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Heroes and villains

Polo necks | Derbyshire | Dirty Dirk

Macron: dressed for winter. Ludovic Marin/AFP/Getty

Heroes
Polo neck jumpers, which are helping the French government beat the energy crisis. “You will no longer see me with a tie but with a polo neck,” finance minister Bruno Le Maire said on France Inter radio this week. Le Maire is urging civil servants and other office workers to follow a trend he and President Macron adopted two winters ago: wearing sweaters with their suits instead of shirts and ties.

Hero
Derbyshire, which has won Tom Cruise’s heart. The A-list actor, who has been filming scenes for Mission Impossible 7 in the county, has praised its “breathtaking” landscapes and welcoming residents. “I found myself wanting to explore more and more,” Cruise gushed to Derbyshire Life. “I have made a few other visits in my own time that have nothing to do with work.” In summary: “Wow! Derbyshire – what a fantastic place!”

Villains
A Brazilian couple who dyed a waterfall electric blue for a “gender reveal” party. A since-deleted social media video shows the Queima Pé river, a popular tourist destination, running blue to show that the pair are having a boy. Government officials are now investigating whether the products used were harmful to the environment. “What happened to cutting into a cake?” asks one Reddit user.

Hero
Dirty Dirk, an elderly Galapagos tortoise which is putting in overtime to propagate the species. The “hyper-virile reptilian pensioner”, 70, has manged to father eight babies in a calendar year, says The Daily Telegraph – four with one partner and four with another. “Due to his incessant frolicking and significant bulk, it is not uncommon for the females to sport minor battle wounds from their trysts with the Galapagian philanderer.”