behind the big desk in the Oval Office for the first time”. As a California senator, and the state’s former attorney general, she was ideally placed for the crucial Democratic primary in March. Yet when it came to it, Harris’s White House bid just fizzled out. The former prosecutor never managed to make a clear, coherent…

A new typhoid vaccine that can be administered to babies, and has performed well in stage-three trials, is being rolled out across Pakistan. Typhoid remains common in regions with poor sanitation: each year, it affects around 11 million people globally, and kills more than 100,000. Although it can normally be treated with antibiotics, a new strain has emerged in parts of Asia which is resistant to virtually all medicines. Unlike existing vaccines, which are unsuitable for small children, the new vaccine, known as TCV, can be given to babies as young as nine months, making it potentially far more effective in preventing the disease’s spread. In a trial in Nepal, 20,000 children were given the vaccine, and over the next year cases of typhoid fell by 81%. Pakistan’s immunisation programme,…

“Is Nato suffering the 70-year itch,” asked Mark Almond in The Daily Telegraph. Repeated declarations of solidarity from the alliance’s leaders at last week’s anniversary summit in London “hardly masked the squabbling between Presidents Trump, Macron and Erdogan, or the carping stage whispers from Justin Trudeau”: the Canadian president was caught on camera laughing at Trump with several of his colleagues. At the summit’s conclusion, an “alphabet soup” of reforms and commitments was announced. But it didn’t mask the void at the organisation’s centre. “What is the point of Nato decades after the collapse of the USSR?” And does Article 5 – the principle that an attack against one member is an attack against all – still hold? “Nato is facing a crisis sparked by Trump,” said Michael H. Fuchs…

“After a good dinner, one can forgive anybody, even one’s own relations.” Oscar Wilde, quoted in Good Housekeeping “True terror is to wake up one morning and discover that your high school class is running the country.” Kurt Vonnegut, quoted on Parade.com “If absolute power corrupts absolutely, does absolute powerlessness make you pure?” Harry Shearer, quoted in the I newspaper “Even on the most exalted throne in the world, we are only sitting on our own bottom.” Michel de Montaigne, quoted in the Montreal Gazette “There is nothing new under the sun, but there are new suns.” Octavia E. Butler, novelist, quoted in Atwood Magazine “The best way to keep a prisoner from escaping is to make sure he never knows he’s in prison.” Fyodor Dostoevsky, quoted on The Browser…

England’s tour of New Zealand should have been a “Test reboot”, said Andrew Miller on ESPNcricinfo. Playing for the first time under their new head coach Chris Silverwood, they had a chance to shake off the disappointment of Australia retaining the Ashes. But this was a missed opportunity. It wasn’t just that, against a “superbly well-drilled” home side, the English lost the two-test series 1-0. It was the lack of progress made. For all the talk of a new era, England are still no closer to answering their “eternal selection issues” – particularly the lack of a convincing second opener, with new batsman Dominic Sibley failing to convince at the crease – than they were at the end of the Ashes. Next up is a tour of South Africa, which…

To The Guardian The admirable decision to award the Turner Prize to all four shortlisted artists, at the request of the artists themselves, inadvertently throws light on just how outmoded and negative such a prize is. The Tate is committed to a democratic idea of art, and should use this year’s decision to transform the Turner into an exhibition of contemporary art where participation is itself the prize, and the goal is discussion, argument and debate, rather than winning. John-Paul Stonard, London To The Daily Telegraph Art is a competitive business, especially when you enter an open exhibition. As a former chairman of the Turner Society, I know how often the artist was seen putting finishing touches to his paintings at the Royal Academy. There was always great rivalry between…

Musical: The Wizard of Oz Leeds Playhouse (0113-213 7700). Until 25 January Running time: 2hrs 50mins You’d expect the refurbished and rechristened Leeds Playhouse’s first Christmas show to be pretty spectacular, said Paul Jeeves in the Daily Express. And artistic director James Brining has indeed thrown everything at this “romping, stomping” production of The Wizard of Oz, ina bid to tempt a whole new audience into his theatre. It has gymnasts, sensational set-piece dance routines, innovative lighting and special effects, a brilliant 11-piece band, big screen projections, flying monkeys – and not a single weak link anywhere. It alladds up to a “breathtaking piece of theatrical magic” that will win over a new generation to a well-loved classic. Oozing “visual flair”, this “thrilling staging” begins in the “sandy sepia” of…

Lorena Lohr at The Cob Gallery The Canadian photographer Lorena Lohr (b.1990) has spent the past decade travelling around the US on public transport, capturing details of its lesser-visited towns and glorifying in the beauty of the ostensibly mundane. This exhibition brings together a selection of images created over the past few years in locations as disparate as Tennessee, Nevada and Colorado, highlighting Lohr’s painterly approach. In these photos, vast desert skies dwarf abridged stubs of commercial signage; a poster bearing an image of Elvis Presley caught mid-song flaps in the wind; and dusty landscapes glimpsed from bus windows blur into rapturous abstractions. Even an abandoned wastepaper basket is given improbable dignity, its ultramarine colouring gleaming against a pastel pink wall in the winter sunshine. The America Lohr depicts could…

● If you can’t see yourself keeping a pot-grown Christmas tree in your garden that you can reuse each year, loveachristmas tree.co.uk will rent you one for the period; they deliver and collect, and it’s usually cheaper than buying a cut tree. ● Emailing digital cards is a good way to cut waste, but if you enjoy the tradition of sending the real thing, 1 Tree Cards plants a tree for every recycled card sold via the Eden Reforestation Projects charity. ● Exterior Christmas lights can consume a huge amount of energy: swapping to solar-powered ones saves electricity and the bother of dealing with all the cabling. ● If children have enough or don’t treasure their toys, consider giving them an experience – a day at a skating rink, perhaps…

The Waterside Inn Bray, Berkshire Bray is perhaps best known for Heston Blumenthal’s Fat Duck, but it’s also home to this “legendary” Thames-side hotel, where chefs Michel Roux and his son Alain have held three Michelin stars for the past 34 years. It remains an absolute “treat”, says Fiona Duncan in The Telegraph. The service is impeccable, the 11 rooms and suites are “plush and elegant”, and staying next to the river is “soothing and tranquil”. In the restaurant, the atmosphere is “not starchy, but animated”, and the food – which has “modern touches” but “classic Gallic roots” – lives up to its stellar reputation. Doubles from £280, b&b, waterside-inn.co.uk.…

Gary Rhodes 1960-2019 Gary Rhodes, who has died aged 59, was at the vanguard of a new generation of TV chefs that emerged in the 1990s – and made cookery rock ’n’ roll. He moved the genre on from Delia Smith, with her down-to-earth, no nonsense approach, and far away from the days when Fanny Cradock showcased recipes dressed in a ballgown. The TV critic A.A. Gill described Rhodes, with his spiky hair and upbeat manner, as “Nigel Kennedy with a whisk”. But when it came to the food, Rhodes embraced the traditional. His TV series (such as Rhodes Around Britain) saw him travelling the country, searching out regional dishes that had fallen out of favour, and giving classic ones, such as Lancashire hot pot, an update. His culinary hero…

As the pound pushed higher during election week, City traders braced themselves for the results. A majority win for the Conservatives would likely see further gains – Goldman Sachs said that sterling could strengthen to $1.35 if the results align with polls. But a shock result could mean a nasty unravelling. Whoever wins inherits an unpromising economic backdrop. According to the ONS, the UK economy flatlined month-on-month in October, after two months of declines – marking the weakest three months since early 2009. In the US, the prospect of a showdown between President Trump and Amazon founder Jeff Bezos came closer when Amazon filed a lawsuit claiming it had been denied a $10bn defence contract because of “escalating and overt pressure” from the president. Shares in Tullow Oil plunged more…

Paul Volcker If anyone came to epitomise the stubborn “power of the independent central banker”, it was Paul Volcker, the former Federal Reserve chairman who has died aged 92, said the FT. “A towering figure in every sense” – he stood at 6ft 7in – Volcker served under numerous US presidents in his six-decade career, from JFK to Barack Obama. Appointed to chair the Fed by Jimmy Carter, his best-known achievement was vanquishing “the scourge of inflation that ravaged America’s prestige and power in the 1970s and early 1980s”. He was a “taciturn and somewhat rumpled” figure, but Volcker’s “gruff exterior concealed a shy man with a puckish wit”, said The New York Times. His first wife told a biographer that “she had waited vainly for a proposal before she…

The week’s best shares Boku The Daily Telegraph This rising “tech star” provides “carrier billing” for customers including Apple and Spotify, enabling their users to pay for services via mobile phone bills. Growing at 70% annually, and expanding into identity verification. Buy. 85p. Codemasters Group The Sunday Telegraph The digital game developer’s shares have enjoyed robust performance on the back of strong demand and higher margins. It has extended its Formula 1 motor racing franchise and bought a rival developer. Buy. 249p. FDM Group Investors Chronicle Recruitment group FDM trains personnel to become IT consultants – or “mounties”. Diversifying in sector and geography, it has delivered consistent revenue growth. “Speculative”, with a 4.1% yield. Buy. 918p. Lok’nStore Group Investors Chronicle An undersupply of self-storage space is boosting occupancy, and solid…

In the old days, people used to pilfer toiletries from hotel rooms. Now, they’re even stealing mattresses. Almost one in 20 owners of four-and five-star hotels say they have had mattresses stolen, most of which are taken in the night, via lifts connected to underground car parks; and 6% have experienced thefts of TV sets and coffeemakers, according to the survey by Wellness Heaven. Millennials are developing their own rules of etiquette: 42% wouldn’t give up their seat on a bus or train to an elderly or pregnant person, 28% say it’s acceptable to jump a queue, and 53% see no need to say “bless you” when someone sneezes. However, 34% think “ghosting” people on social media is rude, and 20% think it’s bad manners to share TV spoilers.…

Dany Cotton, the head of the London Fire Brigade, has brought forward her retirement, and will leave her post at the end of this month. Cotton, 50, had been under intense pressure to stand down since telling the inquiry into the Grenfell Tower fire that she would not change anything about the brigade’s operation that night. London’s first female fire chief, she had planned to retire in April 2020, but was reportedly convinced to bring the date forward by Sadiq Khan, after he met families of Grenfell victims.…

Washington DC Impeachment vote: The Democrat speaker of the House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi, formally instructed the judiciary committee to draft articles of impeachment against President Trump last Thursday. This paves the way for a vote to approve the articles – in effect indicting Trump on charges to be tried inthe Senate – tobe held before lawmakers break for Christmas. But even if Trump becomes only the third ofthe US’s 44 presidents formally to be impeached (after Andrew Johnson and Bill Clinton), he is unlikely to become the first to be removed from office: that would require a two-thirds majority vote in the Republican-controlled Senate. Los Angeles, California Musk wins: The tech billionaire Elon Musk has been cleared by a Los Angeles jury of defaming the British cave diver Vernon…

“Over the past decade of austerity, almost 800 public libraries – afifth of our total – have closed. It’s not just access to books that has been lost – it’s warm places to sit if you can’t afford cafés, company to keep if you are lonely, helping hands if you can’t work the internet. And it’s also an idea – that reading, learning, pursuing knowledge and interests outside school, for their own sakes, are worthwhile things to be done, and that someone, somewhere, cares enough to give everyone the chance to do so for free. That’s not romantic nonsense. That’s a beautiful thing. And we cannot afford to lose beautiful things.” Lucy Mangan in The Mail on Sunday…

Sneak preview of government under Corbyn Fraser Nelson The Daily Telegraph To see what the future might look like under a Jeremy Corbyn government, cast your eyes north, says Fraser Nelson. Scotland has already introduced many of the reforms he favours. It has axed university tuition fees. Its schools, which remain firmly under local government control, are generously funded: “for every £100 spent on English education, £118 is spent in Scotland”. And on health, spending per head is 8.5% higher than in England, and private healthcare firms are kept at arm’s length. But has all this improved services? Quite the opposite. The latest international league tables show Scottish education “falling behind at an alarming rate, with performance in maths and science at an all-time low”. A bright child from a…

The cause of the “Habsburg jaw” The members of one of Europe’s great dynasties were famously disfigured by a facial deformity: “the Habsburg jaw”. Now scientists have shown why this most likely occurred: because of inbreeding. During the 16th and 17th centuries, the Habsburgs not only ruled over their empire in central Europe, but were also monarchs of Spain. To secure the integrity of their holdings, the two branches regularly intermarried, and this caused the generations to become progressively more inbred. The last Habsburg Spanish king, Charles II– whose father was Philip IV and mother was Philip’s niece – was the product of aneven narrower gene pool than he would have been had he been the offspring of siblings. Famously ugly, he had a range of disabilities, and died aged…

The late John Julius Norwich’s Christmas Crackers – compilations of his favourite ephemera – contained many gems, including a review of Lady Chatterley’s Lover, from Field and Stream magazine. “This fictional account of the day-to-day life of an English gamekeeper contains many passages on pheasant raising, apprehension of poachers, ways to control vermin and other chores of the professional gamekeeper,” it reads. “Unfortunately, one is obliged to wade through many pages of extraneous material in order to discover these sidelights. In this reviewer’s opinion, it cannot take the place of J.R. Miller’s Practical Gamekeeping.” Maggie Smith has admitted that she didn’t find making the Harry Potter films, or Downton Abbey, satisfying. “I didn’t really feel I was acting in those things,” she told the London Evening Standard. The 84-year-old has…

“The murder took place in broad daylight,” said Yana Biliaieva in Deutsche Welle. At lunchtime on 23 August, Zelimkhan Khangoshvili, a Georgian of Chechen descent, was gunned down ina Berlin park byaman on a bicycle. The 40-year-old – who had been arebel commander in the Chechen war for independence from Russia in the early 2000s – was shot twice in the head with a 9mm Glock 26 pistol as he walked in the central Kleiner Tiergarten. His killer, a 49-year-old bearing a Russian passport identifying him as Vadim Sokolov, was arrested soon after when he was spotted dumping his bike and gun, along with a wig he had used as a disguise, in the nearby Spree river. Three months on, what “initially appeared to have been a gang hit” has…

By the end of the “breakneck” derby last Saturday, “Manchester was red and Manchester City were aghast”, said Jonathan Northcroft in The Sunday Times. City’s 2-1 home defeat to Manchester United left them 14 points behind the leaders, Liverpool, effectively putting anend to their hopes ofretaining the title. They were beaten by a stunning United performance –the finest since Ole Gunnar Solskjær became manager. Again and again, the Red Devils mounted “extraordinary” counter-attacks that shredded City’s defence. Two goals up within the first half hour, they could easily have scored four or five before half-time. Coming three days after an impressive 2-1 win over Tottenham, it left them just five points outside the top four. It felt like a landmark moment for Solskjær’s United side, said David Walsh in the…

Football Everton sacked Marco Silva and hired former striker Duncan Ferguson as interim manager. Leicester recorded an eighth consecutive victory with their 4-1 win over Aston Villa. Tottenham beat Burnley 5-0. Liverpool beat Bournemouth 3-0. Everton beat Chelsea 3-1. Rugby union In the Champions Cup, Leinster beat Northampton 43-16. Exeter beat Sale 22-20. Munster beat Saracens 10-3. Snooker China’s Ding Junhui beat Stephen Maguire 10-6 to win his third UK Championship title.…

Ordinary Love Dirs: Lisa Barros D’Sa and Glenn Leyburn 1hr 32mins (12A) Moving cancer drama with Liam Neeson and Lesley Manville “In movies, love is often all rose petals, kisses in the rain and clichéd grand gestures,” said Joseph Walsh in Time Out, which is what makes this quiet film about a married couple tested to the limits by a cancer diagnosis all the more affecting. Tom (Liam Neeson) and Joan (Lesley Manville) are a close-knit couple who lead an undramatic and relatively carefree life – until she finds a lump under her left breast. The story that follows avoids the schmaltziness we’ve come to expect in cancer dramas, said Edward Porter in The Sunday Times. Its occasionally stiff script is brought to life by the wonderful chemistry between its…

An artwork that sold only last week for $120,000 has been eaten, says Graham Russell in The Observer. Arguably, though, it was “a fitting end” for a work that consisted of “an ever-ripening banana duct-taped to a wall”. The piece, entitled Comedian, by the Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan, was on show at Art Basel in Miami; it was eaten on Saturday by artist David Datuna, who captured the act on video and said it was a work of performance art, named Hungry Artist. Police took his details, but he was not arrested. All is not lost for the buyer, since the work comes with a certificate of authenticity, and owners are allowed to replace the banana. Datuna “did not destroy the artwork”, said Lucien Terras, a director at the Perrotin…

Phoebe, Rex and Pip debate BL’s offer of land for rewilding; Phoebe wants to take it, but Pip is suspicious of Justin. Freddie and Ruth are both annoyed with Josh over his betrayal of Johnny. As Johnny throws himself into work, Tom and Pat both attempt to talk to him. At Kirsty’s urging, Helen texts Lee, who suggests they meet. Elizabeth struggles to manage Jim: Ghost Stories needs a director. Brian tells Phoebe about the ulterior motives behind BL’s interest in rewilding and begs her not to accept the offer. Will and Andrew meet at a bereavement event, and decide to spend Christmas together. After talking to Toby, Pip puts aside her reservations about Justin. She tells Rex and an anxious Phoebe, and they agree to go ahead. Ruth apologises…

Cook House Anna Hedworth Head of Zeus £25 (£21.99) In 2014, Anna Hedworth quit her job as an architect, and with no experience beyond cooking for a supper club, set up a restaurant, on her own, in Newcastle. Cook House was originally located in two shipping containers, before moving to a “lovely airy warehouse”, said Diana Henry in The Daily Telegraph. This book is full of recipes showcasing her “inventive” yet down-to-earth cooking, but also tells the “inspiring tale” of how she followed her dream to become a restaurateur. Signature Dishes That Matter Phaidon £35 (£29.99) This “hefty tome” is the “ultimate foodie’s I-spy book”, said Tony Turnbull. A recipe book, travel guide and encyclopaedia, it identifies “200 dishes that have shaped modern gastronomy” – from the first gelato served…

On a clear day, you can see for 20 miles in either direction from Chesil Cottage in Dorset, which overlooks the famous tombolo beach (sleeps four; from £391 for two nights; nationaltrust.org.uk). To get to Lower Polnish, overlooking Loch Ailort in Argyll, you have to leave your car and hike 300 yards down a steep valley, and cross a rope bridge (sleeps two; from £500 per week; coolplaces.co.uk). Decommissioned in 1902, Belle Tout Lighthouse in Sussex is now a b&b where you can enjoy the 360-degree views in the lantern room, and sleep in the old keeper’s bunk (from £160 a night; belletout.co.uk). Great for a big group, The Shieling in Northumberland boasts spectacular views of the dunes (sleeps ten; from £2,500 per week; crabtreeandcrabtree.com). Enjoy a turret balcony and…

France’s latest national park Those “desperately seeking undiscovered France” (and they are “legion”) need look no further than the country’s 11th national park, inaugurated only last month – the Parc national de forêts en Champagne et Bourgogne, says Anthony Peregrine in The Daily Telegraph. Covering 600,000 acres, it includes “vast” stretches of ancient forest, 450 miles of waterways and 1,250 miles of hiking paths. The cultural treasures in its vicinity are also wondrous – among them the Musée du Pays Châtillonnais (with its “astounding” collection of Celtic treasures), the elegant abbey of Fontenay, the beautiful fortified town of Langres, and the “almost over-charming” village of Flavigny-sur-Ozerain, where the film Chocolat was shot. Stay at the Château de Courban, a hotel in a 19th century mansion with a Michelin-starred restaurant and…

Bob Willis 1949-2019 “In the 1970s and 1980s, when English cricket was beset by regular crises and deep malaises, there was one sight to gladden patriotic hearts,” said Matthew Engel in The Guardian: that of “Bob Willis – all 6ft 6in of him – charging towards the stumps”. Willis, who has died aged 70, was “the best English fast bowler of his generation, and also the staunchest”. While other players defected, first to Kerry Packer’s rival circuit, then to outlawed “rebel” tours of South Africa, “good ol’ Bob” stuck true. It was at Headingley in 1981 that Willis had his greatest triumph. That Test series has gone down in history as “Botham’s Ashes”, which is wrong, because Bob played an equal part, said Geoffrey Boycott in The Daily Telegraph: “Without…

The shock gating of the £2.5bn M&G property fund has “stunned the investment industry”, said Ali Hussain and Patrick Hosking in The Times – “triggering fears that other similar funds might follow suit”. Tens of thousands of investors have been blocked from taking cash out of the fund, while M&G seeks to sell property to fund redemptions – a process that could last months. The FTSE 100 group said it had been struggling to sell off office buildings and shopping centres fast enough to meet demands from a “sudden and sustained” number of customers who wanted their money back. Several property funds were gated during the 2008 financial crisis and around the 2016 Brexit referendum on fears of a property slump. Millions of small investors have bought into property funds…