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Flamingos form friendships based on their personalities, according to a new study. Researchers from the University of Exeter and the Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust, who looked specifically at Caribbean and Chilean flamingos, found that bolder and stronger flamingos tended to spend more time together, while quieter ones also formed cliques. One researcher said that flamingos act "like humans" as they make friends "based on their personality". Birds of a feather clearly do flock together.

🏥 Gas and air suspension

A number of NHS hospitals have stopped offering gas and air pain relief for women in labour amid concerns for midwives’ safety.

Why have they stopped offering it?
Several hospitals have suspended the use of gas and air - also known as nitrous oxide or laughing gas - due to fears that staff have been exposed to unsafe levels from working in unventilated delivery suites and wards. While gas and air is harmless to women and babies in small doses, long-term exposure can affect vitamin B12 levels, leading to potential nerve damage and anaemia.

Air monitoring tests at Basildon University Hospital found that staff were exposed to almost 30 times the legal workplace limit, and midwives there were reported to be considering legal action.

How has this affected women?
Three quarters of women use gas and air during labour, according to a 2022 NHS survey, and the decision has meant that many have been unable to access this popular form of pain relief.

While other pain relief options are available, such as pethidine or an epidural, these are not always suitable - or readily available. One woman told the BBC that she ended up with just paracetamol during her labour, despite being promised “all the pain relief”. She is one of many new mothers who have spoken to the press about difficult childbirth experiences as a result of being denied gas and air.

What action is being taken to address this?
The Royal College of Midwives believes that staff have been exposed to unsafe levels of gas and air - or Entonox - and is calling for “proper investment in maternity services, including the bricks and mortar”.

NHS England issued new guidance last week saying that gas and air should only be suspended as “a last resort”. At the same time, hospitals have been urged to improve their communication with expectant mothers, so they are aware of all the pain relief options available to them before they go into labour.

🚂 Train pain

Campaigners have called on rail operators to reduce the cost of peak fares in England and Wales, amid rising ticket prices and record levels of poor service.

What is being demanded?
The Campaign for Better Transport is urging operators to make peak fares - which generally apply on weekdays before 9:30am - more equitable across the UK. Their research has found that the price difference between a peak and off-peak ticket varies widely, with commuters paying a premium of anywhere between 5% and 130% depending on the route.

The campaign is also pushing for a 20% discount on peak fares on Monday and Fridays to encourage more rail travel, as the post-pandemic shift in working patterns means that fewer people now commute into the office at the beginning and end of the week.

What has prompted this?
The demands were sparked by the news that regulated fares in England and Wales jumped by 5.9% this weekend - the biggest hike since 2012. Around 45% of fares are regulated, including season tickets on most commuter routes.

While peak fares are not necessarily affected by the rise, it’s expected to cost the average London commuter £281 extra a year, or around £100 for workers outside of the capital. And with recent statistics showing that the equivalent of one in 25 train services were cancelled in the year to 4 February, calls for an overhaul of the entire UK rail system have intensified.

What has the government said?
The government says that it has sought to minimise the impact of fare hikes on passengers, setting the annual fare increase at around half the rate of inflation for July 2022 (the usual benchmark for the yearly rise).

And last month, ScotRail - which was nationalised by the Scottish government in 2022 - announced that all peak fares on its Scottish routes would be suspended for six months. The Scottish Parliament has reserved £15 million for the scheme to encourage the return of rail passengers.

Wondering how to save money on your own train tickets? Check out the BBC’s five key tips.

📺 Ticket time: Eurovision fans are “preparing to battle for a seat in Liverpool”, said Sky News, with tickets for this year’s song contest set to go on sale at midday today.

📝 The Lockdown Files: Former Health Secretary Matt Hancock’s leaked WhatsApps have revealed that he discussed withholding funding for a learning disability centre to pressure a Conservative MP into supporting a new set of Covid restrictions.

🌊 Sunak’s refugee plan: Anyone arriving in the UK illegally from today will be at risk of deportation under controversial new government legislation designed to crack down on small boat Channel crossings.

🏥 Vitiligo treatment: A controversial new treatment that can restore pigment to the skin of vitiligo sufferers may soon be offered on the NHS - but some say the condition should be celebrated, not masked.

🚀 Out of this world: NASA has appointed its first female Head of Science. Dr Nicola Fox, who grew up in Hertfordshire, described her new job as “the role of a lifetime”. “Whatever your heart tells you you're interested in - that's what you should do,” she told the BBC.

Trivia answer: B) David Attenborough’s first on-screen appearance was in Zoo Quest in 1954, which saw him travel to Sierra Leone to collect animals for London Zoo - watch a clip here.

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