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A month-long heatwave and record low rainfall have resulted in an unprecedented drought along the Yangtze, China's longest river. Lakes and tributaries have receded as a result of the drought, exposing riverbeds and even a 600-year-old Buddhist stone carving and rocks below the famous Guanyin Pavilion, in Wuhan, Hubei province. Low river levels have reduced the ability of hydro-electric power stations in the area to generate energy. Emergency measures imposed to save electricity include factories closing, shops reducing opening hours and office buildings switching off air conditioning - all in response to the double-whammy of high demand for electricity and low production. In big cities sited along the river, Shanghai is switching off its famous waterfront lights and the city of Luzhou is turning off street lights at night, in an attempt to ease pressure on the power grid. Summer rainfall in the Yangtze river basin is the lowest since records began in 1961, according to China's...

For almost 120 years, the writing system known as "Linear Elamite" was considered illegible. Now a team of archaeologists claims to have partially deciphered the writing system. But other researchers are more hesitant. Diamonds and squares with dots and dashes ― French archaeologists came across these geometric characters as early as 1903 when they were excavating ancient ruins in the city of Susa in southwestern Iran. Researchers quickly realized that the language was one of the four oldest scripts known to humankind, along with Mesopotamian cuneiform, Egyptian hieroglyphics and the Indus script. The Elamite civilization used the writing system during the Bronze Age in the late 3rd and early 2nd millennia BCE. The characters were given the name "Linear Elamite." But, since the discovery, experts haven't known how to read the diamonds and squares, or understand what they meant. Only a few characters could be clearly interpreted. Silver cups give clues to ancient...

The researchers, from the University of Cambridge, designed ultra-thin, flexible devices, which take their inspiration from photosynthesis – the process by which plants convert sunlight into food. Since the low-cost, autonomous devices are light enough to float, they could be used to generate a sustainable alternative to petrol without taking up space on land. Outdoor tests of the lightweight leaves on the River Cam – near iconic Cambridge sites including the Bridge of Sighs, the Wren Library and King’s College Chapel – showed that they can convert sunlight into fuels as efficiently as plant leaves. This is the first time that clean fuel has been generated on water, and if scaled up, the artificial leaves could be used on polluted waterways, in ports or even at sea, and could help reduce the global shipping industry’s reliance on fossil fuels. The results are reported in the journal Nature. While renewable energy technologies, such as wind and solar, have become significantly cheaper a...

The American space agency Nasa is rolling out its giant new Moon rocket to prepare it for a maiden flight. Known as the Space Launch System (SLS), the vehicle is being taken to Pad 39B at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida for a lift-off scheduled for 29 August. The debut outing is a test with no crew aboard, but future missions will send astronauts back to the lunar surface for the first time in over 50 years. The near 100m-tall (328ft) SLS is riding an immense tractor to the pad. It started moving from its assembly building at Kennedy late on Tuesday evening, local time, but with a cruising speed of just over 1km/h (under 1mph), it could take 8-10 hours to complete the 6.7km (4.2 miles) journey. A guide to Nasa's giant SLS rocket Nasa chooses SpaceX to build Moon lander Nasa picks astronauts for new Moon missions This is a key moment for Nasa, which will celebrate in December the half-century anniversary of Apollo 17, the very last human landing on the Moon. The agency has vowed...

Planet Earth as you have never seen it before People on vacation love posting snaps of exotic locations on social media. But, today we offer you a different view, some of the most fascinating shots captured by the International Space Station (ISS). This is planet Earth as you have never seen it before! Abaco Islands Here you can admire the natural colors of the Abaco Islands, which are located in the northern Bahamas. These include the main islands of Great Abaco and Little Abaco. United States This is the night sky over the United States. By looking at photos like this one, we get a better sense of how much of the planet is covered by artificial light. The Susquehanna River In this image, the Susquehanna River runs through the Appalachian Mountains. The photo was taken by the crew of the ISS. Bombetoka Bay Here, you can admire Bombetoka Bay in northern Madagascar, where the salty waters of the Mozambique Channel join the Betsiboka River. The waters of the Bahamas This image, taken fro...

Four out of five children in Gaza suffer from emotional distress, Save the Children said Wednesday, 15 years after Israel slapped a strict blockade on the Palestinian territory.  Israel imposed the measure in June 2007, as fighters of the Islamist Hamas movement took control of the densely populated enclave. Israel, and Egypt, continue to severely restrict the flow of people and materials in and out.  In a report called "Trapped", Britain-based Save the Children said the mental health of Gazan children has continued to deteriorate. Since 2018, the number reporting symptoms of "depression, grief and fear," had risen from 55 percent to 80 percent, the report said. Save the Children's director for the occupied Palestinian territories, Jason Lee said: "The children we spoke to for this report described living in a perpetual state of fear, worry, sadness and grief, waiting for the next round of violence to erupt, and feeling unable to sleep or concentrate. ...

These cities are known around the world—but can you recognize them without high-definition cameras and contemporary skylines? If you’re up for a challenge, see if you can match these 30 vintage photos to the world-famous cities where they were taken. A “grand” entrance We can start with an easy one. Even in this 1940s black-and-white picture, Grand Central Station is one of the most recognizable train stations in the world. Open to the public since 1913, Grand Central is more than just a transit stop—for thousands of tourists, the station is one of Manhattan’s great landmarks in its own right. Another brick in the wall Another easy one—for anyone who knows their history, at least. Marking the border between East and West Berlin, the Berlin Wall (pictured here on November 10, 1989) stood for almost three decades and served as a symbol of the “Iron Curtain” separating the West from the Soviet Union. A taste of Europe’s coffee culture If you find yourself ducking into a European café—espe...

China on Wednesday reaffirmed its threat to use military force to bring self-governing Taiwan under its control, amid threatening Chinese military exercises that have raised tensions between the sides to their highest level in years. The statement issued by the Cabinet’s Taiwan Affairs Office and its news department followed almost a week of missile firings and incursions into Taiwanese waters and airspace by Chinese warships and air force planes. The actions have disrupted flights and shipping in a region crucial to global supply chains, prompting strong condemnation from the U.S., Japan and others. The Chinese statement said Beijing seeks “peaceful unification" with Taiwan but “does not pledge to relinquish the use of military force and retains all necessary options." In an additional response, China said it was cutting off dialogue on issues from maritime security to climate change with the U.S., Taiwan’s chief military and political backer. China says the threatening move...

The Leaning Tower of Pisa is probably the most famous tilted building in the world, but there are plenty of other striking examples of structures that don’t stand up straight, whether by design or by accident. Here’s a look at some lesser-known lopsided lighthouses, temples, churches, and skyscrapers. Kiipsaare lighthouse, Estonia Built in 1933, the 26-metre (85-foot) Kiipsaare lighthouse stands off the coast of the island of Saaremaa in Estonia. Strong storms and waves are what first caused the structure to tilt, though wind and water have gradually pushed it back into a more upright position. Leaning tower of Suurhusen, Germany With an incline of 5.19 degrees, the bell tower of the protestant church in Suurhusen, Germany, holds the Guinness World Record for being the farthest-leaning tower. By comparison, the Leaning Tower of Pisa is incl...