LyrArc Article Gist
Daniel Webster once said the Nation will do fine as long as it retained faith in the Bible and in spirituality. In 2025 33% of Americans attend religious services, 68% (Christians Jews Buddhist/Hindu) pray once a day, 80% believe in spirituality. This is shown in the Pew Research Religious Landscape Report just out in 2025. In America 40% are Protestant, 19% Catholic, 4% other Christian, and 2% Jewish, 2% Buddhist/Hindu. About 65% of the population openly identify with Christianity and the Bible, and this is now stabilized over the last 5 years. It is important to remember that Abraham Lincoln questioned some church religiosity and practices, yet had a profound belief in the Bible, his Devotional based on the Bible that was published in London in 1854 was one that he kept with him for most of the years serving the Nation. For close to 70% of the population having a belief in the Bible, and in God, is a good sign for the future of the Nation as it approaches it's 250th year, and a community that settled these British colonies and a vast continent since the 1600's for 400 years. ...

LyrArc Article Gist
Rate of diabetes is rapidly going up in India. In addition scientists have shown that Indians are more prone to diabetes if they are obese to the same extent as someone from Canada or the U.S. This is called thin-fat diabetes- a higher impaired glucose intolerance- and comes from centuries of body changes following famine in parts of the country from failure of monsoon rains. The obesity rate is going up dramatically and with it diabetes is up significantly.  From 6.4% obese or overweight in 1990, by 2017 18.8% are obese or overweight, according to Health Metrics and Evaluation Institute of the University of Washington. The International Diabetes Federation now predicts 123 million with diabetes in India by 2040. By 2017 diabetes rates went up from 1990- from 5.5% to 7.7% or 63 million people. The major problem in South Asian countries and in China is the growing use of packaged and processed foods, fast food and carbonated drinks. Efforts to prevent the sale of junk foods is a battle being fought between private citizens and the large processed foods companies such as Coca Cola, Pepsi and Nestle. This is the subject of this article with Mr. Verma taking the case to the Delhi High Court facing large opposition. Mr. Verma left his job as a marketing executive as he took care of his sick child. He filed a case in the Delhi High Court in 2010, and faces the opposition of the India Food Processors Association- so far there is little progress.   ...

LyrArc Article Gist
I2 is for Israel and India, U2 for US and the UAE in the I2U2 virtual summit just concluded. UAE will invest $2 billion for food parks in India, to ensure food security for South Asia and Middle East countries. Gujarat will get hybrid renewable energy projects for 300 MW.

LyrArc Article Gist
A study by the National Employment Law Project shows most of the job creation in the economic recovery to 2014 in the U.S. is replacing the better paying jobs with lower paying jobs in fast food retail and similiar low paying industries.

LyrArc Article Gist
Deteriorating China Iran relations as the oil imports from Iran for China face US tariffs of 25% on China's exports to US, and US economic relations far more significant for the Chinese economy. China gets somwhere between 1.4 to 1.6 million barrels aday from Iran (80% of Iran's oil exports) into Shandong refiners at $10 below Brent crude prices. Another 400 mbd comes from Venezuela to China. This means $30 billion comes to Iran from oil sales to China at $59 a barrel, and $8 billion for Venezuela from oil sales to China. This has financed much of the bellicose policies towards the US in the western hemisphere and in the Gulf region. Iran's bellicose policies in the Middle East, its nuclear policy, are now seen by China as a distraction and  detract from good economic relations with the US. China $400 billion oil deal 25 year cooperation agreement signed in 2021 was signed under the Biden administration and China today faces a completely different situation in 2026. Even China's relations with Russia are not the same as the US builds better relations with Russia. A wind down of the Ukraine war would change the situation completely and ensure peace in Europe including Russia, as the US works with the EU to meet future challenges having learned from this experience in Europe (Ukraine dividing Europe) and in the Western hemisphere (drug/ migrant. trafficking). When historians write this chapter of the inflows of capital from advanced West to Arab countries and the Gulf region they will write about the huge contrast between China/India's efforts to modernize and these nations where much of that capital was wasted in wars and conflicts and in grandiose projects that made no material difference to the standard of living and quality of life of the vast number of ordinary people. Once the oil dividend is gone with fossil fuels replaced with renewable energy by 2035-2040 this opportunity to advance is lost for the Arab and Gulf region. ...

LyrArc Article Gist
The United Nations World Food Programme estimates are that acutely food insecure people doubled from 135 million before the pandemic to 270 million. Mr. Husain of the WFP says the world has not seen such a shock to food supplies and food demand on a global scale in the past century.The head of the food division at Unilever, Hanneke Faber, says about a billion people may be going hungry today after the loss of purchasing power and jobs during the pandemic. Many children depend on school lunch programs for their main meal and not going to school could mean about 370 million children may be losing this meal says UNICEF former executive director Ann Veneman.

LyrArc Article Gist
The Guardian makes this point about the food insecurity in Britain- food insecurity in Britain has been normalized over the last decade during which the incomes of the poorest households have been held down. If that is true of advanced countries of Europe and In America what hope does it leave for people in Africa and Asia, Latin America?

LyrArc Article Gist
BBC's Mark Tullly reflects on the period of coverage from 1962-1994 of South Asia. He says of Indira Gandhi that she took the democratic process out of the Indian National Congress party, and set up her sons as future leaders that was undemocratic. Here he reflects on that period in an intervew with the BBC after he left the BBC.  He has deep connections to the Indian period after 1800 as his great grand father on his mothers side was around 1840 in a part of Uttar Pradesh where British planters had farmers plant opium that would later be bought by planters for export. This coincides with the period when Britain in Hong Kong traded in opium as part of British trading in the emerging colonial culture British Empire. There is mixed legacy for Britain in India and China. The history of the Opium Wars in the 1850's and opening up of colonial ports ended with the 1900's revolution and the emergence of the CCP in China by 1950. In India the legacy was mixed bringing together this part of Asia into a new nation and bringing parliamentary traditions of Britain that provided the basis for good governance.  Tully is a softspoken thoughtful Englishman who revolted against British classical education in his youth and studied history and religion at Cambridge, made friends with the future bishops of Canterbury and Lincoln at Cambridge. He is not the Englishman of the Empire as his fondest memories are of the servants verandahs on the bungalows of Britishers and the smoke from their quarters, and the language. So it is a thoughtful view that he gives of the undemocratic nature of Indira Gandhi and mismanagement of the economy that could have changed if India had gone in a different direction under other leaders in the the 1990's. Why is this significant? China's modernization drive started in the 1990's. India's by the undemocratic nature and mismanagement under Indira Gandhi did not start its modernization till 2010, about 20 years after China, opening up a huge gap that is only now being corrected leading to problems for world security, US security, European security and Indian security. And delaying the aspirations of development of 1.4 billion people for 2 decades. Vikshit Bharat cannot come fast enough for both Merz in Germany and Leyen at the European Union, who last week and this week visit Ahmedabad and India for the Kite festival and for Republic Day 2026. ...

LyrArc Article Gist
Schools, shops, restaurants, cafes and offices are reopening and people are getting back to work and outdoors. What are the ways to reduce chances of getting the coronavirus and what is the latest advice from public health experts.  More attention is now being given by CDC and other experts to the aerosols, the smaller particles that are airborne that can spread the virus to people unawares in breathing, talking and singing activities. larger droplets come down to the ground, smaller droplets can be airborne for hours. This makes masks wearing very important, call it essential protection. Air filtration and proper ventilation is also important. What about social distancing? Experts now say 6 feet is good, 10 feet is better. This is from Joseph Allen director of the Healthy Buildings program at Harvard School of Public Health. No magic number but 6-10 feet or more is good for safety. Can one start expanding one's social circle? The fewer contacts the better says Dr. Allen. You can he says expand the circle but this depends a lot on how serious the other family is in taking precautions. Are elevators risky? If one can one should take stairs but do not board a crowded elevator unless the lobby is more crowded. Do not touch buttons, if you do use elbow or use sanitizer from your shirt pocket after pressing. This is where mask is essential. Here a tip is useful. Talking does not help as talking emits 10 times the particles than when you are quiet and this is true for small spaces such as elevators. Continual talk is not a good idea such as a long time spent talking, here watch that habit of getting into long conversations face to face.  Is it good to take a summer vacation. Here the answer is yes, as no one really knows how the winter will be. And remember outdoors is good for renewal of health, and one can look for places that are not crowded where the 10-12 feet or more can be easily done. One tip here is to take your own food and supplies from home so there is no need to go to crowded restaurants. Swimming in a lake or ocean is fine. Camping outdoors is fine and actually a good idea if you are with your own family. Try to use an empty restroom and one that is clean and wear the mask. While camping keep the 6-10 foot rule with people outside your immediate family, do not share food and drinks and try not to touch each other's supplies, and sanitize your hands or wash if you do. When hiking keep the mask in your pocket so you can wear it when you see others passing on trails. In hotels skip the cleaning service, in a rented property ask the owner to keep the windows open before you arrive, and put a day or two between your coming and the last person who rented the place. Renting a car is tricky allow a couple of hours to elapse between you and the last rental, open windows. Public restrooms. Always wear a mask many are poorly ventilated. Open the door without use of hands if possible,or use a paper towel to open and discard. Do not use air dryers. Is it safe for your house cleaning person to return. Keep the windows open to let in fresh air. Make sure your cleaner wears gloves. And all should wear masks. How to visit grandparents? Experts advise keeping visits outside and wearing masks when not 6-10 feet apart. Anyone not feeling healthy should avoid the visit. And bathrooms should be sanitized after people leave even wait a day if there is another bathroom. Experts advise against sharing food and buffet type meals. Ten feet distance is better than six feet. Can one use a gym? Here the advice is to exercize outdoors or at home if one can. It says be cautious unless your gym is limiting the number of people or spacing the equipment adequately. Ask about open windows, air filtration systems, ventilation.  This is excellent advice from experts with the latest information. Over the last few months from March to May most of the information was during lockdown, and a lot can be forgotten or seen as not necessary as things return to normal, as shops schools and cafes, office reopen, and cases remain steady and under control. Being vigilant is good for safely navigating this period through the summer and into winter till a vaccine is found. It is also about being a good civic minded person aware of one's own responsibilities, as when all take safety seriously and practice it everyday, it builds another layer of protection for everybody- because it creates a safer environment for all.     ...

LyrArc Article Gist
The good mix of rain and sunshine is leading to higher estimates for wheat production in US, Europe and Australia. Australian production is up by 3 million metric tons over last year. Russia is exporting more than it did last year by 80% in April and by about 25% in May through Black Sea ports. This is easing pressure on wheat prices which are down to $9 a bushel. Russia exports to countries in the Middle East. US production of wheat is expected to be 8% higher this year. 

LyrArc Article Gist
German chancellor Olaf Scholz is on his first trip to Africa. He called for serious attention to problems of food and energy supplies, energy prices, in African countries. He visited Niger, Senegal, and this interview with DW.com was done in Johannesburg, South Africa. Scholz called for European countries to assume responsibility for their colonial past and to increase food supplies to Africa. He said "it is obvious that a lot of countries are suffering from this war" with the grain shortages that are hitting Africa hard. In the intervew Scholz tells DW Political Editor Michaela Kufner that he has talked directly with Putin and told him that the war "will never have a good outcome" for Russia. "They will go back in their opportunities of economic development for decades, tey will suffer and they are suffering, and for getting out of this Putin has to stop the war." Scholz said Putin had made the decision to wage " a very brutal war" with "an imperialistic approach" and manner of thinking. ...

LyrArc Article Gist
Biden as president for 2024 and the matter of age is the subject of this report in WSJ. For too long the press has looked at president Biden's age as drawback ignoring his vast experience, and not Trump's only 3 years younger with poor food and exercise habits and overweight, as pointed out by Duke University Prof. Frank Bruni in the NYT. Here the WSJ at last shows that half of Americans born in 1942 are alive, with many of them about 650,000 working, 18% more than a decade earlier, according to Census Bureau. The saying is that 80 years is the new 60, because of advances in medicine, given healthy habits and exercise. 

LyrArc Article Gist
Dropping wheat and corn prices will reduce the effect on increase in inflation for food prices. A recently signed agreement for UN and Turkey to supervise exports of Ukrainian grain to world markets is showing up in declining futures prices for corn and wheat that will show up in lower food prices. A large harvest for wheat and other foodgrains in Russia and Ukraine is also having an impact. Slower economic growth in China from frequent lockdowns and the ailing property sector, could bring oil prices down from the highs. The shift to renewable energy taking on a huge impetus from recently passed legislation in the US Congress for $369 billion investment and similar moves in Europe with a 15% required reduction under new EU rules could have the same effect of pushing down fossil fuel prices from their highs. This suggests Fed chairman Powell's sense that the economy would improve in the second half is consistent with international developments. The war in Ukraine could also have a possibility of coming to a close in coming months with Russian gains in the east and Ukraine recovering lost land around the Black Sea in the south. Decades of fighting in Ukraine may have obscured the fact that the eastern parts of Ukraine voted in pro Russian governments in the past and the western parts of Ukraine have voted in pro EU governments. The war could end with a settlement around these new boundaries. This would also enhance president Biden's foreign and domestic policy achievements and help the US focus on climate change actions, building new supply chains, rebuilding its manufacturing, its leadership in science and technology, its alliances with EU, and with Japan and India in the Indo-Pacific. ...

LyrArc Article Gist
The Mendenhall glacier flood that runs into a river and lake in Juneau, capital of Alaska, with risk of flooding for third straight year. This glacier is part of the Juneau Icefield that is melting twice as fast now compared to 2010 due to climate change.

LyrArc Article Gist
One way to ease the supply of oil cutoff from the Middle East to Asia (to India, Japan and South Korea) is to ease sanctions on the oil on tankers on the sea (large inventories at sea) and from Russia. US president DJT says -“We have sanctions on some countries, we are going to take those sanctions off until this straightens out. And then who knows, maybe we won’t have to put them on because there will be so much peace." 

Treasury Secretary Bessent says the same thing that “waiving certain oil-related sanctions to reduce prices," would be good way to ease the impact of the war on prices.

This will help Russia balance its budget and who knows it may make it possible to open up new discussions for peace in Ukraine as the US acts as an intermediary in negotiations to end the war. From the larger interest of US, China, India + Indonesia, of Russia and Ukraine, and of Europe,it makes sense to end that war.

LyrArc Article Gist
Villages in East Java band together to ensure food, security and public health.

LyrArc Article Gist
Higher per capita wheat consumption in Middle East countries means that the impact of rising wheat prices hits these countries harder. Wheat futures have gone up by 91% in less than one year. Tunisians for example eat 478 pounds per person a year compared to 177 pounds in the U.S., according to the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization. Governments in the Middle East buy wheat at world prices and subsidize it heavily to meet the needs of their people. Wheat at these prices cost Egypt $361 per metric ton in February, which was up significantly from $172 in July 2010. This adds $1.7 billion to Egypt's import bill in 12 months.

LyrArc Article Gist
English parents struggling to feed their children even this preschool teacher in London, as Emma Bubola reports for the NYT from London, UK. It is atrocious says a church minister running a food bank in Derby, in central England, that working families are having to come to food banks. Prince Charles talked first about people at food banks in his Christmas message this year. One estimate is that a fifth of familes are from families with jobs but unable to keep up with the cost of living. Warm spaces are being set up in Methodist and other churches. One food bank worker says you see ambulance crew, teachers, and asks what does this say about the community, about the country? Ten years of Tory austerity policies have made things worse. On a recent night a nurse walks into a food bank in the east London neighborhood of Hackney. This isn't a normal Britain.

LyrArc Article Gist
Turkish Opposition alliance leader Kilicdaroglu, a civil servant who has acted with humility throughout his career leading the Republican party founded by Kemal Ataturk in 1923, says he will bring Turkey back into the European fold. He would do this by strengthening NATO and Turkey's participation in NATO, admitting Sweden, and by seeking membership in the European Union. He tells a huge crowd in Istanbul:   "There are 5.3 million people who will go to the ballot box for the first time and cast their votes, and they want freedom and democracy... This fact is very important for us, for Turkey, for the European Union of which we are trying to be a member, and for western civilization." The last line "for western civilization" is striking as Turkey now and its younger generation sees itself as part of western civilization, of the EU and the US. Modernization of Turkey happened after Kemal Ataturk became president in 1923 and Turkey's identity has been forged as part of Europe in the twentieth century. It is now returning to its roots from the period before the Renaissance in Europe. ...

LyrArc Article Gist
The Guardian looks at high street, the small downtowns in urban areas across the north of England and the Midlands, coastal towns in decline, where Reform UK is offering an alternative to the decline.  Are Britain's best days in the past, and after the failure of Austerity, Brexit and the disappointment with Starmer, what lies ahead. If Farage wins and falters will this put Britain in a spiral of permanent decline? Boarded up shops, closed department stores and banks, with the rise of online shopping and online services, is creating a new situation on streets in mid and small towns in England. People see the decline all around them and this is creating anew mood in favor of trying something else after Labour and Tories have promised and things are taking a turn for the worse in the physical appearance of neighborhoods. Across the UK 34,000 shops closed in 2024, that is 37 a day, and this is true more for the north of England, the Midlands and deprived coastal towns, where Reform has come close to Labour in the last election. In one focus group in You.gov and other research a participant used strong words- that it was "soul destroying" to see the extent of the decline. Across Europe, in Germany as in UK, in France, the same sense of high street decline is evident. Underinvestment in transport, policing, healthcare, and social services. University of Warwick professor Fetzer  has studied this and the effects of austerity first under Cameron and Brexit under Johnson, the covid period, return of Labour but no lifting up program of large investments that would create a feeling of change, to replace the sense that somehow Britain was "going to the dogs," with half a million shoplifting offences in 2025, up 13% in 2025 over 2024, and the homelessness. ...

LyrArc Article Gist
The last West Indies captain to lead a formidable West Indies team was Richie RIchardson. Sandip G of the Indian Express writes from Antigua about Richardson's early batting experiences at school and how he evolved facing fast bowlers. RIchardson started out idolizing legendary batsmen like Rohan Kanhai who were steady batsmen and batted in Test matches for days.    It was an early experience with his coach who put on fast bowlers at school to Richardson at bat, that got Richardson started on his trademark cut shot. Fearing for his life Richardson closed his eyes and hit one out of the field that was lost forever. Soon he became known as "the fastest blade in the Caribbean," for the way he could strike at fast bowling. Richardson says its not like he became good at the cut stroke overnight. He would practice the shot 1000 times a day.  It was Rohan Kanhai from Guyana who once said that you have to put every poor delivery away to the boundary and some good ones too, making the bowlers think. Flashing blade and canny, were words used for Kanhai. This was true for Richardson too with his cut shot. Today as he is perfecting his golf game or when his motivation dips he has only to look back over his shoulder to the high walls of his house, to his backyard where he practiced the cut shot, and all that drive and energy from that time would come back to him. ...

LyrArc Article Gist
Why the East Wing being redone can be a good thing at the White House. It sticks to a classical style says NYT, and is more in line with the White House style than the architectural style of the Obama tower and other such structures. The White House can use the new ball room as a place for gatherings of foreign leaders, and the space modernization can be a good thing overall.

LyrArc Article Gist
One of the lessons of the pandemic is to take society back to basic priorities such as wellness, wellbeing, lifestyles that promote wellness, eating right and exercizing. During the last three decades obesity has emerged as a problem in the U.S. and Europe and in all parts of the world. It is simply harder to fight the virus carrying on so much extra weight. Much needs to be done in school with education on food in children's books and in classrooms.

Eating more fruits and vegetables, ancient and healthy grains is a must do for all. To do this the supply chain of locally produced healthy foods has to function well , and more acreage has to be devoted to get the supplies we need.

LyrArc Article Gist
New obesity prevention grocery store rules in Britain require that no food high in salt, sugar or fat can be placed within 2 metres of a checkout or queueing area and restricted to certain areas in the store.