Earth Day 2013 has been given a major boost thanks to Google featuring it as its doodle.

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The sting: how traders in endangered tigers were trapped by a hotel pool

THE TRADE in endangered species is second only in value to the drugs trade, and is driving animals such as the tiger to extinction. There are fewer than 5,000 left in the wild, more than half in India, down from 80,000 at the turn of the last century. Although population growth and development projects are eroding the tiger's habitat, poaching and the trade in tiger parts are what might push nature's supreme predator over the edge.

City Life: Tokyo - Japan turns a blind eye to tiger-bone tonic

FROM THE outside, a chilly street in one of the older parts of Tokyo, there is nothing remarkable about the premises of Mr Shinano the apothecary. Below it, on the ground floor is a shoe shop; opposite, a row of cheap restaurants. But mount the narrow stairs, step through the frosted glass door, and you find yourself in a different world, a world in which Macbeth's witches would not feelout of place.

Real living: Why couldn't my parents go off the rails?

The stigma these days is to have had an ordinary upbringing. After all, as Hester Lacey knows, Marmite and `Blue Peter' don't make for great dinner-party conversation

Children are at risk - from their terrified parents

Frank Furedi on the implications of last week's report on mental illness in the young

Letter: Eating apes

Sir, The discovery that HIV comes from chimpanzees (report, 1 February) is further evidence of the dangers of Africa's escalating trade in meat from wild animals - known as bush meat. Now that the link with HIV has been established, more pressure than ever should be applied to ensure that governments throughout west and central Africa take action to control the timber trade and prevent the widespread killing of protected species.

Customs seize ivory and tortoiseshell `Titanic' props

MORE THAN 30 props from the film Titanic have been confiscated because they are made from endangered species. Among them is the tortoiseshell hair clip worn by Kate Winslet in her nude modelling scene with Leonardo DiCaprio.

Home Help 8: Software To Help With Homework - Colour and sound to seduce the most reluctant young souls

WITH CORE subjects exerting a big squeeze on the curriculum, art and music are something of an endangered species on the average school timetable. While there is no substitute for splashing about real paint or scratching out "Little Brown Jug" on a violin, computers can pick up some of the creative slack by offering different ways for children to express themselves - and hone their IT skills at the same time.

The Queen's Speech: The Sketch - Chocolate box occasion pleases the soft centre

`The peasants might have been wearing their Sunday best but they had come armed with legislative pitch-forks and were looking for blue blood'

China's 'friends of nature' join the Tibetan antelope on the list of endangered species

Teresa Poole meets the pioneering environment campaigners who face hostility from corrupt officials and death threats from loggers and illegal hunters

Production values: Protect an endangered species

Last week saw a rare conjunction. Two landmark series running at the same time: The Life of Birds (BBC1, Wednesdays) and Earth Story (BBC2, Sundays). Landmarks are series that claim direct descent from Lord Clark's Civilisation and Jacob Bronowski's The Ascent of Man, the twins who founded factual television. Their common format involves a single eminent presenter developing an argument over a number of weeks. The aim is identifiably lofty: to familiarise the viewer with one or other of the structural elements of the edifice of human knowledge.

Monitor: All the News of the World - Comment after France's `living together' Pacs legislation fails

NEITHER THE "homosexual marriage" nor still less "the end of the family" were mentioned in the first version of the proposed Pacs legislation, contrary to the nervous twitchings of the right. It was originally supposed only to be a simple fiscal convention - practical for some but devoid of any social symbolism. This balance is probably now threatened.

Letter: Free the mink

Sir: During the past six weeks mink have been released in large numbers from two mink farms, one in Hampshire and one in Staffordshire ("The mink are back... and this time they're angry", 18 September). Such acts are illegal and the perpetrators should be dealt with appropriately, but before condemning these events we should question the motives of those responsible.

RAF stops turtles being last of the few

IT SEEMS an unlikely haven for an endangered species but the drought- stricken and heavily militarised island of Cyprus is the scene of a reprieve for turtles facing extinction.

Letter: Free the rhino

Sir: We find it difficult to believe that anyone can justify the $22m cost of potentially freeing Keiko, the orca of Free Willy fame ("The $14 million epic adventure to free Willy - into an unknown future", 9 September).
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James Pembroke: The man who's eaten everywhere

The man who's eaten everywhere

Few people know more about restaurants than James Pembroke, who only spent five mealtimes at home during his entire childhood.
A Berliner in 1963 – but did John F Kennedy once admire Adolf Hitler?

A Berliner in 1963 – but did John F Kennedy once admire Adolf Hitler?

The young JFK praised 'superior' Nordic races during visits to Germany
Banned Iranian director Mohammad Rasoulof to attend Cannes Film Festival 2013, his first public appearance since prison

Banned Iranian director to attend Cannes Film Festival

Mohammad Rasoulof to make his first public appearance since being imprisoned three years ago
Seeing the larger picture: Inspiring images of space

Seeing the larger picture: Inspiring images of space

An exhibition explores images how photography has shaped astronomy
Eat Spam and carry on: Wartime pamphlets could teach us a thing or two about healthy, thrifty eating

Eat Spam and carry on

Wartime pamphlets could teach us a thing or two about healthy, thrifty eating
Facial hair: Cat beards and the purrrsuit of excellence

Facial hair

Cat beards and the purrrsuit of excellence
The 10 Best salt and pepper sets

The 10 Best salt and pepper sets

Whether they're for everyday use or to make your dining table look just right, it's worth getting a stylish shaker...
Ferran Soriano: Predicting success if Manchester City 'vision' is followed

Ferran Soriano: Predicting success if Manchester City 'vision' is followed

Chief executive says trophies will come if a 'core' of suitable players is in place
Thomas Müller: We couldn't handle losing a Champions League Final again

Thomas Müller: We couldn't handle losing a Champions League Final again

The Bayern Munich forward tells Tim Rich his side have to shed chokers' tag after two recent final defeats
Giro d'Italia: The Stelvio Pass - cycling's killer climb

The Stelvio Pass - cycling's killer climb

As the Giro d'Italia tackles the brutal climb, Simon Usborne takes on the snow and switchbacks – and soon realises what the fuss is about
National archives: Edward VIII’s phone calls - and how MI5 bugged them

Edward VIII’s phone calls - and how MI5 bugged them

Newly unearthed papers reveal a shocking extra dimension to the constitutional crisis over monarch’s abdication
Sent down at the Old Bailey: A tour of the world's most famous court

Sent down at the Old Bailey

A tour of the world's most famous court
Hollywood's random acts of red-carpet kindness

Hollywood's random acts of red-carpet kindness

The Hangover actor Zach Galifianakis’s date for his movie premieres isn’t arm candy  – it’s his 87-year-old friend who he saved from homelessness
British football scores an own goal

British football scores an own goal

Many managers barely survive a year in post. Martin Baker talks to experts who make a case for clubs using forensic business skills to find the best staff
James Lawton: Sergio Garcia cracks as major fault line opens up again

James Lawton

Sergio Garcia cracks as major fault line opens up again