News Round-Up

• “Covid rates in England are now the ‘highest we’ve ever seen’” – Professor Paul Elliott, an Imperial College London epidemiologist, said Imperial’s REACT study showed almost 5% of over-75s are infected, which is “a bit of a worry because that’s the most vulnerable group”, reports the Mail.
• “China’s zero Covid crack-up” – Cindy Yu in the Spectator writes that the candid remarks of Zhu Weiping, a senior official at Shanghai’s Centre for Disease Control (CDC), have gone viral in China: “We’re being driven mad. Nobody is listening to us. They’ve politicised this disease.” Also in UnHerd: ““In Shanghai, Zero Covid means zero freedom”.
• “Can’t-be-bothered Britain will turn on the do-nothing Tories” – One of the pandemic’s after-effects has been a universal shrug of the shoulders, a retrenchment into union militancy, HR wellbeing culture and flexible working, says Madeline Grant in the Telegraph.
• “Covid vaccine festival cost £535 per person jabbed” – A festival organised by Tower Hamlets Council in London at a cost of £237,000 to encourage vaccination saw just 435 people getting jabbed, reports BBC News.
• “Numerous Health Problems More Likely Because of COVID-19 Vaccines Than Coincidence: VAERS Data Analysis” – Various health problems reported by people after receiving one of the COVID-19 vaccine shots are more likely to have been caused by the vaccines than to be coincidental, according to an analysis of VAERS data by Dr. Jessica Rose, reports the Epoch Times.
• “Ep 46. Don’t ask about the Vaccine! – The Real Normal” – Listen to the latest podcast, including discussion about MP Christopher Chope and his question about vaccination in the House of Commons, U.K. Government debt and what that means to the average U.K. citizen, and progress in Ukraine.
• “Can We Please Stop Demonising the ‘Unvaccinated?’” – Debbie Lerman at the Brownstone Institute says while America is moving away from many of the damaging Covid policies of the last two years, the last vestige of scientifically ignorant groupthink – marginalising the unvaccinated – still has a hold in her world of the liberal coastal elites.
• “Hospital Refuses Father-to-Son Kidney Transplant Over Covid Jab” – A nine-year-old boy in the U.S. is being denied a life-saving kidney transplant because his father is not vaccinated against COVID-19, reports the Epoch Times.
• “Cruelty – the missing word in Ofsted’s ‘pandemic’ impact report” – It is not the “pandemic” which has had a disastrous effect on child development and well being, it is the Government’s response, says Kathy Gyngell in TCW Defending Freedom.
• “The Covid horoscope” – Why did so many public health experts fall for obviously flawed predictions, asks Ramesh Thakur in Spectator Australia.
• “On scepticism about COVID-19 vaccines” – Contrary to the official narrative, maintaining a high degree of scepticism regarding the necessity and convenience of mass vaccinating the entire population using insufficiently tested vaccines was the most rational position, argues Manuel Oñate in Stupid Economics.
• “Boris Johnson’s energy plan backs big increases in nuclear, wind and solar power” – Prime Minister says “bold” steps will “reduce dependence on power sources exposed to volatile international prices”, reports the Telegraph.
• “Social media ban on ‘climate misinformation’ sparks freedom of speech fears” – Social media website Pinterest has become the first company to ban “climate misinformation” from its platform in a crackdown on freedom of expression online, reports the Telegraph.
• “Eco mob causes chaos at UK’s largest oil depot on sixth day of mayhem” – Some 25 protesters from the environmental group Just Stop Oil stormed the Navigator oil terminal in Thurrock, Essex, and locked themselves to pipework, reports the Mail.
• “Le Tissier steps away as Saints ambassador after Bucha massacre tweets” – The Southampton football legend was savaged by his followers on Tuesday after appearing to suggest that the media have lied about the unfolding horrors in eastern Europe, reports the Mail.
• “BBC bins June Sarpong’s £267,000 a year diversity job in bureaucracy purge” – A newly created role will be on a much lower salary as the broadcaster reduces the wage bill, reports the Telegraph.
• “GB cycling chief calls to stop transgender riders in women’s events” – The Mail reports that Sara Symington, one of British Cycling’s most senior figures, is part of an alliance of 76 women who have written to world governing body, the UCI, criticising its current transgender policy.
• “Boris Johnson opposes biological men taking part in female sports” – The PM said parents should have “involvement at the very least” in decisions made by children to alter their gender, as he faced a Tory split over a ban on conversion therapy, the Mail reports.
• “‘Safe To Be Me’ LGBT conference cancelled after boycott” – Over 100 LGBT+ groups had vowed to boycott the “Safe To Be Me” event over the Government’s stance on conversion therapy, reports BBC News.
• “Banning conversion therapy is a terrible idea” – The Government has paid a heavy price for trying to appease the trans lobby, writes Jo Bartosch in Spiked. Also, watch Darren Grimes on GB News who draws on his own experience and says a blanket ban on “conversion therapy” stops children being able to explore options.
• “‘Six figure sum’ could be spent on gender-neutral toilets at Oxfordshire County Council buildings” – Eddie Reeves, the Conservative opposition leader, said the council’s ‘vague’ proposals could mean creating new facilities in up to 600 sites, reports the Telegraph. The cost-of-living crisis doesn’t appear to have made it to Oxfordshire County Council.
• “Art Crushed by Political Orthodoxy” – World-renowned Russian soprano Anna Netrebko finds herself dismissed by New York’s Metropolitan Opera for, in essence, refusing to take a disloyalty oath against her home nation in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, despite unambiguously denouncing the invasion itself, reports the Free Voice.
• “Why does Twitter think Russian lies are OK but Trump isn’t?” – So on Twitter you can lie about war crimes but you cannot tell the truth about biology? That is the only conclusion one can draw from Twitter’s decision to leave up a vile, false tweet posted by Russia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, says Brendan O ‘Neill in the Spectator.
• “Tucker Carlson, Charlie Kirk, Babylon Bee Still Locked Out of Twitter” – The Babylon Bee, Charlie Kirk, and Tucker Carlson are all still locked out of their Twitter accounts for posting that transgender U.S. Assistant Health Secretary Rachel Levine is a biological male, reports Breitbart News. Come on, Elon, sort it out.
• “The vegan soup advert banned for ‘objectifying’ nude model” – Re:Nourish’s use of a bottle of soup superimposed over a man’s genitals was banned for “objectifying” the model by the Advertising Standards Authority, which called it “irresponsible”, the Telegraph reports. Erm, he’s a model; I’m pretty sure ‘objectification’ is what he signed up for.
• “For the first time since the pandemic began, more people want the Government to prioritise protecting the economy over limiting the spread of the virus” – Tweet from James Johnson on the latest poll results.

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