Simon R. D. Roberts

Last year, the Duke of Edinburgh’s Awards (DofE) for young people entered its 60th year. In all that time it has become phenomenally successful, and has grown to be the world’s leading youth achievement award. Meanwhile, the Duke of Edinburgh, founder and patron of the programme, has, at age 96, announced his retirement from public engagements. Having devoted 70 years of his life to public service as the Queen’s husband and consort, he richly deserves a quieter life. It is widely recognized that the DofE Awards are one of his finest achievements and a potent legacy.

Three hundred miles to the east of South America lie the Falklands, a British Overseas Territory consisting of two main islands and over seven hundred smaller ones. The sovereignty of the Falklands, known to the Argentinians as the Islas Malvinas, has long been a source of dispute. On April 2, 1982, Argentine forces invaded the islands under orders from their new military leader, General Galtieri, who mistakenly believed that the British government would not respond militarily to this action. What followed was a 74-day occupation, before a United Kingdom task force, waging at times a tenuous, hard-fought campaign, forcibly recaptured the islands on behalf of the 1,800 British citizens living there.

Factors beyond human control helped to shape a kingdom's future forever.

Dolly—arguably the most famous sheep in world history—was born 20 years ago, on July 5, 1996. She was the first mammal ever to be cloned as an exact genetic copy of her mother, and born healthy. The scientific community and news headlines hailed the breakthrough and postulated that now human cloning would rapidly follow. Is that prospect something humankind should be sheepish about when we consider the potential dangers, or does it offer a solution to human mortality?