MATHS IN THE PAPERS

April 2003

April weather
Statistics

It was warm and sunny across the UK. Most places experienced below average rainfall, particularly down the eastern side of England, where some areas had less than half their normal April total.

Wolverhampton recorded a high of 27.3 °C on the 16th, the highest April temperature in the UK since 16 April 1949. Hawarden recorded a low of -7.5 °C on the 10th.

England and Wales Rainfall Series (series began in 1961). The initial total for the month was 43.3 mm, which is 74 % of the 1961-90 average, which is in the below average category. Driest since 1997, when 24.2 mm was recorded.

England and Wales Sunshine Series (series began in 1961). The initial value for the month was 6.42 hours per day, which is 136 % of the 1961-90 average, which is in the exceptionally above average category. 3rd sunniest in series, and sunniest since 1990, when 6.81 hours per day was recorded.

16 April 2003 was the warmest April day since 1949. The highest known temperature for April for any station is 29.4 °C at Camden Square (London) on 16 April 1949.

                                                          www.metoffice.gov.uk

SARS developments in April
Health

In Hong Kong, the total number of cases has risen to 685, with 75 new cases in the last 24 hours. 16 people have died from the disease in Hong Kong, where more than 200 residents from housing estates were today taken into isolation camps. Worldwide 63 people have died and almost 1900 people are infected, in 12 countries.

                                                          Guardian 1/04/03

Over 2300 people in 13 countries have been infected by SARS, with almost 80 deaths. Most deaths have been of people over the age of 40. 90% of those infected begin to recover after seven to ten days.

                                                          The Guardian 3/04/03

China has disclosed a death toll from SARS of 53, revealing that fatalities have been more widespread than previously reported. Health officials in Hong Kong expect the number of cases there to rise to 3000, from the current 700.

The Guardian 08/04/03

Six relatively young patients have died from Sars in Hong Kong. The disease has so far struck mostly older people, and this new development is provoking fears that the virus may have mutated. So far 1,190 cases have been reported in Hong Kong, resulting in 47 deaths. About 20% of patients have been discharged from hospital. Worldwide, over 3000 people have been infected.

                                                         The Guardian 15/4/03

There have been 13 deaths from Sars in Canada, and Australia and India have just reported their first suspected cases. The disease has claimed 162 lives over the past month, and 20 countries now have suspected or confirmed cases. China has now reported over 1300 cases.

                                                          The Guardian 17/4/03

More than 3800 people have been infected by Sars worldwide, with 200 dead in seven countries.

                                                          The Guardian 21/4/03

Chinese officials have revised the number of Sars victims in Beijing, adding more than 100 cases to the total, only one day after admitting their previous total only showed one tenth of the true number of cases. Beijing now has 458 reported cases, with 20 deaths from the disease. The previous official figure was 37.

                                                          The Guardian 22/4/03

Another five people have died from Sars in China, with a further 180 infected, bringing the death toll to 115 and the total number of cases in China to 2601.

                                                          The Guardian 26/4/03

At least 293 people have died from the Sars virus, with 4600 people infected worldwide.

                                                         The Observer 27/4/03

Although experts believe the Sars virus has peaked in most countries, in China the numbers are still rising, with 203 new cases reported, bringing the total there to 3106, with 139 deaths.

                                                         The Guardian 28/4/03

Total cases of Sars in China have reached 3460, with 101 new cases in Beijing, bringing the city’s total to 1448.

                                                         The Guardian 30/4/03

According to a survey by SecEd, a new weekly newspaper for secondary school teachers, almost one in ten secondary schools has caught pupils bringing guns into the classroom. From 160 replies to a questionnaire, more than 40% said children carried knives in school.

                                                                  TES Archive 04/04/03

American couple marry after 77 years
Statistics

After living together for 77 years, a couple in Oklahoma have finally tied the knot. Zyness O’Haver is 95 and his new bride Sallie is 94.

                                                         Ananova 04/04/03

Unwed couple break the law
Crime

The North Dakota Senate has just voted 26 – 21 to retain a 113 year old law that makes it illegal for a man and woman to live together unless they are married. The penalty for breaking the law is a maximum 30 days in jail and a £600 fine

                                                          Ananova 04/04/03

50 year wait for hospital appointment
Health

The Alexandra Hospital, Redditch has sent an appointment letter for a woman to have her tonsils out – 50 years too late. Angela Rodway, now 55 and a mother of two, had her tonsils removed when she was six years old. Her 83-year-old mother was sent the appointment letter last month for her daughter, who was born in May 1947. The hospital has apologised for the clerical error.

                                                          Ananova 07/04/03

Half a million pupils in a class
Education

Over half a million children in more than 100 countries are staging a simultaneous lesson today, to publicise the fact that over 65 million girls worldwide receive poor education or no education at all.

                                                          The Guardian 09/04/03

In an attempt to find a virgin bride, a Chinese business tycoon, allegedly worth £8m, has spent almost £80,000 advertising for his future partner. He received over a hundred e-mails within an hour of the first advert appearing in print.

                                                                  Ananova 10/04/03

Trainee teachers concerned
Education

A survey by the National Union of Teachers of teachers training on the job shows that 58% of 300 trainee teachers have concerns about aspects of their training. Nearly two fifths reported a lack of support from schools, universities and training bodies, and one fifth struggled with their workload.

                                                          TES Archive 11/04/03

Wilibald Schmidt, aged 77, was given an award for careful driving by Essen motoring club. On his way to collect the award, Wilibald was stopped by police, and it transpired he had lost his driving licence 25 years ago, as a result of driving offences.

                                                          Ananova 16/4/03

Britons, on average, work 48 hours a week, and take only 27 minutes for lunch breaks. According to figures published last week, more and more people are leaving the rat race, downshifting to swap quality of life for long hours and higher pay. In 1997, 1.7 million people had downshifted. This figure rose to 2.6 million in 2002 and is expected to reach 3.7 million by 2007.

                                                          The Observer 20/4/03

43% of Church Times readers think it is wrong for men and women to have sex before marriage.

Liu Yung-yang, aged 104 and Yang Wan, 103, from Taiwan, have been married for 87 years.

The median number of years of marriage in Western countries after which divorce occurs is 4.

                                                          Observer Magazine 20/4/03

‘Otzi the Iceman’, the Bronze Age body that was discovered in a melting glacier in the Italian Alps, is in demand. Although he died over 5000 years ago, dozens of women have requested to have his babies. All the requests have been turned down.

                                                         Ananova 24/4/03

An Ofsted report has shown that education standards are rising in Feltham prison, the country’s top young offenders provision. Many of the 800 inmates, aged between 15 and 21, have learning difficulties. Although provision of basic skills in 2000 was considered poor, later inspections found ‘considerable progress’ had been made.

                                                          TES 25/4/03

A survey of 417 teachers found that one in eight schools doesn’t participate in fundraising events, while almost half of schools in the survey earned less than £1000 per year from fundraising.

                                                          TES 25/4/03

115 million children worldwide do not attend school. 65 million of these are girls.

66% of the 860 million illiterate people in the world are female.

100,000 schools could be built in Kenya for the cost of one Stealth bomber.

                                                          Observer Magazine 27/4/03

And the point is…
Finance

An attorney in Pennsylvania has claimed that he made innocent mistakes when submitting bills for three 25-hour days and one 81-hour day. The ‘mistakes’ were discovered when a newspaper looked into his earnings. He had made £265,000 in one year, representing a local education authority. He claimed the errors were caused by misplaced decimal points.

                                                          Associated Press 28/4/03

‘Sick’ workers cost firms money
Finance

According to the CBI, British firms lost £1.75bn last year through workers taking time off as sick days when they were perfectly healthy. Another £9.85bn was spent on temporary cover for workers who were genuinely sick.

                                                          The Guardian 28/4/03

Big guns handed overstyle
Crime

As part of the national gun amnesty, a three-foot-long home made cannon was handed in to West Midlands police station. Altogether, over 1000 weapons have been handed in to the West Midlands force, including a rocket launcher.

                                       Ananova 29/4/03