Country diary: Glapthorn, Northamptonshire: The lek of love for dung flies
Glapthorn, Northamptonshire: Dung flies are using the blackish lumps of sheep excreta as mini leks – places where males display and compete for the attention of femalesThe fields of miscanthus...
View ArticleLetter: Bureaucratic ordeal
I am sorry to hear about Miriam Elder's experience at the dry cleaners, in which she lost her receipt and so had an hour of her time "stolen" in providing the necessary personal details to retrieve her...
View ArticleLetters: Celebrity obsession hinders good causes
While I do not disagree with many of Russell Brand's views on drug addiction, I do question why he was picked to give evidence to a Commons home affairs select committee (Treat drug addicts with...
View ArticleLetters: Facing up to the shame of our imperial past
George Monbiot writes a very powerful article on our colonial past (Deny the British empire's crimes? No, we ignore them, 24 April), but the sins of the fathers cannot justifiably rest on the sons and...
View ArticleThis Chinese blockbuster thriller might end in reform | Timothy Garton Ash
Universal fascination with the Bo Xilai scandal is mixed with a few cautious hopes for political changeWhat is happening in China? That's about the most interesting political question on the planet...
View ArticleTurning the doctrine of 'lawfare' against aggressors | Dawood Ahmed
it's time the developing world realised that international law can be a powerful tool to resist superpower dominationPredator drones have killed several hundred civilians since 2004. Nato planes killed...
View ArticleConnecticut repeals death penalty as abolitionists hail 'great step'
Governor describes punishment as one of the 'most compelling and vexing issues of our time' as he signs SB280 into lawConnecticut has abolished the death sentence for all future cases, becoming the...
View ArticleRomney takes GOP control as Gingrich concedes – as it happened
• Gingrich said to be planning exit for early next week• Supreme Court goes easy on Arizona immigration law• Napolitano: Secret Service shenanigans 'inexcusable'9.00am: Good morning and welcome to your...
View ArticleElection 2012: polling for the House of Representatives | Harry J Enten
November sees not just a presidential race but a general election. So can the Democrats recover from the 2010 debacle?House Speaker John Boehner caused a stirwhen he declared on Sunday that Republicans...
View ArticleSyrian security forces kill at least 12 in rocket attack
Some reports put the death toll much higher with 54 dead and dozens wounded after the attack in the city of HamaA rocket attack by Syrian security forces has killed at least 12 people and wounded...
View ArticleLouis le Brocquy dies aged 95
Irish artist renowned for portraits of writers was first living painter to have work bought by Irish National GalleryOne of Ireland's most renowned artists, Louis le Brocquy, has died.The painter, best...
View ArticleHosni Mubarak's last PM allowed to run for Egyptian president
Egypt's election commission overturns disqualification of Ahmed Shafiq by Islamist-dominated parliamentEgypt's election commission has reinstated former prime minister Ahmed Shafiq in the presidential...
View ArticleEarth faces a century of disasters, report warns
Economic and environmental catastrophes unavoidable unless rich countries cut consumption and global population stabilisesWorld population needs to be stabilised quickly and high consumption in rich...
View ArticleMarine discharged for criticising Obama on Facebook
Case calls into question Pentagon's policies about social media and its limits on the speech of military personnelA sergeant will be discharged for criticising President Barack Obama on Facebook in a...
View ArticleTwo-fifths of UK trafficking victims are male, survey reveals
Salvation Army findings contradict public perception that crime predominantly affects women who are being sexually exploitedMen account for more than two-fifths (41%) of adult victims of human...
View ArticleChris Tappin freed on bail in US
Briton extradited to US on arms dealing charges is freed on bail after payment of $50,000A retired British businessman who was extradited to the US in February to face arms dealing charges has been...
View ArticleBo Xilai officials 'wiretapped call to president'
New claims may shed light on why Bo – previously accused of unspecified disciplinary violations – was ejected from postThe spotlight on the Bo Xilai affair has turned back on to political tensions in...
View ArticleTaylor guilty of Sierra Leone war crimes
Former president of Liberia is found to have supported rebels during reign of terror in neighbouring Sierra LeoneCharles Taylor, the former president of Liberia, has been found to have "aided and...
View ArticleCharles Taylor is guilty – but what's the verdict on international justice? |...
It is not yet clear the $250m process of obtaining a conviction for abetting war crimes in Sierra Leone has been vindicatedEver since Charles Taylor was extradited to the Hague in 2006, there have been...
View ArticleAddison Lee ordered by high court not to tell taxi drivers to use bus lanes
London firm still hopeful of winning right to use bus lanes after judge orders courts to speed up its application for judicial reviewA London minicab firm that urged its drivers to defy a ban on using...
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