Blog

Some of the victims buried in Pompeii following the eruption of Mount Vesuvius have been wrongly identified, new evidence suggests.Researchers used DNA testing on 14 casts of victims found in the ruins of the Roman city destroyed in 79 AD. Using DNA taken from fragmented skeletal remains, they concluded an adult holding a child and wearing a golden bracelet, long thought to have been a mother, was actually a man unrelated to the child.It was one of several surprises in what had become known as "the house of the golden bracelet".Nearby were the bodies of another adult and child thought to be the rest of their nuclear family. But DNA evidence showed all four were male and not related to one another. Image: Pompeii, a buried and ruined Roman city...

The US central bank has cut interest rates for the second time in a row as the independent agency's future becomes uncertain under a second Donald Trump presidency.The Federal Reserve, known as the Fed, has brought rates down to 4.5% to 4.75%. Unlike the UK, the US interest rate is a range to guide lenders rather than a single percentage. But as is the case with the UK, it's only the second time in more than four years the US regulator has cut rates.Rates have been dropped as inflation fell to 2.4%, not far off the Fed's 2% target, and the weakest jobs report of the Biden administration was posted in September. The regulator is tasked with both maintaining price stability and maximum US employment.The cut also comes after US recession fears in August sparked a global stock market sell-off....

A woman who alleges she was raped by MMA star Conor McGregor has denied that CCTV footage from the day in question "flatly contradicts" her account.In an emotional morning of cross-examination, the woman's version of events were questioned by McGregor's counsel, Remy Farrell SC. In CCTV footage played to the court, dated after the time of the alleged rape, McGregor is seen getting into a lift with the woman, his co-defendant James Lawrence, and the woman's friend.It appears to show the woman getting close to McGregor, in an act his lawyers say was a hug, and also appearing to kiss him on the arm.The woman told the court that it was "very disturbing" for her to watch the footage. She said: "I'm very drunk, I'm stumbling. It's not my character. I'm very vulnerable and I don't want to have to...

Four bodies have been found in the English Channel and more than 50 migrants rescued.Fifty-one people were rescued after a boat got into difficulty off the coast of Audresselles in northern France overnight on Monday, French authorities said.On Tuesday, a ferry reported seeing a body floating in the water off the coast of Calais, prompting a search which led to the discovery of another body.The French coastguard said two more people were found dead in the water off the Calais coast on Wednesday.All four bodies were brought ashore and an investigation has been launched but it has yet to be confirmed whether the people who died were migrants.It comes as figures published by the government on Thursday show more than 3,000 migrants arrived on Channel crossings in the last fortnight.A total of ...