The Week 1556

Red squirrels are now venturing into the centre of Aberdeen, a milestone in long-term efforts to re-establish the creatures in the area. Aberdeen was already the only city in Britain where red squirrels are dominant, thanks to a Scottish Wildlife Trust project that involves removing invasive greys. Now, a red squirrel hair has been found for the first time in a feeder box in the very heart of the city, 300 metres from Aberdeen’s main shopping area, Union Street. A trio of Scottish brothers have set a new world record for the fastest human-powered crossing of the Pacific Ocean. Jamie, Ewan and Lachlan Maclean, originally from Edinburgh, covered the 9,000-mile journey from Peru to Australia in 139 days, five hours and 52 minutes. Along the way, they battled a 36-hour…

What happened Asylum reforms Home Secretary Yvette Cooper tried to seize back the initiative on migration this week by announcing an overhaul of asylum rules. Addressing the Commons on the first day back after the summer recess, she said refugees granted asylum would be barred from bringing relatives to the UK until tough entry conditions had been introduced. She argued that the laxity of the family reunion system was being used by people-smuggling gangs to promote illegal crossings. Cooper said the Government would also change how the European Convention on Human Rights was implemented (see page 18) and “clamp down” on international students claiming asylum when their visas expire. Last Friday, the Court of Appeal ruled that a High Court injunction banning The Bell Hotel in Epping from housing asylum…

What happened China’s Xi Jinping presided over a massive military parade in Tiananmen Square on Wednesday, flanked by Vladimir Putin and North Korea’s Kim Jong Un. The event marked the 80th anniversary of Japan’s defeat in the Second World War, but Xi used it to showcase the might of modern China: the highly choreographed parade included nuclear intercontinental ballistic missiles and stealth drones, while warplanes flew in formation overhead. In a speech, Xi spoke of his nation’s “unstoppable” rise, before being saluted by thousands of troops goosestepping in unison. It was the first time Xi, Putin and Kim had appeared in public together. Earlier, Xi had welcomed more than 20 Eurasian leaders, including India’s Narendra Modi, to Tianjin for a two-day meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO). There, in…

Controversy of the week Starmer’s relaunch “How many resets does it take to make a doom loop,” asked Madeline Grant in The Spectator. After a disappointing first year in office, and with Labour MPs returning from their summer break some 15 points behind Reform UK in the polls, Keir Starmer resorted to yet another Downing Street mini-reshuffle this week: he brought in a new economic adviser to No. 10 (see page 37), and appointed Darren Jones, Rachel Reeves’s deputy at the Treasury, to be the new Chief Secretary to the Prime Minister (whatever that is). “Phase two of my government starts today,” the PM declared grandly – adding, like “a sort of fanatical postman”, that his focus was now on “delivery, delivery, delivery”. It was uninspiring stuff, said The Times,…

As the use of cash falls, and digital payment systems proliferate, fewer Britons than ever are even bothering with wallets. Fewer than half now carry a wallet or purse, though more than 80% still own one, according to research by the cash machine firm Link. It found that, on average, Britons keep only £20 cash in their purse or pocket; 70% usually carry a debit or credit card. The Royal Opera House often issues trigger warnings for its productions – noting for instance, that Puccini’s Tosca contains depictions of violence, sexual assault and “implied torture”. Now it has gone a stage further, by warning audiences about the sound of the curtain-up bell. They are told, it is “loud and can be startling”.…

The UK defence industry, after Britain won a £10bn contract to supply at least five Type 26 submarine hunting frigates to Norway, in the largest warship export deal in its history. Industry insiders said it would help support 4,000 British jobs and 400 companies. They will be built at BAE Systems’s two shipyards in Glasgow. Chloe Malle, who was named as the new head of editorial content at American Vogue. She succeeds Anna Wintour, who revealed that she was stepping back in June, but is remaining in her role as global editorial director and keeping her office. Malle, 39, the daughter of the actress Candice Bergen and the late film director Louis Malle, has worked at Vogue since 2011. Oasis, who have finally “conquered America”, according to rock’n’roll bible Rolling…