Heroes
Oysters, which we really don’t eat enough of, says Alec Marsh in The Spectator. They’re a rich source of zinc, protein and omega-3 fatty acids, among other good stuff; and, tonne for tonne, they generate 30 times fewer greenhouse gases than beef. They’re also the “Dysons of the seas”: they improve water quality and clarity by feeding on plankton, bacteria and algae.
Villain
Amazon, which is selling clothing emblazoned with anti-vaccine slogans. T-shirts and hoodies listed on the site bear logos such as “The great lie: vaccines are safe” and “I made my tinfoil hat from the aluminum in your vaccines”. One e-book listed in the children’s section was called 7 Steps to Survive the Covid-19 Scamdemic. Amazon says it adheres to strict content guidelines and investigates complaints.
Heroes
American cattle, which have been making repeated breaks for freedom this week. Three groups of cows in West Virginia and California have escaped from farms, abbatoirs and cattle-hauling trucks. Forty of them ended up in a Los Angeles suburb, where one was rescued by the Grammy-winning songwriter Diane Warren. She arranged for it to be saved from the slaughterhouse and transferred to an animal sanctuary.
Villains
A pair of petty neighbours from Sheffield, who sawed off half of their neighbour’s fir tree. According to the couple, it was causing a mess in their driveway and attracting noisy birds, so they hired a tree surgeon to trim the branches. The results are drastic. The tree’s owner, Bharat Mistry, who had been growing it for more than 25 years, is “distraught”.
Hero
Italian TV journalist Giuseppe Di Tommaso, who accidentally found a missing toddler whose disappearance he had been sent to cover. While driving to the boy’s home near Florence, the reporter pulled over to the side of the road because he felt unwell. “I heard this cry and I understood immediately,” Di Tommaso said. He flagged down a police car, and officers found the grubby but unscathed 21-month-old in a ravine.