Gloucestershire’s phlebotomists have brought their historic strike to a close after almost a year of action, leaving a legacy of determination – and a clear lesson about the power of solidarity in the face of anti-union laws and austerity, says FBU general secretary STEVE WRIGHT
Latest editorial
A circling vulture
Fearless PETER FROST watches as a giant bone-breaking beast flies overhead near his home. Is he frightened? No, not Frosty
The rare bearded vulture (Gypaetus Barbatus) — one of the world’s biggest vulture species — was spotted over Britain this July
With more people dying each year and many spending their final days in institutions, researchers argue that wider access to palliative care could offer a more humane and cost-effective alternative, write ROX MIDDLETON, LIAM SHAW and MIRIAM GAUNTLETT
While public outrage has focused on the abuse committed within Jeffrey Epstein’s orbit, key questions remain unresolved, says JOHN GREEN
In the second part of her critique of Wes Streeting’s TenYear Plan for Health, HELEN MERCER looks at the central planks of this privatisation blueprint
Tens of thousands of students left their classrooms and took to the streets against conscription and rising military spending. NICK WRIGHT reports from Berlin
A call from the World Peace Council to the peace movements of the world
IN July, like many others interested in birds, I smiled at and then ignored a number of tweets aimed at me and my local birders. The tweets suggested that a huge bird with a 2.5m (8ft 6in) wingspan had been seen near my home on the Warwickshire-Northamptonshire borders. Sadly hoaxes, or genuine misidentifications, such as these are all too commonplace.
As the day went on more sightings seemed to suggest that the giant bird did exist and was actually a rare bearded vulture (Gypaetus Barbatus) — one of the world’s biggest vulture species.
The bearded vulture is actually an unmistakable bird, not just because of its size. It has with black Elvis-style sideburns, red rings around the eyes and a long wedge-shaped tail. Facial markings and wings are black, the rest of the head, neck and body are a rich rusty orange.
Similar stories
JULIA THOMAS unpicks the mental processes that explain why book-to-film adaptations so often disappoint
One of the major criticisms of China’s breakneck development in recent decades has been the impact on nature — returning after 15 years away, BEN CHACKO assessed whether the government’s recent turn to environmentalism has yielded results
200 years since the first dinosaur was described and 25 after its record-breaking predecessor, the BBC has brought back Walking with Dinosaurs. BEN CHACKO assesses what works and what doesn’t
ALEX DITTRICH hitches a ride on a jaw-dropping tour of the parasite world