News

Fluctuations in sea surface temperature are a factor in causing persistent droughts in North America and around the Mediterranean, new research suggests. A team from the universities of Exeter, Montpellier and Wageningen analysed data from 1957–2002 and found sea surface temperatures in the North Pacific and North Atlantic became increasingly variable, and extremes lasted for longer. Ocean temperatures are a major driver of conditions on land, and the researchers showed that the changes they observed correlated with increases in land...

British businesses must break their silence on the under-representation of black, Asian and minority ethnic groups (BAME) in key roles, according to new research from professional management body the CMI and the British Academy of Management. Only six per cent of management jobs in the UK are held by minorities – less than half their proportion of the working-age population as a whole. Yet new research finds that only 54 per cent of FTSE100 leaders are seen to be actively championing...

London was hit by an epic lightning storm last night, and with the humid weather conditions set to stay forecasts believe more could be on the way. The capital was hit by the storm which had moved in from the south coast, leaving a trail of devastation in its wake. Dramatic pictures show  bolts of lightning in the cloudy night sky as the storm moved in in the early hours of the morning. The Met Office has now issued a...

King Solomon’s fabled mines which helped the biblical ruler accumulate a gold stash worth more than £2.3TRILLION are a “complete myth”, historians believe. The Old Testament King is said to have gathered 500 tonnes of pure gold from mines which some hopefuls believe still exist – and remain stuffed with precious metals. But experts now claim the legendary source of Solomon’s incredible wealth never existed. The ruins of Tanis, the capital city of Egyptian pharaoh Shoshenq I. And they’ve also...

Following the Brexit vote the joke doing the rounds was that the Bank of England would commemorate the new £10 note by plunging its value to £8.60, but its purchasing power could be far worse than that based on historical analysis. The new £10 note was launched today featuring Jane Austen on the 200th anniversary of her death in 1817. And according to new analysis inflation has shrunk the purchasing power of the note by nearly 99 per cent since that date. Today, the 10 pound note...

Former Deputy Prime Minister Lord Heseltine has warned that the Tories are set to lose the next election and that Labour Leader Jeremy Corbyn is “no longer non-electable” after Labour’s gains in the 8 June snap election. As the “divided” Tories indulge more in-fighting, back-stabbing and damaging leaks than the party has been used to for a long time, Michael Heseltine joined the fray warning that Theresa May’s “enfeebled” government had lost control, her majority to slender for any semblance...

New analysis published today by Centre for London suggests that Brexit may already be having an impact on the capital, with fewer Europeans coming here for work, a slowdown in job creation, a loss of momentum in business confidence, and decelerating house price growth. Published to coincide with the launch of Centre for London’s new research programme, the analysis draws together unfolding demographic, housing, transport, economic and quality of life data. This analysis is found in The London Intelligence, Centre...

A colourful bird-like dinosaur that was as big as a man has been identified by scientists. The blue and beige feathered creature stalked the Canadian 'badlands' of Alberta 71 million years ago. Its remains had been dug up over the years in what is now Red Deer River Valley - a famous dinosaur graveyard - but it's only now that a true picture of it has emerged. Palaeontologists initially thought the bones of Albertavenator curriei belonged to its close relative...

A police and crime commissioner has been told to apologise after being accused of branding a Tory councillor a w***er during a town hall meeting. Hardyal Dhindsa, who is also a Labour councillor, is said to have made the foul-mouthed comments during a Derby City Council meeting on January 25. Councillor Phil Ingall reported Derbyshire's police and crime commissioner to the authority's standards department after he says he was twice called a w***er. The council's monitoring officer, Janie Berry, said...