A California-based start-up plans to send 50,000 mirrors into space to reflect sunlight onto Earth, which could “make the night sky three to four times brighter”, said The Times.

Aerospace company Reflect Orbital claims the benefits could include expanding the potential of solar power, extending working hours, replacing streetlights and illuminating disaster zones. But the proposed project could have a “disastrous impact on the science of astronomy”, said Robert Massey, deputy executive director of the Royal Astronomical Society, and could “permanently scar the natural landscape”.

‘Equally ridiculous and hazardous’
Reflect Orbital’s “controversial” idea sounds like a plot in a “sci-fi movie”, said The New York Times. But it is gaining traction: the company has raised more than $28 million from investors.

Opponents argue that the mirrors could disrupt astronomical observations and “interfere with circadian rhythms” of humans and migratory animals. The prospect of having satellite mirrors in space to light up Earth is “equally ridiculous and hazardous”, said Gizmodo. Reflect Orbital is still waiting for approval from the Federal Communications Commission, but if it does “manage to make its far-fetched idea somehow work, it would have grave consequences for our view of the night skies”.

‘Workable energy source’
The “insane” project may seem “borderline super villainous” but there is a “ring of logic to it”, said Vice. In its purest form, the idea is “climate-friendly”: reflected sunlight from the mirrors could hit solar panels on Earth more frequently, which would “extend the productivity of solar farms and reduce our reliance on fossil fuels”.

There are reasons to be “enthusiastic” about the possibility of mirrors in space, said The New York Times, but they should be used on the Moon rather than Earth. With space agencies including Nasa planning to build “lunar outposts” in the future, sunlight reflected onto the Moon’s surface could provide a “workable energy source and brighten the two-week-long nights”. There wouldn’t be the problem of “scattering” – where light disperses or spreads due to particles in the air – since the Moon lacks an atmosphere. Reflect Orbital’s operation is “basically designed for the Moon”, said Princeton astronomer Gaspar Bakos.

For decades, China has been Iran’s most important economic ally, maintaining close diplomatic ties with Tehran through years of Western sanctions and international isolation. But China’s relatively muted response to the US-Israeli strikes has led many to question whether leader Xi Jinping is a fair-weather friend – or whether Beijing is playing a longer game in its bid for global supremacy.

What is the background?
When George Bush declared Iran part of an “axis of evil” in 2002, Beijing “saw an opportunity”, said Richard Spencer in The Times. It “began signing multibillion-dollar oil and gas deals” with Iran. Now, about 90% of Iran’s crude exports are sold to China every year, at a steep discount.
In return, Iran “kept Washington bogged down in the Middle East”, said Geoffrey Cain in The Spectator. That was “extraordinarily useful” and cost Beijing “almost nothing”. China also supplied Tehran with arms until 2007, before joining in UN sanctions, and the countries have held regular joint military drills.

How has China reacted to the conflict?
China hasn’t provided any direct military support or “new weapons assistance to any party involved”, said The Diplomat. Although Beijing has voiced opposition to the US-Israeli strikes, warning that they could undermine regional stability, it has also criticised Iran’s retaliatory attacks on its Gulf neighbours, and its de facto blockade of the Strait of Hormuz.

Why the muted response?
With President Xi, “a hard-nosed pragmatism is at play”, said CNN. Iran “ranks below his top priorities”, including China’s fragile trade truce with the US, ahead of an upcoming summit with Donald Trump in Beijing. Trump this week announced that he was delaying the summit, as he pressures China to send warships to help reopen the Strait of Hormuz. But a delay could also be in China’s interests. “If the war drags on, added pressure on Washington could mean more leverage for China,” said The New York Times.

Fundamentally, China does not lose much “whatever happens to Iran”, said Spencer – except for oil. As much as 40% of the country’s imported crude oil is shipped through the strait. Although China holds one of the world’s biggest oil reserves, said the BBC, the disruption is “putting its resilience to the test”.

Queen Mary of Denmark wields a lobster as she and her husband, King Frederik X, tour a marine reserve in her hometown of Hobart, Tasmania, during a state visit to Australia. The couple first met in a Sydney pub during the 2000 Olympic Games.

Rob Blakers / Pool / AFP / Getty Images

The “fabulous floral extravaganza” that is the Chelsea Flower Show is almost upon us, said India Lawrence in Time Out. From 19 to 23 May, visitors can admire the works of “world-class” growers and garden designers from across the globe, in what many consider to be “horticultural heaven”.

This is an “unmissable opportunity to see some of the most beautifully designed gardens from the most exciting talents in the industry”, said Christabel Chubb in House & Garden. Some of this year’s highlights include Tom Stuart-Smith’s “Tate Britain Garden”, an “evocation” of the new grounds designed for the London art gallery, due to open this autumn. “Inspired by East Asian woodlands and featuring drought-resilient planting, this show garden will be a fascinating preview of one of the city’s most exciting new green spaces.”

Another must-see is “The Eden Project: Bring Me Sunshine Garden”, masterminded by Harry Holding and Alex Michaelis. “Inspired by the landscapes of Morecambe Bay”, it aims to open up the “world of green industry” to young people “who might be underrepresented in the sector”.

For the first time, this year’s event will also feature a “mini flower farm” in the Great Pavilion, considered the “crown jewel of RHS Chelsea”, said Liz Lane in House Beautiful. The 20ft x 15ft plot will be crammed with seasonal British blooms, with “wildflower corners, beds of individual cut-flower varieties framed with foliage, and plenty of richly layered, vibrant colour”, all arranged in a “Fibonacci-inspired swirl, designed to mimic the unfurling of a flower”.

Britain’s chance to escape America
Aris Roussinos on UnHerd
The US “has become increasingly erratic and aggressive in the dotage of its empire”, writes Aris Roussinos. Donald Trump desperately “cajoles and pleads for our help with” his “mess” in Iran, but “it is not Britain’s responsibility to chase after every military whim, reasonable or otherwise, of our imperial patron”. It’s “disorienting” to watch US power crumbling but “at this moment of historic American weakness”, we must be “ambitious in renegotiating the terms of our relationship”.

There is no ‘context’ for antisemitic terror
The Jewish Chronicle’s editorial board
“When synagogues are attacked, the response should be unequivocal condemnation,” says The Jewish Chronicle. But lately there’s “something more insidious: an impulse to contextualise”. It was “pointed out”, for example, that the suspect in a recent attack on a US synagogue “had lost relatives in an Israeli strike”. Such is “the demonisation of Israel” that society “increasingly treats hostility towards Jews as understandable once it is framed through” that prism. This thinking must be confronted “clearly and unflinchingly”.

Club culture has moved to the kitchen
Esme Gordon-Craig in The Spectator
“Us Gen Z-ers” bear responsibility for the nightclub’s decline, writes Esme Gordon-Craig, but that doesn’t mean we’re not interested in “dancing the night away”. We’ve just moved “the ‘nightlife’ to our kitchens”, not only “out of economic necessity” but because “our smaller gatherings” generate more “confidence and musical expression” than “anything we could find on a crowded club floor”. We “show off playlists” and share “new artists and sounds”. For us, the music is “far from over”.