Variety

The ancient Philistines, the Biblical villains whose origins have puzzled scholars for decades, came to the Middle East from southern Europe more than 3,000 years ago, new DNA testing has shown. The genetic findings came from skeletons unearthed by archaeologists in Palestine in 2016, including the bones of infants buried …

An Indian lawmaker and his supporters have been caught throwing mud and slime over a local engineer before attempting to lash him to a bridge in an apparent protest at the state of disrepair of a local highway. Nitesh Rane, 37, a politician with the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly and his …

A brown quartzite head of young king Tutankhamen was due to be auctioned in London with an estimate of more than $5 million on Thursday, in the face of Egyptian demands for its return. The more than 3,000-year-old sculpture, on display at Christie’s London auction house, shows the boy king …

In Singapore, buses have been given the green light to find new ways to reduce emissions and improve the air quality of their services. Last month, GWS Living Art, a company specialized in urban green structures installed green roofs on 10 public buses. While a bus might not seem like …

It’s been a three-horse race this year to be named the world’s most powerful passport, with all top three contenders in Asia. Now, as we enter the second half of 2019, Japan and Singapore have held onto their position as the world’s most travel-friendly passports, with South Korea dropping into …

Kemune Palace was part of the mysterious Mittani Empire that ruled Syria and northern Mesopotamia thousands of years ago. The heavy rains that hit Iraq over the past two weeks have not only put an end to the dry season, which has almost dried up the historic Tigris River, but …

A New Zealand family has been forced to abandon its home after a bubbling mud crater appeared in the garden. Susan Gedye, who lives in the North Island town of Rotorua, woke up in the early hours of Tuesday morning thinking she was experiencing an earthquake. “I got woken up …

A baby girl found inside a plastic bag in the US has families across the world “waiting in line” to adopt the “miracle” child, an official says. The baby, nicknamed India, was found on 6 June in Georgia after residents heard her crying and called the police. Police shared heart-rending …

More than 13,000 dogs are slaughtered each month in an Indonesian city to keep up with the demand for the animal’s meat. Horrific video footage captured in slaughterhouses in the Central Javan capital city of Surakarta, known as Solo, shows the animals being beaten and strung up to bleed out …

A poorly stubbed-out cigarette or an electrical fault could have started the devastating fire that ripped through Paris’ Notre-Dame cathedral in April, French prosecutors said Wednesday, while ruling out any criminal intent. The statement by prosecutors, which also said an investigation was being opened into possible negligence, was the first …

A huge asteroid three times as long as a football field is set to speed by Earth on Thursday. The “potentially hazardous asteroid” is projected to whizz by our planet at over 25,400 mph (40,800 kph). Asteroid ‘2008 KV2’ is estimated to measure 1,082 feet (330 meters) across and will …

A power cut that disrupted rail traffic on a Japanese island last month was caused by a slug, officials say. More than 12,000 people’s journeys were affected when nearly 30 trains on Kyushu shuddered to a halt because of the slimy intruder’s actions. Its electrocuted remains were found lodged inside …

India is set to overtake China as the world’s most populous country in less than a decade, according to a new United Nations report. China and India currently account for about 37% of the entire global population of roughly 7.7 billion, with China currently home to about 1.4 billion people …

Overcrowding. Violence. Infectious diseases. Environmental degradation. It may sound like the worst of modern mega-cities. But people encountered these very same problems when the first large settlements were being established millennia ago as humans began to swap a nomadic hunter-gatherer existence for a lifestyle centered on farming, scientists said on …

A beachside New Zealand suburb known for roaming chickens and yoga has become infested with hordes of unwelcome guests: large, writhing rats. The rodents — which have swarmed around shops and houses in the artsy west Auckland suburb of Titirangi — have made headlines in New Zealand recently, where local …

An ancient tower dating back 2,000 years in the historic Afghan city of Ghazni collapsed this week, local officials said, raising concerns about the vulnerability of the country’s cultural heritage and the government’s ability to protect them. The old citadel is known as Ghaznain Fort originally had 36 towers, but …

Two weeks after an avalanche swept up and probably killed a group of climbers in the Himalayas, Indian authorities mounted efforts to pluck their bodies from an exposed mountain face, braving harsh weather and treacherous terrain. The peaks in the 2,400-km (1,500-mile) -long range are among some of the world’s …

In the heart of the Czech countryside, Kutná Hora houses some of the most beautiful architecture in the whole of Bohemia. Positioned around 70 kilometers (about 43 miles) east of Prague, this medieval city competed politically, economically and culturally with the capital city during the 13th to 16th centuries, thanks …

Researchers have uncovered the earliest known evidence of cannabis use, from tombs in western China. The study suggests cannabis was being smoked at least 2,500 years ago, and that it may have been associated with ritual or religious activities. Traces of the drug were identified in wooden burners from the …

Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No, it’s the volocopter, the first manned, fully electric and safe vertical take-off and landing aircraft in the world. It might look like something out of a sci-fi movie based in a distant future, but this vehicle is being released in cities …