Steve McGookinStuck Boat Apparently Unstuck
In what seemed like a perfect metaphor for literally everything this week, much of the world’s commercial activity came to an almost grinding halt when a massive container ship became wedged in the Suez Canal, causing a maritime traffic jam of more than 300 container vessels with huge implications for the global supply chain.
On Monday morning, though, there were conflicting reports about whether efforts to refloat the 400-metre long Ever Given had been successful.
Salvage teams intensified their efforts to dislodge the ship this weekend, as preparations were being made to remove some of the its 18,300 containers.
As for the flood of memes unsurprisingly unleashed, well, you’re going to need a bigger boat.
***
Global Covid cases continue to increase
With this week’s anniversary of Britain’s first lockdown, vaccination programmes in developed countries continued to gather pace, but there is still a widespread fear of variants, with the global mortality trend beginning to increase again. There have now been roughly 2.7million deaths worldwide.
In Australia, a three-day lockdown for Brisbane was announced, effective on Monday evening.
Mexico, meanwhile, revised its Covid death total upwards by 60% to more than 320,000, making the second-highest number of Covid-related deaths after the US.
Despite the US dispensing record daily numbers of vaccinations, Covid-19 cases are also on the rise again there.
While Britain has been a world leader in the research effort to identify variants, Chief Medical Officer Chris Whitty said there would likely be a further spike in infections at some point, as well as possible vaccine supply problems.
With the success of Northern Ireland’s vaccination programme, there has been talk this week of Britain offering surplus doses – reportedly as many as 3.7 million – to Ireland, but as of Sunday night nothing official had been announced.
See Also:
Catching Your Breath: Lobbying For Lung Health In The Time Of Covid-19
Leaders Need To Lead: The Executive and Covid-19
Life Is Harder Right Now. We Should Be Kinder To Ourselves
The Covid-19 Vaccine Explained
***
Brexit just one of PM’s upheavals
As Britain heads for the end of the Brexit “grace period” this coming Wednesday, there is something of a mixed picture – trading difficulties continue at the same time as the first encouraging steps towards cooperation on financial services. But it was the situation of British ex-pats, particularly in Spain, that received most media attention this week.
At least when they get home they’ll have something to look forward to, in the form of a £120 million Festival and maybe somewhere to take the kids on a Sunday afternoon.
Elsewhere this week there were questions over heavy-handed policing during protests in Bristol over the government’s controversial Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill.
As if things weren’t bad enough for Prime Minister Boris Johnson, “revelations” about his private life inevitably re-ignited previous questions about the appropriate use of government funds; while he managed to spark a fresh controversy by suggesting that people working from home have had enough “days off” and should be keen to get back to the office.
And yet, he continues to hold a solid opinion poll lead over Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer.
With local elections looming, Scottish politics took yet another turn this week when former SNP leader Alex Salmond announced he was setting up a new pro-independence party – Alba – causing something of a stir for both his former party and pro-unionists.
Meanwhile, other unionists continued to talk up the problems with Brexit’s Northern Ireland Protocol. The EU has said it expects the British government to come up with a “road map” for implementing the Protocol in the coming days.
DUP leader Arlene Foster went on RTÉ News to talk about the “great unease” within the Unionist community over the Protocol. She also had a few things to say about identity. Deputy First Minister Michelle O’Neill also spoke to Tommie Gorman as he signed off as RTÉ’s Northern Correspondent.
Another RTÉ broadcast lit up social media this week when the Claire Byrne Show held an all-island discussion to address the prospects for a border poll and the possibility of reunification. One of her guests left early.
Finally, Saturday was clearly a very slow news day over at The Independent…
See Also:
Rethinking: Mandatory Coalition
Is The UUP’s Response To The NI Protocol A Vote Winner?
The Long Way Home – Finding A Way Through The Brexit Debacle?
Northern Irish Parties And Europe
Reinforcing Northern Ireland’s In-Betweenness
***
Biden urges action on guns
Another week, another mass shooting in the United States; this time at a grocery store in Boulder, Colorado. Ten people were killed, including a police officer.
While national Republicans attempted to turn the spotlight on the growing problems at the southern border, opposition was growing to the new law restricting voting passed by the GOP in the state of Georgia and signed into law by Gov Brian Kemp.
Meanwhile, Fox News was hit with a $1.6 billion lawsuit from Dominion Voting Systems over the network’s allegations of election fraud.
The murder trial of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, accused in the death of George Floyd, begins on Monday.
See Also:
‘Celtic’ Biden’s Call To Irish-America
Banning Guns Won’t Make The Problem Go Away
What Does The New Congress Mean For Gun Control? (2019)
***
Myanmar spirals further into violence
This week was the bloodiest yet in the military coup which ousted Aung San Suu Kyi and her elected government in February. More than 100 people were killed on Saturday alone, as troops cracked down further and the situation worsened.
***
Should I Stay or Should I Go?
Finally this week, as part of the excellent Imagine Festival, Northern Slant organized an online discussion around the subject of what a post-pandemic Northern Ireland might look like in this, its centenary year, and whether we can build a society that isn’t just a “stepping stone” for our young people.
You can watch a recording of the event stream here:
See Also:
How The Imagine! Festival Was Re-Imagined
***
See Also Last Week’s Five Points:
Also published on Medium.
