Quotes from the media

‘CRACK THE CRISES’ CAMPAIGNERS URGE GOVERNMENT TO MAKE THE MOST OF HOSTING G7

The Bishop of Dover, the Right Rev Rose Hudson-Wilkin, and Archbishop Desmond Tutu [were] among the supporters of a campaign ... calling on the government to use its position as host of the G7 summit in Cornwall ... to ‘crack the crises’ of Covid-19, injustice, climate change and the environment.

In an open letter ... a coalition of 75 UK charities − called Crack the Crises − which includes Christian Aid, Tearfund and World Vision, [urged] the government to show leadership at the G7 by supporting its new campaign, Wave of Hope, for a ‘better, fairer world’ for everyone.

Signatories also [included] the environmental activist Greta Thunberg...

They [wrote]: ‘Everyone wants life to get back to normal. We believe we can do better than back to normal. We believe people in the UK can use the spirit of togetherness that has been helping us through the Covid crisis to now tackle Covid globally and also help crack the crises of climate, equality and nature...’

The executive director of policy, advocacy and campaigns at Save the Children UK, Kirsty McNeill, said on behalf of the coalition: ‘Crack the Crises wants leaders at G7 to commit to delivering vaccines and healthcare for all, fighting poverty and injustice, and ending the climate and nature crises.’

Church Times

230FT NOAH’S ARK REPLICA HELD BY AUTHORITIES IN IPSWICH WATERFRONT

A 230ft-long replica of Noah’s Ark has been impounded ... after it was deemed unseaworthy by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA).

The ship is a four-floored floating museum, which depicts various Bible stories, including Adam and Eve, Cain and Abel, Noah, Abraham, Moses, David and Goliath. It also has a ‘tree of life’ growing 12 metres up through the middle of the ship.

The attraction arrived in Ipswich in November 2019 after being towed across the North Sea from the Netherlands and was due to set sail again in March last year.

But ... the MCA said the ship lacked a load line certificate, which states how low in the water the ship can be when fully loaded. The ship’s paint also contains chemicals that could be harmful to wildlife.

Premier

ALARM OVER GROWING NUMBERS OF CHILDREN IN CARE IN WALES

Wales now has the highest proportion of children in the UK being cared for by the state, prompting one expert to raise concerns.

There are 7,170 children being looked after away from home in Wales – which is 1.14 per cent of children.

The rate has steadily increased since 2003, when it was 0.64 per cent...

The Welsh government said reducing the number in care was a priority.

Donald Forrester, director of Cardiff University’s Children’s Social Care Research and Development Centre, said there were many factors behind the statistics, including poverty...

Prof Forrester said nobody was saying no children should be in care.

‘But as a country, we need to be confident we’re doing everything we can to help families stay together before a child comes into care,’ he said.

BBC News

RAISE AGE FOR SALE OF CIGARETTES TO 21 AND STOP ‘TOBACCO EPIDEMIC’, SAY UK MPS

MPs have called for a consultation on raising the age for the sale of cigarettes to 21 from 18 in order to end the ‘tobacco epidemic’ by 2030.

The all-party parliamentary group on smoking and health has recommended raising the age of sale from 18 to 21 as part of tougher tobacco regulations to protect children and young people from becoming smokers and help smokers quit. The recommendations, backed by health charities and medical organisations, also include a ‘polluter pays’ amendment to the health and social care bill to secure funding for a tobacco control programme, forcing manufacturers to pay to deliver the end of smoking...

The report notes that more people are likely to have died last year and this year from smoking than Covid-19.

It also calls for targeted investment to provide additional support to help smokers quit in regions and communities where smoking does the most damage.

The Guardian