28 m. ago The Guardian view on China, Africa and disappearing donkeys: an unexpected crisis offers a clue to perils ahead | Editorial

The surging export of hides created domestic tensions – and shows how globalisation plays out in unexpected waysWhat can help to protect women’s health, boost the incomes of impoverished families and thus allow girls to avoid early marriage? What – when it disappears – can set back children’s education, damage mental wellbeing, drive conflict within communities and become a vector for racial hatred?The humble donkey has rarely been in the spotlight. Yet Chinese demand for its skin proved so destabilising that African governments agreed to a continent-wide ban on the slaughter of the animal for its hide last year. This week, officials are meeting in Ivory Coast to discuss implementation.Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here. Continue reading...

Events

28 m. ago Hegseth says FBI probing Iran nuclear site damage report leak, confirming top secret assessment is real

Standing alongside Donald Trump and Marco Rubio, defense secretary insists Pentagon report is ‘preliminary’ and ‘low confidence’ and mission was still ‘overwhelming success’

Events

54 m. ago Swarms of tiny nose robots could clear infected sinuses, researchers say

Chinese and Hong Kong scientists succeed in animal trials, but potential problems include risk of devices being left in body and public suspicionsSwarms of tiny robots, each no larger than a speck of dust, could be deployed to cure stubborn infected sinuses before being blown out through the nose into a tissue, researchers have claimed.The micro-robots are a fraction of the width of a human hair and have been inserted successfully into animal sinuses in pre-clinical trials by researchers at universities in China and Hong Kong. Continue reading...

Events

76 m. ago British Business Bank back in the spotlight with £10bn UK growth mandate

Louis Taylor, CEO of state-owned lender, targets investment in eight key UK sectors as he prepares defence at Covid inquiryLouis Taylor is caught between two eras. The chief executive of the British Business Bank (BBB) has spent much of his tenure attempting to revive the state-owned lender’s image after a battering from the fraud-hit pandemic loan scheme under the last government, and will soon have to defend its actions at the Covid inquiry.But until then, he can focus on the BBB’s gleefully landed fresh £10bn mandate linked to the centrepiece industrial strategy Labour hopes will boost a flagging economy as it nears the end of its first year in power. Continue reading...

Economics

1 hour ago Big British Bank back in the spotlight with £10bn UK growth mandate

Louis Taylor, CEO of state-owned lender, targets investment in eight key UK sectors as he prepares defence at Covid inquiryLouis Taylor is caught between two eras. The chief executive of the British Business Bank (BBB) has spent much of his tenure attempting to revive the state-owned lender’s image after a battering from the fraud-hit pandemic loan scheme under the last government, and will soon have to defend its actions at the Covid inquiry.But until then, he can focus on the BBB’s gleefully landed fresh £10bn mandate linked to the centrepiece industrial strategy Labour hopes will boost a flagging economy as it nears the end of its first year in power. Continue reading...

Economics

2 h. ago Beatson Cancer Charity awarded £82,950 Young Start grant to support RadioTherapy podcast

Beatson Cancer Charity has received a Young Start award of £82,950 from The National Lottery Community Fund to continue the success of RadioTherapy – a podcast created by and for young people who have been diagnosed with cancer.

Economics

2 h. ago Five simple ways to reduce cholesterol, blood pressure and dementia risk in 20 minutes

A professor of neurology and chief medical officer at Alzheimer's Research UK, has outlined easy ways to give your brain a boost this summer

Events

3 h. ago Researchers find new way to detect early signs of pancreatic cancer

The discovery could transform outcomes for thousands of patients

Science

3 h. ago Whiteburn named House Builder of the Year at the Scottish Home Awards 2025

Whiteburn has been awarded the House Builder of the Year (Less than 100 units) at the prestigious Scottish Home Awards 2025. This recent honour follows the company’s success at the Homes for Scotland Awards 2025, where it was named Home Builder of the Year (SME).

Events

3 h. ago Disposable vapes release MORE cancer chemicals than traditional cigarettes, shock research indicates

Disposable vapes may release more cancer-causing chemicals than 20 cigarettes, a shock study published this week from researchers at the University of California - Davis suggests.

Science

4 h. ago Scientists warn of surprising amount of microplastics found in glass and plastic bottles

Paint on bottle caps could be main contamination source, researchers suspect

Events

4 h. ago Protect your plants from insects this summer with this fine mesh netting that’s now on sale

Keep your fruit and vegetable plants safe this summer with this fine mesh netting that keeps insects from destroying your garden - and right now, this mesh is on sale for up to 30% less

Economics

4 h. ago Mirrors in space and underwater curtains: can technology buy us enough time to save the Arctic ice caps?

A conference in Cambridge this week will explore a raft of geoengineering ideas to cool the region down – and attempt to address the fears of those who argue the risks outweigh the benefitsWhen the glaciologist John Moore began studying the Arctic in the 1980s there was an abundance of suitable sites for him to carry out his climate research. The region’s relentless warming means many of those no longer exist. With the Arctic heating up four times faster than the global average, they have simply melted away.Forty years on, Moore’s research network, the University of the Arctic, has identified 61 potential interventions to slow, stop and reverse the effects of the changing climate in the region. These concepts are constantly being updated and some will be assessed at a conference in Cambridge this week, where scientists and engineers will meet to consider if radical, technological solutions can buy time and stem the loss of polar ice caps. Continue reading...

Technology

6 h. ago World's deadliest viruses from bird flu to bluetongue to be stored in Surrey lab

More than £1billion has been poured into developing the site at Weybridge in Surrey in order to protect the UK from serious threats posed by animal diseases to farming, food and public health

Events

6 h. ago Researchers warn of ANOTHER fatal 'old people' disease that's rising in under 50s...and a food favourite could be partly to blame

Figures show deaths from the condition-where the heart stops pumping as well as it should-have almost tripled in the US over the last 50 years.

Events

6 h. ago Eurostar services disrupted after ‘cable theft’ leads to delays and cancellations – business live

Six trains between London and Paris cancelled after theft of cables at Lille leave passengers strandedPeople in the UK: how is AI changing job-seeking for university graduates?The price of the world’s first malaria vaccine for children in endemic countries will be reduced by more than half, to less than $5, according to the drugmakers GSK and Bharat Biotech.The vaccine, called Mosquirix or RTS,S, was developed by GSK and the non-profit health organisation PATH, and was the first malaria vaccine to be recommended by the World Health Organization in October 2021. It is one of two malaria shots recommended by the WHO.“As an epidemiologist working in malaria vaccine development and delivery, I have seen the impact malaria vaccines are already having on children in high-burden regions of Africa. As a result of the collaboration between the research community in implementing endemic countries, industry, NGOs and multilateral organisations, the world’s first malaria vaccine is helping to r...

Politics

6 h. ago GCSE results go digital: Over 95,000 UK students set to receive grades via App in 2025

In a major shift for the UK education system, more than 95,000 GCSE students in Greater Manchester and the West Midlands will receive their results digitally this summer. This move is part of a pilot scheme backed by the Department for Education, and it aims to modernize the way young people receive and manage their exam outcomes.

Politics

6 h. ago One of Da Vinci’s early designs could make modern drones stealthier, scientists say

Modernised version of Da Vinci rotor design could produce less sound intensity per unit lift, researchers say

Events

7 h. ago The shocking reason 6.6 million plane passengers are denied boarding every year

With the summer holiday season in full swing, new research has revealed that over six million plane passengers are turned away from flights each year - even if they have a valid ticket.

Events

7 h. ago Barbican residents oppose 'oversized' City office development next to listed arts complex

Developers say the scheme will provide a much needed public plaza next to the Barbican’s Silk Street entrance

Politics