i Newspaper
 
TheIPaper
The Independent around the web
E-break Time
Independent Crossword
Botanical expertise: Mary Grierson

Mary Grierson: Floral artist celebrated as one of the most distinguished in her field

In 1960 a woman applied for the post of exhibitions officer at the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew. She didn't get the job, but was able to show her interviewers her portfolio of flower paintings, and was engaged instead as an artist in the herbarium. This was Mary Grierson, soon to become recognised as one of the world's most distinguished botanical artists.

Mohawk to be first Native American saint

Kateri Tekakwitha, a 17th-century Mohawk Indian woman who died aged 24, after professing her vows of virginity, is to be the first Native American saint. She is among seven canonisations set for October, the Vatican said yesterday.

A force for good? Inside a conference for 'white-hat' hackers

Cyber Culture: Why hackers are being asked to come and have a go, if they think they're smart enough

Security personnel tend not to challenge the public to sneak unnoticed into buildings they're guarding, preferring to give the impression that the entrances are impregnable and they themselves are invincible. But the "keep out or else" approach doesn't work online, where cyber attacks are rampant and the task of thwarting them is too colossal for stretched IT departments.

The Descendants (15)

Starring: George Clooney, Judy Greer, Beau Bridges, Amara Miller

Matt Every outraged the Golf Channel by refusing to feel too bad about having friends who smoke dope
2012: Good year for the celebribaby, bad year for original films

2012: Good year/Bad year

Not since the turn of the millennium has a single year promised so much: the Olympics, Euro 2012, a US election, an extra day off, and oh, the end of the world. Here, we assess the 12 winners and losers, and ask what the year holds... apart from Armageddon

Last night's viewing - Enlightened, Sky Atlantic; After Life: the Strange Science of Decay, BBC4

Enlightened, an HBO drama about a midlife crisis, began with the rich but slightly shameful pleasure of someone else's nervous breakdown. Amy, a mid-ranking executive at an American conglomerate, has reacted badly to the discovery that she's been sidelined in a jobs shuffle, her chagrin increased by the fact that she's been having an office affair with the shuffler. We found her first hunched in the lavatory, a mud-slide of mascara running down her face. Things escalated, despite the pleading intervention of her PA. She shrieked at her "back-stabbing" colleagues and ended by prising apart the elevator doors as her lover and boss attempted a getaway with a group of startled-looking clients. Given the mood of the moment, it's hard to believe that her cathartic explosion of rage wouldn't stir a sympathetic echo in quite a few viewers' hearts. She might have burnt her boats but the blaze is spectacular, and she's said nothing that isn't true.

Neco Padaratz in action

Surf war: boys from Brazil vs Hawaii's angry young locals

You only have to watch Edison de Paula carve his way across one of the spectacular waves that wallop Oahu's shore to realise surfing isn't a laid-back sport. When the swells hit 30 feet, one wrong move can send you to a watery grave. At Pipeline, a break famous for its perfect "tubes," there have been 70 deaths since the 1960s. At nearby Sunset Beach, a man went missing, presumed dead, only last week.

Neco Padaratz in action

Boys from Brazil stir up a surf war

Tensions between Hawaiian surfers and energetic newcomers from South America have reached boiling point on Oahu's famous beaches

'The future belongs to Asia,' says Hillary Clinton

Secretary of State seeks to woo Pacific Rim finance ministers, saying US is turning back on ailing EU

Paradise lost for Disney's new resort

Disney has fired executives at its $850m Hawaiian mini-theme park and suspended sales of timeshares

Former conjoined twins turn 10

Twin sisters who were born conjoined but defied the odds to survive separation surgery have celebrated their tenth birthdays.

Volcanic lava scorches park

Miles of lava have spread across a national park in Hawaii after the Kilauea volcano erupted.

Career Services

Day In a Page

Next in line – but public just can't warm to idea of Charles in charge

Next in line – but public just can't warm to idea of Charles in charge

'Independent' poll finds less that half want him to take throne as ministers moan of interference
Nothing's sacred: the illegal trade in India's holy cows

Nothing's sacred: the illegal trade in India's holy cows

Andrew Buncombe reports from Kaharpara on a bloody war between rustlers and border guards
Mogul grounded: Desmond gives up his jet deal

Mogul grounded: Desmond gives up his jet deal

Media tycoon's company pays £1m to cancel his order for a £36m private jet after drop in profits
How Ai Weiwei built a pavilion in London – by remote control

How Ai Weiwei built a pavilion in London – by remote control

The artist tells Clifford Coonan how he used Skype to escape confinement in Beijing
Nature, nurture... or neither? The new twist in an age-old argument

Nature, nurture... or neither?

The new twist in an age-old argument
Radio 4 to shed its cosy image with a 'sexy' Ulysses drama

Radio 4 to shed its cosy image with a 'sexy' Ulysses drama

New station controller wants to reflect the current period of 'turmoil and uncertainity'
Alcohol: I drink therefore I am

Alcohol: I drink therefore I am

New guidelines warn Britons to drastically reduce their boozing. But is a life without liquor worth living? Hell no, says John Walsh
The Cable News Nightmare: CNN (and Piers Morgan) in audience crisis

The Cable News Nightmare

CNN (and Piers Morgan) in audience crisis
Like a barbie, but better: The Big Green Egg can griddle, roast, and smoke food - and even make pizza

The Big Green Egg: Like a barbie, but better

It can griddle, roast, and smoke food - and even make pizza...
The 10 Best chopping boards

The 10 Best chopping boards

Whether you want to dice veg, chop meat, or just slice up a salad, there’s a surface here to suit every culinary need.
Flat and fabulous: From wraps to foccacias, our appetite for new and exotic breads knows no limits

Flat and fabulous: Exotic breads

Lucy McDonald visits the bakeries of Tel Aviv to to find out what we'll be eating next.
Brendan Rodgers: Just like Mourinho... only different

Brendan Rodgers: Just like Mourinho... only different

Obsessive, ambitious, eager to learn and with no playing career; can the Northern Irishman be Liverpool's Special One?
Gary Lewin: Players need winter break

Gary Lewin: Players need winter break

The England physio tells Patrick Barclay that this spate of injuries is due to the non-stop demands of the Premier League

Countdown's rudest ever moments

Yesterday a contestant spelt the word 'minge'.
Special report: Tamil asylum-seekers to be forcibly deported

Special report

Tamil asylum-seekers to be forcibly deported