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BBC News
4 days ago
- BBC News
'I don't want my missing son to be a Birmingham cold case'
A mother has said she fears the disappearance of her son will "become a cold case". Ali Durrani, from Stirchley in Birmingham, has not been seen by his family for 120 days. He went missing one evening in February, and was last seen talking to a woman at a bus stop. Relatives believe it is extremely out of character for the 32-year-old, who vanished "completely out of the blue" after telling his family he was going for a Midlands Police said the search for Mr Durrani remained active and they were continuing to pursue active lines of enquiry. "Our life has been turned completely upside down," his mother Mahjabeen said. "We are completely devastated and can't function properly." Ms Durrani added her son, who studied economics at the University of York, had told her he was going out for a walk to clear his head. The family were close and would often eat their evening meal together. But Mr Durrani did not return and was last seen talking to a woman at a bus stop in Turves Green, Northfield, at about 17:25 GMT on 6 February. "There's nothing to say he wasn't going to come back," Ms Durrani continued. "There is no note, nothing at all." Mr Durrani had anxiety and relatives said he had been trying to find a job, but he had no history of significant mental health issues. The family have launched a social media campaign asking for information, but his mother said it felt like they were going "round in circles". She said she was worried about how long it was taking police to obtain CCTV, and worried her son would be forgotten about. "I don't want this to become a cold case," she said. "We will carry on looking for our son that's the most important thing to us. "I believe he's out there somewhere I absolutely believe that." The missing man, who enjoyed walking and the outdoors, is described as medium build, with black hair and a black beard. He was last seen wearing a green raincoat with black jeans and lace up brown shoes. Neither his bank or social media accounts have been used and his passport was left at home. West Midlands Police said it understood the concerns of Mr Durrani's family and was still investigating. "We will be speaking with them to understand their concerns and will seek to reassure them of the extent of our enquiries," a statement said. The Missing people charity said the reasons why people go missing were complex and varied. Follow BBC Birmingham on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.
The Guardian
29-05-2025
- Health
- The Guardian
Pesticides, antibiotics, animal medicines: the chemical cocktail seeping into our rivers
Rivers carry more than just water through Britain's landscapes. A hidden cocktail of chemicals seeps out of farmland, passes undetected through sewage treatment works, and drains off the roads into the country's rivers. Normally these chemicals flow through unreported, silently restructuring ecosystems as they go, but now, UK scientists are building a map of what lies within – and the damage it may be causing. Trailing down the centre of Britain is one river whose chemical makeup scientists know better than any other. The Foss threads its way through North Yorkshire's forestry plantations, patchworked arable land and small hamlets, before descending into the city of York, passing roads and car parks, gardens replacing farmland. Along the course of its 20-mile (32km) length, the chemical fingerprints of modern life accumulate. 'The Foss is the river that we understand the most,' says Prof Alistair Boxall from the University of York, who has been leading the research across Yorkshire's rivers. He leads the Ecomix research project which studies 10 rivers across the region, developing ways to examine these chemicals in greater depth than ever before. 'This is the chemical pulse of Yorkshire water,' he says, and the findings from the water here are likely to be replicated across the country. 'People are surprised. They typically think of plastics and sewage. People don't make the connection between the chemicals we use and the environment.' The story these rivers are telling is worrying, says Boxall. Among the thousands of chemicals detected was the tyre additive 6PPD-quinone, which has been linked with mass salmon die-offs in the US. In urban sites across Sheffield, Leeds and Wakefield it was found in about three-quarters of samples. Fungicides and herbicides were among the most detected chemicals. About 500 pesticides – which includes insecticides, fungicides and herbicides – are approved for use in Europe, and 600 are greenlit for veterinary use on livestock and pets. Research has shown antihistamine levels in the water rise when hay fever is bad – one of many pharmaceuticals that end up in rivers after being flushed down the toilet. Monitoring the Foss started in Stillington Mill, in the back garden of a former headteacher. He is one of the volunteers who made this research possible – either by taking samples or allowing monitoring to be done on their land. This spot is about 10 miles from the source of the Foss. Fields of wheat and oilseed rape back on to the water from the other side of the river. Three thousand chemicals were detected here (of which 40% are likely to occur naturally). In the targeted analysis scientists identified 40 chemicals including livestock medicines, pharmaceuticals, UV filters, fungicides and herbicides. In total they were looking for 52 chemicals (excluding metals) and found 44 across the three sampling sites on the Foss. They chose to focus on these chemicals because they are known for toxicity and potential harm to aquatic organisms. By the time it reaches York city centre – about another 10 miles away – an additional 1,000 chemicals have been added to the river, including household chemicals such as antibiotics and cosmetics as the river passes from agricultural areas into villages and towns. On the outskirts of York at New Earswick, Boxall documented the second highest level of paracetamol in the water ever measured in Europe, after a sewage system failure. It was 1,000 times the normal level. In Boxall's lab, a set of creatures he calls 'little beasties' live in fish tanks – a tiny menagerie including duck mussels, swan mussels, ramshorn snails, bloodworms and leeches collected in the ponds around campus. These are species commonly found in UK rivers. Twelve cultures of cyanobacteria – blue-green algae – are siphoned around, each a slightly different shade of green. 'Algae are the base of the food chain,' he says. Here, the invertebrates and algae are exposed to different chemicals and scientists are monitoring the effects. This is the other focus of the Ecomix research: working to understand the effects chemicals are having on the ecology of British rivers. One in 10 freshwater and wetland species in England is threatened with extinction. Boxall believes chemical pollution could be as bad for river ecosystems as sewage spills, which regularly make headlines. Researchers have found that chemical pollution makes a 'significant' contribution to the decline of fish and other aquatic organisms, one that is often missed by regulators. More than 350,000 chemicals are registered for production and use, with about 2,000 new ones added each year. They are probably having a range of unknown negative effects on the ecology of our rivers – changing organisms' behaviour and physiology. Chemicals have been shown to have a diverse impact on fish, including their reproduction, social interactions and feeding behaviour. Studies suggest ibuprofen can affect fish hatching, the anti-inflammatory diclofenac affects fish livers, and antidepressants have been linked to a range of behavioural changes. Salmon exposed to anti-anxiety medication have been shown to take more risks, and some flea treatments like imidacloprid are toxic to invertebrates such as mayflies and dragonflies. 'You've effectively got a situation where some chemicals are hitting the base of the food web, others are hitting the invertebrates, and you've got other chemicals hitting the fish,' says Boxall. The Ecomix study is far more comprehensive than chemical modelling by the Environment Agency, which focuses mainly on 'grab samples', or monthly monitoring at best. Boxall's study looked at 19 sites across 10 rivers over a year of continuous monitoring, during which 20,000 samples were collected. 'The Environment Agency doesn't have the resources to tackle this issue well enough,' said Rob Collins from the Rivers Trust, who was not involved in the research. He added that controlling these chemicals at source was key: 'It is a societal challenge to tackle this problem – we are all involved. We also need to see much stronger government regulation with more hazardous chemicals. 'Once these chemicals get into the environment it's very hard to do anything about them. For example, Pfas – known as 'forever chemicals' – can persist in the environment for more than 1,000 years.' Richard Hunt was one of a dozen citizen scientists who has made this research possible. The results were 'sobering', said Hunt, who took a weekly sample in the centre of York. His was among the sites with the highest level of chemicals – as expected in an urban area. UV filters, fire retardants, de-wormers, DEET and cocaine were among the things swirling around in the water. 'I was gobsmacked by the number of chemicals,' says Hunt. 'If people were instructed on how they could help, they would.' The holy grail for addressing chemical pollution is a constant monitoring system, reporting in real time, says Boxall. Having live updates would alert authorities to possible pollution issues so they could respond faster, although Environment Agency staff have been told to ignore low-impact pollution events because the body does not have the resources to investigate. 'Chemicals are important for society,' says Boxall. 'We benefit from them, but we need to reduce their environmental harm.' Hunt points out that the wealth of his city came from its two rivers – the Ouse and its tributary, the Foss. Understanding what chemicals are flowing through them and working out what we can do to clean it up would be to repay adebt of gratitude. 'York wouldn't be nearly as healthy and successful if not for the rivers. We need to have more respect for them.' Find more age of extinction coverage here, and follow the biodiversity reporters Phoebe Weston and Patrick Greenfield in the Guardian app for more nature coverage
Daily Mail
24-04-2025
- Health
- Daily Mail
Roman gladiator was killed in epic battle with lion 2,000 years ago, experts determine from his skeleton
Bite marks found on a skeleton in a Roman cemetery in England have provided the first archaeological evidence of an epic battle between a gladiator and a lion. The fighter in question was a male, aged between 26 and 35, with a strong build and several healed injuries. The most notable observation from the find in York, England, was what appeared to be a bite wound found on his hip bone. Malin Holst, lecturer in Osteoarcheology at the University Of York, said: 'The bite marks were likely made by a lion, which confirms that the skeletons buried at the cemetery were gladiators, rather than soldiers or slaves, as initially thought. 'They represent the first osteological confirmation of human interaction with large carnivores in a combat or entertainment setting in the Roman world.' Sadly, it appears the wound never healed - and is likely to have been the cause of his death, experts said. The skeleton was excavated from one of the best-preserved gladiator graveyards in the world, Driffield Terrace, in 2010. There, researchers have been examining the remains of 82 well-built young men. At the time, they could tell from tooth enamel the wide variety of Roman provinces from around the world that the skeletons hailed from. The gladiator in question was buried in a grave with two others and overlaid with horse bones. In life, he appears to have had some issues with his spine that may have been caused by overloading to his back, inflammation of his lung and thigh, as well as malnutrition as a child. To understand exactly what animal had caused the deadly bite, the experts compared it to samples from a zoo. There, they confirmed at match with a lion. While the bite proved deadly, it is believed that the individual was decapitated after death, which appears to have been a ritual for some during the Roman period. Analysis of the skeleton points towards this being a Bestarius, a gladiator role undertaken by volunteers or slaves. Professor Tim Thompson, from Maynooth University in Ireland, said: 'For years, our understanding of Roman gladiatorial combat and animal spectacles has relied heavily on historical texts and artistic depictions. 'This discovery provides the first direct, physical evidence that such events took place in this period, reshaping our perception of Roman entertainment culture in the region.' The team said that people often have a mental image of these combats taking place within the grand surroundings of the Colosseum in Rome, but findings show these sporting events had a far reach well beyond the center of core Roman territories. Holst added: 'An amphitheater probably existed in Roman York, but this has not yet been discovered.' York appears to have held gladiator arena events until as late as the fourth century AD, perhaps due to the fact there were many senior generals and politicians that held posts in the city. This included Constantine, who appointed himself emperor there in 306 AD. The presence of distinguished Roman leaders in York would have meant they required a lavish social life, so it is not a surprise to see evidence of gladiator events, as well as such an extensive burial site for them, the researchers said. However, it is interesting to confirm the presence of animals as large as a lion at these sites, and not just wild boar and deer, they added. Owners of gladiators would not have wanted them to die as they were expensive 'sports people' - not too dissimilar to sports stars of the modern era. As such they wanted them to win and to be able to fight again. David Jennings, CEO of York Archaeology, said: 'This latest research gives us a remarkable insight into the life – and death – of this particular individual, and adds to both previous and ongoing genome research into the origins of some of the men buried in this particular Roman cemetery. 'We may never know what brought this man to the arena where we believe he may have been fighting for the entertainment of others, but it is remarkable that the first osteo-archaeological evidence for this kind of gladiatorial combat has been found so far from the Colosseum of Rome, which would have been the classical world's Wembley Stadium of combat.' The findings were published in the journal Plos One. 55BC - Julius Caesar crossed the channel with around 10,000 soldiers. They landed at a Pegwell Bay on the Isle of Thanet and were met by a force of Britons. Caesar was forced to withdraw. 54BC - Caesar crossed the channel again in his second attempt to conquer Britain. He came with with 27,000 infantry and cavalry and landed at Deal but were unopposed. They marched inland and after hard battles they defeated the Britons and key tribal leaders surrendered. However, later that year, Caesar was forced to return to Gaul to deal with problems there and the Romans left. 54BC - 43BC - Although there were no Romans present in Britain during these years, their influence increased due to trade links. 43AD - A Roman force of 40,000 led by Aulus Plautius landed in Kent and took the south east. The emperor Claudius appointed Plautius as Governor of Britain and returned to Rome. 47AD - Londinium (London) was founded and Britain was declared part of the Roman empire. Networks of roads were built across the country. 50AD - Romans arrived in the southwest and made their mark in the form of a wooden fort on a hill near the river Exe. A town was created at the site of the fort decades later and names Isca. When Romans let and Saxons ruled, all ex-Roman towns were called a 'ceaster'. this was called 'Exe ceaster' and a merger of this eventually gave rise to Exeter. 75 - 77AD - Romans defeated the last resistant tribes, making all Britain Roman. Many Britons started adopting Roman customs and law. 122AD - Emperor Hadrian ordered that a wall be built between England and Scotland to keep Scottish tribes out. 312AD - Emperor Constantine made Christianity legal throughout the Roman empire. 228AD - The Romans were being attacked by barbarian tribes and soldiers stationed in the country started to be recalled to Rome.
