8 d. ago Cuddling capybaras and ogling otters: the problem with animal cafes in Asia

A boom in places offering petting sessions is linked to a rise in the illegal movement of exotic and endangered species, say expertsThe second floor of an unassuming office building in central Bangkok is a strange place to encounter the world’s largest rodent. Yet here, inside a small enclosure with a shallow pool, three capybaras are at the disposal of dozens of paying customers – all clamouring for a selfie. As people eagerly thrust leafy snacks toward the nonchalant-looking animals, few seem to consider the underlying peculiarity: how, exactly, did this South American rodent end up more than 10,000 miles from home, in a bustling Asian metropolis?Capybara cafes have been cropping up across the continent in recent years, driven by the animal’s growing internet fame. The semi-aquatic animals feature in more than 600,000 TikTok posts. In Bangkok, cafe customers pay 400 baht (£9.40) for a 30-minute petting session with them, along with a few meerkats and Chinese bamboo rats. Doors are...

Politics

9 d. ago Covid lockdowns linked to rise in toddler development issues

A study by the University of Edinburgh suggested the Covid-19 lockdowns led to an increase in developmental concerns in young children

Politics

9 d. ago 'Lost generation': Covid lockdowns 'caused higher levels of developmental delay in toddlers'

Children who were toddlers during the covid lockdowns are more likely to have developmental delays

Politics

9 d. ago Scotland must work to save Covid kids from becoming 'lost generation'

While the Covid lockdowns played a ‘vital role in curbing the spread of infections’, they also seem to have been ‘associated with increased early childhood development concerns’, says researcher

Politics

1 week ago The shameful attacks on the Covid inquiry prove it: the right is lost in anti

There is nothing wrong with questioning the mighty cost of the lockdowns, but we can’t let hardline libertarians rewrite Britain’s pandemic historyThat number will stay fixed for ever in public memory: 23,000 people died because Boris Johnson resisted locking the country down in time. As Covid swept in, and with horrific images of Italian temporary morgues in tents, he went on holiday and took no calls. With the NHS bracing to be “overwhelmed” by the virus, he rode his new motorbike, walked his dog and hosted friends at Chevening.Nothing is surprising about that: he was ejected from Downing Street and later stepped down as an MP largely for partying and lying to parliament about it. Everyone knew he was a self-aggrandising fantasist with a “toxic and chaotic culture” around him. But this is not just about one narcissistic politician. It’s about his entire rightwing coterie of libertarians and their lethally dominant creed in the UK media.Polly Toynbee is a Guardian columnist Continu...

Events

1 week ago PETER HITCHENS: The real lasting lesson of the Great Covid Panic is that most of us don't want to be free

Mrs Hitchens remembers - as I had forgotten - that I was in almost complete despair over the Covid panic after about two weeks of national hysteria.

Events

1 week ago PETER HITCHENS: I was savagely attacked for opposing Covid lockdowns. But now the elites are plotting to do it to us all over again

Mrs Hitchens remembers - as I had forgotten - that I was in almost complete despair over the Covid panic after about two weeks of national hysteria.

Events

1 week ago Kremlin plotted to blame unpopular tax rise on west to shield Putin

Guidelines issued to state-controlled media said Russia’s president should not be personally linked to VAT rise

Politics

2 w. ago BORIS JOHNSON: On Covid there are two big questions: Where did the virus come from

What is in the news in Britain, asks BORIS JOHNSON. What are they talking about? You rub your eyes in sheer amazement. Covid!

Politics

2 w. ago Conservatives must apologise for their disastrous handling of Covid

Editorial: The Covid inquiry’s conclusion that the needless loss of 23,000 lives was due to government decision-making at the start of the pandemic, made worse by the toxic and chaotic leadership of Boris Johnson, has yet to make many leading Tories of the day sufficiently penitent

Events

2 w. ago Lord Gove says Covid Inquiry's claims that 23,000 people died because ministers did 'too little, too late'

Lord Gove today questioned the Covid Inquiry's claims that 23,000 people died because lockdown came a week too late. He branded chair Baroness Hallett's conclusion a 'leap'

Politics

2 w. ago Voices: ‘We need leaders to lead’: Readers have their say on the UK’s delayed Covid pandemic response

Our community largely agreed with the Covid inquiry findings that Boris Johnson’s government was chaotic and poorly prepared, though many also stressed the broader context of conflicting scientific advice, years of underfunding, and systemic failings that compounded the crisis

Politics

2 w. ago Nearly 6,000 Londoners died from Covid within weeks of 'deadly delay' on lockdown

Nearly 6,000 Londoners died from Covid within weeks of 'deadly delay' on lockdown  London Evening Standard

Events

2 w. ago POLL OF THE DAY: Should Britain have gone into Covid lockdown?

UK coronavirus lockdowns could have been avoided altogether if the Government had approached the pandemic differently, a public inquiry has concluded.

Politics

2 w. ago Covid inquiry latest: Bereaved families hit out at Johnson’s ‘deafening silence’ over pandemic mistakes

The Covid-19 Bereaved Families for Justice UK campaign group said Boris Johnson’s pandemic actions were a ‘grave betrayal’ of the British public

Events

2 w. ago Nearly 6,000 Londoners died due to Covid within weeks after 'deadly delay' in ordering lockdown

Boris Johnson’s government was slammed by the Covid Inquiry for its ‘chaos’ and the ‘toxic’ culture in No10

Events

2 w. ago Covid inquiry latest: Boris Johnson put his reputation above public safety, say bereaved families

Damning report finds more than 20,000 lives could have been spared over spring and summer 2020 had restrictions started just seven days earlier

Politics

2 w. ago DANIEL HANNAN: To inquiry officials any notion that the lockdowns were worse than the disease is inconceivable

The official inquiry into Covid-19 had made up its mind before it began.

Politics

2 w. ago Betrayal of our children: Covid inquiry finds lockdowns 'brought ordinary childhood to a halt' and the closure of schools 'will have lasting effects'

Young lives were blighted even though the 'vast majority' of children were immune to the deadly virus, it added. Their education and wellbeing were sacrificed to save their elders.

Science

2 w. ago Matt Hancock's life with Gina Coladangelo and £5m fortune since Covid affair

The former Health Secretary was forced to resign after he was caught kissing his aide Gina Coladangelo during a Covid lockdown in 2021.

Economics