The Week 1551

The world’s smallest snake has been rediscovered in central Barbados, two decades after its last sighting. The Barbados threadsnake, which reaches 10cm in length and is as thin as a piece of spaghetti, was only discovered in 1889, and confirmed sightings had been rare since then. With most of its forest habitat gone, it was last documented in 2005, and was considered lost to science, until conservationists turned over a rock during a survey and spotted the tiny specimen. Dozens of people armed with gloves, pickers and bin bags travelled to Hackney Marshes in east London last week, to compete for the chance to represent the UK at the litter-picking world cup in Tokyo. Their challenge was to pick up as much litter as possible in one hour. Known as…

What happened Recognising Palestine Following an emergency Cabinet meeting on Tuesday, Keir Starmer announced that Britain would join France in recognising a Palestinian state. This, he said, would take place at the UN General Assembly in September – unless Israel reaches a ceasefire in Gaza and commits to a “long-term peace process that delivers a two-state solution”. Israel is thought very unlikely to meet these conditions. PM Benjamin Netanyahu said the UK’s decision “rewards Hamas’s monstrous terrorism and punishes its victims”. Starmer had discussed the humanitarian crisis in Gaza with Donald Trump during their meeting at the US president’s golf resort in Ayrshire on Monday (see page 16). In an apparent rebuke to the Israeli PM, who had just insisted that there was “no starvation” in Gaza, Trump referred to…

What happened Cheering fans lined the streets of London this week to salute England’s women’s football team as they paraded through the city to celebrate their victory in the Euro 2025 championship. The open-top bus parade ended outside Buckingham Palace, where captain Leah Williamson raised the trophy in front of a crowd of 65,000. The Lionesses became the first senior English team to defend a title or to win a tournament on foreign soil, after a nail-biting final in Basel, in which they came from behind to beat the world champions, Spain, in a penalty shoot-out. A peak audience of 16.2 million watched the game, making it the most watched TV moment of 2025. Tributes to England’s triumph were led by the King, who commended their “awesome teamwork”, and the…

Controversy of the week A summer of violence? “The Government, the police and local councils are nervous – and with good reason,” said The Times. Britain could be “on the verge of another torrid summer of riots”: anti-immigration demonstrations that began at The Bell Hotel in Epping have spread – to Norwich, Leeds, Southampton and Nottinghamshire. Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner has warned that immigration is fuelling anger in communities across the UK. And you only have to look at what’s going on in Epping to see why, said Jason Cowley in The Sunday Times. This quiet Essex town has been “unsettled” by the arrival of as many as 140 male asylum seekers, dumped in the area by the Home Office without prior notice. These “bored” young men, who are…

Almost all the readers of Good Housekeeping magazine (91%) know how to iron a shirt, a similar proportion can sew on a button and three-quarters can poach an egg – but only 27% are confident to operate a sewing machine, 16% describe themselves as proficient knitters, and a mere 9% darn regularly. The Girl Guides has unveiled 72 new “interest” badges – which reward hobbies and enthusiasms rather than the acquisition of skills – as part of its effort to remain relevant to girls growing up in the 2020s. Created with the input of Guides and their parents, they range from “food critic” and “codebreaking” to “interior design” and “booktivist”, which is about discovering what empowers you through reading.…

Professor Michele Dougherty, who was appointed Astronomer Royal. The space physicist, who worked on Nasa’s Cassini project, is the first woman to serve as the monarch’s official adviser on matters astronomical in the post’s 350-year history. E-scooters, with news that rental schemes involving companies such as Lime are to be extended. Currently there are 18 trial schemes in operation in England; more local authorities can now apply to join them, as the Government continues to mull over the pros and cons of e-scooters. Lord (Chris) Smith, the former Labour culture minister, who was elected the 109th chancellor of the University of Cambridge. Smith said championing academic freedom and free speech would be his top priority. Other candidates had included broadcaster Sandi Toksvig and former BP boss Lord (John) Browne.…