Supporters of renewable energies hope that new advances in solar technology will figuratively set the world on fire, but for hundreds of birds in Nevada last month, that scenario became a literal reality. Nearly 130 birds were set alight mid-flight during
It’s already been blamed for a beer shortage, shrinking goats and the death of the Loch Ness Monster; now global warming has a new charge against it: that of causing the civil war in Syria. A new study has drawn
Scotland’s biggest conservation charities have called for an overhaul of the planning system, citing fears that Scotland’s government is too biased towards wind energy. Alarmed by First Minister Nicola Sturgeon’s ambitions for even more wind farms in Scotland, they have
A Conservative minister has voiced concerns over plans to ban extremist speakers from university campuses, turning a row between the coalition partners into a Conservative party split. The difference of opinion has been ongoing for some time, but the issue was
Human Rights lawyers misled an inquiry into allegations that British soldiers had tortured and murdered Iraqi civilians by pursuing the claims long after they knew them to be untrue, a government dossier has alleged. A report on Public Interest Lawyers (PIL), drawn
Further allegations of sexual harassment have been brought against Rajendra Pauchari, former Chairman of the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Following allegations brought by a researcher at his Delhi think tank last week, a second woman has now stepped
A senior officer in the US Army is “very concerned” about the impact of budget cuts to the British Army. General Raymond Odierno, the Chief of Staff of the US army, has told a conference that Britain and America both
Nearly 65 percent of Britain’s laws are created in Brussels, a new report has determined. The vast majority, 59 percent, receive no scrutiny at all in Westminster, and are simply copied on to the statue books as handed down from
Ed Miliband’s insistence that Labour will cut university tuition fees from £9,000 to £6,000 a year may spark a civil war inside his party, insiders have claimed. The handout to students would be funded by a new raid on pension pots, prompting
Middle Eastern Christians who have suffered persecution at the hands of ISIS in recent months have decided not to turn the other cheek. Instead, they have formed a militia regiment and are currently engaged in fighting the Islamists across a
A Conservative member of Parliament is in talks with Ukip’s leader Nigel Farage about a possible defection, it has emerged, and may cross sides before the general election. A further defection before May could help Ukip sustain momentum in the run
Labour Members of Parliament want to introduce a “sin bin” for rowdy colleagues. Under their proposed system, Parliamentarians would be treated much like sportsmen: those handed a yellow card for poor conduct would be barred from a debate for an
Education Secretary Nicky Morgan has confirmed that Durham Free School will be forced to close after inspectors accused the children there of being bigots for not knowing what a Muslim is. Other children at the Christian faith school, the majority
Energy Secretary Ed Davey handed out more than £4 billion in lucrative subsidies to renewable energy companies yesterday, but industry lobbyists and green campaigners have insisted that the sum still isn’t enough. Meanwhile, Conservative Parliamentarians have reacted furiously to news that
Nigel Farage is on track to win a seat in the House of Commons in May. A new poll has revealed that he currently enjoys an 11 percent lead over the Labour Party, whilst the Tory incumbents will be pushed into third
The so-called human rights group Cage has sparked outrage by referring to hostage killer Jihadi John, now believed to be Kuwati-born Mohammed Emwazi, as an “extremely gentle, kind,” and “beautiful young man”. Today, questions are being asked about the group
A Saudi Arabian man has been sentenced to death for apostasy after filming himself ripping up a copy of the Koran and hitting it with his shoe. The timing is embarrassing, as the Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Nayef, the
One in nine British Muslims believe that publications like Charlie Hebdo which publish images of Mohammed deserve to be attacked, a poll has found. Nearly one in three Muslims polled also said that they had sympathy for the motives behind
Labour would give prisoners a say on how jails are run, it has emerged. They have justified the proposal on the ground that prison should be about rehabilitation, not just a form of punishment. The proposal was revealed in a
Britain is to send troops to Ukraine to help train their soldiers in the fight against Russian backed separatist forces. Non-lethal equipment will also be supplied to Ukraine as a show of friendship, Prime Minister David Cameron has confirmed. Mr
TV presenter Sir Bruce Forsyth has slammed current rules on inheritance tax with a typically British understatement, saying it’s “a bit over the top”. The veteran broadcaster has amassed a multi-million pound fortune during his 75-year career. Speaking to the
A shrine set up to commemorate the victims of the Charlie Hebdo attacks has been vandalised four times in the last two weeks. The satirical paper has refused to be cowed, however, and will publish its next edition tomorrow. Following
Swedish municipalities have started snow ploughing their streets “gender equally”. The practice was first adopted in Karlskoga in central Sweden, but has since caught on across the country, including in Stockholm. Under the old system, fresh snowfalls were cleared first
The “Green Blob” is condemning “billions to hunger, poverty and underdevelopment”, and is pursuing policies which would decimate the natural world and “devastate species and biodiversity”, former Environment Secretary Owen Paterson will claim today. Mr Paterson is due to speak
Rajendra K Pachauri has quit as chairman of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) following accusations of sexual harassment being levelled against him. The allegations were made by a 29-year-old researcher working at his think tank, The Energy and
Former Liberal Democrat Party President Tim Farron is facing questions after it emerged his local party branch received a donation from a company just weeks before it was awarded retrospective planning permission for a fishery by the local Liberal Democrat-run
Sweden’s Ornothologial Society has renamed a number of bird species amidst fears that their old names could be considered racist. Amongst others, four bird species with the word “neger” in their name will have it changed to “svart”, the Swedish
A Catholic MEP has slammed European Bishops for being part of an EU “fan club”. Steven Woolfe MEP reminded the Bishops of Aquinas’s teaching that patriotism is a virtue after a Bishops’ Commission released a report denouncing nationalist parties. The
Senior Labour figures are attempting to kill off a proposed amendment to the law which would ban abortions from being performed purely due to the gender of the unborn baby. Yvette Cooper, the shadow home secretary, has claimed that the
Britain must commit to spending at least 2 percent of it’s GDP on defence budget as stipulated in Nato agreements or risk looking weak on the international stage, a number of politicians and army chiefs have warned. They have called
The knives are out for Labour’s Shadow Chancellor Ed Balls, who has been left vulnerable after a row with his leader Ed Miliband over how to fund higher education. A shadow cabinet member has said that, if Labour win the
More than half of the Ukrainian casualties in the battle against Russian-backed separatists are killed by friendly fire and lack of training, a British army veteran who volunteered with the Ukrainian forces has revealed. The soldier, known only as “Saffron”, confirmed
A Church of England Bishop who has attacked the government’s record on helping the poor enjoys a salary and perks worth up to £250,000 a year, it has emerged. The Reverend Tim Stevens, Bishop of Leicester, was a key figure
Baroness Warsi, the first Muslim woman to sit in Cabinet, used her position to set up a government advisory panel stuffed with Islamist ‘entryists’, it has been claimed. The Cross-Government Working Group on Anti-Muslim Hatred, set up by Warsi and
A Muslim political party will be contesting seats at next month’s regional elections in France, standing on a platform which includes promises to expand the halal industry and allow girls to wear the burqa. Critics have called the Democratic Union
Students at Kings College London (KCL) have successfully campaigned for the removal of a window featuring former Archbishop of Canterbury Lord Carey, an alumnus of the college, on the grounds that his stance on gay marriage makes him “homophobic”. The move
Doubt has been cast over a recent Lord Ashcroft poll which shows Ukip trailing the Conservative Party in four of their key target seats. The poll has been reported as a “blow for Farage”, with coverage suggesting that Ukip will
A Labour Party agent has been jailed for a third time for paedophilia. Andrew Palmer, 52, was sentenced to twenty months in jail after twice breaching a sexual offences order and a community order, the Peterborough Telegraph has reported. Palmer has
Two convicted murderers serving life-terms are set to marry in the UK’s first gay marriage behind bars. Both were jailed after targeting and killing gay men. Mikhail Ivan Gallatinov, 40, was jailed in 1997 for the “cold blooded” murder of 28-year-old gay
Ed Miliband is no stranger to awkward moments, but so far the worst he’s been faced with is a bacon sandwich – until yesterday when a worker at the BAE factory in Lancashire told him “we’re all voting Ukip.” Miliband was
