Why did the government hide a data leak about Afghans working with British forces and why did the courts finally reveal it?: William Barton/Shutterstock When thousands of Afghans were quietly flown to the UK under a secret relocation scheme, few knew it was triggered by an error. A defence official had accidentally leaked the personal …
Ancient stone walls and power: what data science tools can reveal in African archaeology: Visibility has always been important in people’s decisions about where to live and how to arrange their spaces. People make connections with what they can see. Being able to see prominent landmarks, such as certain mountain peaks, rivers or ancestral sites, …
Businesses that try to come clean about their impact on nature can end up concealing more than they reveal: Fahroni/Shutterstock Humans have overfished the ocean, cleared forests, polluted water and created a climate crisis by burning fossil fuels. These actions are affecting biodiversity around the world, from remote islands to our own backyards. Biodiversity can …
History’s crisis detectives: how we’re using maths and data to reveal why societies collapse – and clues about the future: The Death of Julius Caesar, an 1806 painting by Vincenzo Camuccini. Wikipedia American humorist and writer Mark Twain is believed to have once said, “History doesn’t repeat itself, but it often rhymes.” I’ve been working …
Spycatcher scandal: newly released documents from the Thatcher era reveal the changing nature of government secrecy: I grew up in Tasmania in the 1980s. The capital city, Hobart, had a bit of a “living at the edge of the world” feeling in those days. It seemed about as far away from anywhere as you could …
How AI could reveal secrets of thousands of handwritten documents – from medieval manuscripts to hieroglyphics: Have you ever struggled to read what that scrawl between “carrots” and “potatoes” is on your shopping list? Soon, artificial intelligence (AI) may be able to help. Over the last ten years, researchers have gradually been working out how …
Restorers uncover demon in a 1789 painting – and reveal the decline of superstition in the Age of Reason: Recent news that restorers had uncovered the image of a Gothic-looking demon in a late work by Sir Joshua Reynolds (1723-1792) seems fitting for these long, dark evenings. The sinister face hovers above the head of …
Halloween foods from history reveal the holiday’s surprising romantic side – and you can try them yourself: A vintage Victorian Halloween postcard. Public Domain Pictures Think about Halloween, and romance is unlikely to be the first thing that comes to mind. But Victorian periodicals and newspapers show that alongside dressing in costumes, enjoying themed cuisine …
Namibia and Angola’s remote Ovahimba mountains reveal a haven for unique plants – new survey: The Kaokoveld region, covering north-western Namibia and south-western Angola, is one of the remotest areas in southern Africa. Although it’s extremely dry, it is a centre of species endemism: many species occur only there and nowhere else on earth. New …
Terence Davies: four films that reveal the pain and poetry of the director’s own life: Terence Davies, who has died at the age of 77, was a key figure in British and European cinema. The Liverpool-born director extended the formal possibilities of film, and had a unique capacity for depicting memory and personal history. Much …
Israel-Palestine conflict divides South African politicians – what their responses reveal about historical alliances: Hamas’ brazen and deadly attack on Israel on October 7 elicited varied responses within the South African political scene. These diverse reactions reflect the long history, since before democracy in 1994, of South African engagement with the Israel-Palestinian conflict. The conflict …
Giant sea lizards: fossils in Morocco reveal the astounding diversity of marine life 66 million years ago, just before the asteroid hit: Sixty-six million years ago, the Cretaceous period ended. Dinosaurs disappeared, along with around 90% of all species on Earth. The patterns and causes of this extinction have been debated since palaeontology began. Was …
Ukraine war: Russian-held elections seek to normalise illegal occupation and reveal reality of a long war ahead: Russia has recently held local elections, including – for the first time since the invasion of Ukraine last February – counting votes in the four territories annexed to Russia after a series of illegal and illegitimate referendums last …
Cyber-attacks against the UK Electoral Commission reveal an ongoing threat to democracy: TippaPatt / Shutterstock The revelations this month that data on 40 million UK voters had been exposed to hackers came as no surprise to many cybersecurity experts, who have long pointed out the vulnerability of democracies to malicious online interference. In this case, …
Sinéad O’Connor: a guide to the lesser-known songs that reveal the key to her brilliance: Dariusz Majgier/Shutterstock The death of Sinéad O’Connor (1966-2023), the Irish, singer-songwriter, performer, activist, actor and memoirist, was announced on July 26. She is probably most well-known for her cover of the Prince song, Nothing Compares 2 U. The hit transformed …
Henry VIII’s notes in prayer book written by his sixth wife reveal musings on faith, sin and his deteriorating health – new discovery: It’s common knowledge that Henry VIII had six wives. But the cataclysmic love triangle between Catherine of Aragon and Anne Boleyn gets all the airtime, while wives three to six are an …
Unravelling the Windrush myth: the confidential government communications that reveal authorities did not want Caribbean migrants to come to Britain: In the twilight hours of June 21 1948, a weathered five-deck troopship transporting 1,027 passengers moored off Gravesend on the south bank of the river Thames. That evening, immigration officials would begin carefully processing those …
The materials used by humans now weigh more than all life on Earth – here’s four graphs that reveal our staggering impact on the planet: Yantian Port, Shenzhen City, China. Weiming Xie/Shutterstock The extent of humanity’s influence on the planet has become increasingly clear in recent years. From the alarming accumulation of plastic waste in …