Features

They live among us: The hidden germs that make us & our pets ill

We like to think of our homes as islands cut off from the rest of the world. But the home-as-an-island worldview is not an accurate one. Actually, our homes are the ideal habitat for a whole range of creatures — as they tend to be abundant in food, warm, and…

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Are we beginning to re-open anyway?

The PM says he will soon announce the reopening plan after weeks of compulsory lockdown for the UKs public and its businesses. Boris Johnson is under pressure to come up with the blueprint for restarting the economy as the list of suffering firms grows larger and more and more redundancies…

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What is canine cabin fever & how can you spot it?

With the current lockdown restrictions in place, more of us have to spend prolonged periods with our pets indoors. You may be aware of the impact that this can have on your own mental health, but did you know that spending too much time inside can have a negative impact…

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Coronavirus treatment hopes push stock markets up, and ‘Spoons to reopen in June

Investors are chirpy this morning amid hopes of a new coronavirus treatment that has been described as promising by the USA’s top infectious disease official, Dr Anthony Fauci. The experimental drug, called remdesivir, is produced by an American biopharmaceutical firm called Gilead Sciences, and is reckoned by US regulators to…

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The aviation industry is now in very serious trouble

In a sign of just how distressed the aviation industry is, British Airways has announced plans to lay off 30% of its workforce, or about 12,000 employees, and says it expects it to take several years before passenger volumes return to 2019 levels. The chief executive, Alex Cruz, wrote to…

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Power of probiotics

A trip down the chilled aisle of any supermarket these days shows there’s something brewing, or should that be fermenting? Kefirs, kombuchas and kimchis have been appearing on shelves nationwide fuelled by a growing interest in digestive health. Recent research by Mintel shows us that this interest is not simply…

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Job support to be wound down, M&S dividend suspended, ventilator production slows, property market halts

Chancellor Rishi Sunack says he will wean the economy off his support schemes in a “gradual” wind-down, to help prevent soaring unemployment on ‘expiration day’. His announcement, made to MPs, came in response to concerns that a definite cut-off date would produce an explosion in redundancies and layoffs. Currently, the…

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Lockdown to persist says Johnson, clergy weigh in on behaviour of corona-corporations

The PM is back at his desk and says the lockdown must continue for the foreseeable future, and it would be premature to consider lifting now. After having been struck down with COVID-19 himself – and ending up in intensive care – the premier has finally convalesced and spoke from…

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Retail landlords reined in, France gets touch on tax havens, and insurers face biggest ever payouts

The government has banned landlords from using winding-up orders against their retail tenants, after aggressive rent collection tactics which threaten the future of retail businesses came to light. Tens of thousands of businesses in both retail and hospitality have found themselves unable to keep up with their rent during the…

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Scarves for face-masks will be part of the government’s post-pandemic advice

The government will advise the use of homemade facemasks once the pandemic measures are sufficiently relaxed for people to go back to work. As it tries to make sure that surgical-grade personal protective equipment (PPE) does not face supply issues for NHS workers, the government said scarves or ‘homemade cloth…

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