Coroners’ advice on maternal deaths in England and Wales routinely ignored, study finds 19. November 2025 (01:01) Nearly two-thirds of ‘prevention of future deaths’ reports by coroners are not acted upon, say researchers at King’s College LondonThe advice given by coroners in England and Wales to help prevent maternal deaths is not being acted upon, research suggests.Academics at King’s College London looked at prevention of future deaths (PFD) reports issued by coroners in cases of pregnant women and new mothers who died between 2013 and 2023. They found these reports were not being “systematically used nationally”. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Lack of planning has hit Labour’s efforts to fix public services, says thinktank 19. November 2025 (01:01) Keir Starmer accused of failing to adequately strategise while in opposition, leading to uncoordinated policymaking Keir Starmer is failing to make major improvements to public services partly because he did not plan properly while in opposition, according to a report from the Institute for Government (IfG).The prime minister went into government without a clear idea about how to achieve his targets, the IfG found, resulting in haphazard attempts to reform various sectors, from the health service to the courts. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Neanderthals and early humans ‘likely to have kissed’, say scientists 19. November 2025 (01:01) Study from University of Oxford looks into evolutionary origins of kissing and its role in relations between speciesFrom Galápagos albatrosses to polar bears, chimpanzees to orangutans, certain species appear to kiss. Now researchers suggest Neanderthals did it too – and might even have locked lips with modern humans.It is not the first time scientists have suggested Neanderthals and early modern humans were intimately acquainted. Among previous studies, researchers have found humans and their thick-browed cousins shared the same mouth microbe for hundreds of thousands of years after the two species split, suggesting they swapped saliva. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
Many of US education agency’s powers reassigned to other federal departments 19. November 2025 (00:54) Move marks further dismantling of the department and Democrats criticized administration for ‘slashing resources’Donald Trump’s administration has taken new steps toward dismantling the US Department of Education by reassigning many of its responsibilities to other federal agencies.The move prompted a fresh wave of criticism, as prominent Democrats accused the administration of “slashing resources” for schools and students across the US. Continue reading...(The Guardian)
