Farming labour shortage could mean price rises, MPs warn
Reuters Chronic labour shortages in the food and farming sector could lead to price rises and the UK becoming more dependent on food imports, MPs warn. The report by the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee said Covid and Brexit had a huge impact on the sector. MPs want ministers to ease English language rules […]
The new surgical tool inspired by a wasp
Scientists in the Netherlands have mimicked the way parasitoid wasps lay eggs to design a new tool for keyhole surgery. Currently tools used in these procedures are prone to clogging because they use suction. The new device avoids this by using friction. The team, at Delft University of Technology, have a working prototype and hope […]
Children’s long Covid study and Scotland’s vaccine passports
Here are five things you need to know about the coronavirus pandemic this Wednesday evening. We’ll have another update for you on Thursday morning with all the latest. 1. Children’s long Covid risk not as bad as feared The risk of long Covid in children is much lower than many had feared, say leading child-health […]
World Cup 2026: Could climate crisis impact the men’s tournament?
The Qatar World Cup was moved seven years in advance to allow plenty of time for the global football calendar to adjust and was always considered a one-off by Fifa. A winter World Cup in 2026 would pose opposite challenges with several host cities such as Vancouver, Toronto and Seattle experiencing sub-zero temperatures. Speaking to […]
John Lewis joins M&S and Tesco in cutting price of period pants
Getty Images VAT is levied at 20% on period pants under current rules John Lewis and Waitrose are joining Tesco and Marks & Spencer in cutting the price of their period pants. The retailer says it will reduce the price of 30 types of period underwear by 20% in its stores from next week. The […]
Driverless lorries and police censured over abuser
Hello. Here’s your morning briefing: AFP Platooning experiments have been carried out elsewhere in Europe A contract has been awarded to the Transport Research Laboratory (TRL) to carry out the tests of vehicle “platoons” – in which up to three lorries will travel in formation, with acceleration and braking controlled by the lead vehicle. But […]
Meet the fish leather pioneers
Atlantic Leather Atlantic Leather produces fish leathers from four different species Steinunn Gunnsteinsdóttir admits that it took her family more than a few attempts to be able to make leather from fish skins. “The first 200 times we just made smelly fish soups,” she says. Ms Gunnsteinsdóttir is the sales manager of Icelandic company Atlantic […]
Legendary tabla player dies at 73
Zakir Hussain, one of the world’s greatest tabla players, has died at the age of 73. The Indian classical music icon died of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, a lung disease, at a hospital in San Francisco, his family said in a statement. Hussain was a four-time Grammy award winner and has received the Padma Vibhushan, India’s […]
Coronavirus: Track and trace system in place from June
Johnson: “Test, track and trace system in place in the UK by June 1” The PM says England will have a “world-beating” tracing system from June, as he was accused of leaving a “huge hole” in the country’s coronavirus defences. Boris Johnson said 25,000 contact tracers, able to track 10,000 new cases a day, would […]
The human cost of China’s economic reforms
AFP Luo Yanli is worried about the bad smell from the electric car factory over the road and what the fumes might be doing to her baby and toddler. Mr Yu is worried that millions of workers the Chinese government plans to lay off from failing state owned companies will be “abandoned” like he says […]