The UK's foolhardy haste to return to "normal" life could leave hundreds of thousands suffering from long Covid disabilities.

Vaccines reduce the danger of long Covid, but don't entirely eliminate it. This is one of the reasons I continue to take precautions.

Resistance to family pressure for arranged marriages is growing in India, but inexplicably it veers off target. Instead of defending the right to refuse marriage — which I would wholeheartedly support — this campaign calls teenage minors "children", then demands a prohibition on marriage for minors.

It's a side issue, but I disapprove of calling teenage minors "children".

As for whether minors should be allowed to marry, I am not sure. Perhaps people under 18 are not ready to make a lasting legal commitment, and should limit themselves to living together until they reach the age of 18. (In India, being part of an unmarried couple is more radical than remaining celibate.) On the other hand, people over 18 are often not ready for this either. Since I am not sure, I do not support raising the age requirement for marriage to 18.

I support Rajasthan Rising's campaigns for gratis education, and to save people from being pressured into marriage — whether they are under 18 or not.

Massive private projects to generate electricity and hydrogen from solar and wind power are being planned. One in Australia would be a large fraction of the size of Australia's entire electric grid power. (I am assuming that the grid power supply in the less populous Western Australia and Northern Territory amounts to a small fraction of that of the rest of Australia.)

Do Martian bacteria (if they exist) have a "right" to Mars?

In my view, no bacteria have any right to anything. Any right is the right to exercise some option, so its prerequisite is some level of awareness and ability to make decisions. I don't think insects and plants are capable of having rights, nor rivers and forests as such.

That doesn't mean we should let people destroy them. That could be a big loss to the world.

For Martian bacteria, their extinction could destroy our chance to learn whether they are related to Earthly life, and that would be a great loss to our understanding of life in the universe.

*American west stuck in cycle of ‘heat, drought and fire’, experts warn.*