Key Quotes for 2013

A world perspective in bite-size chunks
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Last update: Wednesday 25th March
 
David Cameron has called on Argentina to respect the wishes of the people of the Falkland Islands to remain British. The prime minister said the almost unanimous vote in favour of staying a British overseas territory was the ‘clearest possible result’.
He said Argentina should take ‘careful note’ of the referendum, and Britain would always defend the islands. It follows pressure from Argentina over its claims to the islands, 31 years after the Falklands War with the UK. Most Argentines regard the islands, which they call Las Malvinas, as Argentine and their recovery is enshrined in the national constitution. Argentine president Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner has made clear that her country does not recognise the referendum, insisting it has no legal validity.
World IssuesThe Sentinel, March 13, 2013
 
The danger posed by growing resistance to antibiotics should be ranked along with terrorism on a list of threats to the nation, the Government’s chief medical officer for England has said. Professor Dame Sally Davies described it as a ‘ticking time bomb’.
She warned that routine operations could become deadly in just 20 years if we lose the ability to fight infection. Dame Sally urged the Government to raise the issue during next month’s G8 Summit in London. Dame Sally said: “If we don’t take action, then we may all be back in a 19th Century environment where infections kill us as a result of routine operations. We won’t be able to do a lot of our cancer treatments or organ transplants.” She said companies needed to be encouraged to develop new drugs.
HealthThe Sentinel, March 12, 2013
 
A baby girl in the U.S. born with HIV appears to have been cured after very early treatment with standard drug therapy. The Mississippi child is now two-and-a-half- years old and has been off medication for about a year with no signs of infection. More testing needs to be done to see if the treatment – given within hours of birth – would work for others. If the girl stays healthy, it would be the world’s second reported ‘cure’.
World IssuesThe Sentinel, March 5, 2013
 
There are a staggering 3.6 million children living in poverty in Britain today – that’s 27 per cent of all children. In some areas that figure can be as high as 70 per cent. Children are living in some unimaginable conditions, watching their parents suffer from alcoholism, going through family breakdown, and being subject to poor parenting. And child poverty is expected to have risen in 2012-13, with 300,000 more children expected to be living in poverty in 2015-16, according to the Child Poverty Action Group.
FamilyIdea, Mar/Apr 2013
 
One in ten young people feels unable to cope with day-to-day life, according to a survey by The Prince’s Trust. Its fifth annual youth index, which interviewed 2,000 young people between the ages of 16 and 25, found that NEETS (not in education, employment or training) were most likely to feel unable to cope. The index gauges young people’s happiness across a range of areas, from family life to physical and mental health. The 2012 report discovered that 52 per cent of those not in education, employment or training said that they ‘often’ or ‘always’ felt depressed. Another finding from the 2012 report was that the young people living in riot-affected areas of London are less hopeful than other young people. Almost half (49 per cent) of them said they ‘never’ or only ‘sometimes’ feel hopeful – significantly higher than the 39 per cent recorded among their peers elsewhere in the country. There were some positive results from the survey too: young people are increasingly confident in many areas of life, including in work and education, family relationships and friendships.
Young PeopleYouthwork, March 2013
 
A Herald on Sunday poll in early January showed that support for same-sex ‘marriage’ in New Zealand had fallen to 53% from a previous high of 63% in May 2012. ‘These results are energising our campaign to maintain the definition of marriage as is’, said Bob McCoskrie, national director of Family First NZ.
World IssuesEvangelicals Now, March 2013
 
About 340,000 people converged on the Eiffel Tower in Paris on January 14 to protest a proposed gay marriage law. President Francois Hollande is planning to legalise same-sex marriage, but many of France’s Catholic bishops and other religious leaders are fighting the initiative. Public opinion appears to be moving in their favour – a recent poll shows about 50% support gay marriage, down from 65% in August. France has already legalised civil unions for same-sex couples, but the new law would give gay couples the right to adopt.
ChurchEvangelicals Now, March 2013
 
The Air Cadet Association has announced its intention to provide an alternative ‘non-religious’ oath for new members, it was reported in January. Girlguiding UK and the Scout Association are also considering similar changes to their respective promises, following pressure from secularist campaign groups. The former has an online survey considering the change, with a deadline of March 3.
Young PeopleEvangelicals Now, March 2013
 
The mother of twins who survived after being born at just 23 weeks – a week earlier than the current legal abortion limit – has criticised the law, it was reported at the end of January. Pam Glover, their mother, said: ‘For us now, the idea that it’s possible to abort a child up to 24 weeks – older than our twins – just doesn’t bear thinking about. The abortion limit should be lower’.
The LawEvangelicals Now, March 2013
 
On January 17, BBC3 aired the first episode of a new comedy called Way to Go.
It has attracted controversy for its subject matter. In it, two brothers struggling financially decide to set up an ‘assisted suicide’ business. Its broadcast raises key questions which some are taking to Ofcom and the BBC in the form of complaints.
The World Health Organisation clearly states that the media should not ‘glorify or sensationalise suicide’, with concern that ill-conceived portrayals may lead to suicide contagion. The BBC portrayal of suicide in this programme could be seen to be contravening this advice.
MediaEvangelicals Now, March 2013
 
Tax dodgers are being named on a list published by HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) for the first time, as their affairs come under greater scrutiny. The list highlights ‘deliberate defaulters’ who were found during investigations by HMRC into affairs conducted after April 2010. In these cases, the culprits had tried to avoid more than £25,000 of tax. The naming and shaming exercise is part of a crackdown that includes larger fines and tracing previous evaders. The first list features nine names, including a hairdresser, a coach operator and a knitwear manufacturer. They received fines ranging from a few thousand pounds to £291,830. This was imposed on wine retailer The Trade Beverage Company Ltd of Mobberley in Cheshire.
MoneyThe Sentinel, February 22, 2013
 
A quarter of applications to set up free schools in England over the past two years were from faith-based organisations, official data shows. This compares to a third of state schools which have a faith designation. Church of England, Catholic, Muslim, Sikh and Jewish groups were among 132 faith applicants under the scheme. The data was published after the Department for Education lost a bid to withhold it and was ordered by the Information Commissioner to release it. As he released the data, Education Secretary Michael Gove said he wanted to be ‘careful’ about the information published on free schools applications. The material now published by the Department for Education (DfE) gives details of free school proposals published under the first three rounds of applications.
EducationThe Sentinel, February 21, 2013
 
Fizzy drinks should be heavily taxed and junk food adverts banned until after the watershed. The Academy of Medical Royal Colleges, which represents nearly every doctor in the UK, said ballooning waistlines already constituted a ‘huge crisis’. Its report said current measures were failing and called for unhealthy food to be treated more like cigarettes. Industry leaders said the report added little to the debate on obesity. The UK is one of the most obese nations in the world with about a quarter of adults classed as obese. That figure is predicted to double by 2050 – a third of primary school leavers are already overweight. Doctors fear that a rising tide of obesity will pose dire health consequences for the nation. Professor Terence Stephenson, chairman of the Academy, evoked parallels with the campaign against smoking.
HealthThe Sentinel, February 19, 2013
 
Ed Miliband has called for the 10p tax rate to be reintroduced, funded by a mansion tax on homes worth more than £2m. In an audacious bid to outflank David Cameron, he claimed Labour would use next month’s Budget to bring back the band controversially scrapped by Gordon Brown in 2007. The measure would be funded by a mansion tax on homes worth £2m or more, Mr Miliband explained in a key speech on the economy.
MoneyThe Sentinel, February 15, 2013
 
The Government’s back-to-work schemes have suffered a setback after Appeal Court judges agreed with a university graduate’s claim that unpaid schemes were legally flawed. Cait Reilly, 24, said requiring her to work for nothing at a Poundland store breached laws on forced labour. Judges quashed the regulations underpinning the schemes. But the government is seeking permission to appeal to the Supreme Court.
Work/EmploymentThe Sentinel, February 13, 2013
 
Showing page 17 of 24

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