After the Huawei ban, it’s time to ask – do we really need 5G after all?
The situation regarding Huawei begs a few questions. Let us assume that as well as wishing to support the US’s stance and to put pressure on a totalitarian regime, we are concerned about the possibility of 5G communication equipment being used by China for the purposes of espionage or sabotage. Then surely the removal of their equipment at speed is a sensible idea.
It may, therefore, be time to consider what to do instead, including reviewing the country’s needs. Firstly, do we need 5G? If its primary purpose is to provide an internet of things – so we can check the contents of the fridge while at work – then possibly the answer is no. The more interconnected everything is, the greater the disaster if the overall system fails to work for some reason. This would be a shame, particularly if the advantages are arguable.
If we do need 5G, there is still the question about whether or not we need it quickly. Are we currently tearing our hair out because we can’t download the latest Hollywood blockbuster in three seconds flat? If it is needed quickly, then organisations such as Nokia would be encouraged by our financial support for them. If it is not, then we could invest in our own hard-pressed labour market to produce much of the equipment ourselves, perhaps in partnership with such a company.
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Returning briefly to the question of totalitarianism – in fact, China resembles Orwell’s Oceania, a post-totalitarian state where a ruthless managerialism pays lip service to ideology – we also ought to pay attention to power politics. If we fall out with China, we are still only junior partners with the US. It is a pity that our current government seems determined to leave our current partnership with Europe, where facilities are pooled to pay attention to the needs of all its members.
Cole Davis
Norwich
Money before lives
The news that the UK is to resume arms sales to Saudi Arabia is no surprise.
It shows, if proof were needed, that successive British governments continue to put income from exports of deadly armaments above the wellbeing of millions of innocent human beings. Claims that individual weapon use will be vetted, and assurances that civilians will not die as a result of their use, are hollow and meaningless. We all know that this cannot be guaranteed.
Middle Eastern conflicts, and especially the dreadful situation in Yemen, do not seem to stir even a tiny amount of compassion among the British people, and even less among most British politicians.
In the current crisis, where trade deals, growth and slippery politicians appear to rule the roost, there seems little hope that sales of weapons of war will end.
Steve Edmondson
Cambridge
Temporary masks not permanent
I would be prepared to wear a mask in shops for a limited period to help reduce coronavirus infections. However, it seems clear that the government intends for this to become a more permanent requirement. This will result in our high streets becoming the preserve of miserable, isolated individuals, quite literally avoiding each other like the plague – a deeply unpleasant prospect.
Alan Brown
Bromborough, Wirral
Shape Created with Sketch. World news in pictures Show all 50 left Created with Sketch. right Created with Sketch. Shape Created with Sketch. World news in pictures 1/50 29 July 2020 A woman refreshes herself in a outdoor pool in summer temperatures in Ehingen, Germany dpa via AP 2/50 28 July 2020 Malaysia’s former prime minister Najib Razak speaks to the media after he was found guilty in his corruption trial in Kuala Lumpur AFP via Getty 3/50 27 July 2020 North Korean leader Kim Jong Un poses for a photograph after conferring commemorative pistols to leading commanding officers of the armed forces on the 67th anniversary of the “Day of Victory in the Great Fatherland Liberation War”. Which marks the signing of the Korean War armistice KCNA via Reuters 4/50 26 July 2020 Federal officers launch tear gas at a group of demonstrators during a Black Lives Matter protest outside the Portland Courthouse AP 5/50 25 July 2020 Rescue forces in action after an ultralight aircraft crashed into a house in Wesel, Germany EPA 6/50 24 July 2020 Turkey’s President Tayyip Erdogan (C) and invited guests attending Friday prayers at Hagia Sophia Grand Mosque during the official opening ceremony of Hagia Sophia in Istanbul Turkish Presidential Press Service/AFP/Getty 7/50 23 July 2020 Federal officers arrest a protester after she crossed a fence line set up around the Mark O. Hatfield U.S. Courthouse in Portland, Oregon. State and city elected officials have called for the federal officers to leave Portland as clashes between protesters and federal police continue to escalate Getty 8/50 22 July 2020 Fire burns near the village of Galataki as authorities evacuate the place near Corinth, Greece. More than 250 firefighters, backed by water-dropping aircraft, were struggling Wednesday to contain a large wildfire fanned by strong winds that has forced the evacuation of five settlements in southern Greece AP 9/50 21 July 2020 A Black Lives Matter protester carries an American flag as teargas fills the air outside the Mark O. Hatfield United States Courthouse in Portland, Oregon AP 10/50 20 July 2020 A trader decorates a camel with Henna at a cattle market set up for the upcoming Muslim festival Eid al-Adha also called “Festival of the Sacrifice”, in Rawalpindi AFP via Getty 11/50 19 July 2020 The Milky Way galaxy is seen in the sky above the International Car Forest of the Last Church in Goldfield, Nevada. The roadside attraction, created in 2002 by Mark Rippie, has over 36 automobiles including cars, trucks, vans and buses that have been balanced on their ends or stacked on top one of another AFP via Getty 12/50 18 July 2020 Revellers take part in the annual Gay Pride parade, also called Christopher Street Day in Frankfurt Reuters 13/50 17 July 2020 Airplanes of the Scandinavian Airshow draw a heart in the sky, above the Turning Torso building in Malmo, Sweden TT News Agency/Reuters 14/50 16 July 2020 Farmers protest outside the Indonesian Parliament against the cancellation of an ‘omnibus bill’ that aims to revise dozens of existing laws to ease the way for investment in Southeast Asia’s largest economy in Jakarta Reuters 15/50 15 July 2020 Flooding in Sunamganj. Almost four million people have been hit by monsoon floods in South Asia, with a third of Bangladesh already underwater from some of the heaviest rains in a decade AFP via Getty 16/50 14 July 2020 Second Republican infantry guard regiment take part in the annual Bastille Day military ceremony on the Place de la Concorde in Paris AFP via Getty 17/50 13 July 2020 A man walks his dog through thick sea foam blowing ashore during a storm in Seapoint, Cape Town, South Africa EPA 18/50 12 July 2020 Security forces on the outskirts of Amritsar take part in Van Mahotsav, an annual tree-planting festival in India AFP via Getty 19/50 11 July 2020 People covered with coloured powder enjoy music during the Holi festival in Minsk, Belarus EPA 20/50 10 July 2020 A demonstrator during clashes following the funeral of 29-year-old Palestinian Ibrahim Abou Yacoub, who was killed by Israeli forces, in the village of Kifl Hares, south of the West Bank city of Nablus AFP via Getty 21/50 9 July 2020 The sun rises in Timmendorfer Strand, northern Germany AP 22/50 8 July 2020 Portraits of healthcare workers are pasted on the Opera Bastille, designed by Anne-Christine Poujoulat, to pay tribute to caregivers during the Covid-19 pandemic in Paris Anne-Christine Poujoulat/AFP/Getty 23/50 7 July 2020 Tengger tribe people make their way to the summit of Mount Bromo volcano to make offerings in Probolinggo, as part of the Yadnya Kasada Festival. The Tenggerese climb the active volcano to seek the blessing from the main deity by presenting offerings of rice, fruit, livestock and other items AFP via Getty 24/50 6 July 2020 A healthcare worker checks the temperature of residents during a check-up campaign in Mumbai, India Reuters 25/50 5 July 2020 People wearing protective face masks to help prevent the spread of the coronavirus sit at a bus stop in the city of Zanjan, Iran AP 26/50 4 July 2020 Protesters blocking an exit to the precinct of the officers who arrested Elijah McClain, cover their ears anticipating the use of flash-bang grenades by police in Aurora, Colorado Reuters 27/50 3 July 2020 A member of the Israeli border police jumps during a Palestinian protest against Israel’s plan to annex parts of the West Bank, in Kafr Qaddum near Nablus Reuters 28/50 2 July 2020 A surfer jumps clear of his board while enjoying winter waves at New Brighton Beach in Christchurch, New Zealand AP 29/50 1 July 2020 A man is detained by riot police during a demonstration in Hong Kong. China imposed a new national security law which has faced international condemnation Getty 30/50 30 June 2020 A man smokes a pipe while wearing a face mask during a demonstration in Nantes, as part of a nationwide day of protests to demand better working conditions for health workers in France AFP via Getty 31/50 29 June 2020 Lawmakers from Taiwan’s ruling Democratic Progressive Party scuffle with people from the main opposition Kuomintang party, who have been occupying the Legislature Yuan, in Taipei Reuters 32/50 28 June 2020 Protester holds crosses during a demonstration in honour of the victims of coronavirus in front of Brazil’s National Congress Getty 33/50 27 June 2020 A demonstrator wearing a face mask holds a sign during a protest against police brutality and racial inequality in the aftermath of the death in Minneapolis police custody of George Floyd, at the Victory column in Berlin Reuters 34/50 26 June 2020 Hygienists inside a decontamination area in a coronavirus treatment centre that cares for positive patients that show little or no symptoms in Dakar AFP via Getty 35/50 25 June 2020 A seagull snatches a croissant from a buffet during a press conference at the headquarters of AP Moeller – Maersk in Copenhagen, Denmark Ritzau Scanpix/AFP/Getty 36/50 24 June 2020 A volunteer receives an injection from a medical worker during the country’s first human clinical trial for a potential vaccine against coronavirus, at the Baragwanath hospital in Soweto, South Africa Reuters 37/50 23 June 2020 Swiss acrobat Ramon Kathriner performs during the “Glacier 3000” Air show, an event marking the reopening of the Alpine facilities above Les Diablerets AFP via Getty 38/50 22 June 2020 A worker cleans volcanic ash off the stupas at the Borobudur temple in Indonesia, a day after Mount Merapi erupted in nearby Sleman, sending a plume of ash into the sky AFP via Getty 39/50 21 June 2020 Aerial view of a burial at the Vila Formosa cemetery during the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic, in Sao Paulo, Brazil, on June 21, 2020. – The novel coronavirus has killed at least 464,423 people worldwide since the outbreak began in China last December, being Brazil Latin America’s worsthit country with 49,976 deaths from 1,067,579 cases. AFP via Getty 40/50 20 June 2020 National Guards form a line in front of “Black Lives Matter” protestors in Tulsa, Oklahoma where Donald Trump was holding a campaign rally AFP via Getty 41/50 19 June 2020 Nurses, doctors, midwives and health care workers attend the fourth Zumba dance session organised by the Nursing Council of Kenya at Kenyatta stadium where screening booths and an isolation field hospital have been installed. The dance sessions have been organised to re-energise and uplift health care providers sprits during this pandemic AFP via Getty 42/50 18 June 2020 Alpha jets from the French Air Force Patrouille de France and the Royal Air Force Red Arrows perform a flypast over the statue of Charles de Gaulle on the Champs Elysees avenue in Paris to celebrate the 80th anniversary of wartime leader’s appeal to the French people to resist the Nazi occupation, broadcast from London Reuters 43/50 17 June 2020 Activists from the Extinction Rebellion movement block a street outside the German Automobile industry association during a protest in Berlin AFP via Getty 44/50 16 June 2020 Barbers wearing protective suits and face masks inside a salon in Dhaka, Bangladesh Reuters 45/50 15 June 2020 Siegfried White raises his hand as he protests outside a burned Wendy’s restaurant on the third day following Rayshard Brooks death. The black man was shot by police in the car park in Atlanta. The mayor ordered immediate police reforms on Monday after the fatal shooting by a white officer AFP via Getty 46/50 14 June 2020 People take part in a Black Lives Matter protest march in central Tokyo AFP via Getty 47/50 13 June 2020 Protesters raise their fists during a demonstration against police brutality and racism in Paris, France. The march was organised by supporters of Assa Traore, whose brother Adama died in police custody in 2016, in circumstances that remain unclear EPA 48/50 12 June 2020 A pro-democracy supporter shouts at riot police during an anti-national security law rally in Mongkok district in Hong Kong, China. Protesters heeded online calls to gather as the city marks the one-year anniversary of the major clashes between police and pro-democracy demonstrators over the controversial extradition bill Getty 49/50 11 June 2020 A section of the River Spree next to the Reichstag building coloured green by activists from “Extinction Rebellion” to protest the German government’s coal policies in Berlin AFP via Getty 50/50 10 June 2020 A woman poses in front of a decapitated statue of Christopher Columbus at Christopher Columbus Park in Boston Massachusetts. The statue’s head, damaged overnight, was recovered by the Boston Police Department, as a movement to remove statues commemorating slavers and colonisers continues to sweep across the US AFP via Getty 1/50 29 July 2020 A woman refreshes herself in a outdoor pool in summer temperatures in Ehingen, Germany dpa via AP 2/50 28 July 2020 Malaysia’s former prime minister Najib Razak speaks to the media after he was found guilty in his corruption trial in Kuala Lumpur AFP via Getty 3/50 27 July 2020 North Korean leader Kim Jong Un poses for a photograph after conferring commemorative pistols to leading commanding officers of the armed forces on the 67th anniversary of the “Day of Victory in the Great Fatherland Liberation War”. Which marks the signing of the Korean War armistice KCNA via Reuters 4/50 26 July 2020 Federal officers launch tear gas at a group of demonstrators during a Black Lives Matter protest outside the Portland Courthouse AP 5/50 25 July 2020 Rescue forces in action after an ultralight aircraft crashed into a house in Wesel, Germany EPA 6/50 24 July 2020 Turkey’s President Tayyip Erdogan (C) and invited guests attending Friday prayers at Hagia Sophia Grand Mosque during the official opening ceremony of Hagia Sophia in Istanbul Turkish Presidential Press Service/AFP/Getty 7/50 23 July 2020 Federal officers arrest a protester after she crossed a fence line set up around the Mark O. Hatfield U.S. Courthouse in Portland, Oregon. State and city elected officials have called for the federal officers to leave Portland as clashes between protesters and federal police continue to escalate Getty 8/50 22 July 2020 Fire burns near the village of Galataki as authorities evacuate the place near Corinth, Greece. More than 250 firefighters, backed by water-dropping aircraft, were struggling Wednesday to contain a large wildfire fanned by strong winds that has forced the evacuation of five settlements in southern Greece AP 9/50 21 July 2020 A Black Lives Matter protester carries an American flag as teargas fills the air outside the Mark O. Hatfield United States Courthouse in Portland, Oregon AP 10/50 20 July 2020 A trader decorates a camel with Henna at a cattle market set up for the upcoming Muslim festival Eid al-Adha also called “Festival of the Sacrifice”, in Rawalpindi AFP via Getty 11/50 19 July 2020 The Milky Way galaxy is seen in the sky above the International Car Forest of the Last Church in Goldfield, Nevada. The roadside attraction, created in 2002 by Mark Rippie, has over 36 automobiles including cars, trucks, vans and buses that have been balanced on their ends or stacked on top one of another AFP via Getty 12/50 18 July 2020 Revellers take part in the annual Gay Pride parade, also called Christopher Street Day in Frankfurt Reuters 13/50 17 July 2020 Airplanes of the Scandinavian Airshow draw a heart in the sky, above the Turning Torso building in Malmo, Sweden TT News Agency/Reuters 14/50 16 July 2020 Farmers protest outside the Indonesian Parliament against the cancellation of an ‘omnibus bill’ that aims to revise dozens of existing laws to ease the way for investment in Southeast Asia’s largest economy in Jakarta Reuters 15/50 15 July 2020 Flooding in Sunamganj. Almost four million people have been hit by monsoon floods in South Asia, with a third of Bangladesh already underwater from some of the heaviest rains in a decade AFP via Getty 16/50 14 July 2020 Second Republican infantry guard regiment take part in the annual Bastille Day military ceremony on the Place de la Concorde in Paris AFP via Getty 17/50 13 July 2020 A man walks his dog through thick sea foam blowing ashore during a storm in Seapoint, Cape Town, South Africa EPA 18/50 12 July 2020 Security forces on the outskirts of Amritsar take part in Van Mahotsav, an annual tree-planting festival in India AFP via Getty 19/50 11 July 2020 People covered with coloured powder enjoy music during the Holi festival in Minsk, Belarus EPA 20/50 10 July 2020 A demonstrator during clashes following the funeral of 29-year-old Palestinian Ibrahim Abou Yacoub, who was killed by Israeli forces, in the village of Kifl Hares, south of the West Bank city of Nablus AFP via Getty 21/50 9 July 2020 The sun rises in Timmendorfer Strand, northern Germany AP 22/50 8 July 2020 Portraits of healthcare workers are pasted on the Opera Bastille, designed by Anne-Christine Poujoulat, to pay tribute to caregivers during the Covid-19 pandemic in Paris Anne-Christine Poujoulat/AFP/Getty 23/50 7 July 2020 Tengger tribe people make their way to the summit of Mount Bromo volcano to make offerings in Probolinggo, as part of the Yadnya Kasada Festival. The Tenggerese climb the active volcano to seek the blessing from the main deity by presenting offerings of rice, fruit, livestock and other items AFP via Getty 24/50 6 July 2020 A healthcare worker checks the temperature of residents during a check-up campaign in Mumbai, India Reuters 25/50 5 July 2020 People wearing protective face masks to help prevent the spread of the coronavirus sit at a bus stop in the city of Zanjan, Iran AP 26/50 4 July 2020 Protesters blocking an exit to the precinct of the officers who arrested Elijah McClain, cover their ears anticipating the use of flash-bang grenades by police in Aurora, Colorado Reuters 27/50 3 July 2020 A member of the Israeli border police jumps during a Palestinian protest against Israel’s plan to annex parts of the West Bank, in Kafr Qaddum near Nablus Reuters 28/50 2 July 2020 A surfer jumps clear of his board while enjoying winter waves at New Brighton Beach in Christchurch, New Zealand AP 29/50 1 July 2020 A man is detained by riot police during a demonstration in Hong Kong. China imposed a new national security law which has faced international condemnation Getty 30/50 30 June 2020 A man smokes a pipe while wearing a face mask during a demonstration in Nantes, as part of a nationwide day of protests to demand better working conditions for health workers in France AFP via Getty 31/50 29 June 2020 Lawmakers from Taiwan’s ruling Democratic Progressive Party scuffle with people from the main opposition Kuomintang party, who have been occupying the Legislature Yuan, in Taipei Reuters 32/50 28 June 2020 Protester holds crosses during a demonstration in honour of the victims of coronavirus in front of Brazil’s National Congress Getty 33/50 27 June 2020 A demonstrator wearing a face mask holds a sign during a protest against police brutality and racial inequality in the aftermath of the death in Minneapolis police custody of George Floyd, at the Victory column in Berlin Reuters 34/50 26 June 2020 Hygienists inside a decontamination area in a coronavirus treatment centre that cares for positive patients that show little or no symptoms in Dakar AFP via Getty 35/50 25 June 2020 A seagull snatches a croissant from a buffet during a press conference at the headquarters of AP Moeller – Maersk in Copenhagen, Denmark Ritzau Scanpix/AFP/Getty 36/50 24 June 2020 A volunteer receives an injection from a medical worker during the country’s first human clinical trial for a potential vaccine against coronavirus, at the Baragwanath hospital in Soweto, South Africa Reuters 37/50 23 June 2020 Swiss acrobat Ramon Kathriner performs during the “Glacier 3000” Air show, an event marking the reopening of the Alpine facilities above Les Diablerets AFP via Getty 38/50 22 June 2020 A worker cleans volcanic ash off the stupas at the Borobudur temple in Indonesia, a day after Mount Merapi erupted in nearby Sleman, sending a plume of ash into the sky AFP via Getty 39/50 21 June 2020 Aerial view of a burial at the Vila Formosa cemetery during the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic, in Sao Paulo, Brazil, on June 21, 2020. – The novel coronavirus has killed at least 464,423 people worldwide since the outbreak began in China last December, being Brazil Latin America’s worsthit country with 49,976 deaths from 1,067,579 cases. AFP via Getty 40/50 20 June 2020 National Guards form a line in front of “Black Lives Matter” protestors in Tulsa, Oklahoma where Donald Trump was holding a campaign rally AFP via Getty 41/50 19 June 2020 Nurses, doctors, midwives and health care workers attend the fourth Zumba dance session organised by the Nursing Council of Kenya at Kenyatta stadium where screening booths and an isolation field hospital have been installed. The dance sessions have been organised to re-energise and uplift health care providers sprits during this pandemic AFP via Getty 42/50 18 June 2020 Alpha jets from the French Air Force Patrouille de France and the Royal Air Force Red Arrows perform a flypast over the statue of Charles de Gaulle on the Champs Elysees avenue in Paris to celebrate the 80th anniversary of wartime leader’s appeal to the French people to resist the Nazi occupation, broadcast from London Reuters 43/50 17 June 2020 Activists from the Extinction Rebellion movement block a street outside the German Automobile industry association during a protest in Berlin AFP via Getty 44/50 16 June 2020 Barbers wearing protective suits and face masks inside a salon in Dhaka, Bangladesh Reuters 45/50 15 June 2020 Siegfried White raises his hand as he protests outside a burned Wendy’s restaurant on the third day following Rayshard Brooks death. The black man was shot by police in the car park in Atlanta. The mayor ordered immediate police reforms on Monday after the fatal shooting by a white officer AFP via Getty 46/50 14 June 2020 People take part in a Black Lives Matter protest march in central Tokyo AFP via Getty 47/50 13 June 2020 Protesters raise their fists during a demonstration against police brutality and racism in Paris, France. The march was organised by supporters of Assa Traore, whose brother Adama died in police custody in 2016, in circumstances that remain unclear EPA 48/50 12 June 2020 A pro-democracy supporter shouts at riot police during an anti-national security law rally in Mongkok district in Hong Kong, China. Protesters heeded online calls to gather as the city marks the one-year anniversary of the major clashes between police and pro-democracy demonstrators over the controversial extradition bill Getty 49/50 11 June 2020 A section of the River Spree next to the Reichstag building coloured green by activists from “Extinction Rebellion” to protest the German government’s coal policies in Berlin AFP via Getty 50/50 10 June 2020 A woman poses in front of a decapitated statue of Christopher Columbus at Christopher Columbus Park in Boston Massachusetts. The statue’s head, damaged overnight, was recovered by the Boston Police Department, as a movement to remove statues commemorating slavers and colonisers continues to sweep across the US AFP via Getty
Clouseau Cummings
Unfortunately for Boris Johnson and his most senior adviser Dominic Cummings, the euphoria of the landslide election win and the ratifying of the withdrawal agreement on 29 January have long gone. Things have since taken a significant gear shift downwards – mismanagement of the Covid-19 crisis leading to thousands of unnecessary deaths, followed by a catastrophic economic crash, as well as failure to agree on any trade agreement with the EU. Let’s not forget the UK has also plotted a Titanic-like course for a hard Brexit to end our 2020.
What a year! I am sure Cummings, the man known as the brain of Boris and the mastermind of Brexit no less, has all of this in hand. I am not so sure of his visions of an Odyssean future though. Maybe he should go for another drive and get those eyes checked once again. Personally, I am more inclined to think of Mr Cummings as the bungling Inspector Clouseau.
Paul Morrison
Address supplied
Fingers off faces
Fearful as many of us may be about this government’s undemocratic authoritarianism, we must concede that mandatory mask wearing in shops now makes sense. However, there are potential drawbacks.
If, as not infrequently happens, people remove or adjust the mask by grasping the part in front of their face, they have thereby contaminated the hand which will touch other surfaces. It may well be that microdroplets are the main means of spreading the infection, but surface contamination is probably not insignificant. There needs to be an urgent public education campaign to teach us all that a mask should only be handled by its strings.
“Fingers off faces” might be a three-word slogan such as those beloved by our leaders.
Susan Alexander
Frampton Cotterell, South Gloucestershire
Mask exemption worries
With regard to the mandatory wearing of face coverings in shops coming into force on the 24 July, I have already avoided public transport and will I now have to avoid going to the shop for food for fear of confrontation or being treated as a social outcast because of a disability?
Exempt badges have been sold out, so maybe I should make a sign to wear around my neck.
Frank Kindregan
Address supplied
Hostile environment still alive
I read Rob Merrick’s column, on how EU citizens guilty of minor offences “will be deported”, with consternation and a distinct feeling of deja vu that the “hostile environment” is still alive and thriving in the Home Office.
Draconian measures for minor offences does not bode well, that is not to say malefactors should be excluded from the rule of law, but treated on a par with everyone else. As stated I too feel that the lessons from the Windrush scandal have still not been sufficiently learnt and have now been extended to bona fide EU citizens. Somehow as we approach with eyes wide shut a global Britain, there appears to be a deeply worrying trend of less inclusivity and a denial of our inherent multiculturalism which has served Britain so well in the past. This is a negation of a modern facing, open country, and should be swiftly addressed.
Judith A Daniels
Great Yarmouth, Norfolk
