7 h. ago Newly discovered fossils challenge evolution story of ancient human relative

The fossils of ‘Nutcracker Man’ show both human and gorilla-like traits

Politics

5 d. ago Ancient elephant migration routes are being blocked off – can anything stop the rising death toll?

Human-wildlife conflict has now overtaken poaching as a cause of fatalities – and is deadly for people too. Some villages are finding new ways to live alongside themPhotographs by Edwin NdekeAt nearly 3.5-metres tall and weighing as much as a bus, you could be forgiven for assuming that Goshi – one of an estimated 30 “super-tusker” elephants left in Africa – would be easy to find. The radio tracker picking up his signal beeps encouragingly, indicating the giant bull is within 200 metres. But the dry season has turned the mass of arid acacia scrubland grey, and everything seems to resemble an elephant.Even when they are invisible, the huge herbivores shape the landscape here. There are 17,000 elephants across the Tsavo region, Kenya’s largest protected area, which is divided in two. Each year, elephants wander huge distances between feeding grounds, following the seasonal rains as they have done for thousands of years. Continue reading...

Events

6 d. ago The Land of Sweet Forever by Harper Lee review – newly discovered stories from an American great

If we regard this book as literature, it is an unqualified failure. But these juvenile stories and essays shed fascinating light on the repression of Lee’s early lifeWhen a new book is published by a writer dead for a decade, there is always some suspicion that the bottom of the barrel is being scraped. When the writer is Harper Lee, there is also the unpleasant aftertaste of the release of her second novel, 2015’s Go Set a Watchman, which was promoted as a sequel to To Kill a Mockingbird, when in fact it was a formless early draft. The publication was also surrounded by controversy over whether the aged Lee, by then seriously disabled, had really consented to its publication.This new book, The Land of Sweet Forever, is a much more conventional enterprise: a collection of Lee’s unpublished short stories and previously uncollected essays. No deception is being practised here, and if people want to read the lesser scribblings of a favourite author, it is surel...

Politics

7 d. ago Couple renovating 1930s home gobsmacked by discovery inside interior wall

The duo said they had to remove 'endless layers of wallpaper' during the renovation of their newly-purchased property - but that led to an unusual discovery embedded in their living room wall

Politics

8 d. ago Bison's mysterious new behavior foretells major shift across the US

A six-year study found that these massive animals are retracing ancient migration routes, the same paths their ancestors followed long before human settlement reshaped the land.

Politics

1 week ago ‘One of the oldest urban centres on the planet’: Gaza’s rich history in ruins

The territory’s ancient heritage has too often been ignored. As we mourn incalculable human losses, learning about its past can help us better understand the presentAs a ceasefire brings a measure of peace to the Dresden-like hellscape that Gaza has become, it is time to take stock of all that has been lost. The human cost of what the UN commission of inquiry recognises as a genocide is of course incalculable, but fewer are aware of how much rich history and archaeology has also been destroyed in these horrific months. This is bolstered by the widespread assumption that Gaza was little more than a huge refugee camp built on a recently settled portion of desert. That is quite wrong. In reality Gaza it is one of the oldest urban centres on the planet.Golda Meir famously declared that “there was no such thing as Palestinians”, but the reality is very different. Palestine is actually one of humanity’s oldest toponyms, and records of a people named after it are as old as literacy itself....

Politics

3 w. ago Newly discovered photos could shed light on fate of Amelia Earhart's plane

Researchers claim a mysterious object seen on a remote island in photos dating back to 1938 provides 'very strong' evidence that it may be Amelia Earhart’s missing plane

Culture

4 w. ago Are you an introvert, extrovert or newly discovered otrovert? Take this quiz to find out

We all know people who are the life and soul of the party. And those who would rather do anything else than spend their weekend socialising.

Politics