Новости за 10.09.2015

There are two immediate questions about this astonishing find – and it really is one of the most astonishing finds in the history of human palaeontology, certainly on the continent of Africa.

There are those who maintain that the European Union is just one giant illusion, a product of wishful thinking that bears no relation to reality. I am not among them. But there is one respect in which the EU countries, collectively and individually, have been wilfully deluding themselves, to the detriment of the enterprise as a whole.

Liam Fox casually dismisses any concerns about the legality of the drone killings of the two British men in Syria as “spurious”, even describing some of the anger that it has sparked as “synthetic” (Voices, 10 September). Yet at the same time, he appears puzzled about the nature of the “forces that have produced such loathing of our people”.

Comedian and Bob’s Burgers voice actor Eugene Mirman is really giving fans their money’s worth on his next release 'I'm Sorry, You're Welcome', out on 30 October through Sub Pop.

Yes, it is 2015, and this is the headline: Blondes fade from favour. What? Yes, that old saw again – but this time with a different punchline. Gentlemen now prefer brunettes, apparently. According to the latest survey by the dating website match.com, to be the “perfect woman” you have to have the following: blue eyes, a tattoo and an enjoyment of swimming. Of course you do; that list ticks all of the boxes, when you think about it. Blue eyes – a bit rarer than brown, but a lot less scary than green. Читать дальше...

Nikolai Lugansky was the first of the young Russian pianists to make his mark in the West after the dissolution of the Soviet Union, and his dependably excellent performances of the Romantic concertos have made him a Proms favourite. This time, as soloist in Rachmaninov’s Piano Concerto No 2 in C minor with the St Petersburg Philharmonic under Yuri Temirkanov’s direction, he was in every sense on home ground, and things felt right from the start.

A new report out this week has indicated that Labour’s woes are attributable to it not being Tory enough. It was carried out by Giles Radice, a lord, and Patrick Diamond, an former aide to Tony Blair (I kid you not).

Paula Radcliffe's blood tests that cleared her of any doping during her career have been revealed as the fallout from the allegations of mass cheating among athletes continues to surround the women’s marathon record holder.

Maybe it’s because I’m five foot one; maybe it’s because I think Napoleon seemed kind of cool, or maybe it’s because I’m a bit soppy - but I can’t help feeling sorry for short men.

There are many reasons why people don’t want sex, including feeling tired, discomfort, pain, lack of arousal, or that it just doesn’t feel very pleasurable.

Why do so many people believe that if you’re transgender, then you must be gay? This myth is so widespread that even many gay people believe it - and they make up three quarters of the LGBT title we’ve all been filed under. Perhaps the title is, after all, partly to blame: using ‘LGBT’ suggests that being transgender is at the very least heavily associated with sexual orientation, when in fact it stands completely in isolation to what kind of person you prefer to sleep with.

On Monday afternoon I returned home from work and logged onto my Linkedin account to find a sexist message from a senior partner of a law firm sitting in my inbox. The contents of the message focused on my physical appearance rather than my professional legal skills as a barrister in family law.

To the Speaker’s House last night for the launch of a set of books edited by Charles Clarke and his colleagues: British Conservative Leaders, British Labour Leaders and British Liberal Leaders.

Mo Farah has admitted using a drug that is banned by anti-doping authorities and categorised as class-C in the UK, although did so before it was prohibited.

Europe is facing the worst refugee crisis the world has seen since the Second World War. With the Syrian conflict now in its fifth year, displaced people are increasingly turning to our continent for protection and help. More and more are dying in their desperate attempts to flee war and persecution. Yet with each passing month Europe has done too little, too late. We are experiencing a refugee catastrophe, but unwillingness to act has also unveiled a serious political crisis.

Aside from cheaper car insurance, a stream of exclusive reader offers in Saga Magazine and the fact that we were able to get a foot on the property ladder without inducing vertigo, there are not a lot of obvious benefits to being 50-plus. So this week, we people of a certain age will have been rejoicing – in the restrained way that one must at this stage of life – at the news that, by the age of 55, our circadian rhythms have finally adjusted to the nine-to-five hours of the working week. Brilliant. Читать дальше...

The evidence that babies born in the summer months, and who start their school careers up to nine months earlier than their peers, lag behind academically is now uncontroversial. Differences in achievement between older and younger pupils in the same school year, though peaking in the earliest years, persist through to the teens. Relative to children born in September, children born in August are reportedly two percentage points less likely to go to university at the age of 18 or 19.

Will they or won’t they? On Thursday next week we will get the decision of the US Federal Reserve on whether to make a start on increasing interest rates. The rise, if it comes, will be tiny – so tiny as to have virtually no direct economic effect. But because rates have been near zero for so long, any increase at all will take on wider significance.

Paula Radcliffe, the world-record holder for the marathon, has attacked the system of parliamentary privilege after an MP suggested winners of the London race had potentially used outlawed blood doping techniques.