A robotic spacecraft just had a close encounter with Mercury and beamed back rare intimate

QUITO Ecuador's economy ministry said on Wednesday that the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) approved a $500 million loan

On Wednesday evening, at a swanky party in a townhouse in Manhattan's Greenwich Village, Michael Wolff will celebrate his forthcoming book about Fox News, titled "The Fall: The End of Fox News and the Murdoch Dynasty." The anticipated 320-page work, which will hit shelves next week, is poised to generate voluminous chatter and headlines — and leave newsrooms with a predicament.

A woman has been arrested after attempting to approach former President Donald Trump in court at his New York civil fraud trial

Vietnam police arrested the chairman of builder LDG Investment JSC for allegedly deceiving customers of a residential project

Anna Sitar, who rose to fame with her 'I Don't Want It' and 'Another Day, Another Starbies' series, makes up to $4,000 per sponsored post

Over the past year, Italian regions like Veneto and Emilia Romagna has been hit with extreme weather. From flooding to droughts and even large hail, the region has seen death and destruction caused by the weather events. Months after the flooding and drought that have affected the region, The Independent visited to meet farmers who are facing up to an uncertain future with climate change. While some are having to adapt, others are contemplating a future away from the region. Watch On The Ground on Independent TV, across desktop, mobile and connected TV.

Scientists have urged people not to speculate about why Iberian orcas have been ramming into vessels, warning that demonising them could put the already endangered animal at risk. Orcas coming into contact with vessels n the Mediterranean are most likely being playful and are not “attacking” the boats as previously speculated, after more than 250 boats have been damaged by the species since 2020. Experts have warned the idea that the orcas intend to do harm could lead to the creatures being harmed by humans, after footage showing a sailor opening fire on a pod earlier this month. One theory proposed by marine scientists is that the orcas’ behaviour is a ‘cultural fad’ and will likely go away as attention over the animals decreases. There are 15 orcas believed to be responsible for the recent rammings, with damage varying from teeth marks to the sinking of five boats entirely. In an open letter, the scientists said: “We urge the media and public to avoid projecting narratives onto these animals. In the absence of further evidence, people should not assume they understand the animals’ motivations. “We are concerned that factual errors related to these interactions are being repeated in the media … we believe this narrative inappropriately projects human motivations onto these whales and we are concerned that perpetuating it will lead to punitive responses by mariners or managers.” Scientists remain baffled over the behaviour of the orcas off the Spanish and Portuguese coasts, but agree they are likely being playful and socialising with each other instead of acting aggressively, the letter says. “The whales have shown a wide range of behaviours during the interactions, many of them consistent with playful social behaviour,” the letter continues. “There is no evidence of an identifiable ‘leader’ of these interactions. Despite the damage to vessels, we believe characterising the interactions as ‘attacks’ is misleading. “ Orcas (and other dolphin species) elsewhere have been known to develop cultural ‘fads’ (novel behaviour that briefly persists and expands within a population—an analogy might be fashion trends in people), such as carrying dead fish on their heads. While these vessel interactions may be a similar phenomenon, they are persisting longer than typical fad behaviour, expanding within the population and escalating in impact. Nevertheless, it is possible the behaviour, as previous fads have, will disappear as suddenly as it appeared. Of the fifteen orcas believed to be responsible for the rammings, 11 are calves and four are adult females. Iberian orcas are considered critically endangered, with possibly less than 40 in their population. Earlier in June a sailor told how his yacht was thrown around like a “rag doll” by orcas near Gibraltar, as the mammals tore off its rudders. “I noticed a fin then noticed a light bump and then a very big bump and looked round and there was a very large whale pushing along the back and trying to bite the rudder,” he told BBC Radio 4. “Then we lost the second rudder so we had no mechanism of steering the boat and the whales were in charge of the boat and they pushed us around like a rag doll,” he added. Read More Shark attacks swimmer in shallows of popular Spanish holiday beach Fisherman airlifted to hospital after shark bite off coast of Portugal Lolita the orca dies after spending more than half a century in captivity Russia says 10 bodies and flight recorders recovered from Prigozhin jet crash site Tourist sprays football graffiti on 460-year-old Italian landmark Belarus president says he warned Wagner chief to watch out for threats – Ukraine live

Sousyu Hayashi peers at the intricate pattern of sakura blossoms before him, born from 30 hours of deft prodding by his traditional Japanese tattoo needle -- and...

Flight data shows the path taken by the plane reported to have been carrying Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin before it crashed, killing all those on board. Russia’s civil aviation authority said that Mr Prigozhin, who led a failed coup against the Kremlin two months ago, was one of 10 people on board when the aircraft came down near the village of Kuzhenkino, northwest of the capital, Moscow on Wednesday. Flight data shows the plane was first tracked northwest of Moscow at an altitude of 12,275ft. It continued travelling northwest and was last tracked northwest of the Tver region at 28,000. The plane, an Embraer Legacy 600, registration number 02795, then crashed some time later near the village of Kuzhenkino, northwest of Moscow, during a flight from the capital to St Petersburg. There was no official comment from the Kremlin or the Russian defence ministry on the fate of Mr Prigozhin, a self-declared enemy of the army’s leadership over what he argued was its incompetent prosecution of Russia’s war in Ukraine. A Telegram channel linked to Wagner, Grey Zone, pronounced him dead and hailed him as a hero and a patriot. It said he died at the hands of unidentified people it called "traitors to Russia." Body bags were seen being carried away from the crash site early on Thursday morning and Russian state media said all those onboard had been recovered. Part of the plane’s tail and other fragments lay on the ground near a wooded area where forensic investigators had erected a tent. Mourners left flowers and lit candles near Wagner’s offices in St Petersburg early on Thursday. Amid fevered speculation and an absence of verifiable facts, some of Mr Prigozhin’s supporters pointed the finger of blame at the Russian state, others at Ukraine which was due to mark its Independence Day on Thursday. Whoever or whatever was behind the crash, his death would rid Putin of someone who had mounted the most serious challenge to the Russian leader’s authority since he came to power in 1999. Read More Plane crash believed to have killed Russian mercenary chief seen as Kremlin's revenge What was Vladimir Putin doing as Wagner chief rival ‘killed’ in plane crash? Prigozhin has made plenty of enemies – including Putin. This is the result The Body in the Woods | An Independent TV Original Documentary The harrowing discovery at centre of The Independent’s new documentary

By Karen Freifeld NEW YORK The New York judge who found Donald Trump liable for fraud on Wednesday

Booksellers in Hungary must decide whether to comply with a law requiring books that depict homosexuality to be placed in closed packaging on their shelves