German hard-right nationalists have won a regional election for the first time since World War Two. The Alternative for Germany (AfD) hailed a “historic success” after taking almost a third of the vote in the eastern state of Thuringia, way ahead of the country’s three governing parties, and finishing a close second in the more populous state of Saxony. Ofsted’s single-word ratings for schools in England have been scrapped with immediate effect. The government says the move, which follows the suicide of head teacher Ruth Perry in 2023, would give parents a broader picture of school performance. A 15-minute test that could detect signs of prostate cancer before symptoms appear has been hailed as a “breakthrough” for improving survival rates. Boffins at Aston University say that by analysing proteins in dried blood samples, they can identify which ones are cancerous with up to 90% accuracy.

Why Israelis are so furious with Netanyahu

The heartbreaking news that the Israel Defence Forces have recovered the bodies of six Israeli hostages, brutally executed perhaps just hours before they were found in a Hamas tunnel near Rafah, has caused “rage in Israel”, says Limor Simhony Philpott in The Spectator. And that rage is directed at Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Tens of thousands have taken to the streets in protest, and businesses, schools and transport across the country are being affected by a general strike. Of course Hamas bears primary responsibility for murdering the hostages, but many Israelis see Netanyahu as “partly responsible” because of the widespread feeling that he has been sabotaging ceasefire negotiations.

There have been several chances for deals that might have saved the lives of at least some of the six hostages, who were apparently on a list to be released. It’s now too late for them, but there are thought to be around 66 hostages still alive in Gaza. Yet Netanyahu continues to stymie negotiations, last week insisting that his soldiers maintain control of the contested “Philadelphi corridor” along Gaza’s border with Egypt, ignoring the protestations of ministers, including Defence Minister Yoav Gallant, that reaching a deal is more important. Netanyahu’s behaviour is, of course, driven by his political position. His fragile coalition relies on ultra-hawkish far-right politicians Itamar Ben Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich, who will resign if any ceasefire deal is reached. That would collapse Netanyahu’s government, exposing him to potential imprisonment on longstanding corruption charges and an investigation into security failures before the atrocities of October 7. The Israeli public are no fools. “The anger isn’t likely to die down.”

The “good vibes” of Kamala Harris’s presidential campaign mask some fairly significant tensions among staffers, says Axios. Whereas Joe Biden’s campaign was “insular”, with a few trusted people making all the big decisions, Harris’s has become a “Frankenstein” effort with multiple power centres: Harris loyalists, Obama alumni, and holdovers from the Biden camp. That has led to confusion about who’s in charge and “worries about cohesiveness when inevitable stumbles arise”. Those involved say the hope is that the short timetable before election day – there are just 63 days to go – won’t allow these tensions to “fester”.

A silent Sherlock Holmes film will be screened for the first time since its release in 1922, says The Guardian. The Golden Pince-Nez is based on one of Arthur Conan Doyle’s short stories that was first published in 1904 and has been meticulously restored by the BFI national archive. Eille Norwood, who stars as the celebrated sleuth, was one of the author’s favourites. “Norwood had that rare quality which can only be described as glamour,” he once said. “Which compels you to watch an actor eagerly even when he is doing nothing.” The Golden Pince-Nez will be played at the BFI London film festival in October – sign up for tickets here.

The grifters charging $20,000 to tell you you’re racist

Last week, Robin DiAngelo was accused of plagiarising the work of, among others, two Asian American scholars. To understand why that’s interesting, says Hadley Freeman in The Sunday Times, you need to know that DiAngelo is “the most successful anti-racism trainer in the world”. Her book, White Fragility, became a bestseller after George Floyd’s murder in 2020. She charged up to $20,000 to hold anti-racism workshops at the likes of Google and Microsoft, where DiAngelo – who is white – would tell white people that if they had any reaction to her work that wasn’t “agreement or submission”, they were racist.

By DiAngelo’s logic, denying you’re racist proves you’re racist – the modern equivalent of the 17th-century witch trials, a kind of “in-office racism ducking stool”. Unfortunately for white people, admitting you’re racist also proves you’re a racist. All you can do is fork over $20,000 to DiAngelo to show you’re “doing the work”, like Catholics buying indulgences from the Church. This “finger trap” inevitably attracted other grifters – two thirds of the funds raised by Black Lives Matter in the US between 2020 and 2022 ended up in the pockets of co-founder Patrisse Cullors and her family and friends. And now it turns out DiAngelo was ripping off the very “Bipoc” (black, indigenous and people of colour) folk she claims to be fighting for. What’s infuriating is that she was always “clearly a crackpot”, yet the liberal media “showered her with adoration”. Racism is real, but the anti-racism industry has become an “absolute racket”, enriching some and improving nothing.

Angela Rayner has been “grabbing a taste of Brat Summer”, says Libby Purves in The Times: the deputy PM was filmed boogying behind a DJ deck in Ibiza at 4am last Thursday. Some puritanical commentators have tried to claim this is inappropriate, but that’s “pure snobbery”. Rayner was hardly slacking – the previous day she was “meeting housing regulators about removing flammable cladding”. All politicians need to let off steam. “Attlee dug his garden and rode his bike, Heath hauled on the wheel of his yacht, Callaghan and Blair played tennis, Macmillan yomped around grouse moors.” If raving in Ibiza is what does it for Rayner, “good for her”.

You can probably think of loads of phrases with nautical origins, says Storied: batten down the hatches, try a different tack, and so on. But that’s just scratching the surface. On a boat you might find junk (discarded pieces of rope), a loose cannon (a gun that slips its bindings) and a skyscraper (the sail at the top of the tallest mast). A captain might sail by and large (a specific sailing technique) or take a long shot at a distant ship. And the crew could benefit from a slush fund (cash raised from selling the grease and fat from the ship’s cauldron), enjoy a square meal (named after the shape of their plates), or be whipped over a barrel. See more here.

It’s the Diana of Versailles, a bronze statue that has been discovered at the wreck of the Titanic, says BBC News. The 60cm-tall figure was the centrepiece of the ship’s first-class lounge, which was ripped open during the sinking in 1912. It was first photographed in 1986, the year after the wreck was discovered, but its precise location wasn’t known until a recent expedition found it lying face-up in sediment in the surrounding debris field. Titanic researcher James Penca said the “momentous” discovery was “like finding a needle in a haystack”.