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Michael Phelps has broken a 2,000-year-old Olympic record by surpassing the 12 individual titles won by Leonidas of Rhodes. Who was this athlete whose record has taken two millennia to beat, asks Jon Kelly? Who, What, Why: Who was Leonidas of Rhodes? By Who, What Why...

Each of the 206 nations taking part in the Rio Olympics must respect the right of athletes to compete for team places, regardless of age, disability, gender and race. But there was a time when these rights were anything but respected, explains Robert Hume… Unsporting conduct at the...

The editor of the Financial Times, Lionel Barber, has been offered the prestigious Legion d’Honneur by France’s socialist government. But why? Before the referendum, the FT campaigned with every sinew for Britain to remain in the EU, and following the result it has relentlessly...

What Remainers are rowing back on their Project Fear warnings? Here's a little list... Coffee House Brexit U-turns: Who is rowing back on their Project Fear warnings? Tom Goodenough...

Ricky Gervais's feature film outing as David Brent has received mixed reviews following Wednesday's world premiere. Titled Life on the Road, the movie, unveiled in London, is a spin-off from the hit BBC TV series The Office. While some critics thought it "excruciatingly brilliant", others...

Dan Snow talks to Rob Attar about how the ground-breaking rise of the railways reshaped British society and ultimately undermined the empire... A rail revolution: Dan Snow on the meteoric rise of British railways Dan Snow talks to Rob Attar about how the ground-breaking rise of the railways...

Billionaire landowner and philanthropist the Duke of Westminster has died aged 64, his family said. Gerald Cavendish Grosvenor died at the Royal Preston Hospital in Lancashire on Tuesday after suddenly becoming ill on his Abbeystead Estate. The duke's fortune was estimated at £8.3bn...

Could the brands you like reveal the way you are likely to vote? That's one of the intriguing questions thrown up by a new analysis of the consumer preferences of tens of thousands of Brexit and Remain voters. In the last few weeks ranks of political experts have attempted to map and...

Four passengers and crew on an RAF helicopter have survived after it crashed into a mountain peak in Snowdonia. Witnesses said thick black smoke could be seen for miles around the top of the Welsh peak. Walkers on the mountain in north-west Wales reported seeing 10ft high flames. BREAKING...

During the EU in/out referendum campaign, much of the Remainers' Project Fear medicine focused on what it might mean for British tourists heading overseas; the answer could be largely summarised as all doom and gloom. Now, a month on from the June 23rd vote, British tourism is...

Warfare is a constantly evolving science, but sometimes, outdated weapons are good enough to get the job done. From longbow-wielding commandos to Civil War pikes and World War II biplane bombers, these weapons stuck around longer than they should have... Top 10 Obsolete Weapons That Were...

The Battle of Britain has long been hailed as the triumph of the plucky underdog over the Nazi goliath. Yet, says James Holland, when rival fighters clashed over England in 1940, it was the RAF that held all the aces... The Battle of Britain: a brilliant triumph that involved far more...

Zlatan Ibrahimovic scored a late winner as Manchester United defeated English champions Leicester City to win the Community Shield. The 34-year-old Swedish striker, signed from Paris Saint-Germain on 1st July, headed the ball into the net late into the match on his Manchester United competitive...

Manchester United are on the brink of re-signing Paul Pogba from Juventus in the first £100m ($131m) transfer deal. The 23-year-old will have a medical in the next few days before what is set to be a world record transfer. Pogba, who left United for £1.5m in 2012 after making just seven...

We know what people voted against,’ say half-clever pundits, ‘but it’s far from clear what they voted for.’ Actually, it’s very clear: the British voted to leave the EU and take back control of their own laws. They didn’t dictate precisely what kind of deal we should have with our...

Every culture on Earth has its own monsters. Their stories, their curious habits and diets, and the ways in which they can be warded off create a picture of imaginations running riot. What does the existence of monsters, even if only in our heads, say about humankind? Trolls, demons and...

The Government has begun considering leaving the single market for the first time, as the Treasury and the newly created Brexit department hold detailed talks with finance leaders over the best way to pull out of the EU. A series of discussions have been held between the Chancellor...

From Nero to King George IV, historian Sean Lang rounds up nine of history’s most outlandish rulers… 9 eccentric monarchs through history Sean Lang Friday 5th August 2016 BBC History Magazine...

The world's largest aircraft, known fondly as the 'Flying Bum', left its hangar for the first time today. The Airlander 10, which cost £25million to build over 10 years, is 302 feet (92 metres) long and pumped with a million cubic feet of helium. The part-plane, part-airship left its...

A diver who has helped to recover "thousands of items" from a 17th Century shipwreck has said the finds "rival the best collections" in the country. The London sank off Southend-on-Sea, Essex, in 1665 and was only rediscovered in 2005. Artefacts salvaged from the wreck since 2010 have...