This week as our Government, already mired in the intractable abortion civil war, realised that they will have to deal with another deeply divisive moral/social issue — right-to-die legislation — two other issues that will have a far, far greater impact on humanity’s future and wellbeing flitted across the news pages without provoking the kind of Pavlovian fury abortion or euthanasia routinely generate.

Tournament Players Committee chairman, Thomas Bjorn, will steer next Tuesday’s European Ryder Cup captaincy vote in Abu Dhabi away from the recent comments of Darren Clarke and not react to the 2014 US team appointment of Tom Watson.

The United States decided not to participate in a UN conference on racism in April unless the final document is changed to drop all references to Israel and the defamation of religion, a senior US official said.