The Week 1545

Liverpool’s modernist Catholic Cathedral has received Grade I listed status – putting it on a par with England’s more traditional cathedrals, including the Anglican one about a mile down the road. Designed by Frederick Gibberd, The Metropolitan Cathedral of Christ the King, aka the Wigwam, was built in the 1960s. There had been plans for a grand classical cathedral on the site, designed by Edwin Lutyens, but only the crypt was built before the construction was halted by the Second World War. A Galápagos tortoise at Miami Zoo has become a father for the first time at the age of 135. Having lived through two world wars and 25 US presidencies, Goliath has had numerous female partners, but he only managed to sire offspring this year, with Sweet Pea, who…

Israel takes on Iran: Netanyahu’s gamble Last Thursday night, the commander of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard’s aerospace unit, Brigadier General Amir Ali Hajizadeh, held an emergency meeting at a military base in Tehran. Hajizadeh and his officials had been warned not to congregate in one place, said Steve Bloomfield in The Observer, owing to the risk of an imminent Israeli attack, but they assumed that any raid would still be days off. It was a fatal miscalculation. Their bunker was one of dozens of sites targeted that night by Israeli jets, which eviscerated the top ranks of Iran’s armed forces and killed some of its leading nuclear experts. Israel has since continued to pummel the country’s military and nuclear sites, along with energy infrastructure. Iran has responded by firing ballistic missiles…

Benjamin Netanyahu has been claiming for decades that Iran is on the brink of acquiring nuclear weapons, said Paul Nuki in The Daily Telegraph. In 2012, he even took an image of a cartoon-style bomb onto the stage of the UN General Assembly, in a bid to persuade the global community to act. Tehran ridiculed him as “the boy who cried wolf” for his constant public warnings; and his repeated threats to destroy Iran’s nuclear programme became a joke to some. But last week, “Mr Iran” finally authorised a major assault intended to do just that. He claims that the Iranians are so close to developing nuclear weapons, he had to act. But analysts have cast doubt on that, said Patrick Wintour in The Guardian. As recently as March, the…

Controversy of the week The grooming gangs When Louise Casey, the civil service troubleshooter, began her “rapid national audit” of the issue of grooming gangs earlier this year, she believed that a national inquiry was not needed, said The Times. Now that she has finished her audit, she thinks that one is “vital”. “The reason can be summed up in one word: denial.” Her report, published on Monday, exposes “a catalogue of failures and cover-ups, a reluctance by politicians, officials and police over many years to grapple with the realities of grooming gangs”, who have abused thousands of girls in dozens of British towns in recent decades. “Officialdom too often turned a blind eye to this dreadful abuse.” Casey found, in particular, a “failure to address questions about the ethnicity…

Nearly two-thirds of Britain’s 22 million pet owners celebrate their animal’s birthday or adoption day, spending £121 each on average. Half have thrown parties for their pet. Toys and food are the most common presents, followed by a new bed or blanket, reports The Times. However, there are other options, ranging from personalised bowls to AI-generated images of the pet in dress uniform. Guinea pig owners are the most likely to celebrate such landmarks. NHS staff have spoken out about a growing trend for patients to film their care and upload it to social media. The Society of Radiographers said it was worried about the privacy of other patients and the impact on staff of having their work scrutinised online.…

Theatrical innovation, after Rachel Zegler – the star of Jamie Lloyd’s new production of Evita at the London Palladium – left the stage on opening night, and performed Don’t Cry For Me Argentina from a balcony overlooking the street. Those inside, who had paid up to £250 for their seats, watched her perform the showstopper on a screen. She is expected to do the same every night of the run – attracting large crowds each time. Blaise Metreweli, who became the first woman to be appointed head of the Secret Intelligence Service, or MI6. The 47-year-old, who has become C, was previously Q, running the department responsible for gadgets and secret communications, but also AI and surveillance technologies. Roger Daltrey, the rock star, who was knighted in the King’s birthday…