When Japan\’s last oriental white stork died in 1971 it was thought that the birds had disappeared forever. The wetlands where the stork nested had been irrigated, and development damaged its habitat.

The world has been introduced to the true face of Julius Caesar with the discovery in a river in southern France of a bust that was sculpted in the lifetime of the Roman leader. The marble sculpture, found in the bed of the Rhône in the town of Arles,...

During his successful campaign for the French presidency last year, Nicolas Sarkozy’s mantra was there must be “a rupture with the past.” For the country to flourish, he said, the French economy and its ponderous institutions need to...

- South African President Thabo Mbeki, the chief regional mediator on the crisis in Zimbabawe, was due on Friday to make his first visit to Harare since the release of disputed election results. Mbeki, widely criticised for his softly-softly approach...