The Week 1543

For the first time in nearly a century, a new lady’s-slipper orchid has been found growing in the wild in England. The flower was close to extinct by the early 20th century, owing to over-zealous Victorian collectors and habitat loss. But in 1930, a single specimen was found in Yorkshire. It was protected by volunteers for decades, and later spurred efforts to propagate and reintroduce the plant. Now, planted out orchids have produced seeds that have successfully germinated. A rescue dog from Qatar that ran away from its foster home in the New Forest on 25 April was picked up 36 days later – while trying to swim back to the mainland from Brownsea Island. Amber, a golden retriever cross, somehow got past a 2.5-metre deer fence, and then spent…

What happened Britain’s battle plans Keir Starmer vowed this week to make Britain “a battle-ready, armour-clad nation” as he unveiled the long-awaited Strategic Defence Review (SDR). The 144-page report contains 62 recommendations, all of which have been accepted. They include: building-up to 12 nuclear attack submarines; procuring up to 7,000 UK-built, long-range weapons; opening at least six new munition factories in the UK with the capacity to ramp up production; increasing the size of the Army from 73,000 to 76,000 in the next parliament; and exploring the possible acquisition of US combat aircraft that are capable of firing tactical nuclear weapons. The review also recommends greater use of drones and AI, to help make the Armed Forces “ten times more lethal”. Ministers came under pressure this week to explain how…

What happened Ukraine launched a series of drone strikes on airfields deep inside Russia on Sunday, in what was described as its most audacious operation of the war so far. Kyiv claimed 41 Russian aircraft had been damaged or destroyed at four of five bases targeted, the most remote of which, Belaya, lies about 3,400 miles east of the Ukrainian border, in Siberia. Ukrainian officials said the strikes had hit 34% of Russia’s strategic cruise missile carriers, causing an estimated $7bn worth of damage. “Operation Spiderweb”, as it was code-named, was overseen by Ukraine’s President Zelensky directly, and took 18 months to plan. It involved 117 battery-powered drones, which were hidden in wooden containers with remotely retractable lids. The containers were loaded onto lorries, which were driven to locations inside…

Controversy of the week Farage vs. Starmer “Starmer keeps obsessing about me, the poor bloke – he’ll have to go see a psychiatrist before too long.” So claimed Nigel Farage this week, and he certainly has the PM in “a flap”, said Harry Cole in The Sun. Days before, Farage had not so much parked his tanks on Labour’s lawn as napalmed “the entire village”, by announcing that Reform UK would restore the winter fuel allowance and lift the two-child benefit cap. Reform is now the real “party of the workers”, he declared. In response, the PM canned a foreign trip to deliver a speech devoted almost entirely to tearing down Farage’s new policies. Reform’s “declaration of intent” really should “frighten the wits out of Labour”, said Melanie McDonagh in…

The residents of the pretty Cotswolds village of Castle Combe have resorted to erecting “no drone zone” signs, after being repeatedly buzzed by tourists seeking aerial shots for Instagram. The village has been a magnet for visitors since the 19th century, and locals have already had to put up signs asking them not to pick the flowers outside their houses or picnic on their lawns. Now they say they are also contending with camera-drones hovering over their back gardens and flying up and down the high street. As the population grows older, so does the age of its bad drivers: in the past three years, 42 centenarian drivers have been stopped by the police. Three had run red lights, the rest had been speeding. The oldest of those prosecuted was…

Taylor Swift, who acquired the rights to her first six albums, ending a years-long fight for control of her music. The saga began in 2019, when her record label, and with it the rights to her music, was bought by an executive she accused of having bullied her – prompting her to re-record all the albums. He later sold the rights to Shamrock Capital for $300m. Now the investment firm has sold the masters back to her, for a reported nine-figure sum. Alfred Dreyfus, the French-Jewish army captain wrongly convicted of treason in the late 19th century, who was promoted to brigadier general. The bill to promote Dreyfus, who died aged 75 in 1935, was brought by the former French PM Gabriel Attal. It was, he said, an “act of…