Florida residents urged to kill iguanas ‘whenever possible’

Non-native iguanas are multiplying so rapidly in south Florida that a state wildlife agency is now encouraging people to kill them. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission said people should exterminate the lizards on their properties as well as on 22 areas of public land. It did not say how civilians should try to kill them. “Homeowners do not […]

Australian gulls found to carry antibiotic-resistant superbugs

Australian gulls are carrying superbugs resistant to antibiotics, raising fears that disease-causing bacteria may spread from the birds to humans, livestock and pets. A team of scientists led by researchers at Perth’s Murdoch University found more than 20% of silver gulls nationwide were carrying pathogenic bacteria, such as E coli, that are resistant to drugs. E coli can cause urinary […]

China makes u-turn on legalising the sale of rhino and tiger parts

Plans to ease a ban on the trading in tiger and rhinoceros parts have been postponed by the Chinese government. While the trade of the endangered animals was banned by the country in 1993, in October the government announced it would allow the parts to be used for medical, scientific and cultural purposes. The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) said the […]

Endangered rhino numbers ‘soar by 1,000%’ in Tanzania after crackdown on poaching gangs

The number of endangered rhinos in Tanzania has risen by 1,000 per cent after a government crackdown on organised gangs guilty of industrial-scale poaching, officials claim. And elephant populations have risen by nearly half in five years, thanks to a blitz on illegal ivory hunters, the president’s office said. Four years ago the country, which has been described as “ground […]

More than 300 English primary

More than 300 primary schools across England have been forced to become academies in the last three years against a backdrop of mounting opposition from parents, a Guardian investigation has revealed. Analysis of government data has shown that 314 schools were forcibly removed from local authority control after being rated inadequate by Ofsted. The Department for Education (DfE) has paid […]

Government calls on OfS to clamp

The proportion of university students awarded first-class honours has rocketed by 80% in the last seven years, prompting renewed calls from government for an immediate clampdown on grade inflation. New figures released by the universities regulator, the Office for Students (OfS), show that 16% of students who graduated from an English university in 2010–11 attained the highest possible degree classification, […]

Mesut Ozil: Fenerbahce play down move for Arsenal midfielder

Former Germany international Ozil, who has Turkish origins, has been linked with the Super Lig club this summer. The 30-year-old is the Gunners’ highest-paid player, having signed a £350,000-a-week contract in 2018. “Under the current economic conditions, such a step is not possible for both parties,” said a Fenerbahce statement. Ozil was signed by Arsenal from Real Madrid for £42m […]

Arsenal captain Laurent Koscielny refuses to join pre-season tour

Arsenal captain Laurent Koscielny has refused to travel with the squad for their pre-season tour to the United States, the Premier League club said on Thursday. Advertising The 33-year-old French centre-back has one more year on his contract and British media reported that Ligue 1 clubs Girondins Bordeaux and Olympique Lyonnais were interested in signing him. “Laurent Koscielny has refused […]