The Week 1559

Six years after the 12th century cathedral was devastated by fire, Notre-Dame’s twin towers have reopened to the public. The main part of the building reopened late last year; the completion of the work on the towers marks another major milestone in the restoration, which is due to be completed in 2028. Visitors can now climb up the towers, a tour that affords a glimpse of the “forest” of beams that supports the cathedral’s roof, and a panoramic view of Paris. An elderly British couple who had spent seven months in jails in Afghanistan were reunited with their children last weekend. Barbie Reynolds, 76, and her husband Peter, 80, married in Kabul in 1970 and moved to the country in 2009, to run educational programmes that had been approved by…

What happened Recognising Palestine Keir Starmer formally announced Britain’s recognition of the state of Palestine on Sunday, declaring that the international community had a “moral responsibility to act” to keep the hope of a two-state solution alive. The long-trailed step was taken in coordination with Canada, Australia and Portugal; France, Belgium and other countries followed suit at the UN General Assembly in New York. Until now, no member of the G7 group of advanced economies had recognised Palestinian statehood. Starmer insisted the decision was not a reward for Hamas, and said that the UK would impose further sanctions on the group in coming weeks. Israel responded angrily to the wave of recognitions, saying it would further destabilise the region. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said there would be “no Palestinian state”.…

What happened A Reform UK government would abolish the right of migrants to apply for permanent settlement, and block foreign nationals from claiming benefits, Nigel Farage announced this week. Currently, migrants can apply for indefinite leave to remain (ILR) once they have been in the UK for five years. Under Reform’s proposals, they would have to apply for new visas every five years, with stricter language and salary thresholds. Those rejected would face deportation. People already granted ILR would lose that status and would also have to apply for the visas. The measures, Farage said, would lead to mass deportations and save £234bn over several decades. Last week, an unnamed Indian man became the first illegal migrant to be deported under Labour’s “one in, one out” deal with France. Three…

Controversy of the week The presidential visit All in all, Donald Trump will have boarded Air Force One last Thursday night “a happy man”, said The Times. That “curious relic” the House of Windsor showed once again why it is “irreplaceable”, treating the 47th president to the full array of pomp and pageantry during his second state visit to the UK – bearskins, pipers piping, retreats being beaten, the largest-ever guard of honour, made up of 1,300 troops. Greeted as his helicopter landed by Prince William and Catherine, Princess of Wales – “You’re beautiful, so beautiful,” Trump told her – the president “positively glowed” as he and King Charles were swept around the Windsor estate in a golden carriage, said the FT. A tour of St George’s Chapel followed (Trump:…

Cash-strapped councils are increasingly using parking charges to paper over budget shortfalls, official figures suggest. Last year English councils took £2.3bn from parking services, including £1.4bn from on-street parking charges, reports The Times. Of that, £1.1bn was profit, up from £961m two years ago. Alcopops, including Bacardi Breezers, returned to supermarket shelves over the summer as drinks firms cashed in on the 1990s nostalgia boom. Now, a 1990s-themed bar has opened in London. Punters enter Bunga 90 via a mock-up of a video rental shop, and a home with stone cladding and the buzz of internet dial-up. In the bar itself, big box TV sets play 1990s ads, music videos and movie clips on a loop.…

Virginia Woolf fans, with the imminent publication of a new book by the author, 84 years after her death. A collection of three comic novels about a giantess, The Life of Violet was written by Woolf when she was 25. Professor Urmila Seshagiri found the manuscript in the archives at Longleat House, where two of the author’s closest friends had lived. National pride, after a team of British scientists won the Ig Nobel Prize, for showing that Dutch courage can help people speak Dutch. They asked German students learning Dutch to chat in the language after drinking either plain water, or a small vodka. Native Dutch speakers rated the vodka drinkers to be significantly more fluent than the sober ones. The Ig Nobel prize is for studies that “make you…