With Bio-Waste Spreader: "Global warming is often discussed in terms of its "future" impact on farming. But has even Britain's famously temperate climate now warmed enough that food production is under serious threat? The UK already only produces 60 percent of the food it consumes, down from 78 percent in the late 1980s. Until recently, most of that decline has been driven by environment-centred government policies (favouring conservation over production) and the signing of free-trade agreements since Brexit. But…"
With MD: "After one round of strikes, resident doctors and health secretary Wes Streeting have agreed to restart negotiations, with Streeting issuing the helpful warning: 'If you go to war with us, you'll lose.' He'd previously guaranteed to inflict pain on doctors and the British Medical Association, as had NHS England CEO Sir James Mackey, but in the end resident doctors inflicted most pain on the BMA by ignoring the strikes in far greater numbers than previously…"
With Dr B Ching: "Delays to the East West Rail project are proving costly, and not just because chancellor Rachel Reeves expects the new train service to 'drive growth'. Reopening the Oxford-Cambridge railway was estimated to cost £240m circa 2002 but governments dithered. The estimated cost now exceeds £6bn. In 2013 there was agreement to rebuild existing tracks for the western section, which would be electrified and open between Oxford, Aylesbury and Bletchley by December 2017…"
With Lit Chick: "Too Much has been vaunted as Lena Dunham's comeback, which invites a rude question: where the hell has she been? Few people have been more obviously and spectacularly talented than she was when she made her arrival in 2012, via the HBO series Girls. Dunham created the New York-set coming-of-age dramedy, produced it, wrote and directed – and on top of that, she had the starring role…"
With Old Sparky: "The past few weeks have seen oodles of public money committed to a new French-built nuke; several Rolls-Royce 'small modular reactors' (SMRs); and a nuclear fusion prototype. Taken together, they represent the culmination of successive governments' promotion of nuclear power generation that is costing monumental sums – and running the risk of overwhelming the ability of beleaguered nuclear regulators to keep up…"
With Lunchtime O'Boulez: "It remains a mystery why the Northern Ireland Arts Council ended its £60,000 annual funding of the province's National Youth Choir (NYCNI): all we're told is that it has nothing to do with budget cuts and something to do with procedural issues. But the result is clear enough. Without money, the NYCNI will close. Running for 26 years, it's worked with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra and Vienna Philharmonic, appeared at the Proms, and recorded with the Gabrieli Consort. It counts for something…"
With Slicker: "Palestinians are dying of starvation in Gaza; meanwhile the UK has been importing increased volumes of Israeli vegetables and fruit. In the first three months of this year (so mostly before Israel ended the ceasefire in Gaza and imposed a total aid blockade), those imports were worth £51.3m, up from £29.1m in the last three months of 2024. Vegetables and fruit comprise the largest contribution to Israeli exports to the UK..."
Letter from Tanzania
From Our Own Correspondent: "Even at the time, it seemed a stretch for then US vice-president Kamala Harris to call Samia Suluhu Hassan, the first woman to lead Tanzania, a 'champion of democracy'. Four years on, with our main opposition leader Tundu Lissu in prison facing the death penalty on spurious treason charges, and his supporters facing intimidation and assault, it is fair to say Harris's statement has not aged well. Pro-democracy campaigners from neighbouring east African countries hoping to support Lissu at his trial have been arrested…"