First panda born in France in 2017 returns to China
Ensconced in a glass cage lined with bamboo shoots, the first panda ever born in France bid ‘’adieu’’ to the French zoo where it grew up and set off Tuesday for its new home in China. (July 25)
Day: July 26, 2023
‘Put learners first’: Unesco calls for global ban on smartphones in schools
Major UN report issues warning over excessive use, with one in six countries already banning the devices• Analysis: distraction and bullying are key concerns‘I would crank up the restrictions’: teachers on banning phones in schoolSmartphones should be …
Spot the difference: why drongos are likely to clock African cuckoo eggs 94% of the time
Zambia study finds egg variability and random nest selection by cuckoos helps fork-tailed drongos rumble impostorsCuckoos might be the ultimate avian con artists, laying lookalike eggs in the nests of other birds to avoid raising their own young, but r…
Distraction and cyberbullying are key concerns over phones in UK schools
Rise in ownership among pupils has sparked a wave of research into pros and cons of mobiles in educationUnesco calls for global ban on smartphones in schools‘I would crank up the restrictions’: teachers on banning phones in schoolMobile phones are so p…
Make nurseries exempt from VAT and business rates to boost wages, say MPs
Committee also says government has more work to do to tackle structural problems in early years childcareMinisters should remove business rates and VAT from nurseries so that they are able to pay their staff more, a group of MPs have recommended.In the…
Tax relief system needs overhaul to prevent abuse, say MPs
Treasury committee report says tax system is too complicated and finds two-thirds of relief policies are uncostedAlmost £200bn of tax reliefs handed to businesses and individuals each year should come under greater government scrutiny to prevent fraud …
Ministers tell police to respond to fewer mental health-related 999 calls
Plan aims to free up estimated million hours a year of police time but experts have raised concerns Ministers have told police forces to rapidly cut the number of mental health-related 999 calls they respond to in order to free up an estimated million …
Call for refugee visas to tackle Channel small boat crossings
Refugee Council says Illegal Migration Act will not work and calls for pilot of legal route for 10,000 asylum seekersThe UK’s leading refugee charity has called for the introduction of a new refugee visa which it says would help stop dangerous Channel …
UK inaction let Wagner group flourish and grow, say MPs
Foreign affairs select committee condemns government’s ‘dismal lack of understanding’ about group’s hold in AfricaA decade-long failure by the British government has allowed the Wagner network to grow, spread its tentacles deep into Africa and exploit …
Wagner threat ‘underestimated’ and UK needs to move ‘faster and harder’, MPs warn
A report by a cross-party group of MPs warned the Government has long failed to take seriously the danger posed by the private military company and similar groups.