The Independent

Half the world watched yesterday as the biggest names in rock music performed in London, Philadelphia and other cities to speak for Africa. Here Cole Moreton reports on Live8 and its impact on world leaders

Britain's top climatologist says a G8 fudge on global warming could be disastrous

The statistics released yesterday are a wake-up call to individuals and families that we're all responsible for climate change. By Charles Secrett

Appliances on standby pump one million tons of carbon into the atmosphere. Wasted energy of appliances on standby could power 400,000 homes. Up to 85 per cent of power used by a video recorder is consumed on standby.

One is an English aristocrat worth £35m with 9,000 acres and an 18th century manor house; the other earns less than £300 a year cutting sugar cane for 12 hours a day in rural Mozambique to support his parents and four brothers. By Maxine Frith

The price of modern life: Within ten years, one in three couples will have problems conceiving. By Maxine Frith

Thompsons the butchers has traded for three generations and more than 100 years from a shop perched precariously close to the river Rye in Helmsley, North Yorkshire. By Ian Herbert

Archaeologists have discovered Europe's oldest civilisation, a network of dozens of temples, 2,000 years older than Stonehenge and the Pyramids. By David Keys

The presence of Damascus's spies has cast a shadow over the first free elections in Lebanon for 30 years. Robert Fisk reports on the intelligence war that is threatening a nation's future

Environmental activists stormed car dealerships in seven cities yesterday, handcuffing themselves to Land Rovers and 4x4s in a protest against "gas-guzzling cars". By Andrew Johnson

The saga of America's ambition to put weapons in space has been as protracted as George Lucas's film franchise. Now George Bush has a new plan - at a stellar cost of $58bn. By Rupert Cornwell

It is the vehicle of choice for Hollywood A-listers such as Brad Pitt and Cameron Diaz ­ and now cabinet ministers are being issued with the hi-tech, environmentally friendly car that can cut pollution and beat the congestion charge. By Marie Woolf

Morgan Spurlock ate McDonald's food every day for a month, and recorded the stomach-churning results in his film 'Super Size Me'. Here, in an extract from his new book, Spurlock reveals the things he didn't say in the movie about Ronald McDonald and his campaign to win the hearts of our young

The secret research we reveal today raises the potential health risks of genetically modified foods. Here, environment editor Geoffrey Lean, who has led this paper's campaign on GM technology for the past six years, examines the new evidence.

The US bowed to international pressure last night by arresting an anti-Castro exile wanted over the 1976 bombing of a Cuban airliner in which 73 people were killed.

Workers at Land Rover's Solihull production plant were left choking on their early morning tea yesterday when 30 Greenpeace activists stormed the assembly line and began bolting themselves to half-built cars in a protest against "gas-guzzling" four-wheel drives. By Oliver Duff

Trade reforms backed and funded by the British Government have caused an agricultural crisis in India which has sparked an epidemic of suicide among impoverished farmers, a leading charity claims today. By Cahal Milmo

Frustrated by the Bush administration's refusal to ratify the Kyoto Treaty, 132 US mayors have pledged to enforce its regulations in their own cities. By Andrew Buncombe

Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger becomes Pope Benedict XVI, at 78 the oldest pope elected in the past 100 years after the swiftest conclave of modern times. It lasted just over 24 hours. By Paul Vallely

Scientists begin to unlock the secrets of papyrus scraps bearing long-lost words by the literary giants of Greece and Rome. By David Keys and Nicholas Pyke

Thousands of previously illegible manuscripts containing work by some of the greats of classical literature are being read for the first time using technology which experts believe will unlock the secrets of the ancient world. By David Keys and Nicholas Pyke

Climate change is playing havoc with the timing of the seasons and could drastically alter the landscape, according to one of the most comprehensive studies of its kind. By Matthew Beard

Some of Europe's richest countries have been named and shamed for their failure to meet aid pledges, as the European Commission demanded fresh commitments to help eradicate global hunger and poverty. By Stephen Castle

Silvio Berlusconi has suffered the gravest electoral rout of his political life this week, with his centre-right coalition losing power in 11 regions from the far north of the peninsula to the heel of the boot. By Peter Popham

He caused trouble for 51 years as an MP - longer than any parliamentarian other than prime ministers Lloyd George, Churchill and Heath. Today, one of the most charismatic and reviled political figures of the 20th century turns 80. And he's still walking the walk with his fighting talk.

Homeowners will get tax cuts of up to £600 for making their houses "green" and energy efficient, under official plans to combat global warming. By Severin Carrell

Robert Fisk has lived in the Lebanese capital for the past 30 years. Here, as Syria signs the agreement to withdraw its troops from Lebanon, he reflects on the events of the past few days

Destruction of protective gas means greater risk of skin cancer and cataracts. Geoffrey Lean reports

It is appropriate that in the week in which the Kyoto Protocol finally came into effect, we have been given irrefutable proof that the earth is heating up at an unnatural rate - and that is being caused by human actions.

It is hard not to see America's focus on human rights in Iran as a cloak for its larger strategic interests.