Do we want to supply arms to ruthless bullies?

THOUSANDS must have wept, as I did, a few days ago at the sight on BBC News of Ahmed, a nine-yearold Yemeni boy, although blind from birth, helping his teachers as they struggled to continue the children’s education in the ruins of their school.

Not only did Ahmed help the teachers, he led the other children in the way only a born teacher could. His devotion to the task of helping the other children shone from his face, his disability apparently not impeding his determination to learn, but to be a teacher himself. At one point there was the sound of a rifle shot or explosion, Ahmed flinched but his smile soon returned.

It was a great privilege to witness a fragment of the life of a very remarkable young person – an example to us all. We can only stand back in admiration and hope and pray that Ahmed achieves his ambition to be a teacher and by so doing will help to make the world a better place.

And where do we come in? We, the UK, have decided to cut humanitarian funding to the Yemen to around half the funding granted last year. At the same time, we continue to supply arms to the people who bombed Ahmed’s school. Is this the wish of the British people? Other countries have resisted the temptation to make money supplying arms and expertise to the bullies whose ruthlessness continues to wreck the lives of civilians whose only wish is to live in peace. In teacher-speak could we not ‘try harder’ and use our diplomatic skills to negotiate a peaceful way out of this dreadful conflict?

We can longer ignore the obesity epidemic

THERE is now indisputable evidence that obesity is the prime reason for so many sad deaths from Covid in our country.

More than half the people who have died were obese. In the top ten countries with the most deaths, nine

Alan Turing artwork on Princess Road by Peter Castree, Sale of them had 50 per cent of people who are overweight. In our country as staggering 70pc of people are overweight.

One in four adults and children are obese. One in three children age ten are obese. Five million people are diabetics and nearly nine million people have heart disease. Of course not all these are related to being overweight but a significant number are.

Boris Johnson suffered with Covid and he said his doctors told him the reason was obesity. If we had tackled the obesity epidemic in the past then many lives would have been saved. I am certain now at the end of this pandemic then obesity will, at last, take centre stage. Highlighting obesity is not fat shaming, it is about saving lives. Our local politicians, doctors, schools and hospitals must start working together in this respect.

Obesity may be the topic people want to avoid speaking about for obvious reasons.

However we must have more courage and vision to save lives, as well as saving the NHS money on related health issues. It is now impossible to deny the shocking consequences of obesity in this pandemic.