Tapes give insight into aftermath of Kennedy death

The US National Archives has released recordings of the Air Force One flight back to Washington on the day of John F Kennedy's assassination on Friday 22 November 1963. The tapes, which contain 42 minutes of audio not included in the original public version, reveal the grief and confusion felt in the hours after Kennedy's shooting. Among those onboard the flight were Lyndon Johnson, who had just been sworn-in as president, Kennedy’s widow, Jackie, and his mother, Rose. Experts believe the comments will stir debate among conspiracy theorists, who have often questioned why audio was missing from the official recordings in the first place.

Report claims workers in 1952 were poorer but less stressed

A report by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development has found that workers today have more money but are also more stressed than those in 1952. Other changes since 1952 noted by the report include a rise in employment of six million, a rise in the employment rate of women from 46 per cent to 66 per cent and a reduction in those working in the manufacturing industry. The report does state, however, that the total number of hours worked has stayed the same due to a substantial rise in part-time working.

Otto von Bismarck heard again

A voice recording of Otto von Bismarck, made in 1889 by a technician working for phonograph inventor Thomas Edison, has been restored using digital technology, and released. The wax cylinder recording, the first time the German statesman’s voice has been heard in more than 100 years, was among 17 found in an unlabelled box at Edison's laboratory in New Jersey in 1957. Bismarck, who is barely audible on the recordings, can be heard reciting extracts of poetry, songs, and giving words of advice to his son.

Mound of Devon to be revealed

Work is underway to expose a hidden fortification in County Down, thought to be around 1,000 years old. Overgrown and hidden from public view for decades, the Mound of Down is one of the largest megalithic hill forts in western Europe, according to experts. It is believed that the earthwork on the mound is a pre-Norman fortification and was once the seat of the high kings when they moved eastwards from the area around Navan, Armagh.

US treasure hunter claims £1.9 billion wreck

A treasure hunter from Maine has claimed to have found the wreck of British merchant ship SS Port Nicholson 50 miles off the US Atlantic coast. Greg Brooks of Sub Sea Research says he has video footage showing a platinum bar on the ship, surrounded by 30 boxes that he believes hold platinum ingots. If Brooks is proved right, the wreck could be worth £1.9 billion, but some experts have expressed doubt that the ship ever carried platinum. The SS Port Nicholson was torpedoed and sunk in 1942 by a German U-boat in an attack that killed six people.

Germany returns Afghan sculpture

Germany has returned an ancient limestone pre-Islamic sculpture to Afghanistan after it appeared in Munich last year, according to officials. The sculpture, which dates from the second century AD, was looted from the Afghan National Museum during the country’s civil war. An estimated 70,000 of the museum’s objects were looted or destroyed between 1979 and the mid-1990s, but some 8,000 artefacts have been recovered since 2007.