British Isles
Designer babies in two years?
21 Nov 2019
New research by bioethicist Dr Kevin Smith claims that the risks of gene editing are now low enough to warrant its use with human embryos, arguing that ‘creating designer babies is ethically justifiable and highly desirable’.…
Homelessness: the Vagrancy Act
21 Nov 2019
Homelessness is not a crime. The 1824 Vagrancy Act, which makes rough sleeping and begging illegal in England, is needlessly pushing vulnerable people further from help, according to a report from Crisis. The Government is reviewing…
Homelessness at Christmas
21 Nov 2019
A note left in a postbox at the L6 Community Centre was written by a seven-year-old to Santa. She wrote, ‘Dear Father Christmas, can you help? Can we have a home for Christmas? Mam wants us…
Prince Andrew and Jeffrey Epstein
21 Nov 2019
Lawyers representing victims of the convicted child sex offender Jeffrey Epstein have signalled they are willing to serve a subpoena on Prince Andrew to ensure he cooperates with their investigations. Meanwhile, he announced he was standing…
South Yorkshire floods
14 Nov 2019
On 11 November hundreds were evacuated from Fishlake, when their homes were flooded for the first time in a hundred years. Heavy rain has continued to fall in Yorkshire and the Midlands, flooding more areas. Two…
Hundreds of churches at risk from harsh weather
14 Nov 2019
Harsh weather linked to climate change will leave hundreds of English churches at risk of destruction or closure this winter, author and activist Bill Bryson has warned. There are 900 churches registered on Historic England's ‘at…