18  There was an attempt at a record-breaking run by the Royal Scot from London Euston to Glasgow Central yesterday, but it failed by 21 seconds. We may never have been anywhere near a world record or any other kind of record, but we can probably identify with missing something by a very narrow margin. […]

17   Yesterday Joe Biden and Vladimir Putin met in Geneva. Nothing startling came out of the meeting, nothing startling was expected to come out of the meeting. But at least they met and talked. Our circle of contacts does not usually include the leaders of world Powers, but often (usually? always?) includes people with

16   The Government’s Committee on Climate Change has issued a report warning of the need to prepare for the impact of climate change over the rest of the century – looking at issues such as flooding risk and rising average and peak temperatures. Some of us may take the line ‘well, I’ll not be

15 The media are full of comments about the easing/ending of Covid restrictions following the Prime Minister’s statement yesterday and the Scottish Clinical Director’s remarks. For most of us restrictions can be frustrating, though we have grown used to many of them, and we can feel uncomfortable if someone without a mask comes within 2m

10 Among the characteristics of the countries represented at the G7 are commitment to liberal democracy, respect for human rights and separation between government and the justiciary.  The freedoms that we enjoy (even during lockdown!) we so often take for granted – but there are millions (perhaps even billions) of people who do not enjoy

9 All countries have taken a hit to their economies during the pandemic, usually with the most vulnerable being most affected. Will the G7 leaders talk about how the wealthy democracies can assist poorer and middle income countries to rebuild their economies? Will they express concern that more authoritarian countries could step in and take

8 One of the topics for the G7 agenda is considering how to co-ordinate a global response to any subsequent  pandemics. It’s a laudable and necessary aim, having seen the highs and lows of the global response to Covid-19. Perhaps they might like to talk about: i) how to make it easier for governments to

A message from the Moderator of the General Assembly:  

7 Friday sees the beginning of this year’s G7 Meeting, which is being held in Cornwall. This week’s Thoughts for the day will focus on some of the topics that will (or should) come up at that meeting. Last week, ahead of the meeting, there was agreement among Finance Ministers to set a minimum rate