More than 100,000 species are traded globally, whether illegally smuggled, sold as ornaments or in fisheries, timber and fashion industries, study finds
The number of plant and animal species in use or sold in the wildlife trade is more than twice as high as previously thought, researchers have discovered.
A study, published in Science Advances, warns that there are huge gaps in global assessments of how wildlife is traded, and that past estimates have failed to keep up with changes such as the boom in the online exotic pet trade, where sellers offering to post spider eggs across the world or sneak reptiles on to planes are just a click away.
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© Photograph: AFP/Getty Images
© Photograph: AFP/Getty Images
© Photograph: AFP/Getty Images
Richard Dawkins’ first work has thrilled fans and frustrated critics for five decades. The science has moved on, but any writer looking to supplant its place must learn its lessons
Richard Dawkins’ The Selfish Gene was not predicted to be a success. Its initial print run, published this week in 1976, was just 5,000. It went on to sell millions, and is perhaps the most influential work of pop-science ever. For 50 years, it has been the go-to resource for the layperson seeking to understand evolution.
What accounts for its enduring power? Prof Dawkins’ central claim, that “we are survival machines – robot vehicles blindly programmed to preserve the selfish molecules known as genes” was provocative, stripping the messy stuff of human and other life down to a simple law. And yet the book is primarily concerned with proving that complex, selfless behaviour such as altruism in animals can emerge from these basic “selfish” drives, satisfyingly resolving an apparent paradox. Prof Dawkins – a zoologist by training – also succeeded in conjuring entertaining, vividly drawn vignettes of the lives of animals, from lions and ants to hawks and honeybees, to make his points.
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© Photograph: Roger Askew/REX/Shutterstock
© Photograph: Roger Askew/REX/Shutterstock
© Photograph: Roger Askew/REX/Shutterstock
Updates from Keeneland. First race 6.55pm GMT (2.55pm ET)
Full race card | Thoughts? Get in touch with Greg via email
Hello racing fans wherever in the world you happen to be, and welcome to the Guardian’s liveblog coverage of the 2026 Breeders’ Cup meeting at Keeneland in Kentucky.
As is now traditional at the self-styled “World Championships” of Flat racing, Friday is for the juveniles, with a total of $7m (£5.2m) up for grabs, while tomorrow’s nine-race card, worth $27m (£20.3m) will include the Turf and the Classic, featuring many of the best middle-distance runners in the game.
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© Photograph: Tanner Pearson/Getty Images
© Photograph: Tanner Pearson/Getty Images
© Photograph: Tanner Pearson/Getty Images
John Swinney and Rhun ap Iorwerth say devolving power further is up to Holyrood and Senedd – not Westminster
Scotland and Wales’s first ministers have told Andy Burnham that decisions on local devolution rest solely with their parliaments, in response to the prime minister’s push to extend English-style regional powers across the UK.
After talks in Glasgow with John Swinney and Rhun ap Iorwerth about localised employment and reindustrialisation powers, Downing Street characterised the talks as constructive.
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© Photograph: Jon Rowley/EPA/Shutterstock
© Photograph: Jon Rowley/EPA/Shutterstock
© Photograph: Jon Rowley/EPA/Shutterstock
© Tyrone Siu/Reuters
Across the country, there are reports of heightened ICE activity. Advocates worry about how close it is to midterms, but so far voter turnout is surging.
(Image credit: Charly Triballeau)
Cryptocurrency theft is estimated to generate half of the country’s foreign currency income
North Korea plays by its own rules. The isolated, secretive and autocratic country is largely cut off from the world’s economic system – but when it comes to generating foreign earnings it relies on some of the world’s most sophisticated hacking.
Experts, such as TRM Labs, quickly attributed the extraordinary $6.3bn (£4.7bn) Binance cryptocurrency theft to TraderTraitor, an elite North Korean hacking unit that has also been known as the Lazarus Group. Though the link may not be proven yet, the pattern of behaviour is familiar.
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© Photograph: AP
© Photograph: AP
© Photograph: AP
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