House of Commons (PTI file photo) (Representative image) The UK government has started the process of changing a law that has so far prevented the deportation of convicted grooming gang ringleader Shabir Ahmed to Pakistan.Home secretary Shabana Mahmood announced in Parliament on Monday that the government will amend the Immigration Act 1971 to remove legal…
The Netherlands has spent much of its history trying to keep rivers under control with higher dikes and stronger flood barriers. But repeated flooding in the 1990s revealed that simply building bigger walls was no longer enough. Rising river levels, heavier rainfall and the growing impacts of climate change continued to threaten towns, farmland and…
Off the coast of Mauritius sit a string of small, mostly uninhabited islands that once told a very different story than they do today. For decades, animals brought there by ships, rats, cats, goats and rabbits among them, quietly wiped out native plants and drove seabird colonies to near collapse. Then, starting in the late…
For decades, the summer of 1976 has occupied a special place in British weather history. It has been the season people return to whenever prolonged heat or dry conditions become part of the conversation. This year, however, the comparison has shifted. Reportedly, the figures recorded at the University of Reading suggest that 2026 has already…
Deep in Niger’s Ténéré Desert once stood what was widely regarded as the world’s loneliest tree, an umbrella thorn acacia that survived for around 300 years despite having no other tree within roughly 400 kilometres. Hidden beneath the scorching Sahara, its roots stretched more than 30 metres underground to reach precious groundwater, allowing it to…
Augustus Caesar (Image: Wikipedia) Rome’s first emperor spent decades holding more power than almost anyone in the ancient world, and on his deathbed, he did not ask to be remembered as a conqueror. Augustus asked his assembled friends whether he had played his part well in the comedy of life, then recited a closing line…
Turkey’s Cappadocia region is famous for its fairy chimneys and hot air balloons, but another attraction has quietly become a symbol of the region. Every afternoon, local cowboys gather free-roaming Yılkı horses and lead them through Cappadocia’s valleys for guided photography experiences, drawing visitors from around the world. What began as a way to showcase…
The International Space Station is about to welcome a new crew as Nasa astronaut Anil Menon prepares for his first journey into orbit. The mission is scheduled to lift off today, that is, 14 July 2026, from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan aboard the Russian Soyuz MS-29 spacecraft, carrying Menon alongside Roscosmos cosmonauts Pyotr Dubrov…
For decades, solar power has largely meant one thing: rigid silicon panels fixed to rooftops or spread across vast solar farms. Japan is pursuing a very different idea. Instead of heavy glass modules, researchers and manufacturers are developing ultra-thin, flexible solar cells that can be produced using high-speed printing techniques similar to those used for…
Roger Federer built an entire reputation on staying calm when everyone around him expected him to crack. Off the court, raising four children including two sets of twins, he admitted the calm has limits. “I’m as patient a father as I am on the tennis court,” he said. “It takes a lot for me to…
