What the papers said in the week ending 3 July 2021
Religion
Information about the graves of children who had been taken from their natural parents to be schooled to a different code of life in the name of religion makes for a bitter pill. Dreadful history which is hard to come to terms with Canada must reveal ‘undiscovered truths’ of residential schools to heal | Global development | The Guardian
The Methodist Church makes a rare appearance in headlines – with a change in rules of marriage and the appointment of its first black woman president Methodist church to allow same-sex marriage after ‘historic’ vote | Equal marriage | The Guardian
- First female black President of the Methodist Church in Britain takes office – Voice Online (voice-online.co.uk)
- Such movement toward relevance in the present is reassuring
Covid-19
There remains uncertainty about Covid-19 and its variants in the UK but there is an impetus to return to life with no restrictions Sajid Javid expected to confirm 19 July as end of lockdown easing in England | Coronavirus | The Guardian
- This may be reckless and lead to more illness and deaths and a need to return to prolonged cycles of imposed restraint: Covid: Euro 2020 crowds ‘a recipe for disaster’, warns EU committee | Coronavirus | The Guardian
Hazards of inequality
We find that for the first time in many years, life expectancy in the UK has been falling. Covid-19 is playing a part in this – but much more important is the failure to invest resources in providing a more equal society ‘Jaw-dropping’ fall in life expectancy in poor areas of England, report finds | Greater Manchester | The Guardian
- Microsoft Word – 10 years on GM case study 24.2 finaljm.docx (instituteofhealthequity.org)
- build-back-fairer-in-greater-manchester-main-report.pdf (instituteofhealthequity.org)
- Whitehall non-executive jobs ‘pay up to 14 times more than junior nurses’ | Conservatives | The Guardian
- Rise in women sleeping rough is hidden crisis in England, charities warn | Homelessness | The Guardian
- This phenomenon is not unique to the UK ‘Poverty divides us’: gap between rich and poor poses threat to China | China | The Guardian
Chinese Communist party celebrates 100th anniversary – in pictures | Art and design | The Guardian
Climate change
Extremes of weather and temperatures are pointing to the need for better management of the environment: Joe Biden blames climate crisis for deadly heatwave in western US and Canada | Extreme weather | The Guardian
- Nowhere is safe, say scientists as extreme heat causes chaos in US and Canada | Climate change | The Guardian
- Regulations which protect our wildlife are themselves under threat:
A passion for wealth – ‘build, build, build’ takes preference over care: Tories’ ‘toothless’ UK policies failing to halt drastic loss of wildlife | Wildlife | The Guardian
History
Fondness for times gone by and the lessons learned from errors gives other glimpses of hope and maybe return to traditional, kinder ways:
- Oliver Twist’s London spotlit in new exhibition and walking tour | Charles Dickens | The Guardian
- Draught wines: French vineyards rediscover the power of horses | Animals | The Guardian
- Manchester Jewish Museum reopens after £6m revamp | Museums | The Guardian
Older people
The ending of furlough and return to employment looks likely to leave some older workers without jobs Furlough phase-out in UK may cause steep fall in workers’ income | UK job furlough scheme | The Guardian
The hype over a much publicised possible treatment for Alzheimer’s disease is being exposed to the cold light of thoughtfulness We’ve got the first Alzheimer’s drug in decades. But is it a breakthrough? | Han Yu | The Guardian
But there is hope of new treatments for other diseases using the power of computers AI software may help spot early signs of oesophageal cancer | Cancer | The Guardian
And even in your eighties, you may achieve dreams which had been quashed when you were younger ‘No one has waited longer’: trailblazing female pilot Wally Funk will go to space with Bezos | Nasa | The Guardian
David Jolley
