Storm

Wednesday

The Spectator

Portrait of the week: Inflation rises, France burns and the Pope calls Putin

From our UK edition

Home The government approved the Jackdaw gas field in the North Sea. Inflation rose from 3.1 to 3.5 per cent. Government borrowing rose to £24.5 billion in September. The national debt passed £3 trillion. GDP grew by 0.1 per cent in August. Banks expected to be taxed more after the Budget. The owners of Paddy Power announced cuts of 1,400 jobs, blaming tax rises. Kemi Badenoch, the Conservative leader, said Labour would not have the courage to make public spending cuts needed to bring down debt and fund defence. The Northern Ireland Troubles Bill was approved by the Commons. Jeffrey Donaldson, the former leader of the Democratic Unionists, was sentenced to 15 years for sexual abuse against two women when they were children.

Thursday

Aidan Hartley

My ocean voyage from hell

From our UK edition

Kenya Wondering what this year will bring, at dawn this morning I stood in the waves in front of our beach house and watched two Swahili sailing dhows battling through monsoon surf, heading out to the fishing grounds. For 1,500 years mariners off our East African coast have voyaged in these lovely boats and now, just in the past couple of years, fibreglass hulls have started to replace teak planking, and outboard motors instead of lateen sails propel men across the ocean. I was looking at the end of a long history. In my life I’ve enjoyed wonderful sea safaris on dhows, hunting for tuna and ambergris and waves to surf — and I wonder what’s ahead.