First discovered in the western state of Maharashtra in October 2020, the strainВ вЂњwas sequenced and uploaded to Gisaid, a global database of Covid-19 samples from across the worldвЂќ. вЂњThe variant that threatens the British summer has already done far more damage in India,вЂќВ says Rukmini S in The Guardian, adding that вЂњthis new variant played a significant role in IndiaвЂ™s overwhelming second waveвЂќ. Though the fear remains that вЂњShapps will face the same fate as so many other Secretaries of StateвЂќ, namely вЂњbeing reshuffled out into another job for which he has less enthusiasm, and being replaced by a less committed ministerвЂќ. вЂњThe big hope with this set of proposals is that having a committed Secretary of State means that these proposals actually happenвЂќ, Bush says. While dwelling on the вЂњslightly unwieldyвЂќ name, the вЂњWilliams-Shapps plan for railвЂќ, may seem вЂњtrivialвЂќ, this distinction is key because вЂњone recurrent problem is that often when these proposals emerge, theyвЂ™re widely welcomed but difficult to deliverвЂќ and вЂњlack proper buy-in at a ministerial levelвЂќ. But what makes it different from previous policies is that вЂњthe secretary of state, Grant Shapps, has put his name on the reviewвЂќ. In fact it isВ вЂњpretty much exactly what any transport wonk, in any party, who has sat down to discuss the problems with the British railways, would recommendвЂќ. вЂњThere is not much that is new in the governmentвЂ™s new review of British rail provision,вЂќВ writes Stephen Bush in the New Statesman. вЂњBut the same is true of most culture warriors on the issue, who all see it as a proxy for a debate closer to home.вЂќ In his book From Fatwa to Jihad, вЂњKenan Malik interviewed some British-born Muslims fuming at the Zionist entity, and observed that none of them could point to Palestine on a map or mention a single fact about itвЂќ, West writes. So why did they swap sides? The answer, West says, lies in the LeftвЂ™s вЂњoverriding interest in the power of victimhoodвЂќ, which has seen it become вЂњrepresentative of something biggerвЂќ. However, вЂњamong certain English conservativesвЂќ there was once a вЂњstrong affinity and natural sympathy with the aristocratic Arab world, while most of the Zionists were radicals, socialists and feminists of various kindsвЂќ. While вЂњpeople might not understand why Israelis and Palestinians are firing rockets at each otherвЂќ, West says, вЂњthat doesnвЂ™t stop them choosing a teamвЂќ in the conflict.

But вЂњbarely has one horseman of the apocalypse disappeared when a new one turns upвЂќ. вЂњThe good news from Israel is that there were just 40 new cases of Covid on Monday,вЂќВ writes Ed West on Unherd.

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