UK firms forced to show how they will hit net zero
Robert Plummer & Beth Timmins BBC News Getty Images Most big UK firms and financial institutions will be forced to show how they intend to hit climate change targets, under proposed Treasury rules. By 2023, they will have to set out detailed public plans for how they will move to a low-carbon future – in […]
The alphabets at risk of extinction
Andrea Valentino Features correspondent Maung Nyeu (Credit: Maung Nyeu) It isn’t just languages that are endangered: dozens of alphabets around the world are at risk. And they could have even more to tell us. On his first two days of school, in a village above the Bangladeshi port of Chittagong, Maung Nyeu was hit with […]
No extension for short-term lets licence deadline
Getty Images Operators of short-term lets will need to apply for a licence by 1 October First Minister Humza Yousaf has ruled out a further delay to short-term let licensing. All short-term let (STL) accommodation must have a licence and those who fail to apply can be fined up to £2,500. The deadline has already […]
The female scientist who changed human fertility forever
Rachel E Gross Features correspondent Emmanuel Lafont She was the first person to successfully fertilise a human egg in vitro, changing reproductive medicine forever – but few people know her name today. In the textbook tale of scientific discovery, the researcher works late into the night, alone in their lab. Suddenly, genius strikes: an apple […]
Scottish economy growth ‘fastest in two years’
Douglas Fraser Business and economy editor, Scotland Getty Images The construction industry had a healthy first quarter Total output from the Scottish economy grew at its fastest pace for two years in the first three months of 2019. Gross Domestic Product was up 0.5% – the same rate of growth as the UK. The period […]
Are your clothes polluting the ocean?
Victoria Gill Science reporter, BBC News Science Photo Library In an indoor “Manchester-drizzle-simulating” rain room at the University of Leeds, and in a laundry lab in Plymouth, research is revealing the unexpected environmental cost of the very clothes on our backs. “Not many people know that lots of our clothes are made of plastic,” says […]
Princess Diana’s game of thrones
Daniel Mendelsohn Features correspondent Alamy Two decades after her death she echoes across our TV screens, even on HBO’s hit fantasy saga. Her life has mythic resonance, writes Daniel Mendelsohn. I bought my first television set so I could watch the funeral of Diana, Princess of Wales. I’d been in graduate school until a few […]
The vegan leather brewed in a lab
Katie Hope BBC News, Davos Modern Meadow Andras Forgacs was eating a steak in China when he came up with his business idea As soon as I meet Andras Forgacs we head outside into the freezing cold of Davos. Naturally he reaches for his coat, but I am slightly surprised at what he pulls out […]
The films that defy censorship
Kaleem Aftab Features correspondent New Wave Films (Credit: New Wave Films) From Sudan to Iran to Saudi Arabia, directors continue to battle repressive regimes to make and exhibit cinema – and flourish in spite of the obstacles, writes Kaleem Aftab. In 1989 the blooming cinema industry in Sudan came crashing down like the Berlin Wall. […]
Can beauty pageants ever be empowering?
Hanna Flint Features correspondent Pathe UK New movie Misbehaviour explores the infamous 1970 Miss World event from two perspectives. It’s the latest film to take a nuanced approach to such contests, writes Hanna Flint. Beauty pageants have long been a contested part of our culture: some see them as a hangover from a far more […]