Call of the coquí frog is affected by rising temperatures, scientists find
Frogs in Puerto Rico are croaking at a higher pitch due to global heating, scientists have found.
The frogs appear to be decreasing in size at warmer temperatures, which causes their croaks to become high pitched. If the trends continue, the heat could become too much for the sensitive amphibians to survive successfully, researchers have said.
Continue reading...Simon Thompson has had a turbulent two-year stint at the helm
Royal Mail boss Simon Thompson is expected to step down within weeks, after a turbulent two-year stint at the helm.
The chief executive has been accused by unions of inflaming the bitter industrial dispute, and his credibility was put in question after a Commons select committee appearance.
Continue reading...A wildflower planting operation is under way in Green Park, near Buckingham Palace, as part of The Big Help Out
After two days of playing host to thousands of flag-waving royal supporters, visitors were invited back to Green Park on Monday – this time to do some gardening.
As the machinery moved in and the clean-up effort got under way around Buckingham Palace, a few metres away, along a meandering line marked out in white through the park, volunteers got down on their hands and knees to plant wildflowers.
Continue reading...Lord Hain is seeking amendments to economic crime bill requiring ministers to back establishment of new court
The UK government should back the establishment of an international anti-corruption court to prosecute corrupt leaders of countries unwilling or unable to enforce their own anti-kleptocracy laws, according to Lord Hain, the former Foreign Office minister.
With cross-party support, Hain will propose that the time has come for Britain to throw its weight behind the growing global momentum for an international court, analogous to the international criminal court in The Hague.
Continue reading...Mining groups hope their joint project, ReSource, will have an influence on the global business
“It’s incredibly exciting,” said Benedikt Sobotka, the chief executive of mining company Eurasian Resources Group (ERG). Sitting in front of an audience in January at Davos, the ski resort that hosts an annual gathering of the world’s business elite, he waved a piece of paper with a QR code that he hopes will eventually be attached to every electric car battery in the world.
Sobotka’s excitement reflected his involvement in setting up ReSource, a joint project with fellow miners Glencore and IXM to provide battery “passports” for electric cars. It also hinted at his bigger hopes: that his mining company and its partners could take an influential role in the future of the automotive industry.
Continue reading...Police searching for four suspects after ‘targeted attack’ on Sunday in which another boy was also hurt
A 17-year-old boy has been stabbed to death in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, in what police described as a “targeted attack”.
Officers said they were searching for four suspects, all of whom had their faces covered during the attack, which took place between 7pm and 7.30pm on Sunday. No arrests have been made yet.
Continue reading...Skipton building society aims product at renters who cannot save enough for a deposit
A leading lender plans to launch a 100% mortgage aimed at would-be first-time buyers who cannot save for a deposit, the first since the 2008 financial crisis.
Standard home loans where the borrower does not have to put down a deposit used to be fairly commonplace but the last was axed in the wake of the financial crisis.
More than 1,000 people gather at Caernarfon Castle to demand new law to regulate market and protect communities
More than 1,000 people gathered outside Caernarfon Castle in north Wales for a rally protesting against second homes, which they say are “destroying” Welsh language strongholds.
Members of Cymdeithas yr Iaith (the Welsh Language Society) are calling for a new Property Act to protect communities in language heartlands such as Gwynedd in the north and Pembrokeshire in the south-west.
Continue reading...Charities say British government not doing enough to facilitate family reunions through available safe and legal route
Lone child refugees stranded in Sudan could be forced to travel to the UK in small boats because British ministers are not helping those entitled to family reunion to escape the fighting, charities have warned.
Asylum seekers granted refugee status in the UK are able to apply to bring their spouse, children or younger siblings – one of the few safe and legal routes open to refugees.
Continue reading...Prince of Wales also appears on stage, saying to King Charles III: ‘Pa, we are all so proud of you’
Thousands danced and waved their flags underneath Windsor Castle in the first concert ever held in the grounds to celebrate King Charles’s coronation.
Stars including Katy Perry, who sang Roar and Firework, and Lionel Richie, who played Easy and All Night Long, entertained the 20,000-strong audience, including the royal family, and millions at home on Sunday. Take That provided a rousing finale, drawing the night to a close with Never Forget, featuring an intro from the choristers of Saint George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle.
Continue reading...Footage on social media showed officers pursuing a man holding two dogs on a short lead along a canal in Limehouse
The Metropolitan police has defended its officers after a suspect was Tasered and two dogs were shot in front of screaming witnesses.
Footage posted on social media showed officers pursuing a man holding the two dogs on a short lead along a canal in Limehouse, east London, on Sunday afternoon. The situation appeared to become heated, as the man was Tasered to the floor and the animals were shot dead.
Continue reading...Ben Moncrieff, 18, was found critically injured in the Southgate Street area of the city on Saturday and died at scene
A 15-year-old boy has been arrested on suspicion of murder after a man died in Bath city centre.
Emergency services were called to the Southgate Street area of the city at about 3.30am on Saturday. The victim, Ben Moncrieff, 18, was found critically injured and died at the scene.
Continue reading...Monarch reportedly said ‘there’s always something’ during the build-up to the ceremony
King Charles grumbled “we can never be on time” and “there’s always something” at the start of his coronation, a lip reader has claimed.
The monarch and Camilla arrived at Westminster Abbey early and were forced to wait outside, sat in their diamond jubilee state coach.
Continue reading...Bid to reflect an inclusive modern Britain countered by ‘terribly white’ Buckingham Palace balcony
For many, King Charles III achieved his ambition for a diverse and inclusive coronation, though not everyone agreed.
There were far more black and brown faces in Westminster Abbey than 70 years ago, as would be expected given societal change over Elizabeth II’s reign.
Continue reading...‘Pay as you feel’ celebration in Armley, one of city’s most deprived wards, is one of more than 67,000 across bank holiday weekend
Parishioners had put out enough chairs in the grounds of Christ Church in Armley, Leeds, to seat about 80 people for their Coronation Big Lunch – but it was starting to become clear they may have underestimated.
Helped by sunny weather on Sunday, numbers were nearly twice as high, and it was not long before pews were being brought outside to seat the diverse gathering, one of more than 67,000 Big Lunches being held across the bank holiday weekend as part of the official coronation celebrations.
Continue reading...Exclusive: Former US intelligence analyst says he warned authorities about activities of Ike Ekweremadu
A former US intelligence analyst warned the UK’s National Crime Agency (NCA) to investigate the activities of a senior Nigerian politician before he trafficked a man to London in an attempt to harvest his kidney, the Guardian can reveal.
On Friday, Ike Ekweremadu was sentenced to more than nine years in prison for being the driving force in a plot to harvest a kidney for his sick daughter in the first organ trafficking conviction under the Modern Slavery Act.
Continue reading...While some paid tribute to the British monarch, the presence in London of certain guests proved less than welcome
In South Africa, as across the African Commonwealth countries, Saturday’s coronation of King Charles III prompted mixed reactions.
There was much interest in Pretty Yende, the South African soprano who sang at the beginning of the ceremony, and some high-profile public figures sent their best wishes to the monarch.
Continue reading...Observers split on whether armed forces’ high-profile ceremonial role could help or hinder their image
The British military deployed 9,000 personnel in ceremonial and supporting duties on Saturday’s coronation, nearly 5% of all the UK armed forces, in the largest display of official pageantry for more than 70 years.
But the carefully choreographed effort, eight months in the planning, comes at a time when recruitment is falling and the image projected by the army on parade is, some observers say, far removed from the needs of the modern military.
Continue reading...Graham Smith said Met officers should hang their heads in shame after 52 detained in central London
Police who arrested anti-monarchy protesters before King Charles III’s coronation have “destroyed whatever trust might have existed between peaceful protesters and the Metropolitan police,” the chief executive of the campaign group Republic has said.
After six members of the group were arrested at about 7.30am on Saturday – before their protest had begun – and had their placards seized, Graham Smith said officers “should hang their heads in shame” and that police had shown “no judgment, no common sense and no basic decency”.
Continue reading...Exclusive: HSBC and NatWest staffers seconded to shadow business secretary Jonathan Reynolds’s team
Labour has been criticised for giving global banks access to parliament after taking an HSBC staffer into its shadow business team, despite the financial giant coming under fire over its links with China.
One senior policy manager from HSBC has been seconded to the team of Jonathan Reynolds, the shadow business secretary, and has been given a parliamentary pass since February.
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