News

A new species of damselfly dating back more than 70 million years has become the latest creature to be named after veteran TV naturalist Sir David Attenborough. The discovery was made in the Hukawng Valley of Kachin Province in Myanmar. The fossil was found in a piece of mid-Cretaceous Burmese amber. A new species of damselfly dating back more than 70 million years has become the latest creature to be named after veteran TV naturalist Sir David Attenborough. The discovery...

Oil giant BP will use a coral-killing chemical in the event of an oil spill near a unique coral reef in the mouth of the Amazon river. The company is planning to drill in the region in from this time next year, but according to an environmental impact assessment (EIA) unearthed by Greenpeace it will use Corexit 9500 to clean up potential spills. Corexit is a chemical dispersant which was used extensively during the Deepwater Horizon disaster in 2010, when 11 workers died...

There are these peak learning moments in all our lives that don't necessarily happen in classrooms, or from reading books, not even from sitting on your grandfather's knee while he teaches you the good rules of living. Certainly all those can all apply, yet sometimes true learning moments come out of nowhere, unexpected from their sources and as such those become the vivid ones, the ones where some important aspect of the world reveals itself with the shocking vividness of...

It is a story that few will be surprised at. I was lucky enough to pay over £130 for a return to Newcastle, from London, last week. One train was so busy I had waited for the next one, as standing for three hours, and paying that much money for the privilege, just wasn’t for me. The next train wasn’t much better. Anyway, commuters have just been told, from analysis by the RMT, that the price of a rail journey...

Almost three-quarters of bets in the next Conservative leader market are now being placed on Jacob Ress-Mogg as rumours circulate that the MP is planning to launch a leadership bid. According to betting data Rees-Mogg's odds of becoming the next Conservative leader have been cut to 6/1 as the market starts to heat up. You can also find odds as short as 7/1 for him to be the next Prime Minister. Reports this weekend have suggested Mr Rees-Mogg was looking to launch a bid...

Stunning photos of the Perseid meteor shower have been released as the solar phenomenon graced our skies over the weekend. Pictures taken from Tintern Abbey in Monmouthshire show the moon perfectly captured in the top window of the remains. The Abbey was founded by Walter de Clare, Lord of Chepstow, on 9 May 1131, but provided a perfect vantage point for this spectacular display. Check out some of the best photos below: Perseid meteor shower seen over the Gargunnock Hills, Stirlingshire....

Low interest rates are forcing Brits to switch traditional savings for more quirky investments – including books, vinyl records and TOYS. First editions by famous authors top the alternative investment chart, followed by collectable coins, toys, antiques and classic vinyl. Stamps, designer clothes, works of art and classic cars also appear on the list, which emerged from a survey of 2,000 investors by comparethemarket.com. Smart savings included: A “tatty” old watch bought for £6 at a car boot sale –...

As we move into what by rights should be a relaxing summer weekend – the Premier League is back, the trees are still green, books to read and lawnchairs to sit on – unless we choose to completely ignore the news our nerves are as frayed as a university student heading into a final exam with a hangover. The party's over, now what the hell do we do? The first headline I saw this Friday morning was on The Guardian:...

THE number of privately educated Army officer cadets jumped by a fifth last year, with equalities campaigners claiming the military continues to be dominated by ‘posh boys’. Figures released by the Ministry of Defence revealed 250 cadets entering the British Army’s officer training school at Sandhurst in 2016/17 were from fee-paying independent schools, compared to 330 from state schools – making up 43% of the year’s cadet intake. With just 6.5% of pupils in the UK being privately educated according...