What the papers said in the week ending 1 May 2021
Many of the headlines of the week have been taken up with accusations of misuse of funds and dishonesty in high places, suspicion within parties and between parties. There have been other serious matters:
Covid: The world is alert to terrible problems which are being seen in countries which are poor and ill-equipped to cope with the pandemic. There is a belated move to share resources by richer counties – They have been encouraged for some time to do this by several wise counsels:
- US and UK lead global efforts to help India’s Covid crisis | India | The Guardian
- Global faith leaders call for drug firms to vaccinate world against Covid | Coronavirus | The Guardian
- The G7 must act to end ‘vaccine apartheid’ or everyone in the world will suffer | Rowan Williams | The Guardian
- Leading scientists urge UK to share Covid vaccines with poorer nations | Coronavirus | The Guardian
These moves to help the weakest nations are to be applauded. They stand in contrast to decisions by government to cut support to those weaker countries: UK to slash funding for overseas water and sanitation projects by 80% | Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office | The Guardian
- ‘Devastating for women and girls’: UK cuts 85% in aid to UN family planning | Women’s rights and gender equality | The Guardian
- It must be the case that systematic support for the infrastructure for self-care is preferable to handouts when crisis is eye-catchingly dreadful.
Our government appears to be reluctant to review and learn from mistakes: Outrage as No 10 rules out urgent inquiry into Covid mistakes | Coronavirus | The Guardian
At last the ruling which has required residents of care homes to self-isolate for two weeks after any visit away from the care home, is to be ended: England Covid rule that ‘turned care homes into prisons’ to be scrapped | Coronavirus | The Guardian
The natural world:
We hear that climate change is being reflected in melting of glaciers: Speed at which world’s glaciers are melting has doubled in 20 years | Glaciers | The Guardian
- What we lose when we lose our glaciers | Environment | The Guardian
- Fear of where this will lead is taken up by Frans Timmermans, vice-president of the EU who says that older people must make sacrifices to save the climate for our children and avoid wars over water. It is hard to follow the argument that the responsibility is only with older people. Surely another example of need for everyone to take this matter seriously Climate crisis: our children face wars over food and water, EU deputy warns | Green politics | The Guardian
Wasps rarely attract good press, but we are assured they are a useful component of the natural world Stinging wasps are precious, not pointless, say scientists | Insects | The Guardian
Other matters:
Systems to help people back to work after layoffs required durng lockdowns, are skewed to help younger workers. This can be construed as disadvantaging older workers. Perhaps it would have been wiser to style the systems as neutral to age, gender, race – and maybe other characteristics. People being people, are all of value Quality of support for UK over-50s who lost jobs in pandemic raises concern | Coronavirus | The Guardian
Science tells us that the more doses of gardening you get in a week, the better for you: We might have thought we knew that Gardening just twice a week improves wellbeing and relieves stress – BBC Science Focus Magazine
- We also learn that people are using their time, which was previously devoted to work and commuting, for exercise and accessing the outdoors. This must be good for us and emphasises the need to create and maintain facilities to encourage these developments. Please do not stop funding parks and other green facilities. Covid crisis fuels rise in UK outdoor activity, but home workers benefit most | Coronavirus | The Guardian
- More grown-ups are now giving time to video games: 62% of UK adults played video games during the pandemic, says Ofcom | Games | The Guardian
The revelations of unjust practice toward sub-postmasters in recent years have led Reverend Paula Vennells, former CEO of the Post Office, to resign from some current important and lucrative appointments. Ex-Post Office boss Paula Vennells quits Morrisons and Dunelm boards | Morrisons | The Guardian
Discontent and disillusion with present politics may lead to the appointment of more ‘independent’ councillors in the May Local Elections: Independents’ day: the rise of hyperlocal political parties | Local politics | The Guardian
Names: There is a lobby from Wales that the English ‘Snowdon’ and ‘Snowdonia’ beset aside in preference for Yr Gwyddfa (grave) and Eryri (rise)Yr Wyddfa: push for Snowdon to be known only by Welsh name | Wales | The Guardian
Excavations and studies in Cambridgeshire have found that bones of humans buried many years ago sometimes show evidence of cancer. Cancer is more common amongst people dying now – more of us growing to old age – 50% will have had at least one form of cancer in their life: Cancer in medieval Britain not as rare as thought, research suggests | Cancer | The Guardian
The Universities of Aston and London South Bank are closing their history departments. Their courses in these subjects have not proved popular Studying history should not be only for the elite, say academics | Universities | The Guardian
- It is important that history and other non-science subjects are kept alive in the universities overall
For those with the aptitude and cognitive steel there is an invitation to consider free will: The battle for free will in the face of determinism | Letters | The Guardian
David Jolley
