Author: Tara Whitman

King Charles and Queen Camilla departed Buckingham Palace this morning, travelling along The Mall in an Ascot Landau carriage purchased during the reign of Queen Victoria, as the annual Trooping the Colour celebrations marking the King’s official birthday got underway. The King is wearing the uniform of the Grenadier Guards, the regiment trooping the colour today. His uniform features the cypher of Queen Elizabeth II, reflecting his former role as personal aide-de-camp to his mother — an honorary position held only by members of the Royal Family with military rank. He is also wearing a number of medals, ranging from…

Painted lady butterflies have begun arriving in unusually large numbers and earlier than usual this year, raising hopes among naturalists for one of the spectacular “painted lady summers” that occur only occasionally when conditions align for a mass migration from North Africa. The first sighting in Weardale came in mid-May, after tantalising reports of early arrivals in Wales and Cumbria had circulated on social media from mid-April onwards. Since then, the orange, black-tipped, white-spotted butterflies have appeared in striking numbers, basking on footpaths baked hard by recent heatwave conditions and nectaring on dandelions in groups rather than as isolated individuals…

Health experts have issued a fresh warning over the risks posed by trendy “raw” unpasteurised cheeses, after a man died from listeria poisoning linked to an artisan cheese box and his widow launched a six-figure lawsuit against the producer. West Sussex painter Roger Parkes fell seriously ill and died in February 2023, days after eating cheeses from a “Valentine box” purchased by his wife Carina. An inquest concluded he died from multiple organ failure and meningitis linked to a listeria infection. Following his death, Wiltshire-based producer The Old Cheese Room recalled batches of its Baronet Reblochon. Carina Parkes is now…

Taylor Swift became the youngest woman ever inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame on Thursday night, delivering a 21-minute acceptance speech in New York City that left her in tears as she paid tribute to the sacrifices her parents made for her career. The 36-year-old Grammy winner was supported at the star-studded ceremony by fiancé Travis Kelce. She was introduced by director Steven Spielberg and received a tribute performance from Sombr before taking the stage to reflect on her journey through the music industry, according to Variety. The most emotional moment of the speech came as Swift addressed her…

Doctors are urging parents to lock away medication cabinets after three children in Connecticut died following exposure to diphenhydramine, the active ingredient in Benadryl, amid concerns the dangerous “Benadryl Challenge” social media trend may be resurfacing. The challenge, which first gained widespread attention several years ago, encourages participants to take doses of the over-the-counter allergy medication far beyond the recommended amount in an attempt to induce hallucinations or a high. Medical experts warn the consequences can be severe and potentially fatal. “You can get a lot of things, seizures, and cardiovascular effects; those sorts of things can cause death in…

Thailand’s Princess Bajrakitiyabha, the eldest child of King Maha Vajiralongkorn and once widely seen as a potential heir to the throne, has died at the age of 47 after spending nearly four years in a coma, the Royal Palace announced on Thursday. The Thai Royal Household said the princess, affectionately known to many Thais as “Princess Bha,” died peacefully at Chulalongkorn Hospital at 19:48 local time on Thursday 11 June, according to The Royal News Organisation. The palace said her death came after years on life support, with a recent “severe” and “uncontrolled” infection spreading through her body and worsening…

The travel chaos triggered by Europe’s new biometric border checking system could persist for up to two years, a senior EU official has admitted — as new research suggests the disruption is already on course to divert nearly £2 billion in British tourist spending away from European destinations this summer alone. Uku Sarekanno, deputy executive director of Frontex, the EU’s border security agency, told the Daily Mail he expects the disruption from the Entry/Exit System to “stabilise in one to two years,” adding that many countries are “still adjusting to the new reality.” He acknowledged that some nations were actively…

Thousands of NHS pathology workers are being routinely exposed to a cancer-causing chemical that experts have likened to the next asbestos — with new research revealing that seven in ten NHS lab sites regularly exceed safe exposure limits set by the European Union, while Britain maintains the world’s highest permitted workplace exposure threshold for the substance. The chemical is formaldehyde, widely used in hospitals as a disinfectant and to preserve tissue samples in pathology laboratories. A study published in the journal Occupational and Environmental Medicine, based on Freedom of Information requests sent to 122 NHS Trusts by researchers from the…

A flesh-eating parasite that was eradicated from the United States more than four decades ago has been confirmed on American soil for the first time since 1966 — triggering a quarantine zone in Texas and raising alarm across the country’s multi-billion dollar livestock industry. The New World Screwworm, a parasitic fly whose larvae burrow into living tissue and consume their host from the inside, has been detected in a three-week-old calf in LaPryor, Texas, approximately 50 miles from the Mexican border. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins confirmed the case and said a 12-mile quarantine zone had been established, prohibiting the movement…

NASA has awarded nearly $440 million in contracts to two companies to build crewed electric rovers for the Moon — the centrepiece of a sweeping nearly $1 billion investment in lunar infrastructure designed to establish a permanent American presence on the Moon’s south pole by the end of the decade. Astrolab has been awarded $219 million for its Crewed Lunar Vehicle, known as the CLV-1, while Lunar Outpost has received $220 million for its Pegasus rover — a lighter, mission-ready vehicle evolved from its earlier Eagle design. Both rovers are crewed electric vehicles capable of carrying two astronauts across the…