The Home Office has been accused of submitting “woeful” budget figures under successive Conservative ministers – which officials knew understated the ballooning cost of asylum and illegal immigration spending. In a report partially vindicating Rachel Reeves’s claim that the new Labour government inherited a far worse financial situation than initially thought, the Institute for Fiscal … Read more
Jason Gulley Conservation success story: a manatee with its calf in Florida A manatee and its calf drift underwater in Hunter Springs, Florida. An algal bloom in the area had caused a decline in the eelgrass beds that provide them with food, but the local community restored the habitat, resulting in more manatees being recorded … Read more
Dodo Pizza Dodo Pizza did not put the AI-created blueberry and breakfast cereal pizza on sale “We asked [popular AI chatbot] ChatGPT to create a recipe – the best pizza for Dubai,” says Spartak Arutyunyan, who heads menu development for the city’s branch of restaurant and delivery chain Dodo Pizza. “And it did create a … Read more
Three years ago, the United States sent 235 athletes to the Tokyo Paralympics and won 104 medals. Some of these athletes were born with physical challenges, while others suffered devastating injuries from accidents or assaults. Some have been Paralympians since just after the turn of the century. Here are 10 US athletes to watch in … Read more
When the presenter Tess Daly high-kicked off the first episode of Strictly Come Dancing in 2004, warning viewers, “Don’t let the beautiful costumes and fancy footwork fool you, because behind those smiles it is blood, sweat and tears”, she could not have envisaged how darkly apposite those words would seem today. The hit BBC series, … Read more
The 17th Paralympic Games began under blue skies then lit up the night as Paris made a powerful start in extending to disability sport the same energy and joy that has so far characterised its historic summer. In the coming 11 days there will be new heroes made, new stories told and, just perhaps, the … Read more
Scorching temperatures across Europe have killed tens of thousands of people in recent years. But as fatalities rise, researchers are finding that one group is disproportionately bearing the brunt of extreme heat: those living in poverty. “It’s common sense,” said Julio Díaz Jiménez, an investigative professor at Madrid’s Carlos III health institute. “A heatwave is … Read more
When she was pregnant with her second child, Busisiwe Beko was living with HIV, but that didn’t worry her. She had been taking antiretrovirals for years and as an experienced Aids activist in South Africa she knew that as long as she continued to take her pills every day, her second baby would be born … Read more
I woke up from the surgery sobbing. As the anaesthesia wore off, I croaked: “Did I really do it?” It was 2019, and I had just donated my left kidney to a stranger to save their life. Early that morning, I walked into one operating room, while the stranger walked into the one next door. … Read more
When the French wheelchair rugby team play their first match on Thursday, all eyes will be on Ryadh Sallem, whose extraordinary journey from thalidomide baby to record-breaking athlete has made him one of the country’s best-loved and longest-serving Paralympians. Sallem, who will turn 54 at the Paris Games – his sixth Paralympics – is best … Read more