What the papers said in the week ending 31 July 2021
We have been impressed and entertained by the togetherness of the world in competition at the Tokyo Olympic Games, but reminded of the pressures which competitors experience – and the consequences Simone Biles wins all of my medals | Maeve Higgins | The Guardian
The state of things otherwise is such that people are reflecting on predictions from the 1980s that now will be the end of the world Yep, it’s bleak, says expert who tested 1970s end-of-the-world prediction | Climate change | The Guardian
- Others are calculating the best bets for survival beyond the apocalypse New Zealand rated best place to survive global societal collapse | Globalisation | The Guardian
- And others are turning to their university notes on philosophy In these rudderless Covid times, metaphysics is the only saviour | Letters | The Guardian
- Those of us who attend church or another faith centre every week might suggest more secure alternatives
Things are certainly looking grim as the climate becomes more erratic than we have known: Flash floods will be more common as climate crisis worsens, say scientists | Flooding | The Guardian
- Extreme weather will be the norm and UK is not prepared, scientists warn | Extreme weather | The Guardian
- Understanding this and taking steps which might achieve return to stability is taxing
- More straightforward would be a modification of human behaviour to be kind to each other and strive for equality and the general good rather than escalate meanness in pursuit of personal wealth:
- Cardinal denies financial crimes in biggest ever Vatican trial | Vatican | The Guardian
- Failure to help poor countries fight Covid ‘could cost global economy $4.5tn’, says IMF | International Monetary Fund (IMF) | The Guardian
- Millions of destitute Britons rely on charity handouts, yet ministers feel no shame | Frances Ryan | The Guardian
- Revealed: £6bn NHS glove contract shows rocketing cost of PPE | Coronavirus | The Guardian
- Pharma firm Advanz fined after thyroid drug price hike of 6,000% | Pharmaceuticals industry | The Guardian
Queen secretly lobbied Scottish ministers for climate law exemption | Monarchy | The Guardian
Prejudice and discrimination are evident and not being reined in:
- Disproportionate targeting of Jamaicans for deportation from UK, data suggests | Immigration and asylum | The Guardian
- Home Office failing Windrush generation again, spending watchdog finds | Windrush scandal | The Guardian
- MPs and campaigners alarmed at UK’s ‘discriminatory’ crime reduction plans | Police | The Guardian
- Fifty-two prisoners in close supervision units ‘that may amount to torture’ | Prisons and probation | The Guardian
- Crime always pays for the Tories – that’s why they turn to it again and again | Martin Kettle | The Guardian
Exploitation of children by people within trusted roles is horrifying:
- More than 250 convicted of child sexual abuse in UK and Ireland while in Scout movement | Scouts and scouting | The Guardian
- Hundreds of children abused while in care of Lambeth council, inquiry finds | UK child abuse inquiry | The Guardian
- Exhibition tells story of Spanish children used as vaccine ‘fridges’ in 1803 | Spain | The Guardian
Covid
While the countries of the UK are experiencing life with less restrictions, it is not clear whether this will prove to be a reasonable plan for the evidence: In recent weeks there have been many reports that vulnerable people fear the hazards which freedom for others will bring to them. Indeed the spread of cases to include more young people is not reassuring. Other countries have found they need to return to lockdown Greater Sydney lockdown to be extended by four weeks as Covid cases continue to rise | New South Wales | The Guardian
- It is unsettling to learn that a main plank of attempts to counter the adverse effects of isolation may be counterproductive: older people in the UK and USA who have made contact with family via the internet feel more lonely than those who have relied on other modes of contact: Virtual contact worse than no contact for over-60s in lockdown, says study | Coronavirus | The Guardian
- COVID-19, Inter-household Contact and Mental Well-being among Older Adults in the US and the UK – Research Portal | Lancaster University (lancs.ac.uk)
A consequence of living with more deaths is that people are thinking more about death and dying – reading about it and consulting other art forms UK libraries become ‘death positive’ with books and art on dying | Libraries | The Guardian
Other matters:
Health in middle age is less good than it was a few years ago – This seems likely to predict further reductions in life expectancy and health in later life: A third of middle-aged UK adults have at least two chronic health issues – study | Health | The Guardian
Local people are protective of good aspects of their environment and are prepared to fight big businesses that would ride rough-shod over them: ‘It’s just vital’: Edinburgh activists rally to protect Astley Ainslie’s green space | Green space | The Guardian
- History of Astley Ainslie Hospital (ed.ac.uk)
- Astley Ainslie Hospital – Grange Association Edinburgh (gaedin.co.uk)
More people from minority groups are being appointed to important positions – Still few
There may be hazards to a good night’s sleep from too many cups of coffee, but the potential of caffeine to help get the job done works for bees as well as for us: Caffeine may help bumblebees pollinate more effectively, study shows | Bees | The Guardian
Sad that Liverpool was found wanting by UNESCO, there is pleasure that the rugged slate mines of Wales have been awarded World Heritage Status Welsh slate landscape becomes UK’s newest world heritage site | Wales | The Guardian
- But sobering reminder of their historical links to the slave trade The links between Welsh slate and slavery | Letters | The Guardian
Forgotten writers sometimes find new champions – and readership Ethel Carnie Holdsworth: campaigners push to revive fame of working-class novelist | Books | The Guardian
A sixty year old woman has achieved notoriety for her part in a heist which could have entertained Hercule Poirot: Woman ‘stole diamonds worth £4.2m by swapping them for pebbles’ | UK news | The Guardian
David Jolley
