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Number of words: 853 Canada has recorded its highest ever temperature as the country’s west and the US Pacific north-west frazzle in an unprecedented heatwave. Lytton in British Columbia soared to 46.6C (116F) on Sunday, breaking an 84-year-old record, officials said. A “heat dome” – static high pressure acting like a lid on a cooking … Read more

Number of words: 483 Some people feed pigeons bread crumbs or keep them as pets in rooftop coops. Others see the animals as pests, carriers of disease or simply “rats with wings.” But whatever you think about these birds, there’s one fact no one will argue: Pigeons are everywhere. Have you ever wondered how one … Read more

Number of words: 322 New Delhi: Elections every few years to change the ruler need not be a guarantee against tyranny of those elected, Chief Justice of India NV Ramana said at a function in New Delhi on Wednesday. The CJI underscored that “criticisms and voicing of protests is integral to the democratic process” and any … Read more

Number of words: 568 The mystery surrounding galaxy NGC 1052-DF2 is deepening with every new revelation as astronomers gaze at it using the Hubble Space Telescope. When astronomers first observed this oddball galaxy, they could not believe that it lacked the primary source of material to hold it — Dark matter. The paper published in … Read more

Number of words: 241 The Trouble Tree The carpenter I hired to help me restore an old farmhouse had just finished a rough first day on the job. A flat tire made him lose an hour of work, his electric saw quit, and now his ancient pickup truck refused to start. While I drove him … Read more

Number of words: 1,967 There is now so much ocean plastic that it has become a route for invasive species, threatening native animals with extinction Seascape: the state of our oceans is supported by apan’s 2011 tsunami was catastrophic, killing nearly 16,000 people, destroying homes and infrastructure, and sweeping an estimated 5m tons of debris out to sea. … Read more

Number of words: 1,088 John Stocker hadn’t slept in three-and-a-half days when he finally crossed the finish line after running more than 337 miles in an ultramarathon event in Suffolk, stopping only at brief intervals for food and rest. Of the 123 people who started the race in Knettishall Heath on 5 June, he was … Read more

Number of words: 2,266 In 1796, President George Washington lambasted political parties for allowing “cunning, ambitious, and unprincipled men” to “subvert the power of the people”. His indictment seems brutally timely today, just a few months after 147 Republican US congress members publicly challenged results of the most recent US presidential election. But even long before then, … Read more