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[SOURCE: https://he.wikipedia.org/wiki/חיל_האוויר_הישראלי] \| [TOKENS: 42654]
תוכן עניינים חיל האוויר הישראלי חיל האוויר הישראלי, שידוע גם בשמו המקוצר "חיל האוויר", או בשמו הרשמי "זרוע הָאוויר והֶחלל", הוא הזרוע האווירית של צה"ל. חיל האוויר הישראלי הוא מרכיב משמעותי בעוצמתו של צה"ל הנחשב לחזק ביותר במזרח התיכון ולאחד מחיילות האוויר הטובים והמיומנים בעולם. בראש זרוע האוויר עומד קצין בדרגת אלוף. מפקדו הנוכחי של החיל הוא אלוף תומר בר. מבנה חיל האוויר מפקדת חיל האוויר כוללת את מטה החיל, המפקדות המקצועיות וגופי הפיקוח והבקרה. מטה חיל האוויר שוכן במחנה רבין (הקריה) בתל אביב. המטה נחלק לשבעה להקים. בראש כל להק עומד קצין בדרגת תת-אלוף, הכפוף ישירות למפקד חיל האוויר. המבנה ההיררכי של הלהקים, כנהוג ביחידות מטה בצה"ל, מורכב ממחלקות, ענפים ומדורים. מטה חיל האוויר מורכב מהלהקים הבאים: מפקדות מקצועיות הפועלות במסגרת חיל האוויר: גופי הפיקוח והבקרה הפועלים במסגרת חיל האוויר: חיל-האוויר פועל מבסיסים קבועים, ברובם שדות תעופה צבאיים בהם מוצבות טייסות. קיימים שני סוגי בסיסים בחיל האוויר: בסיסי חיל האוויר הם (מהצפוני ביותר לדרומי): בח"א 21, רמת דוד (כנף 1), פלמחים (בח"א 30), הקריה (ממח"א 111), תל נוף (בח"א 8), חצור (כנף 4), חצרים (בח"א 6), נבטים (בח"א 28), רמון (כנף 25), עובדה (בח"א 10). בנוסף ישנם שני כנפות לא גאוגרפיות: כנף 7, אשר מאגדת את יחידות כוחות האוויר המיוחדים, וכנף 168 כנף היערכות של מערך ההגנה האווירית. שתי כנפות אלו יושבות בפלמחים. טייסות הטיסה הן הטייסות המפעילות את כלי הטיס של החיל. מפקד טייסת טיסה הוא איש צוות-אוויר בדרגת סגן-אלוף, ולצידו משרתים סגני מפקד הטייסת: מפקד גף טיסה (סמ"ט א') ומפקד גף הדרכה (סמ"ט ב') וכן מפקד גף טכני, בדרגות רס"ן. לכל טייסת כינוי, למשל "טייסת העטלף", ומספר ייחודי, לרוב בן שלוש ספרות (יוצאת מן הכלל היא טייסת 69). בכל טייסת טיסה קיים גף טכני. למפקד הגף כפופים קצין חימוש וקצין אחזקה ולעיתים גם קצין חמ"מ וקצין ממ"ס. הגף הטכני מאויש על ידי טכנאי צוות קרקע במקצועות: ממ"ס (מכונאי מטוסים), חָמָ"מ (חשמלאי מכשירן), חמש (טכנאי מערכות חימוש). הגף הטכני משמש כדרג א' של תחזוקה ופעילותיו כוללות: בדיקה יומית לכלי הטיס, בדיקה לפני טיסה, חימוש ותדלוק ותחזוקה קלה. טייסות מטוסי קרב מפעילות מטוסים ליירוט ולתקיפה (אוויר-קרקע). רוב טייסות חיל האוויר הישראלי משתייכות לקטגוריית טייסות קרב. ישנם מטוסי קרב שאותם מטיס טייס בודד, ואחרים (מטוסים דו-מושביים) שאותם מטיסים שני אנשי צוות: טייס ונווט קרב. טייסות הקרב בחיל האוויר הישראלי מפעילות את המטוסים הבאים: מטוס הקרב הראשון של חיל האוויר היה אוויה S-199 ("סכין"). לאחריו נכנסו לשירות מטוסי ספיטפייר, P-51 מוסטנג, בופייטר, B-17 מבצר מעופף (מפציץ כבד, ולא מטוס קרב כשאר המטוסים ברשימה זו), ומוסקיטו. בשנות ה-50 של המאה ה-20 החלו להיכנס לשירות מטוסי סילון; הראשון שבהם היה המטאור, ואחריו החלה "התקופה הצרפתית" בחיל האוויר, שבה היוו מטוסי קרב צרפתיים את עמוד השדרה של מערך הקרב. הראשון שבהם היה האוראגן, ואחריו באו ווטור, מיסטר, סופר מיסטר (סמב"ד), ומיראז' 3. זה האחרון היה המטוס הראשון שזכה לכינוי עברי – "שחק". לאחר המיראז' נכנס הסקייהוק, "עיט", שהיה המטוס הראשון מתוצרת ארצות הברית. אחריו הגיע לחיל האוויר ה-F-4 פנטום שכונה בחיל האוויר "קורנס" והיווה קפיצת מדרגה ביכולות מטוסי הקרב של החיל. במקביל, קלט חיל האוויר מטוסים מתוצרת התעשייה האווירית לישראל; הראשון שבהם היה הסער, מטוס סופר מיסטר שעבר השבחה. אחריו קלט חיל האוויר את מטוס הנשר והכפיר. החל מסוף שנות ה-70 של המאה ה-20 החל חיל האוויר לקלוט את מטוסי ה-F-15 ו-F-16 לסוגיהם, ואלה מהווים עד היום את עיקר כוחו. מערך המסוקים בחיל האוויר הישראלי הוקם בשנות החמישים. מפקד טייסת המסוקים הראשון היה אורי ירום. תחילה כלל מסוקים קלים בודדים כגון: ההילר 360 מתוצרת "סיקורסקי" והאלואט II. טייס המסוקים הראשון בחייל היה קרול זבדי שהחל במאי 1951 קורס הסבה למסוקי הילר, ומכונאי המסוקים הראשון היה היטר טיבור (טיבי). רק בסוף שנות החמישים נקלטו מסוקי תובלה מדגם סיקורסקי S-55 שהתגלו כלא אמינים ומאוחר יותר הסיקורסקי S-58 שרשם פרק מפואר במלחמת ששת הימים. עידן המסוקים הכבדים נפתח בהקמת טייסת הסופר פרלון ("צרעה"), טייסת 114, מסוק תובלה כבד מתוצרת צרפת בעל יכולות אמפיביות. מסוקים אלו התפרסמו בין השאר בחילוץ ניצולים מהמשחתת אח"י אילת שטובעה סמוך לחוף רומני בחצי האי סיני. מסוקי הבל 206 ("סייפן" לדגם הקצר, "סייפנית" לדגם הארוך) היוו את שדרת מסוקי התובלה הקלים בחיל האוויר ושימשו לרוב משימות ההטסה של בכירי צה"ל ובהמשך לאימון טייסים. כמו כן שירת בעבר בחיל האוויר מסוק קל בל 47 שכלל טייס אחד ונוסע לידיו ושימש בשנות השישים לתעבורת מפקדים בשדה. בעשור השני של המאה ה-21 החליף מסוק ה"עופר" (אגוסטה וסטלנד AW119 קואלה) את מסוק ה"סייפן" למשימת אימון טייסים חדשים. בעשור השני של המאה ה-21, ה-CH-53 סי סטאליון ("יסעור") הוא מסוק התובלה הכבד בחיל האוויר. מסוק התובלה החדיש ביותר בחיל האוויר הוא ה-UH-60 בלק הוק ("ינשוף") שנכנס לשירות בחיל-האוויר ב-1994, והחליף בהדרגה את הבל 212 ("אנפה"). את עידן מסוקי הקרב פתחו בשנות השבעים ה-MD500 דיפנדר ("להטוט") וה-AH-1 קוברה ("צפע") אליהם הצטרף בתחילת שנות ה-90 של המאה ה-20 ה-AH-64 אפאצ'י ("פתן") מתוצרת בואינג שנחשב מסוק הקרב המשוכלל בעולם בזמנו. בשנת 2005 נרכשו מסוקי AH-64D אפאצ'י לונגבו המכונים בחיל "שרף", שנחשבו למתקדמים ביותר בעולם בזמנם. ב-2014 יצאו מסוקי הקוברה משירות ואילו מסוקי ה"פתן" שודרגו לרמה קרובה לזו של ה"שרף". מערך המסוקים יורה מגוון טילי אוויר-קרקע וטילי נ"ט בהם ה-AGM-114 הלפייר והתמוז – טיל ישראלי ארוך טווח שהיה מסווג במשך שנים רבות. מסוק העטלף פועל מעל גבי ספינות הטילים מסוג סער 5 של חיל הים. מסוק זה החליף את קודמו הדולפין. מסוקי חיל האוויר השתתפו במלחמות ישראל החל ממלחמת ששת הימים. מלבד חילוץ פצועים וטייסים שנטשו מעבר לקווי האויב השתתפו מסוקי הסער במשימות רבות שהתפרסמו: מבצע הלם בנגע חמאדי (סופר פרלון), מבצע תרנגול 53 – חטיפת המכ"ם הרוסי (יסעור), הנחתת סיירת הצנחנים בעומק סוריה במלחמת יום הכיפורים (יסעור) ועוד. מסוקי הקרב של חיל האוויר ביצעו אלפי תקיפות כנגד קיני מחבלים והשמידו אלפי מטרות אויב בלבנון ובשטחי יהודה, שומרון ועזה. באינתיפאדה השנייה ביצעו המסוקים סיכולים ממוקדים כנגד פעילי וראשי ארגוני טרור פלסטינים. מערך התובלה של חיל האוויר אחראי על תובלה צבאית וכן על תובלה במבצעים מיוחדים (כגון מבצע אנטבה והעלאת יהודי אתיופיה). מערך התובלה מפעיל מטוסים מדגמי C-130 הרקולס ("קרנף"), C-130J סופר הרקולס ("שמשון") בואינג 707 ("ראם") ובוננזה A36 ("חופית") מתוצרת ביצ'קראפט, שהחליף את ה־TB-20 טרינידאד ("פשוש"). מטוסים קלים רבים שירתו בחיל האוויר עוד לפני הקמתו הרשמית, ובהם אוסטר אוטוקרט ("פרימוס"), ביצ'קראפט בוננזה, גראמן G-44 וידג'ן, מיילס איירוואן M-57, ריפבליק RC-3 סי-בי (מטוס ימי), R.W.D. 13‏, R.W.D. 15, ועוד. כמו כן שירתו בחיל מטוסי תובלה גדולים יותר, ובהם דראגון רפיד, לוקהיד הדסון, נורדואין UC-64A נורסמן, וכן מטוסי תובלה כבדים יחסית כמו קרטיס C-46 קומנדו, לוקהיד 18 לודסטאר, לוקהיד קונסטליישן, PBY קטלינה, דאגלס DC-3 דקוטה ו-C-54 סקיימאסטר. מטוסים אלה נרכשו בשנותיה הראשונות של המדינה מכל הבא ליד; חלקם הגדול שירת שנה או שנתיים בלבד ואז הוצא משירות, אם כתוצאה מבעיות טכניות או מאי התאמה למטרות החיל. בשנות ה-50 של המאה ה-20 רכש חיל האוויר את מטוס התובלה נורד 2501 נוראטלס, ובשנות ה-70 נוסף לחיל מטוס הבואינג 377 סטרטוקרוזר שכונה בחיל האוויר "ענק". באותן שנים רכש חיל האוויר גם מטוסי קישור קטנים יותר: פילטוס PC-6A טורבו-פורטר, דורניר Do 27 (דרור), צסנה 180 ו-205, ואירוספסיאל סוקאטה ראלי. בשנות ה-70 של המאה ה-20 הפעיל חיל האוויר את הביצ'קראפט B-80 "קווין אייר", שכונה בחיל האוויר "זמיר", ומטוסי "ערבה" מתוצרת התעשייה האווירית. באותן שנים נכנסו לשירות גם ה"קרנף" וה"ראם". ב־1974 נקלטו בחיל האוויר מטוסי גראמן OV-1 מוהוק, "עטלף", ומטוסים מסוג "ביצ'קראפט קינג אייר", וכן דגם מתקדם יותר של המטוס שזכה לכינוי "צופית" ונכנס לשירות בשנות ה-90. בשנות ה-80 החל מערך הבקרה האווירית להפעיל מטוסי בקרה, שליטה והתראה מוקדמת מסוג E-2C הוקאי שכונה "דיה" בטייסת 192. כמו כן הפעיל חיל האוויר הישראלי מטוסים מסוג סי-סקאן ("שחף") תוצרת התעשייה האווירית, לצורך משימות סיוע אווירי עבור חיל הים, וכן מטוסי סיור ותצפית דורניר DO-28 "עגור". בשנת 2005 החל חיל האוויר לקלוט בטייסת 122 את מטוסי ה"נחשון", מטוסי מנהלים מסוג גאלפסטרים V שהוסבו לתצורת איסוף מודיעין אותות (סיגינט) שזכה לכינוי "שביט", ולתצורת בקרה אווירית, שזכה לכינוי "עיטם". אחזקת מטוסי הבואינג 707 ("ראם"), ה-C-130 הרקולס ("קרנף") והגאלפסטרים V ("נחשון") נעשית על ידי התעשייה האווירית, זאת בניגוד לשאר כלי הטיס בחיל האוויר שאחזקתם נעשית על ידי החיילים בגפים הטכניים. מערך כלי טיס מאוישים מרחוק (כטמ"ם) (בעבר נהוג היה להשתמש במושג כלי הטיס הבלתי מאויש – כטב"ם, ובמושג מזל"ט), שפועל מאז שנת 1971 מפעיל כלי טיס בלתי מאוישים למגוון רב של מטרות. מערך הכטב"ם של חיל האוויר הישראלי זכה לפרסום רב באינתיפאדה השנייה עקב מעורבותם הגבוהה של הכטב"מים בהספקת מודיעין, איתור חוליות קסאם וסיוע בביצוע סיכולים ממוקדים בפעילי טרור. בעבר הפעיל חיל האוויר הישראלי כטב"מי מטרה (שמדמים מטוסים וטילים) וצילום אוויר מתוצרת אמריקנית, אך פרט לכך כל הכטמ"מים של חיל האוויר הישראלי הם מתוצרת התעשיות הביטחוניות הישראליות. משרתים במערך הכטמ"ם ההרון 1 ("שובל") וההרמס 450 ("זיק") ומזל"ט טקטי סקיילייט ("עפרוני") למשימות סיור ואיסוף מודיעין, כמו גם ציון מטרות עבור נשק מונחה לייזר. כן משרת במערך ההארפי ("שיאון"), כטב"ם אוטונומי "מתאבד" למשימות דיכוי הגנה אווירית. כמו כן, מפעיל חיל האוויר כטב"מי תקיפה חמושים. לטענת כתב העת אוויאיישן וויק אנד ספייס טכנולוג'י כטב"מים אלו הם למעשה כטב"מי הרמס 450 שצוידו במשגרי טילים. ב-2008 נקלט בחיל ההרון TP ("איתן") – מטוס ללא טייס ארוך טווח. ב-2014 נקלט בחיל ההרמס 900 בשם "כוכב", והוא נטל חלק במבצע צוק איתן במהלך תהליך כניסתו לשירות, וב-2015 הוכרז כמבצעי. ב-2022 נקלט בחיל האורביטר 4 בשם ניצוץ. בצה"ל, כוחות ההגנה האווירית (לשעבר נ"מ) כפופים לחיל האוויר. כוחות אלה אחראים על הפלת כלי טיס עוינים, רקטות ארטילריות וטילים בליסטיים באמצעות ירי מהקרקע ומתן חיפוי נגד-מטוסים לכוחות היבשה של צה"ל. בהתאם לדוקטרינת הגנת שמי המדינה המערבית, נסמך חיל האוויר הישראלי בעיקר על מטוסי יירוט ככלי להשגת עליונות אווירית, כאשר מערך הנ"מ מהווה את קו ההגנה האחרון מפני איומים אוויריים. מערך הנ"מ הפעיל בעבר אמצעים שונים, ביניהם: טילי הכתף FIM-92 סטינגר ("ברקן"), סוללות טילי MIM-23 הוק וסוללות טילי MIM-104 פטריוט ("יהלום") ותותחי נ"מ מדגמים שונים. כיום מפעיל מערך ההגנה האווירית מערך הגנה רב-שכבתית נגד ארטילריה רקטית וטילי קרקע-קרקע. המערך כולל בשכבתו הגבוהה ביותר סוללות טילי "חץ 3" שמיועד ליירט טילים בליסטיים מחוץ לאטמוספירה, מתחתיו סוללות טילי "חץ 2", המיועדים ליירוט טילים בליסטיים בעת מעופם ומתחתם מערכת "קלע דוד" ליירוט טילי קרקע-קרקע לטווח בינוני וארוך ורקטות לטווח ארוך, טילי שיוט וכלי טיס. מתחת לקלע דוד נמצאות סוללות "כיפת ברזל" המיועדות ליירוט רקטות ארטילריות קצרות טווח. כיפת ברזל נקלטה בחיל ב-2011 ויירטה אלפי רקטות ששיגרו מחבלים פלסטינים על ישראל. מערכת קלע דוד רשמה יירוט בכורה מבצעי ב-2022 במבצע מגן וחץ ומערכת החץ (חץ 2 וחץ 3) רשמו יירוטי בכורה מבצעיים במלחמת חרבות ברזל. מערך האחזקה מעניק למטוסי חיל האוויר את הטיפול הטכני שבלעדיו לא ימריאו. המערך מתפקד ברמות שונות: מערך הבקרה האווירית ופיקוח הטיסה אחראי על בניית התמונה האווירית, מערכת המכילה את כל כלי הטיס הנמצאים במרחב האווירי של מדינת ישראל וסביבתה. המערך ממונה על פיקוח ובקרה על התנועה האווירית בכל המרחב האווירי של ישראל, וכן על גילוי וזיהוי ניסיונות חדירה למרחב האווירי של מדינת ישראל, והכוונת מטוסי הירוט של החיל אל עבר מטרות אוויריות. המערך כולל יחידות בקרה אזוריות (יב"א) בהר מירון ובמצפה רמון, יחידת גילוי בבעל חצור ויחידות בקרה מקומיות, דוגמת ביבו"פ שבבסיס עובדה, הפרוסות ברחבי הארץ ומספקות כיסוי של המרחב האווירי של מדינת ישראל וסביבתה באמצעות מכ"מים. תחת מערך הבקרה ופיקוח הטיסה פועלים גם מגדלי הפיקוח בבסיסי הטיסה אשר אמונים על ניהול התעבורה ושמירה על בטיחות הטיסה במרחב האווירי של כלל בסיסי הטיסה. בראש מפקדת יחידות הבקרה (מיח"ה 517) עומד קצין בדרגת אלוף-משנה. הכוחות המיוחדים של חיל האוויר כוללים את היחידות הבאות: בזרוע האוויר קיימות שתי יחידות ניסויים: הכשרה למקצועות הדרושים בחיל האוויר נעשית בדרך כלל באחד מבתי הספר של החיל, ולאחריו הכשרה תוך כדי עבודה ביחידה מבצעית. חלק מהמקצועות המיוחדים בחיל האוויר עוברים את ההכשרה במלואה בבסיסי שטח, כגון טכנאי בדיקות לא הורסות (אל הרס) המוכשרים ביחידת האחזקה האווירית של חיל האוויר. מערך ההדרכה של חיל האוויר הישראלי כולל שבעה בתי-ספר עיקריים: כנף ציון הוא מטוס בואינג 767-338ER המשמש את ראש הממשלה ואת נשיא המדינה בטיסות רשמיות. המטוס נרכש בשנת 2016 מחברת קוואנטס האוסטרלית ועבר הסבה מקיפה שכללה מערכות תקשורת מוצפנות, אמצעי מיגון וחדרי עבודה ומנוחה. טיסת הבכורה הרשמית התקיימה ביולי 2024 עם נסיעתו של ראש הממשלה בנימין נתניהו לארצות הברית. המטוס מופעל מבסיס נבטים בידי טייסת 120 בשיתוף משרד ראש הממשלה, וצוותו כולל טייסים ואנשי תחזוקה ייעודיים. כוח אדם צוותי האוויר של חיל האוויר משתייכים לשלוש קבוצות: רוב הכוח הלוחם של צוותי האוויר של חיל האוויר משתייכים לקבוצות הצבות חירום והמילואים. הלוחמים הסדירים משמרים את פעילות הטייסת בשגרה כדי שתהיה מוכנה להפעלה על ידי לוחמי המילואים והצבות החירום בשעת הצורך. מודל הפעולה של חיל האוויר המבוסס במידה ניכרת על אנשי מילואים המתנדבים לשרת, מצליח באופן כללי הודות למוטיבציה גבוהה של אנשי המילואים להמשיך את שירותם לאורך שנים רבות. עם זאת, במהלך השנים היו שלושה מקרים בהם קבוצות של אנשי צוות אוויר אתגרו את המודל ההתנדבותי. המקרה הראשון אירע לאחר אסון המסוקים כאשר התברר לאנשי המילואים שלאנשי הקבע יש ביטוח חיים מקיף יותר משיש להם. לאחר דיון עם משרד הביטחון, הודיעו בשנת 1999 עשרות אנשי צוות אוויר במילואים על פרישתם משירות, ורק לאחר שיג ושיח נוסף הסכימו לחזור לשירות. במקרה השני, 27 לוחמי צוות אוויר חתמו ב־24 בספטמבר 2003 על עצומה בה הודיעו שיסרבו לקחת חלק בתקיפה במרכזי אוכלוסייה אזרחית. בתגובה, חותמים שלא חזרו בהם הודחו משירות בחיל האוויר ומפקד החייל, דן חלוץ, הגדיל את מספר המשרתים בקבע, כדי להקטין את התלות באנשי המילואים. בשנת 2023 הודיעה קבוצה של טייסים ובעלי תפקידי שליטה בחיל האוויר שלא יתנדבו עוד למילואים כחלק מהמחאה נגד הרפורמה המשפטית. ביולי 2023 נטען על ידי המארגנים שמעל 1,100 אנשי צוות אוויר שבהם יותר מ-500 טייסים מבצעיים, המהווים אחוז משמעותי מכלל הטייסים של החיל, חתמו על אי התייצבות. בתחילת אוגוסט 2023 נמסר שלאחר חקיקת ביטול עילת הסבירות 830 אנשי מילואים, בהם 260 טייסים הפסיקו את התנדבותם. תגובת החיל למוחים כללה בעיקר ניסיון לשכנע אותם לא לפגוע בכשירות החיל. במהלך מלחמת חרבות ברזל טען מפקד חיל האוויר, תומר בר, שכשירות החיל לא נפגעה. כ-60% מאנשי חיל האוויר משתייכים למערך הטכני. בשנת 2017 היוו נשים כ-30% מהמערך הטכני של חיל האוויר. סמל החיל הסמל הראשון של החיל נקבע בתקופתו של לסקוב בין השנים 1951–1953. הסמל עוצב על פי תווית של כנפי נשר ישראלי שהתגלתה בעתיקות בית שאן. מדי החיל כומתת החיל היא בצבע אפור כהה עם סמל חיל האוויר כסוף. דרגות החיל דרגות החיל בתחילתו היו שונות מהנהוג בחילות היבשה. להלן טבלה משווה. עם הזמן אוחדו שמות הדרגות וסימניהן עם אלה של כוחות היבשה, כדי ליצור אחידות. מפקדי חיל האוויר מפקד חיל האוויר הישראלי (בראשי תיבות: מח"א) הוא קצין בדרגת אלוף. ספירת מפקדי חיל האוויר הרשמית מתחילה בישראל עמיר, אך למעשה לפניו מונו שני מפקדים: יהושע אייזיק (אשל), שהיה מפקד "המועצה הכללית לתעופה" ומפקד שירות האוויר של ההגנה עוד בטרם שינה זה את שמו ל"חיל האוויר" ואלכס זילוני, ששירת כמוביל בחיל האוויר המלכותי של בריטניה, אשר החליף אותו זמן קצר לאחר מכן. דרגי הפיקוד של חיל האוויר לא הכירו בשניהם, ומבחינה מעשית, לא הכירו גם בפיקודו של ישראל עמיר, ונמנעו משיתופו בקביעת מדיניות והחלטות שונות. הפיקוד התייצב רק לאחר שמונה אהרן רמז כמפקד החיל. מינויו של מפקד חיל האוויר, נדון במטה הכללי ומתקבל על ידי הרמטכ"ל תוך אישורו של שר הביטחון. היסטוריה ראשיתו של חיל האוויר הישראלי היה "שירות האוויר", הזרוע האווירית של ההגנה. ב-10 בנובמבר 1947, הוקם "שירות האוויר" באופן רשמי, כשלרשותו 11 מטוסים מטיפוסים טייגר מות', ר.וו.ד.-13, זלין, טיילורקרפט, אוסטר, סי-בי ודה הבילנד דראגון רפיד. בראשית 1948 נוספו 21 מטוסי אוסטר שנרכשו משלטונות המנדטוריות וכונו בישראל "פרימוס" ולכן בתחילת מלחמת העצמאות הפעיל שירות האוויר רק מטוסי סיור קלים. מפקדו הראשון היה יהושע אייזיק (אשל). באפריל 1948 החליף השם "חיל האוויר", בהדרגה, את השם "שירות האוויר", מבלי שפורסמה הודעה רשמית על כך. רק אחרי פלישת צבאות ערב השיג חיל האוויר מטוסי קרב בעלי חימוש תקני. בפעולתם הראשונה, ב-29 במאי 1948, תקפו ארבעה מטוסי אוויה S-199 את ראש הטור המצרי סמוך לג'סר איסדוד מצפון לאיסדוד. אחד הטייסים, אדי כהן, נהרג, עוד השתתפו בתקיפה מודי אלון, עזר ויצמן ולו לנרט. התקפה דומה נערכה גם על ראש הטור העיראקי באזור טולכרם. ימים מספר לאחר מכן השיג חיל האוויר הצלחה מוראלית חשובה עת הפיל הטייס מודי אלון, במטוס אוויה, שני מטוסים מצריים שהפציצו את תל אביב לאור יום. ב-4 ביוני 1948 תקפו שלושה מטוסי חיל האוויר ספינה מצרית שהתקרבה לחופי תל אביב. אחד המטוסים נפגע ונפל לים, ושני טייסיו דוד שפרינצק ומתי סוקניק נהרגו (אנדרטה לזכרם מוצבת בגן העצמאות בתל אביב). עם התבססותו, רכש חיל האוויר עליונות אווירית בשמי הארץ ואף הפציץ ערי בירה של מדינות האויב. עמאן הופצצה ב-2 ביוני, דמשק הופצצה ב-10 ביוני 1948 וקהיר הופצצה ב-15 ביולי 1948. לחיל האוויר היה חלק נכבד בשמירת הקשר עם הנגב המנותק, עת העביר במבצע "אבק" (אוגוסט–אוקטובר 1948), אלפי טונות אספקה אל הנגב ואלפי חיילים אל הנגב וממנו. כן שמר חיל האוויר על הקשר עם סדום. במחצית השנייה של 1948 רכש חיל האוויר עליונות אווירית על חילות האוויר הערביים, דבר שהתבטא בהשתתפותו במבצעים האחרונים של המלחמה, כמו מבצע שוטר בסוף יולי, מבצע יואב ב-15 עד 22 באוקטובר. מבצע חירם בסוף אותו חודש, ובמבצעים בחזית הדרום שסיימו את המלחמה, ובראשם מבצע חורב, בסוף דצמבר ובימים הראשונים של 1949. עם זאת, גם בשלבים אלה כוחו היה דל מכדי להשפיע באופן מכריע על מהלך המלחמה. לקראת תום מלחמת העצמאות היה חיל האוויר שליט יחיד בשמי מדינת ישראל. ב-7 בינואר 1949, בתקרית האוויר הישראלית-בריטית, אף הפיל חמישה מטוסים בריטיים שחגו מעל כוחות צה"ל בחזית הדרומית. במלחמת העצמאות שירתו בחייל גם נשים טייסות. אחת מהן, זהרה לביטוב, נהרגה בתאונת מטוס באוגוסט 1948. בסך הכול הפיל חיל האוויר 21 מטוסי אויב במלחמת העצמאות. לאחר המלחמה היו בחיל האוויר 173 מטוסים מ-20 דגמים. רק 74 מהמטוסים היו שמישים, ומתוכם רק 15 היו מטוסי קרב והפצצה. בדצמבר 1948 עבר מטה חיל האוויר לקריה בתל אביב. עיריית תל אביב הציבה על כך לוחית זיכרון בכניסה לשער דוד ברחוב קפלן. בפברואר 1949 עברה מפקדת חיל האוויר (מטר"ש – מטה ראשי) לבית עבד א-ראוף אל-ביטאר, (יהודה הימית 35–37) במחנה אריאל ביפו (שהיה מחנה חיל האוויר הבריטי בתקופת המנדט). לפני כן שכנה במלון קונטיננטל הסמוך (בשדרות ירושלים 46 ביפו) ולפני כן במלון "הירקון" (ברחוב הירקון 64 פינת רחוב נס ציונה). "יום חיל האוויר" הוא יום בו חוגג החיל את הקמתו. יום זה מצוין בטקס חגיגי, מטס ומפגן אווירי ותצוגת אמצעי לחימה, תוך כדי כנס גדול של ותיקי חיל האוויר ואנשיו, הכולל נאומים, סרטונים ומצגות. היום נחגג בדרך כלל בבסיס חצרים, לקראת סוף חודש יוני. החיל שהוקם כ"שירות האוויר" ב-10 בנובמבר 1947, לא חגג את "יום השנה" הראשון שחל בנובמבר 1948, עקב הלחימה העצימה ב"מלחמת העצמאות". "יום חיל האוויר" הראשון, נחגג ב"יום השנה" השני להקמתו של החיל, בתאריך 3 בנובמבר 1949, י"א בחשוון שנת תש"י. ב-2 בנובמבר 1949, ביקשו אהרן רמז והימן שמיר, שניים מבין אנשי המפתח במטה "שירות האוויר" (ובהמשך מפקד חיל האוויר וסגנו) "לציין בחגיגיות וברוב עם", את מלאת שנתיים לכינונו של "שירות האוויר" והחלפת שמו ל"חיל האוויר". לצורך הכנת האירוע, הוקמה יחידה קטנה של אנשי מקצוע שהפיקו תערוכה מוזיאלית, הוזמנו כרזות, מעטפות דואר חגיגיות ולוגואים, ואורגן טקס ומפגן אווירי בשמי תל אביב. החגיגות והאירועים נמשכו שלושה ימים, במקומות שונים בגוש דן, והסתיימו במסיבה, בהשתתפות מפקדי החיל, שהתקיימה ב"קפה פילץ" בתל אביב. במקביל למלחמה ועם הקמת צה"ל התקיים ויכוח עז על מקומו של חיל האוויר ותפקידו בצה"ל. הפיקוד העליון של צה"ל, בראשות יגאל ידין (שהיה ראש אגף מבצעים והמפקד בפועל של צה"ל) ראה בחיל האוויר חיל מסייע, כמו חיל התותחנים. מכיוון שכך, ראה המטכ"ל את חיל האוויר ככפוף לו בכל ההיבטים, וסבר שכל ענייני החיל אמורים להגיע מהמעטפת הכלל צה"לית, כמו כל חיל אחר. היבט בולט של תפיסה זו הייתה ההנחה שמפקד החיל אינו חייב להיות טייס, אלא קצין בכיר שיידע לנהל את החיל על פי כללי הניהול והפיקוד של כל חיל אחר. כך התמנה ישראל עמיר למפקד הראשון של חיל האוויר, למרות העובדה שלא היה לו עבר כאיש תעופה. בניגוד לתפיסה זו עמדו ראשי חיל האוויר על כך שעצמאותו של החיל חייבת להישמר, וכי על החיל להיות כפוף ישירות לרמטכ"ל. לתפיסתם, לחיל האוויר יש משימות ייחודיות, הדורשות שהחיל יהיה עצמאי ברוב התחומים שהוזכרו לעיל, הן בתחומים מבצעיים ומודיעיניים והן בתחומים ארגוניים ולוגיסטיים. ראשי החיל דרשו שמפקדם יהיה טייס, ואף הצביעו על אהרן רמז, ששירת כטייס קרב בחיל האוויר המלכותי הבריטי במלחמת העולם השנייה בזירת מערב אירופה. ואולם, רמז היה פלייט סרג'נט בלבד (באנגלית: Flight Sergeant, סמל טיס, דרגה המקבילה בערך לדרגת רב-סמל מתקדם בצה"ל), וכך לא נשמעה דעתו מול הפיקוד הבכיר של צה"ל. המחלוקת יצרה קשיים עמוקים בתפקוד חיל האוויר, שהגיעו לשיאם לאחר קרבות עשרת הימים, באמצע יולי 1948. הפיקוד העליון האשים את חיל האוויר בכישלונות מבצעיים ובחוסר יעילות. אהרן רמז האשים בתגובה את הפיקוד העליון בכך שאינו מאפשר לחיל האוויר את התנאים הדרושים להצלחתו. בעצת מתנדבים מדרום אפריקה פנה דוד בן-גוריון לססיל מרגו, יהודי תושב דרום אפריקה שהיה קולונל בחיל האוויר הדרום-אפריקאי ומפקד כנף במהלך מלחמת העולם השנייה, וביקש ממנו להגיע לארץ ולסייע בארגון חיל האוויר. מרגו הגיע לארץ ב-12 ביולי, ולאחר כמה שבועות הגיש לבן-גוריון את המלצותיו. הוא קבע שהיעד העיקרי של חיל האוויר צריך להיות השמדת כוחו האווירי של האויב, ולקראת יעד זה צריך חיל האוויר להתארגן – מבצעית, ארגונית ומקצועית. חיל האוויר, על פי המלצותיו של מרגו, צריך להיות כפוף ישירות לרמטכ"ל, ולהיות בעל עצמאות ארגונית ומבצעית. מרגו הציע דרכים לארגון פנימי של עבודת החיל ולממשק של החיל עם המטכ"ל, ודרש שהשינוי יתרחש בתוך זמן קצר. המלצותיו של מרגו הביאו להתנגדות רבה. אחד הנושאים שעליהם התנהל ויכוח חריף במיוחד היה השליטה במערך המכ"ם בצה"ל. באותה תקופה לא היו כלל מכשירים כאלה בישראל, אך מרגו עמד על כך שהכרחי לרכשם, ושמערך המכ"ם יהיה בשליטת חיל האוויר. בן-גוריון אימץ מיד את המלצותיו של מרגו. אחת ההמלצות החשובות של מרגו הייתה שחיל האוויר יהיה בפיקוד אנשי צוות אוויר ישראליים, ולא מתנדבים יהודים או לא יהודים שיחזרו בכל עת לארצותיהם. המלצה זו הייתה מקובלת גם על מתנגדיו, ובן-גוריון אימץ גם אותן. בן-גוריון הציע למרגו עצמו לעמוד בראש החיל, אך הוא סירב. שלושה ימים לאחר הגשת ההמלצות מונה אהרן רמז לתפקיד מפקד החיל. המלצותיו של מרגו היו דומות בעיקרן להמלצות שהגיש אהרן רמז זמן רב לפני כן. ואולם, רמז היה, כאמור, סמל בלבד, שהסתמך על תאוריה; מרגו, לעומתו, היה קצין בדרגת קולונל שפיקד על יחידה גדולה בצבא מאורגן, והכיר מבפנים את ההתנהלות המעשית של חיל אוויר גדול. משום כך הייתה לו סמכות רבה, ובן-גוריון יכול היה לאמץ את המלצותיו ולגבות אותו מול המתנגדים להן. המבנה שהציע מרגו היווה את הבסיס לארגון חיל האוויר ולפעילותו, למעשה עד היום. מבצע קדש נפתח באוקטובר 1956 כשרביעיית מטוסי מוסטנג נשלחה לנתק את קווי הטלפון מערבית למיתלה, על מנת למנוע דיווח על מהלכי הכוחות הישראליים. גדוד הצנחנים בפיקוד רפאל איתן (רפול) הוצנח ליד מצבת פארקר במעבר המיתלה בסיני ("מבצע מכבש"). את ההצנחה ביצעה טייסת מטוסי דקוטה שהמריאה מבסיס תל נוף. אחת מטייסי המשנה הייתה הטייסת יעל רום. בנוסף להצנחת הצנחנים השתתף חיל האוויר בפעולות תקיפה קרקעיות ובחיפוי על כוחות הקרקע. מטוסי הקרב העיקריים היו: מיסטר, אוראגן, מטאור ו-P-51 מוסטנג. מלחמה זו הייתה הפעם הראשונה בצה"ל שבו נעשה שימוש מבצעי בכסא מפלט. הטייס שנטש את מטוס המיסטר שלו היה בני פלד, לאחר שנפגע מאש נ"מ ליד ראס נצרני. זוג מטוסי אוראגן השתתפו בתקיפת המשחתת המצרית איברהים אל אוול שניסתה להפגיז את חיפה, נכנעה וצורפה לחיל הים כמשחתת "חיפה". בשל העובדה שבמבצע סיני לא היו לחיל האוויר מסוקים בשימוש מבצעי, ביצעו מטוסי הפייפר את רוב משימות התובלה הקלה, ובכללן שינוע מפקדים וחילוץ פצועים. מטוסי הפייפר השתמשו בכבישים כמסלולי טיסה, כדי להתקרב לכוחות הלוחמים, שהיו רחוקים ממסלולי טיסה מוסדרים. במהלך הקרבות איבד החיל 15 מטוסים, רובם מאש נ"מ, ו-5 טייסים נהרגו. בקרבות אוויר הפילו טייסי החיל 7 מטוסים מצריים – 4 מטוסי ומפייר ו-3 מטוסי מיג 15. מלחמת ששת הימים נפתחה ב-5 ביוני 1967 בשעה 7:45 בבוקר במהלומה אווירית מקיפה, לאחר ימי ההמתנה מורטי העצבים בעקבות חסימת נתיבי השיט במצרי טיראן למעבר ספינות מישראל, עליה החליט גמאל עבד אל נאצר, נשיא מצרים. לרשות חיל האוויר הישראלי עמדו 203 מטוסי קרב מהם 197 שמישים, מתוכם 65 מטוסי מיראז' 3, 35 מטוסי סופר מיסטר, 33 מטוסי מיסטר, 19 מטוסי ווטור ו-51 מטוסי אוראגן. בשעות הראשונות של המלחמה תקף חיל האוויר הישראלי בסיסים צבאיים ושדות תעופה במדינות אויב ב"מבצע מוקד". המתקפה הישראלית ניחתה בהפתעה מוחלטת ולמעשה הכריעה את המלחמה מראשיתה, בהשמידה את עיקר חילות האוויר של צבאות ערב על הקרקע. חיל האוויר הישראלי הנחית מכה אווירית, בו זמנית כמעט, על כל שדות התעופה המצריים. שדות התעופה הותקפו פעמים אחדות באותו יום וחיל האוויר המצרי שותק כמעט לגמרי למשך שארית המלחמה. מיד לאחר המכה הראשונה, הותקפו גם שדות התעופה שממזרח למדינה והונחתה מכה על שדות התעופה של חיל האוויר הסורי, חיל האוויר הלבנוני וחיל האוויר הירדני והופצץ גם שדה התעופה העיראקי המערבי ביותר. בניגוד למתקפה היבשתית שכוונה תחילה רק נגד החזית המצרית, ההתקפה האווירית כוונה להשגת עליונות אווירית למשך כל ימי הלחימה. כ-350 מטוסים הושמדו ביום הראשון למלחמה מתוך כ-600 המטוסים שהיו למדינות הערביות הלוחמות. עד סוף המלחמה הושמדו 451 כלי טיס של חילות האוויר הערביים, לעומת 45 מטוסים שאבדו לחיל האוויר הישראלי. במלחמה נהרגו 25 טייסים ישראלים ו-7 נוספים נשבו. בתום הלחימה נותרו בחיל 139 מטוסים שמישים. המתקפה המקדימה המוצלחת אפשרה לחיל האוויר הישראלי להגיש סיוע התקפי נמרץ לכוחות היבשה הישראליים, בצורה הולכת וגוברת במשך כל ימי הלחימה. הותקפו מהאוויר כוחות שריון וארטילריה של צבאות ערב, והחישו במידה רבה את שבירת צבאות ערב. התקפות על העורף הישראלי מהאוויר במהלך המלחמה היו מעטות. בעקבות המלחמה והגידול בממדי חיל האוויר בעקבותיה הועלה מעמד ראשי הענפים (רע"נים) במטה לראשי מחלקות (רמ"חים), ודרגתם הועלתה מסא"ל לאל"ם. מפקדי הטייסות קודמו לדרגת סא"ל, לצד בעלי תפקידים נוספים במטה ובבסיסי החיל. במלחמת ההתשה פעל חיל האוויר בתקיפה של מטרות קרקע ובקרבות אוויר. תקיפות של מטרות אזרחיות בעומק מצרים היו בין הגורמים שהביאו לסיומה של המלחמה. חיל האוויר היה גורם עיקרי במלחמה זו, שבה סבלו כוחות היבשה מנחיתות ניכרת. החיל ביצע 12,850 גיחות במהלך המלחמה, שבהן הוטלו יותר מ-50,000 פצצות. חיל האוויר המצרי איבד 92 ממטוסיו, ולחיל האוויר הישראלי אבדו 15 מטוסים. פעולות בולטות של חיל האוויר במלחמה זו: מלחמת יום הכיפורים הייתה הקשה במלחמותיו של חיל האוויר, והוא ספג בה אבדות ניכרות במטוסים ובטייסים, בעיקר עקב פגיעות של טילי קרקע-אוויר (טק"א). "הטיל כופף את כנף המטוס", אמר על כך עזר ויצמן, מפקדו לשעבר של חיל האוויר. בקרבות אוויר ככלל הפגין החיל עליונות על פני חילות האוויר הערביים. חיל האוויר הישראלי היה מקור החשש העיקרי בצבאות הערביים לפני המלחמה, והם ריכזו מאמצים רבים הן בהיבט ההצטיידות והן בהיבט התכנון על מנת לנטרל את ההשלכות הנובעות מעליונותו על פני חילות האוויר שלהם. עליונות זו הייתה אחת הסיבות לקונספציה שהטעתה את מקבלי ההחלטות בצד הישראלי לפני פרוץ המלחמה. ביומה השני של המלחמה ביצע חיל האוויר את השלב הראשון של "מבצע תגר" והתקיף ב-40 גיחות 7 שדות תעופה במצרים, אך הפסיק את המבצע בשלב שבו היו אמורים להיות מושמדים טילי הנ"מ וסוללות התותחים. המבצע הופסק בהוראת שר הביטחון משה דיין שביקש להפעיל את "מבצע דוגמן-5" לתקיפה של כוחות הנ"מ הסוריים. מבצע זה נעשה ללא הכנה מדוקדקת וללא מודיעין, ותוצאותיו היו נפילת שישה מטוסי פנטום ומבלי שסוללות הטילים הסוריות נפגעו כמעט. בד בבד עסק חיל האוויר באינטנסיביות במתן סיוע לכוחות הקרקע, שניהלו קרבות בלימה מרים בימיה הראשונים של המלחמה. הסיוע האווירי מנע מצבא סוריה לכבוש את דרום רמת הגולן, וסייע בבלימת התקדמותו של הצבא המצרי מזרחה ב-14 באוקטובר. פעילות זו צמצמה את פעילות החיל בתקיפת חילות האוויר ומערכי הטילים של האויב. רק עם השיפור במצבם של כוחות היבשה, ובפרט לאחר פגיעה של כוחות שריון בסוללות הטק"א, החל חיל האוויר בתקיפות של שדות תעופה בעומק מצרים ומטרות תשתית ושדות תעופה בעומק סוריה, כשהבולטת שבהן היא תקיפת המטכ"ל הסורי ביומה הרביעי של המלחמה. על פי ד"ר שמואל גורדון "חיל האוויר תרם תרומה מכרעת לבלימת הכוחות הסוריים והמצריים, הגן באופן מוחלט על כוחות צה"ל בדרכם לחזית ועל האוכלוסייה האזרחית, תקף שדות תעופה ונטרל את חילות האוויר של מצרים ושל סוריה...במשימה החשובה ביותר עבור חיל האוויר – השמדת הטק"א – הוא לא הצליח ב-7 באוקטובר מכיוון שלא ניתן לו להילחם בהתאם לדוקטרינה שלו. אולם רק חיל האוויר היה יכול להציל את המדינה מסכנה לאומית קיומית מיידית באותו יום". מטוסי הקרב שהפעיל חיל האוויר במלחמה היו מיראז' 3 "שחק", תע"א נשר (הגרסה הישראלית למיראז' 5), A-4 סקייהוק "עיט" ו-F-4 פנטום "קורנס". במהלך כל ימי הלחימה איבד חיל האוויר הישראלי 102 מטוסים. חיל האוויר המצרי איבד 235 מטוסים, וחיל האוויר הסורי איבד 135 מטוסים. במהלך מלחמת לבנון הראשונה הופלו על ידי חיל האוויר הישראלי כ-100 מטוסים סוריים, מבלי שאיבד אף מטוס בקרבות אוויר. טייסי חיל האוויר הישראלי הפילו 80 מטוסים סוריים בקרבות אוויר, והשאר הופלו באש נ"מ וגורמים נוספים. ב-6 ביוני 1982 הופל מטוס "סקייהוק" של חיל האוויר באש מהקרקע וטייסו, אהרון אחיעז נפל בשבי אש"ף. הוא הוחזר ב-20 באוגוסט. מסוק "אנפה", שהיה במשימת פינוי פצועים, הופל באש נ"מ סמוך לנבטייה. ב-9 ביוני, היום הרביעי למלחמה, פתח חיל האוויר במבצע ערצב-19 לתקיפת מערך טילי הקרקע-אוויר הסורי בבקעת הלבנון. מטוסי החיל השמידו את סוללות הטילים תוך שעות ספורות בלבד. במהלך התקיפה התפתח קרב האוויר הגדול בעידן הסילון, שבו השתתפו כ-120 מטוסי קרב (מדגמי F-15 בז, F-16 נץ ו-F-4 פנטום) והופלו 29 מטוסי קרב סוריים. למחרת הופלו 30 מטוסים סוריים נוספים. אף מטוס מחיל האוויר הישראלי לא נפגע בקרבות האוויר. במקביל, מסוקי AH-1 קוברה של חיל האוויר השמידו מאות כלי רק"מ סורים, לרבות עשרות טנקים, כולל מדגם טי-72. ב-24 ביולי הופל בטיל קרקע-אוויר מטוס הפנטום של הטייס סרן גיל פוגל, והנווט רס"ן אהרון כץ והם נטשו את המטוס. לאחר הגעתו לקרקע נלקח פוגל בשבי הסורי, ואילו כץ פגע בקרקע במהירות גבוהה, וככל הנראה נהרג במקום. לאחר שנתיים פוגל שוחרר במסגרת עסקת חילופי שבויים, שכללה גם את החזרת גופתו של כץ לארץ. באינתיפאדה השנייה בלט חלקם של מסוקי הקרב של חיל האוויר בפעולות של סיכול ממוקד בהם נהרגו מאות מחבלים, כאשר עשרות מהם היו מחבלים בכירים (כגון מייסדי וראשי החמאס ברצועת עזה). נעשה שימוש נרחב בכטב"מים, בעיקר לצורכי מודיעין צבאי ולהספקת מודיעין חזותי בזמן אמת לסיכולים הממוקדים, ואת התקיפות עצמן ביצעו מסוקי AH-64 אפאצ'י עם טילי AGM-114 הלפייר ומסוקי "צפע" AH-1 קוברה עם טילי תמוז. בנוסף לסיכולים הממוקדים תקפו מטוסי ומסוקי קרב מתקני מחבלים, כגון מעבדות נפץ, מחרטות לייצור רקטות "קסאם" ומשגרי "קסאם". את הפעולות המוצלחות והשינויים הללו הוביל האלוף דן חלוץ, שגם שם דגש על נוהלי בטיחות והוריד באופן משמעותי את התאונות בחיל. בעקבות ההצלחה הגדולה של חיל האוויר בלחימה בטרור זכו החיל, מפקדו וטייסיו להערכה רבה. דן חלוץ הועלה לדרגת רב-אלוף ומונה לרמטכ"ל. מפקד חיל האוויר שהחליף את חלוץ, האלוף אליעזר שקדי, המשיך בשילוב פעילות חיל האוויר עם פעילות כוחות הקרקע, דבר שבא להבשלה בטקטיקת "הבועה האווירית" שנחלה הצלחה רבה במבצע ימי תשובה (כ-90 מחבלים הרוגים) ובמבצע גשמי קיץ (למעלה מ-270 מחבלים הרוגים). במבצעים אלה חיפו מסוקי הקרב על כוחות הקרקע והשמידו חוליות נ"ט וחוליות קסאם בשעה שמטוסי חיל האוויר תקפו מטרות תשתית. במלחמת לבנון השנייה ביצעו מטוסי הקרב של חיל האוויר מספר חסר תקדים של 10,337 גיחות והשמידו אלפי מטרות תשתית ויעדים של ארגון חזבאללה בביירות ובדרום לבנון, בהם: גשרים, מפקדות, בונקרים, מחסני אמל"ח, משגרי רקטות, צירי תנועה ראשיים, משאיות רקטות מסוריה וכלי רכב של הארגון, כשגולת הכותרת של תקיפות אלו היא מבצע משקל סגולי להשמדת מערך הרקטות ארוך הטווח של החזבאללה, ביומה השני של המלחמה. באחד משלבי המבצע, היו למעלה מ-100 מטוסים באוויר בו זמנית. מסוקי הקרב ביצעו למעלה מ־2,400 גיחות וחיפו על כוחות הקרקע שפעלו בדרום לבנון. מסוקי הסער של החיל ביצעו 2,051 גיחות שכללו פינוי פצועים תחת אש מהקרבות בדרום לבנון והנחתת יחידות קומנדו לפעולות בעורף לבנון. מטוסי התובלה ביצעו 1,263 גיחות. חיל האוויר הפעיל גם באופן נרחב כטב"מים על מנת לאתר מטרות ולאכן למטוסים משגרי רקטות בזמן אמת, אותם השמידו מטוסי הקרב. בסך הכול שוגרו 1,502 גיחות של כלי טיס בלתי מאוישים שהסתכמו ב-16,418 שעות טיסה. מטוסי חיל האוויר כתשו מהאוויר את רובע הדאחייה של חזבאללה בדרום ביירות והשמידו את מפקדות הארגון ובתיהם של ראשיו. למעלה מ-20 מבצעי קומנדו בוצעו על ידי חיל האוויר. ב"מבצע חד וחלק" פשטו סיירת מטכ"ל ויחידת שלדג על מפקדת חזבאללה שמוקמה בבית חולים בבעלבכ, הרגו כ-20 מחבלים, שבו כמה ולקחו שלל חומר מודיעיני. בנוסף למשימות ההתקפיות, עסקו טייסות הבלקהוק UH-60 בפינויי פצועים, לעיתים תחת אש כבדה. במהלך הלחימה אירעו מספר תאונות מבצעיות בחיל האוויר. בתאונות אלה ניזוק מטוס F-16I ("סופה") אחד (שנפגע בעת ההמראה), אבדו שני מסוקי אפאצ'י ("פתן") שהתנגשו זה בזה, מסוק אפאצ'י-לונגבאו ("שרף") התרסק כתוצאה מכשל טכני ברוטור הזנב, ושלושה כטב"מים, כתוצאה מתאונות אלו נהרגו שלושה טייסים ועוד שלושה נפצעו קשה. עוד כשל מבצעי היה ההפצצה של בניין הסמוך לבניין ובו רוכזו 57 אזרחים לבנונים בכפר קאנא, דבר שגרם לקריסת המבנה ומותם של 28. הפעולה גרמה לגינויים כלפי ישראל ברחבי העולם. ב-12 באוגוסט 2006 לפנות בוקר, הטיס חיל האוויר כוח גדול של צנחנים באמצעות יותר מ-50 מסוקים אל עומק השטח, במה שמוגדר כמבצע ההנחתה הגדול בתולדות צה"ל מאז מלחמת יום הכיפורים. באותו יום הופל מסוק מסוג יסעור על ידי חזבאללה, באמצעות טיל SA-16 שחזבאללה כינה "וועד". לאחר שהספיק להוריד את הלוחמים, המריא המסוק מהמקום ואז נפגע. חמישה אנשי צוות אוויר נהרגו. לקראת סיום המלחמה הפילו מטוסי F-16 מדגם "ברק" שני מזל"טים של החזבאללה (המזל"טים מדגם אבאביל תוצרת איראן). על פעילותם במלחמה קיבלו טייסי חיל האוויר עיטור המופת אחד וארבעה צל"שי רמטכ"ל. שתי טייסות מסוקי הבלק-הוק של החיל קיבלו צל"ש יחידתי: טייסת 123 ("ציפורי המדבר") וטייסת 124 ("החרב המתהפכת") על פועלן לחילוץ פצועים. כשנה אחרי המלחמה, ב-6 בספטמבר 2007, הופצץ והושמד כור גרעיני סורי בידי חיל האוויר הישראלי. בתקיפה השתתפו 4 מטוסי F-15I רעם ו-4 מטוסי F-16I סופה ולפי פרסומים זרים גם מטוס לוחמה אלקטרונית וכוח של יחידת שלדג על הקרקע שסימן למטוסי הקרב בלייזר את הכור הגרעיני. מבצע עופרת יצוקה נגד החמאס וירי רקטות לעבר ישראל נפתח ב-27 בדצמבר, בשעות הבוקר המאוחרות, והחל בגל הפצצות אווירית כבדות של חיל האוויר באמצעות מטוסי קרב (מדגמי F-15, F-16) ומסוקי קרב (מדגמי AH-1 קוברה ו-AH-64 אפאצ'י). בשני גלי ההפצצה הראשונים נפגעו 100 מטרות. במכה הראשונה נהרגו למעלה מ-155 אנשי חמאס ואנשי ביטחון פלסטינים. באותו יום תקף חיל האוויר עוד 70 מטרות ברצועת עזה. הפלסטינים דיווחו על כ-270 הרוגים וכ-750 פצועים רובם פעילי חמאס ומיעוטם אזרחים. את ההפצצה המסיבית ביום הראשון של המבצע, בו נפגעו מטרות ופעילי חמאס רבים תכנן האלוף אליעזר שקדי, לשעבר מפקד חיל האוויר, בסיוע אמ"ן והשב"כ. ב-28 בדצמבר, למחרת, תקף חיל האוויר הישראלי 40 מנהרות תת-קרקעיות בציר פילדלפי. צה"ל העריך שהמהלך שיבש את הזרמת אמצעי הלחימה דרך מנהרות ממצרים. ב-29 בדצמבר, היום השלישי למבצע, המשיך צה"ל לתקוף כ-100 יעדים נוספים בעזה, וחיסל בכירים בחמאס ובפלוגות אל-קודס של הג'יהאד האסלאמי הפלסטיני. תקיפות אוויריות של מטרות טרור ומשרדי חמאס נמשכו גם בימים הבאים. ב-31 בדצמבר הרג חיל האוויר את עמאר אבו ע'לולא, בכיר במערך הרקטי של הג'יהאד האסלאמי הפלסטיני, ו-3 פעילי טרור נוספים, כאשר תקף מחסן אמל"ח בח'אן יונס. ב-1 בינואר 2009 נהרג בסיכול ממוקד ניזאר ריאן, מספר 3 ב"זרוע המדינית" של החמאס, שהיה מעורב בפיגועי טרור כנגד ישראלים, בהפצצת ביתו במחנה הפליטים ג'בליה. בחיסול נהרגו עוד 18 אנשים, רובם בני משפחתו של ריאן. הבניין שבו גר שימש כמפקדה ומרכז תקשורת, מחסן אמל"ח ותחמושת, וכן הסתיר פתח של מנהרה. אלוף פיקוד הדרום, יואב גלנט, הציג שינוי בשיטת הלחימה של צה"ל בפעילי הטרור: בעבר כל מפקד בחמאס בנה בית של שלוש קומות, כאשר קומת המרתף שימשה מחסן לאמצעי לחימה, קומת הביניים הייתה המפקדה שלו ובקומה השלישית התגוררה המשפחה, אחרי שבמשך השנים הם הבינו שצה"ל לא יפגע במבנה בגלל המשפחה. ברגע ששינינו את הקונספט באמצעות התקשרות למשפחה וירי של פצצה בודדת, כשלאחר מכן הבניין הושמד – המפקד נותר מוטרד מכך שאין לו מפקדה וגם אין לו בית לבני משפחתו. גם כשהחלה הפעולה הקרקעית המשיך חיל האוויר בתקיפת מטרות טרור ברצועה ומתן סיוע באש ובמודיעין לכוחות הקרקע. ב-15 בינואר ביצע חיל האוויר הישראלי סיכול ממוקד בבכירי חמאס וחיסל את סעיד סיאם, שר הפנים בממשלת חמאס, את איאד סיאם אחיו, שגם הוא בכיר בחמאס, וסלאח אבו שרח, המקשר בין הזרוע המדינית לזרוע הצבאית של חמאס. במרץ 2009 פרסמה רשת CBS כי כלי טיס של חיל האוויר הישראלי תקפו שיירת משאיות אמל"ח שהועברה מאיראן לחמאס דרך סודאן. בתקיפה, שבוצעה בשטח סודאן, הושמדו 17 משאיות ונהרגו 39 מאנשי השיירה. כמו כן, הגיעו דיווחים כי חיל האוויר הפציץ גם ספינת נשק איראנית שעגנה בעיר הנמל פורט סודאן. לדיווחים אלה לא ניתן כל אישור רשמי בישראל, אך ראש הממשלה, אהוד אולמרט, התייחס ככל הנראה לתקיפה כשאמר במסיבת עיתונאים ביום שבו פורסם הדבר כי ישראל פועלת לחיזוק ההרתעה במקומות קרובים ובמקומות רחוקים. ב-2011 הפכה מערכת "כיפת ברזל" למבצעית ורשמה יירוטי בכורה מוצלחים באפריל 2011. המערכת, שמופעלת על ידי מערך ההגנה האווירית, זכתה לפרס ביטחון ישראל 2012 בעקבות תפקודה המוצלח במספר עימותים והסלמות סביב רצועת עזה, בהם יירטה למעלה מ-100 רקטות גראד והצילה חיים רבים. ב-23 באוקטובר 2012 אירע פיצוץ גדול במפעל הנשק "ירמוך" שבסודאן בו הושמד המפעל ומספר רב של רקטות וטילי קרקע-קרקע. הפיצוץ יוחס להפצצה מהאוויר שביצע חיל האוויר הישראלי, אך ישראל נמנעה מלקחת אחריות לתקיפה. בנובמבר 2012 היה חיל האוויר הכוח העיקרי במבצע עמוד ענן כאשר תקף מהאוויר למעלה מ-1,500 מטרות טרור ברצועת עזה, רובן משגרי רקטות, חלקם הוטמנו מתחת לקרקע. התקיפות האוויריות הסבו פגיעה קשה לחמאס והשמידו כמעט לחלוטין את מערך רקטות הפג'ר 5 ארוכות הטווח שנועדו לפגוע בגוש דן. מנגד, 5 סוללות כיפת ברזל (סוללה חדשה נפרשה בנוהל מהיר בגוש דן) יירטו כ-428 רקטות מעל ערי ישראל ב-84% הצלחה, דבר שהעלה באופן ניכר את יוקרת המערכת. מבצע צוק איתן נערך ביולי 2014 כתגובה למטחי רקטות על ישראל שירו חמאס והג'יהאד האסלאמי הפלסטיני מרצועת עזה. בעשרת הימים הראשונים של המבצע, מ-8 ביולי עד 17 ביולי (אז הצטרפו כוחות היבשה) היה חיל האוויר הגורם ההתקפי העיקרי. מטוסי הקרב, מסוקי הקרב וכלי טיס בלתי מאוישים ביצעו למעלה מ-1,000 גיחות ותקפו למעלה מ-1,750 יעדי טרור ברצועת עזה, לרבות מפקדות, מחסני אמל"ח, בתי מחבלים בכירים, משגרים מוטמנים ומנהרות לחימה. כמו כן ביצעו כלי הטיס סיכולים ממוקדים נגד בכירי טרור וחוליות שיגור. בשלב השני של המבצע המשיך החיל בתקיפות אלה, ובנוסף סייע לכוחות הקרקע. מערך ההגנה האווירית נכנס לכוננות גבוהה והיווה מרכיב מרכזי בהגנה על העורף. במהלך המבצע פעלו 9 סוללות של כיפת ברזל שיירטו למעלה מ-550 רקטות בכ-90% הצלחה. מערך טילי הפטריוט ("יהלום") יירט שני כלי טיס בלתי מאוישים ששיגר חמאס. ב-2013, על רקע מלחמת האזרחים בסוריה, מטוסי חיל האוויר הישראלי תקפו מספר פעמים שיירות נשק בסוריה שיועדו להעביר אמצעי לחימה מתקדמים לחזבאללה. ב-31 בינואר הושמדה שיירת נשק במחוז ריף דמשק בסוריה שהעבירה טילי נ"מ מתקדמים מדגם SA-17 ונהרג חסן שאטרי, גנרל בכיר במשמרות המהפכה האיראניים, ואילו בתחילת חודש מאי במספר תקיפות הושמדו שיירות ומחסני טילי קרקע-קרקע מדגם פאתח 110. ב-23 בספטמבר 2014 יירטה סוללת "יהלום" של מערך ההגנה האווירית מטוס קרב סורי מדגם סוחוי Su-24 באמצעות טיל MIM-104D פטריוט, ובכך רשמה הפלת בכורה עולמית למערכת הפטריוט של כלי טיס מאויש עוין. ב-18 בינואר 2015 יוחסה לחיל האוויר הישראלי תקיפה אווירית בגבול ישראל–סוריה בה נהרגו מפקדים בכירים בחזבאללה ובמשמרות המהפכה האסלאמית שעסקו בהקמת יחידת טרור ברמת הגולן. בליל ה-19 בדצמבר 2015 יוחס לחיל האוויר הישראלי ביצוע סיכול ממוקד בבניין בפאתי דמשק בו נהרגו סמיר קונטאר ועוד 7 אנשי חזבאללה. התקיפות המשיכו גם ב-2016: ב-4 באוגוסט 2016, ישראל תקפה על פי דיווחים זרים שיירה של החזבאללה בסוריה שהובילה לוחמים ואמצעי לחימה. ב-24 באוגוסט כלי טיס ישראלים ככל הנראה, תקפו והשמידו מפקדה של החזבאללה סמוך להרי הקלמון בגבול סוריה-לבנון. ב-27 בנובמבר חיסל כלי טיס של חיל האוויר 4 מחבלי המדינה האסלאמית שתקפו כוח צה"ל ברמת הגולן. למחרת, בתגובה לתקיפת כוח צה"ל ב-27 בנובמבר על ידי חוליה של מיליציה המסונפת למדינה האסלאמית, הפציצו מטוסי קרב של חיל האוויר הישראלי מוצב נטוש של UNDOF ששימש כבסיס צבאי ללוחמי הארגון. בתקיפה הוטלו 10 פצצות של טון והושמדו אמצעי לחימה רבים ששימשו את פעילי המדינה האסלאמית בגזרה. ב-30 בנובמבר, כלי תקשורת ערביים דיווחו שמטוסי קרב של חיל האוויר הישראלי ביצעו שתי תקיפות סביבות דמשק. על פיהם, התקיפה הראשונה פגעה במצבור תחמושת של חטיבה 38 בדיוויזיה 4 של צבא סוריה, והתקיפה השנייה פגעה במספר כלי רכב נושאי תחמושת ליד הכביש המהיר על ציר ביירות-דמשק – ככל הנראה של החזבאללה. לא דווח על נפגעים. ב-13 בינואר 2017, צבא סוריה דיווח שמטוסי קרב של חיל האוויר הישראלי תקפו בחצות הלילה את שדה התעופה הצבאי אל-מאזה בדמשק. בתקיפה הושמדו על פי סוריה מבני מכ"ם, מחסני תחמושת, בסיס חיל שריון ובסיס הגנה אווירית, וכן נהרגו ונפצעו מספר קצינים סורים. הצבא הסורי טען שהתקיפה נועדה לסייע למורדים הסורים, והזהיר את ישראל שלתקיפה תהיה השלכות חמורות. ב-2018 חלה הסלמה בעימות בין איראן לישראל. בעימות אווירי בפברואר 2018 הפיל מסוק קרב AH-64D אפאצ'י לונגבו של טייסת 113 כלי טיס בלתי מאויש איראני מדגם סאעקה שחדר לשטח ישראל. בתגובה לניסיון החדירה תקף חיל האוויר את שדה התעופה T-4 בסוריה ממנו המריא הכטב"ם והשמיד את קרון הבקרה שלו. במהלך החזרה מהתקיפה הפיל חיל ההגנה האווירית הסורי מטוס F-16I סופה מעל שטח ישראל. הטייסים נטשו בשלום וחולצו. כתוצאה מכך עלתה הפעילות הישראלית נגד התבססות איראן בסוריה מדרגה וחיל האוויר שימש כמוציא לפועל של רוב התקיפות נגד מטרות איראניות וסוריות המיוחסות לישראל. ב-9 באפריל תקף חיל האוויר בשנית את שדה התעופה T-4, השמיד מטרות איראניות והרג 9–11 חיילים ממשמרות המהפכה האסלאמית. ב-29 באפריל חיל האוויר תקף והשמיד בונקרים ומחסני טילים איראניים, והשמיד כ-200 טילי קרקע-קרקע ומספר טילי קרקע-אוויר. בתקיפה נהרגו למעלה מ-19 חיילים במשמרות המהפכה האיראנית. ב-10 במאי, בתגובה לירי רקטות פג'ר-5 איראניות על ישראל, ביצע חיל האוויר את מבצע בית הקלפים: תקיפה נרחבת של עשרות מטרות ובסיסים של משמרות המהפכה האסלאמית וכוח קודס בסוריה. חרף האזהרה הישראלית, מספר סוללות נ"מ וטק"א של חיל ההגנה האווירית הסורי שיגרו למעלה מ-100 טילי קרקע-אוויר לעבר המטוסים הישראליים אך לא הצליחו לפגוע בהם, ובתגובה הן הושמדו. לדברי צה"ל, הייתה זו התקיפה הנרחבת ביותר של ישראל בסוריה מאז 1974. תקיפות חיל האוויר המשיכו גם ב-2019 וכללו בנוסף למשלוחי ומחסני טילים גם מטרות של כוח קודס האיראני וחזבאללה. ביולי 2019 הותקפו בעיראק מספר בסיסי טילים ומחסני תחמושת של מיליציות פרו-איראניות, מקורות זרים דיווחו שאת התקיפות ביצעה ישראל באמצעות מטוסי F-35I וכלי טיס בלתי מאוישים. ב-7 בפברואר 2021 אישר הקבינט המדיני-ביטחוני לחיל האוויר רכש של 20 מסוקי סיקורסקי CH-53K קינג סטליון ("סופר יסעור"), שדרוג מטוסי ה-F-15I והזמנת טייסת F-15IA חדשה. בנוסף ישראל הזמינה ארבעה מטוסי תדלוק מסוג בואינג KC-46 פגסוס, חימושים ודברים נוספים. ב-22 במאי 2018 חשף מפקד חיל האוויר האלוף עמיקם נורקין ש”אנחנו מטיסים את ה-F-35 מעל לכל המזרח התיכון וזה נהיה חלק מהיכולת המבצעית שלנו. אנחנו היינו הראשונים לתקוף על ידי F-35. ביצענו משימות מבצעיות ותקפנו כבר בחזיתות שונות”. בכך אישר שחיל האוויר הישראלי ביצע את התקיפה המבצעית הראשונה של ה-F-35 בעולם. במרץ 2021 יירטו מטוסי F-35I אדיר ישראליים 2 כטב"מים איראניים שנשאו אקדחים לרצועת עזה. זוהי הפלת בכורה עולמית ל-F-35. במבצע שומר החומות, שהחל ב-10 במאי 2021, נשא חיל האוויר בעיקר עול הלחימה, בתקיפה של מאות מטרות ברצועת עזה ובהגנה מפני אלפי רקטות ששוגרו מרצועת עזה לרחבי ישראל. במבצע מגן וחץ, שהחל ב-9 במאי 2023, נשא חיל האוויר בעיקר עול הלחימה, בתקיפה של מאות מטרות ברצועת עזה ובהגנה מפני למעלה מ-1,490 רקטות ששוגרו מרצועת עזה לרחבי ישראל. ביחד עם השב"כ, אמ"ן ופיקוד הדרום ביצעו כלי טיס של חיל האוויר, לרבות מטוסי קרב וכלי טיס בלתי מאוישים, סדרת סיכולים ממוקדים בהנהגה הבכירה של הג'יהאד האסלאמי הפלסטיני – בה הרגו 6 פעילי טרור בכירים. בנוסף, ביחד עם יחידה 5252 ומערך "חופת אש" של פיקוד הדרום, הרגו הכוחות למעלה מ-15 מחבלים בתקיפת 10 חוליות נ"ט, מרגמות ורקטות. בעורף, מערכת קלע דוד רשמה יירוט בכורה ב-10 במאי כשהפילה רקטת קרקע-קרקע ארוכת טווח ששיגר הג'יהאד האסלאמי לגוש דן וב-12 במאי הפילה רקטה ששיגר הג'יהאד להרי ירושלים. כיפת ברזל יירטה 437 רקטות בשיעור הצלחה של למעלה מ-95%. בבוקר 7 באוקטובר 2023, יום שבת, שמחת תורה, כ"ב בתשרי ה'תשפ"ד, פתחו ארגוני הטרור הפלסטינים "חמאס" ו"הג'יהאד האסלאמי הפלסטיני" בטבח שבעה באוקטובר. בחסות שיגור כ-4,300 רקטות, חדרו כ-6,000 מחבלים מרצועת עזה לעשרות יישובים ישראליים, ליער בארי ולמתקנים צבאיים באזור עוטף עזה ובסביבתו, מ-119 פרצות שונות בגדר, מהאוויר ומהים, תוך ניהול קרבות ירי נגד כוחות ביטחון מעטים. המחבלים ביצעו מעשי טבח ואונס, רצחו והרגו 1,173 בני אדם, מתוכם טבחו ב-779 אזרחים, וחטפו לרצועת עזה כ-251 אנשים, ובהם גברים, נשים, קשישים ותינוקות. בשעות הראשונות נלחמו נגדם כיתות הכוננות, שוטרי משטרת ישראל, לוחמי הימ"מ וחיילי צה"ל, שהיו בנחיתות מספרית. בקרבות נהרגו כ-1,609 מחבלים בשטח ישראל, ובצד הישראלי נהרגו 329 חיילים, 58 שוטרים ו-10 אנשי שירות הביטחון הכללי. חיל האוויר השתתף בלחימה לבלימת המחבלים שחדרו לישראל, בעיקר באמצעות מסוקי קרב וכטב"מים, אך ספג ביקורת על זמן התגובה המאוחר (במוקדי קרב שונים חיל האוויר הגיע רק לאחר 6–8 שעות), על הכישלון ליירט את מתקפת מצנחי הרחיפה, ועל ההישגים הנמוכים בצורה משמעותית בשעות הלחימה הראשונות. אחרי פתיחה במלחמת חרבות ברזל ביצע חיל האוויר הפצצה אסטרטגית, תקיפות אוויריות וסיכולים ממוקדים ברצועת עזה, ותקף חוליות טרור ונ"ט של הפלסטינים וחזבאללה בחזית הלבנונית. בצד ההגנתי, מערך ההגנה האווירית נפרש באופן הרחב ביותר אי-פעם והפעיל מיירטים בכל שכבות ההגנה: כיפת ברזל (יירטה כ-2,000 רקטות ב-90% הצלחה[דרוש מקור]), יהלום (פטריוט) (הפיל כלי טיס בלתי מאוישים), קלע דוד (עשרות יירוטים ב-100% הצלחה), חץ 2 וחץ 3, כאשר השתיים האחרונות רשמו יירוטי בכורה מוצלחים של טיל קרקע-קרקע וטיל בליסטי. ב-13 באפריל 2024 תקפה איראן את ישראל ושיגרה לעברה 110 טילים בליסטיים (חייבר שכן(אנ')), 185 כטב"מים (שאהד 238) ו-36 טילי שיוט. לוחמי מערך ההגנה האווירית וטייסי החיל יירטו יחד עם המדינות השותפות האסטרטגיות, את מרבית השיגורים טרם הגיעו לשטח ישראל. זוהו פגיעות בודדות, בהן בבסיס נבטים בדרום הארץ, עם נזק קל לתשתית, ופציעתה של ילדה בנגב. הישג זה – של 99% הצלחה ביירוט מאות מטרות, בהם נחילי כטב"מים ולמעלה ממאה טילים בליסטיים – הוא חסר תקדים בתולדות ההגנה האווירית ולוחמת הטילים. בתגובה למתקפה זו, 19 באפריל 2024 תקף חיל האוויר הישראלי, בסיס של חיל האוויר האיראני שנמצא ליד העיר אספהאן. לפי דיווחי איראן, הייתה פגיעה בבסיס ללא לנפגעים. ב-1 באוקטובר 2024 שבה ותקפה איראן את ישראל ושיגרה לעברה 181 טילים בליסטיים. לוחמי מערך ההגנה האווירית וטייסי החיל, יחד עם המדינות השותפות האסטרטגיות, יירטו את מרבית הטילים, ורק טילים מעטים פגעו בישראל וגרמו נזק מצומצם. חיל האוויר הישראלי היה הכוח התוקף העיקרי במבצע עם כלביא עם תקיפות אוויריות, סיכולים ממוקדים והפצצה אסטרטגית של מתקני תוכנית הגרעין האיראנית, בסיסי צבא ומשמרות המהפכה האסלאמית, בסיסי טילים וסוללות נ"מ וטילי קרקע-אוויר. את מרבית התקיפות ביצעו מטוסי הקרב, כאשר מטוסי ה-F-35I אדיר תקפו והשמידו סוללות הגנה אווירית והשיגו עליונות אווירית בשמי איראן. מטוסי F-15 בז, F-15I רעם, F-16D ברק 2020, F-16I סופה הפציצו מטרות רבות. אחרי השגת העליונות האווירית, כלי טיס בלתי מאוישים של חיל האוויר הישראלי חגו בשמי איראן וצדו משגרי טילים. רציפות הפעולה התאפשרה באמצעות מטוסי תדלוק אווירי של טייסת 120. מערך ההגנה האווירית יירט טילים בליסטיים רבים, רובם באמצעות החץ 3 וחלקם באמצעות חץ 2 וקלע דוד. מתוך למעלה מ-550 טילים ששוגרו לישראל רק 30–60 לא יורטו ונפלו בשטח ישראל. במהלך המבצע הפילו מסוקי הקרב כלי טיס בלתי מאוישים רבים באמצעות טילים או תותח אוטומטי. הפלות מטוסי אויב בקרבות אוויר במהלך המלחמות הצליחו טייסי חיל האוויר להשיג הפלות רבות של מטוסי אוויר, ולהשיג עליונות על פני חילות האוויר היריבים. על פי נתוני חיל האוויר, בסך הכול הפילו טייסי חיל האוויר בקרבות אוויר, מאז 1948, 687 מטוסי אויב. מספר מטוסי החיל שהופלו על ידי טייסי אויב מאז 1948 עומד על 25. נתונים אלה מעמידים את יחס ההפלות על 1:27.5. להלן פירוט תוצאות קרבות האוויר במלחמות השונות (לא כולל מטוסים שהופלו באש/טילים מהקרקע): לקריאה נוספת קישורים חיצוניים הערות שוליים
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[SOURCE: https://www.bbc.com/culture/art] \| [TOKENS: 2615]
Art & DesignHow photography helped the British empire classify IndiaA new exhibition in Delhi showcases 200 rare photographs that fixed identities in colonial India.See moreLatest headlinesMan's 'uplifting' sculpture wins at US festivalRare watercolour of Jungle Book bear on show'Breweries using AI could put artists out of work'11 of the Winter Olympics' most striking images - as classical artworksBullring bull sketches found under bed to be soldFeaturesThe most anticipated museum openings of 2026From a futuristic sci-fi attraction in Los Angeles to a dramatic monument to a millennia-old Aboriginal civilisation, these long-awaited museums are worth travelling for.The historic US home that embodied the super-richThe largest privately owned home in the US, Biltmore House was an "American chateau built on the scale of a European palace". It reveals much about the dreams of the US's one per cent.Why critics scorned these 'saucy' British paintingsBeryl Cook's paintings were loved by the public but derided by the art establishment. One century after her birth, a new exhibition argues for a reassessment of her work.10 early photographic 'fakes' that trick the eyeSome 150 years before today's AI deep fakes, photographers created remarkable image manipulations that tricked viewers. Here are 10 pictures from the 19th and 20th centuries.The true story of Japan's mysterious samuraiFrom medieval beginnings, the samurai have inspired art, fiction and films, from Shōgun to Star Wars. But their true story is more complex and surprising than we might realise.Eight iconic Nordic homes throughout historyThese design masterworks reveal the origins of Scandi style – and they all emerge from a distinctive vision of "soft modernism" that still influences how we live now.WatchIznik: The Ottoman art that captivated EuropeFind out how the ornate ceramics known as Iznik tiles hold the key to a forgotten golden age of Turkish art.Art & DesignA look inside Michelangelo's 'secret room'The BBC gets access to Michelangelo's 'secret hiding room' under the Medici Chapel in Florence.Art & DesignStriking images capturing the 'dark underbelly of America'Why legendary crime photographer Weegee offers a crucial lens to understand the American psyche.Art & DesignHow a mythical symbol is inspiring Turkish artistsThe 'Shahmaran', half-woman and half-snake, is a mythical figure popular in the folklore of Turkey. Art & DesignThe Lebanese artist championing vegan silkArt critic Alastair Sooke learns about a modern designer's take on Doha's Museum of Islamic Art's collection.Art & DesignWhat do we mean when we talk about 'Islamic art'?Art critic Alastair Sooke travels to Doha to learn about some of the treasures of the Museum of Islamic Art.Art & DesignThe Doha Hind: The charming 10th-Century garden ornamentArt critic Alastair Sooke learns about a decorative 10th-Century treasure at Doha's Museum of Islamic Art.Art & DesignBlue Quran: A rare 1,000-year-old masterpieceArt critic Alastair Sooke learns about a masterpiece of the Islamic world at Doha's Museum of Islamic Art.Art & DesignTaiwan's last cinema poster painterPartially blind, he vows to continue until he can no longer see.ArtOtherworldly scenes of a remote Arctic cityPhotographer Elena Chernyshova explores what it’s like to live in a city 400km north of the Arctic Circle.Art & DesignThe renegade artists of a lawless desert townDeep in the Sonoran Desert, an off-grid community are creating art in 'the last free place in America'.Art & DesignThe beautiful homes made from bambooCould bamboo be the future of sustainable architecture?Art & Design60 years of African-American life in picturesIconic photographer Frank Stewart captured key moments in history: from Fidel Castro the to the stars of jazz.Art & DesignThe naked portrait covered up for centuriesArtemisia Gentileschi: Revealing the true beauty of a censored painting.ArtShould we all live in '15-minute cities'?We explore a different model of city life, where everything is on your doorstep.DesignWhat's behind Mona Lisa's indescribable smile?This video has expired. ArtThe dark history of Comuna 13Comuna 13 is a thriving hub of graffiti artists, music and culture. But it hasn't always been this way.Art & DesignChromophobia: Who stole the colour from classical art?The way we see ancient Greek and Roman sculpture isn't actually the way it was first created.ArtThe world's oldest tattoo parlourThe Razzouk family are tattoo artists whose history of inking Christian pilgrims stretches back over 700 years.ArtInside the stunning 'new Athens' of Central EuropeJože Plečnik transformed the city of Ljubljana into a 'Slovenian Acropolis'.DesignLatest in art and design2 days agoBrit Awards art trail turns streets into a galleryCurated by artist Stanley Chow a city-wide trail showcases the work of 21 local artists.2 days ago2 days agoResidents invited to design statues for art trailThe Staffy Trail will feature 10 large, 5ft sculptures of the county's new visitor mascot.2 days ago2 days agoThe teacher who won $1m for turning India's slums into open-air classroomsRouble Nagi has spent the last three decades promoting learning among India's marginalised communities.2 days ago3 days agoWhat new artwork next to Colston window will look likeThe cathedral says the artwork has been designed to be viewed "in dialogue" with the Colston window.3 days ago3 days agoConstable oil painting to go on display at museumA View of Salisbury from Harnham will go on display in the city in June.3 days ago3 days agoPainting of 'nithering' Spurn to stay in YorkshireBeverley Art Gallery has acquired Two Girls On The Shore by the celebrated artist David Remfry.3 days ago4 days agoTrash art reflects city centre gulls debateThe Worcester Plinth is displaying a sculpture titled 'The Gulls' at the play park on Lansdowne Road.4 days ago5 days agoThis is now the world's largest sock monkeyGlasgow artist Emilia Evans-Munton created the giant puppet for her degree show in 2025.5 days ago5 days agoDevon snow carver comes second in Italian contestPippa Unwin says she is delighted to succeed with her "ridiculously complicated" design.5 days ago... Art & Design How photography helped the British empire classify India Latest headlines Man's 'uplifting' sculpture wins at US festival Rare watercolour of Jungle Book bear on show 'Breweries using AI could put artists out of work' 11 of the Winter Olympics' most striking images - as classical artworks Bullring bull sketches found under bed to be sold Features The most anticipated museum openings of 2026 From a futuristic sci-fi attraction in Los Angeles to a dramatic monument to a millennia-old Aboriginal civilisation, these long-awaited museums are worth travelling for. The historic US home that embodied the super-rich The largest privately owned home in the US, Biltmore House was an "American chateau built on the scale of a European palace". It reveals much about the dreams of the US's one per cent. Why critics scorned these 'saucy' British paintings Beryl Cook's paintings were loved by the public but derided by the art establishment. One century after her birth, a new exhibition argues for a reassessment of her work. 10 early photographic 'fakes' that trick the eye Some 150 years before today's AI deep fakes, photographers created remarkable image manipulations that tricked viewers. Here are 10 pictures from the 19th and 20th centuries. The true story of Japan's mysterious samurai From medieval beginnings, the samurai have inspired art, fiction and films, from Shōgun to Star Wars. But their true story is more complex and surprising than we might realise. Eight iconic Nordic homes throughout history These design masterworks reveal the origins of Scandi style – and they all emerge from a distinctive vision of "soft modernism" that still influences how we live now. Watch Iznik: The Ottoman art that captivated Europe Find out how the ornate ceramics known as Iznik tiles hold the key to a forgotten golden age of Turkish art. A look inside Michelangelo's 'secret room' The BBC gets access to Michelangelo's 'secret hiding room' under the Medici Chapel in Florence. Striking images capturing the 'dark underbelly of America' Why legendary crime photographer Weegee offers a crucial lens to understand the American psyche. How a mythical symbol is inspiring Turkish artists The 'Shahmaran', half-woman and half-snake, is a mythical figure popular in the folklore of Turkey. The Lebanese artist championing vegan silk Art critic Alastair Sooke learns about a modern designer's take on Doha's Museum of Islamic Art's collection. What do we mean when we talk about 'Islamic art'? Art critic Alastair Sooke travels to Doha to learn about some of the treasures of the Museum of Islamic Art. The Doha Hind: The charming 10th-Century garden ornament Art critic Alastair Sooke learns about a decorative 10th-Century treasure at Doha's Museum of Islamic Art. Blue Quran: A rare 1,000-year-old masterpiece Art critic Alastair Sooke learns about a masterpiece of the Islamic world at Doha's Museum of Islamic Art. Taiwan's last cinema poster painter Partially blind, he vows to continue until he can no longer see. Otherworldly scenes of a remote Arctic city Photographer Elena Chernyshova explores what it’s like to live in a city 400km north of the Arctic Circle. The renegade artists of a lawless desert town Deep in the Sonoran Desert, an off-grid community are creating art in 'the last free place in America'. The beautiful homes made from bamboo Could bamboo be the future of sustainable architecture? 60 years of African-American life in pictures Iconic photographer Frank Stewart captured key moments in history: from Fidel Castro the to the stars of jazz. The naked portrait covered up for centuries Artemisia Gentileschi: Revealing the true beauty of a censored painting. Should we all live in '15-minute cities'? We explore a different model of city life, where everything is on your doorstep. What's behind Mona Lisa's indescribable smile? This video has expired. The dark history of Comuna 13 Comuna 13 is a thriving hub of graffiti artists, music and culture. But it hasn't always been this way. Chromophobia: Who stole the colour from classical art? The way we see ancient Greek and Roman sculpture isn't actually the way it was first created. The world's oldest tattoo parlour The Razzouk family are tattoo artists whose history of inking Christian pilgrims stretches back over 700 years. Inside the stunning 'new Athens' of Central Europe Jože Plečnik transformed the city of Ljubljana into a 'Slovenian Acropolis'. Latest in art and design Brit Awards art trail turns streets into a gallery Curated by artist Stanley Chow a city-wide trail showcases the work of 21 local artists. Residents invited to design statues for art trail The Staffy Trail will feature 10 large, 5ft sculptures of the county's new visitor mascot. The teacher who won $1m for turning India's slums into open-air classrooms Rouble Nagi has spent the last three decades promoting learning among India's marginalised communities. What new artwork next to Colston window will look like The cathedral says the artwork has been designed to be viewed "in dialogue" with the Colston window. Constable oil painting to go on display at museum A View of Salisbury from Harnham will go on display in the city in June. Painting of 'nithering' Spurn to stay in Yorkshire Beverley Art Gallery has acquired Two Girls On The Shore by the celebrated artist David Remfry. Trash art reflects city centre gulls debate The Worcester Plinth is displaying a sculpture titled 'The Gulls' at the play park on Lansdowne Road. This is now the world's largest sock monkey Glasgow artist Emilia Evans-Munton created the giant puppet for her degree show in 2025. Devon snow carver comes second in Italian contest Pippa Unwin says she is delighted to succeed with her "ridiculously complicated" design. Copyright 2026 BBC. All rights reserved. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read about our approach to external linking.
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[SOURCE: https://www.bbc.com/culture/music] \| [TOKENS: 2626]
MusicThe Grammy winner bringing traditional country to new audiencesZach Top discusses winning the first ever Grammy Award for best traditional country album.See moreLatest headlinesBrockwell festivals set to go ahead despite doubts'Bradford Brit School shows music industry isn't just London-centric'Town's music magazine publishes 50th issueHow Co-op Live went from falling air con units to hosting the BritsFrom playing Glastonbury to running a cider festivalFeaturesThe lifelong benefits of making musicFrom helping people cope with age-related disorders to altering our perception of physical pain, music's impact on our bodies can ring loud.Eight of New Orleans' best live music venuesSinger-songwriter Andrew Duhon shares the best live music in his hometown New Orleans, from acoustic sets at The Tigermen Den to candlelit piano acts at Lafitte's Blacksmith Shop Bar.How Stevie Wonder’s hit song helped create a new US holidayWith Happy Birthday, Stevie Wonder successfully campaigned to honour Martin Luther King Jr with a US national holiday, in a career of socially conscious songwriting.How the 1950s 'Red Scare' erased 'the most famous black person in America'Paul Robeson was a superstar of the stage and screen, a talented football player and a music hitmaker. Then came a dramatic fall from grace.Seven live music experiences worth travelling for in 2026Think beyond the destination concert and choose a musical destination. From Helsinki to Tokyo, these shows and festivals are just the ticket.Sean Ono Lennon on his father's legacyTom Brook reported from the scene of John Lennon's death in 1980, later interviewing his young son. The two reconnect to discuss how Lennon's message reverberates today.WatchEd Sheeran has already planned his posthumous albumThe musician has plans to release a posthumous album and even reveals the name he has in mind.MusicBruce Springsteen joins surprise radio call with Sam FenderJeremy Allen White dials the boss live on air - then Stephen Graham gets Sam Fender to join the call.MusicWhy Elton John burst into tears after recording a songThe musician explains a heavy moment thinking about the lyrics of a song from his forthcoming album.MusicListen to the 'earliest known country song' ever recorded A wax cylinder containing the oldest recorded country song was discovered in Pennsylvania. MusicJennifer Lopez explains why she cancelled her tourJennifer Lopez explains why she cancelled her tour, and is surprised by a fan in the studio.MusicWhy Bruce Springsteen will never stop performing75-year-old Bruce Springsteen explains why he has no plans to stop touring.MusicFrisson: Why music can give you chills or goosebumpsWhy certain music can trigger a surprisingly physiological reaction. MusicHow can music help our memory?We discover the power of music on our memories by meeting a care home resident with dementia.MusicThe incredible power of music to heal usWe explore where our musical creativity comes from, and what happens to our brains when we improvise.MusicHow music affects our mental healthAs we grow, how do we connect to music and can it help us to heal?MusicCan music shape us in the womb?Why do we move to a rhythm, are we actually born to be musical, and how does music really shape who we are?MusicAntytila: The rock band that swapped guitars for gunsAlmost six months ago, members of the rock band Antytila joined the Ukrainian army.MusicJoseph Boulogne: The musical genius you've never heard ofA soldier, athlete, musical genius and revolutionary, Joseph Boulogne was the crème de la crème of 18th-century French society.MusicHow Fela Kuti and Tony Allen created a new genre of musicIn the 1960s, Fela Kuti and Tony Allen developed a whole new genre of music: Afrobeat.MusicThe team that helps a man losing his voice sing an operaFaced with motor neurone disease (MND), Paul Jameson is reclaiming his voice through opera.MusicThe drum born from a mystical forestDeep in Argentina's Santigueno forest, a legendary musical instrument is made.MusicDid David Bowie predict the rise of Kanye West?David Bowie was a visionary on so many counts, but did he really fortell the birth and rise of Kanye West?MusicThe mystical instrument that speaks with the spiritsSounding a bit like bagpipes, the qeej is used by Hmong people in Vietnam to connect with the spirit world.MusicThe musicians serenading the wildernessThe Musical Mountaineers combine classical music with the stunning scenery of the Cascade Mountains in Washington State.MusicThe composer whose brother took the creditThe unsung life of German composer and pianist Fanny Mendelssohn, who composed more than 400 works of music.MusicMore Music14 hrs agoGig axed after backlash over controversial singerThe venue in Worcester says singer Michale Graves decided not to fly to the UK.14 hrs ago18 hrs agoTaylor Swift and KPop stars dominated music in 2025APT by Rosé and Bruno Mars and tracks from KPop Demon Hunters were among the biggest hits of the year.18 hrs ago20 hrs agoGuitar played on Ghost Town up for auctionThe band's bass player Horace Panter is selling the 1971 blue Fender Precision via auction.20 hrs ago21 hrs agoUncovering MF DOOM's legacy, from a record shop in LeedsThe enigmatic figure in hip-hop left a profound mark on the music world, and his journey stretches all the way from Long Island to Leeds. 21 hrs ago2 days agoSir Paul McCartney recalls 'magical memories' in CampbeltownMcCartney owns a farm close to the town and lived there with his late wife Linda for a spell in the 1970s.2 days ago2 days agoBad Bunny to make lead acting debut in film inspired by Puerto Rican revolutionaryThe singer will star opposite Edward Norton and Javier Bardem in a film titled Porto Rico.2 days ago3 days agoElla Eyre gets emotional with new song Rain in HeavenThe singer performs with the BBC Concert Orchestra in the Radio 2 Piano Room.3 days ago3 days ago'Meeting my dad was a D:Ream': Pop star's 50-year search for birth fatherThe musician, who was born in a mother and baby home, only found out who his natural father was when he was 59. 3 days ago3 days agoUpcoming gig makes councillor 'ashamed' for cityMichale Graves says "all are welcome" at his upcoming performance in Worcester.3 days ago... Music The Grammy winner bringing traditional country to new audiences Latest headlines Brockwell festivals set to go ahead despite doubts 'Bradford Brit School shows music industry isn't just London-centric' Town's music magazine publishes 50th issue How Co-op Live went from falling air con units to hosting the Brits From playing Glastonbury to running a cider festival Features The lifelong benefits of making music From helping people cope with age-related disorders to altering our perception of physical pain, music's impact on our bodies can ring loud. Eight of New Orleans' best live music venues Singer-songwriter Andrew Duhon shares the best live music in his hometown New Orleans, from acoustic sets at The Tigermen Den to candlelit piano acts at Lafitte's Blacksmith Shop Bar. How Stevie Wonder’s hit song helped create a new US holiday With Happy Birthday, Stevie Wonder successfully campaigned to honour Martin Luther King Jr with a US national holiday, in a career of socially conscious songwriting. How the 1950s 'Red Scare' erased 'the most famous black person in America' Paul Robeson was a superstar of the stage and screen, a talented football player and a music hitmaker. Then came a dramatic fall from grace. Seven live music experiences worth travelling for in 2026 Think beyond the destination concert and choose a musical destination. From Helsinki to Tokyo, these shows and festivals are just the ticket. Sean Ono Lennon on his father's legacy Tom Brook reported from the scene of John Lennon's death in 1980, later interviewing his young son. The two reconnect to discuss how Lennon's message reverberates today. Watch Ed Sheeran has already planned his posthumous album The musician has plans to release a posthumous album and even reveals the name he has in mind. Bruce Springsteen joins surprise radio call with Sam Fender Jeremy Allen White dials the boss live on air - then Stephen Graham gets Sam Fender to join the call. Why Elton John burst into tears after recording a song The musician explains a heavy moment thinking about the lyrics of a song from his forthcoming album. Listen to the 'earliest known country song' ever recorded A wax cylinder containing the oldest recorded country song was discovered in Pennsylvania. Jennifer Lopez explains why she cancelled her tour Jennifer Lopez explains why she cancelled her tour, and is surprised by a fan in the studio. Why Bruce Springsteen will never stop performing 75-year-old Bruce Springsteen explains why he has no plans to stop touring. Frisson: Why music can give you chills or goosebumps Why certain music can trigger a surprisingly physiological reaction. How can music help our memory? We discover the power of music on our memories by meeting a care home resident with dementia. The incredible power of music to heal us We explore where our musical creativity comes from, and what happens to our brains when we improvise. How music affects our mental health As we grow, how do we connect to music and can it help us to heal? Can music shape us in the womb? Why do we move to a rhythm, are we actually born to be musical, and how does music really shape who we are? Antytila: The rock band that swapped guitars for guns Almost six months ago, members of the rock band Antytila joined the Ukrainian army. Joseph Boulogne: The musical genius you've never heard of A soldier, athlete, musical genius and revolutionary, Joseph Boulogne was the crème de la crème of 18th-century French society. How Fela Kuti and Tony Allen created a new genre of music In the 1960s, Fela Kuti and Tony Allen developed a whole new genre of music: Afrobeat. The team that helps a man losing his voice sing an opera Faced with motor neurone disease (MND), Paul Jameson is reclaiming his voice through opera. The drum born from a mystical forest Deep in Argentina's Santigueno forest, a legendary musical instrument is made. Did David Bowie predict the rise of Kanye West? David Bowie was a visionary on so many counts, but did he really fortell the birth and rise of Kanye West? The mystical instrument that speaks with the spirits Sounding a bit like bagpipes, the qeej is used by Hmong people in Vietnam to connect with the spirit world. The musicians serenading the wilderness The Musical Mountaineers combine classical music with the stunning scenery of the Cascade Mountains in Washington State. The composer whose brother took the credit The unsung life of German composer and pianist Fanny Mendelssohn, who composed more than 400 works of music. More Music Gig axed after backlash over controversial singer The venue in Worcester says singer Michale Graves decided not to fly to the UK. Taylor Swift and KPop stars dominated music in 2025 APT by Rosé and Bruno Mars and tracks from KPop Demon Hunters were among the biggest hits of the year. Guitar played on Ghost Town up for auction The band's bass player Horace Panter is selling the 1971 blue Fender Precision via auction. Uncovering MF DOOM's legacy, from a record shop in Leeds The enigmatic figure in hip-hop left a profound mark on the music world, and his journey stretches all the way from Long Island to Leeds. Sir Paul McCartney recalls 'magical memories' in Campbeltown McCartney owns a farm close to the town and lived there with his late wife Linda for a spell in the 1970s. Bad Bunny to make lead acting debut in film inspired by Puerto Rican revolutionary The singer will star opposite Edward Norton and Javier Bardem in a film titled Porto Rico. Ella Eyre gets emotional with new song Rain in Heaven The singer performs with the BBC Concert Orchestra in the Radio 2 Piano Room. 'Meeting my dad was a D:Ream': Pop star's 50-year search for birth father The musician, who was born in a mother and baby home, only found out who his natural father was when he was 59. Upcoming gig makes councillor 'ashamed' for city Michale Graves says "all are welcome" at his upcoming performance in Worcester. Copyright 2026 BBC. All rights reserved. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read about our approach to external linking.
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[SOURCE: https://www.bbc.com/arts/arts-in-motion] \| [TOKENS: 3422]
Arts in MotionIn a pioneering new collaboration, the BBC, in partnership with Rolex, will use its unparalleled reach to bring the best arts and culture to audiences worldwide. Rolex's long-standing commitment to the arts, through its Perpetual Arts Initiative, is coupled with the BBC's storytelling heritage to support and promote artistic excellence and the transmission of artistic knowledge. This is Arts in Motion, a long-term joint project to enable and highlight creative ambition on a global scale.40 videosNothing brings more freedom than filmmaking, Jia Zhang-Ke saysRenowned Chinese filmmaker Jia Zhang-Ke reflects on how he sees cinema as a space for freedom and rebellion.17 February 2025ShareExplore MoreRolex and the arts: cultivating talentAdvertisementMarina Abramović is done with the pastEs Devlin's powerful art invites a closer look at strangersKarl Ove Knausgård: The writer who broke the rulesCecilia Bartoli: See the magic of Opera's 'last diva'The daring dance collective rewriting the rules of balletElif Shafak says her writing style is 'a little bit drunk''Architecture is about allowing the extraordinary to happen'Architects unveil future of design at Venice Biennale 2025Brian Cox on why you should keep your inner child alive‘I really do not want to practise’Watch a sensational performance of Nessun DormaThe Paris Opera wants you to 'feel first, understand later'Yannick Nézet-Séguin: Mozart reveals everythingA new golden era for opera begins at the Met'I can't believe anyone can dislike classical music'Brian Cox on the hard truth about actingYannick Nézet-Séguin: From child prodigy to modern maestroSinfonía por el Perú: Changing lives through musicSteven Isserlis: 'I want to be a voice in their heads''Keep going, keep going, keep going'Why Yinka Shonibare doesn't believe in tearing down statuesTeatro alla Scala: See the magic and mystery of operaStep inside Hollywood's ultimate time capsuleSteven Isserlis on why you're more musical than you thinkHew Locke on why art is important in a fractious worldBenjamin Bernheim reveals the secret to captivating crowdsInside the studio of Britain's most celebrated sculptorWhitney White on how Shakespeare still resonates todayAntony Gormley on how play can unleash your creativitySee behind the scenes of artist Alvaro Barrington's studioInside one of the world's biggest classical music festivalsA look behind the scenes at London's Royal Drawing SchoolExplore Anoushka Shankar's genre-defying styleAn acting masterclass with Succession's Brian Cox A legend of contemporary art reveals his inspirationExperience artist Es Devlin's powerful new workVienna Philharmonic: See the magic of the great orchestraBehind the scenes at London's Royal Ballet and OperaArchitectureArchitects unveil future of design at Venice Biennale 2025As the Venice Biennale closes, curator Carlo Ratti calls on architects to face a 'burning world' with courage.See moreMusicWatch a sensational performance of Nessun DormaSeokJong Baek, a celebrated tenor with the Royal Ballet and Opera, sings Nessun Dorma by Puccini.Explore Anoushka Shankar's genre-defying styleRenowned sitar player Anoushka Shankar on how she blends classical traditions with contemporary sounds.Steven Isserlis: 'I want to be a voice in their heads'In an intimate portrait, acclaimed cellist Steven Isserlis opens up about why he loves teaching young musicians.Yannick Nézet-Séguin: From child prodigy to modern maestroThe renowned conductor and music director of the Met Opera reveals how a calling became his lifelong journey.Sinfonía por el Perú: Changing lives through musicWhat if a single note could change a life? That's exactly what's happening at Sinfonía por el Perú.A masterclass with French tenor Benjamin BernheimFrench tenor Benjamin Bernheim mentors young singers in the delicate art of French opera. Teatro alla Scala: See the magic and mystery of operaFrom Verdi to Bellini, this legendary stage has been the heart of music and performance for centuries.Steven Isserlis on why you're more musical than you thinkFor the British cellist, the cello isn't just an instrument, it's a companion and sometimes a purring cat.A new golden era for opera begins at the MetDiscover how New York's Metropolitan Opera is on a mission to redefine the art form for a new generation.Inside one of the world's biggest classical music festivalsDiscover the magic of the Salzburg Festival, where young talent meets century-old traditions.The Paris Opera wants you to 'feel first, understand later'Go behind the scenes of the historic Paris Opera to discover why no prep is required to experience opera.'I can't believe anyone can dislike classical music'Renowned cellist Steven Isserlis believes anyone can connect with classical music, if they really listen.Vienna Philharmonic: See the magic of the great orchestraThe Vienna Philharmonic has captivated audiences for generations with its rich heritage and exceptional talent.Yannick Nézet-Séguin: Mozart reveals everythingThe music director of the Met Opera shares how a commitment to authenticity shape his approach to conducting.Arts in MotionArts in Motion takes viewers inside the creative world of today’s most compelling artists, revealing the inspirations, challenges, and stories behind their work.7 videosLina Ghotmeh on crafting the future from the pastArchitect Lina Ghotmeh brings her vision to an ambitious project, redesigning the British Museum's Western Range.16 January 2026ShareExplore MoreA masterclass with celebrated pianist Yuja WangA masterclass with the prestigious Vienna PhilharmonicA masterclass with legendary actor Brian CoxA masterclass with renowned sculptor Antony GormleyA masterclass with French tenor Benjamin BernheimA masterclass with acclaimed cellist Steven IsserlisTheatre, Film & TVBrian Cox on the hard truth about acting"It's difficult stuff - acting - and I find it hard after 60 years," says Succession's Brian Cox.Whitney White on how Shakespeare still resonates todayWhitney White is a Tony-nominated director and actor, celebrated for her bold and inventive re-imaginings of both classic and contemporary works.Step inside Hollywood's ultimate time capsuleDiscover a century of film at the Academy Museum, home to 52 million objects bringing cinematic history to life.Jia Zhang-Ke: Nothing brings more freedom than filmmakingFor acclaimed Chinese filmmaker Jia Zhang-Ke, filmmaking is not just an art - it's a space to innovate and redefine cinematic conventions.Brian Cox on why you should keep your inner child aliveAcclaimed actor Brian Cox shares his journey from a challenging childhood to global acting success.Dance'Keep going, keep going, keep going'Dancer and choreographer Lee Serle talks about embracing uncertainty and never stopping, no matter the setbacks.See moreVisual ArtsAntony Gormley on how play can unleash your creativityBritish sculptor Antony Gormley reveals the transformative power of play and collaboration in making art.Experience artist Es Devlin's powerful new workEs Devlin, known for her work with musicians like Beyoncé, invites you to explore her latest project.Why Yinka Shonibare doesn't believe in tearing down statuesThe celebrated British artist believes that instead of erasing history, art should challenge it to spark debate.Hew Locke on why art is important in a fractious worldThe renowned British sculptor challenges viewers to pause, reflect, and question his art.See behind the scenes of artist Alvaro Barrington's studioAlvaro Barrington discusses the creation of Grace, a very personal installation, and shows how personal experiences shape his bold artistic vision.A legend of contemporary art talks about his latest showMichael Craig-Martin discusses his creative process, the evolution of his conceptual style, and the inspirations behind his iconic works.Inside the studio of Britain's most celebrated sculptorThe BBC visits the studio of British sculptor Antony Gormley to learn how art evolves as a communal practice.A look behind the scenes at London's Royal Drawing SchoolStep inside the Royal Drawing School in London and see a new generation of artists shaping the future of drawing.LiteratureElif Shafak says her writing style is 'a little bit drunk'British-Turkish novelist Elif Shafak tells the BBC her writing is guided by intuition rather than a rigid plan. See more Arts in Motion In a pioneering new collaboration, the BBC, in partnership with Rolex, will use its unparalleled reach to bring the best arts and culture to audiences worldwide. Rolex's long-standing commitment to the arts, through its Perpetual Arts Initiative, is coupled with the BBC's storytelling heritage to support and promote artistic excellence and the transmission of artistic knowledge. This is Arts in Motion, a long-term joint project to enable and highlight creative ambition on a global scale. Renowned Chinese filmmaker Jia Zhang-Ke reflects on how he sees cinema as a space for freedom and rebellion. Rolex and the arts: cultivating talent Marina Abramović is done with the past Es Devlin's powerful art invites a closer look at strangers Karl Ove Knausgård: The writer who broke the rules Cecilia Bartoli: See the magic of Opera's 'last diva' The daring dance collective rewriting the rules of ballet Elif Shafak says her writing style is 'a little bit drunk' 'Architecture is about allowing the extraordinary to happen' Architects unveil future of design at Venice Biennale 2025 Brian Cox on why you should keep your inner child alive ‘I really do not want to practise’ Watch a sensational performance of Nessun Dorma The Paris Opera wants you to 'feel first, understand later' Yannick Nézet-Séguin: Mozart reveals everything A new golden era for opera begins at the Met 'I can't believe anyone can dislike classical music' Brian Cox on the hard truth about acting Yannick Nézet-Séguin: From child prodigy to modern maestro Sinfonía por el Perú: Changing lives through music Steven Isserlis: 'I want to be a voice in their heads' 'Keep going, keep going, keep going' Why Yinka Shonibare doesn't believe in tearing down statues Teatro alla Scala: See the magic and mystery of opera Step inside Hollywood's ultimate time capsule Steven Isserlis on why you're more musical than you think Hew Locke on why art is important in a fractious world Benjamin Bernheim reveals the secret to captivating crowds Inside the studio of Britain's most celebrated sculptor Whitney White on how Shakespeare still resonates today Antony Gormley on how play can unleash your creativity See behind the scenes of artist Alvaro Barrington's studio Inside one of the world's biggest classical music festivals A look behind the scenes at London's Royal Drawing School Explore Anoushka Shankar's genre-defying style An acting masterclass with Succession's Brian Cox A legend of contemporary art reveals his inspiration Experience artist Es Devlin's powerful new work Vienna Philharmonic: See the magic of the great orchestra Behind the scenes at London's Royal Ballet and Opera Architecture Architects unveil future of design at Venice Biennale 2025 Music Watch a sensational performance of Nessun Dorma SeokJong Baek, a celebrated tenor with the Royal Ballet and Opera, sings Nessun Dorma by Puccini. Explore Anoushka Shankar's genre-defying style Renowned sitar player Anoushka Shankar on how she blends classical traditions with contemporary sounds. Steven Isserlis: 'I want to be a voice in their heads' In an intimate portrait, acclaimed cellist Steven Isserlis opens up about why he loves teaching young musicians. Yannick Nézet-Séguin: From child prodigy to modern maestro The renowned conductor and music director of the Met Opera reveals how a calling became his lifelong journey. Sinfonía por el Perú: Changing lives through music What if a single note could change a life? That's exactly what's happening at Sinfonía por el Perú. A masterclass with French tenor Benjamin Bernheim French tenor Benjamin Bernheim mentors young singers in the delicate art of French opera. Teatro alla Scala: See the magic and mystery of opera From Verdi to Bellini, this legendary stage has been the heart of music and performance for centuries. Steven Isserlis on why you're more musical than you think For the British cellist, the cello isn't just an instrument, it's a companion and sometimes a purring cat. A new golden era for opera begins at the Met Discover how New York's Metropolitan Opera is on a mission to redefine the art form for a new generation. Inside one of the world's biggest classical music festivals Discover the magic of the Salzburg Festival, where young talent meets century-old traditions. The Paris Opera wants you to 'feel first, understand later' Go behind the scenes of the historic Paris Opera to discover why no prep is required to experience opera. 'I can't believe anyone can dislike classical music' Renowned cellist Steven Isserlis believes anyone can connect with classical music, if they really listen. Vienna Philharmonic: See the magic of the great orchestra The Vienna Philharmonic has captivated audiences for generations with its rich heritage and exceptional talent. Yannick Nézet-Séguin: Mozart reveals everything The music director of the Met Opera shares how a commitment to authenticity shape his approach to conducting. Arts in Motion Arts in Motion takes viewers inside the creative world of today’s most compelling artists, revealing the inspirations, challenges, and stories behind their work. Architect Lina Ghotmeh brings her vision to an ambitious project, redesigning the British Museum's Western Range. A masterclass with celebrated pianist Yuja Wang A masterclass with the prestigious Vienna Philharmonic A masterclass with legendary actor Brian Cox A masterclass with renowned sculptor Antony Gormley A masterclass with French tenor Benjamin Bernheim A masterclass with acclaimed cellist Steven Isserlis Theatre, Film & TV Brian Cox on the hard truth about acting "It's difficult stuff - acting - and I find it hard after 60 years," says Succession's Brian Cox. Whitney White on how Shakespeare still resonates today Whitney White is a Tony-nominated director and actor, celebrated for her bold and inventive re-imaginings of both classic and contemporary works. Step inside Hollywood's ultimate time capsule Discover a century of film at the Academy Museum, home to 52 million objects bringing cinematic history to life. Jia Zhang-Ke: Nothing brings more freedom than filmmaking For acclaimed Chinese filmmaker Jia Zhang-Ke, filmmaking is not just an art - it's a space to innovate and redefine cinematic conventions. Brian Cox on why you should keep your inner child alive Acclaimed actor Brian Cox shares his journey from a challenging childhood to global acting success. Dance 'Keep going, keep going, keep going' Visual Arts Antony Gormley on how play can unleash your creativity British sculptor Antony Gormley reveals the transformative power of play and collaboration in making art. Experience artist Es Devlin's powerful new work Es Devlin, known for her work with musicians like Beyoncé, invites you to explore her latest project. Why Yinka Shonibare doesn't believe in tearing down statues The celebrated British artist believes that instead of erasing history, art should challenge it to spark debate. Hew Locke on why art is important in a fractious world The renowned British sculptor challenges viewers to pause, reflect, and question his art. See behind the scenes of artist Alvaro Barrington's studio Alvaro Barrington discusses the creation of Grace, a very personal installation, and shows how personal experiences shape his bold artistic vision. A legend of contemporary art talks about his latest show Michael Craig-Martin discusses his creative process, the evolution of his conceptual style, and the inspirations behind his iconic works. Inside the studio of Britain's most celebrated sculptor The BBC visits the studio of British sculptor Antony Gormley to learn how art evolves as a communal practice. A look behind the scenes at London's Royal Drawing School Step inside the Royal Drawing School in London and see a new generation of artists shaping the future of drawing. Literature Elif Shafak says her writing style is 'a little bit drunk' Copyright 2026 BBC. All rights reserved. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read about our approach to external linking.
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[SOURCE: https://www.fast.ai/posts/2025-02-20-fasttransform.html] \| [TOKENS: 2660]
fasttransform: Reversible Pipelines Made Simple Rens Dimmendaal, Hamel Husain, & Jeremy Howard February 20, 2025 On this page fasttransform: Reversible Pipelines Made Simple Introducing fasttransform, a Python library that makes data transformations reversible and extensible through the power of multiple dispatch. “How did this image get misclassified?” If you’ve ever trained a machine learning model, you know what comes next: the frustrating journey of trying to understand what your model actually saw. You dig through layers of transformations - normalizations, resizes, augmentations - only to realize you’ll need to write inverse functions just to see your data again. It’s so painful that many of us skip it altogether, debugging our models based on abstract numbers rather than actual data. Or as OpenAI’s Greg Brockman puts it: Let’s look at what you might be missing. Here’s a simple example using fastai: With just these four lines, we discover something fascinating: our “wolf detector” isn’t detecting wolves at all - it’s detecting snow! Look at the training data: wolves in snow, huskies in forests. Then look at the predictions: the model fails whenever we flip the backgrounds. Without being able to easily visualize our data, we might never have caught this obvious flaw. While sophisticated interpretability techniques like LIME1 can beautifully visualize what parts of the image your model is focusing on (as shown above), often the most valuable insights come from simply being able to look at your data with your own eyes. In this case, a quick visual inspection revealed an obvious dataset bias just as well. How does fastai do this? Well, it uses Transform – a deceptively simple yet powerful idea that’s been hiding inside fastcore’s codebase. Today, we’re excited to announce that we’ve moved it to its own library: fasttransform, because we believe its applications may go beyond machine learning. Whether you’re working with images, text, time series, or any other data that needs processing, fasttransform offers a simple promise: if you can transform your data one way, you should be able to transform it back just as easily. No more writing inverse functions, no more losing sight of your data. Let’s see how it works. Problem #1: One-Way Transforms Ever tried to debug a machine learning pipeline by looking at your data? It usually goes something like this: Let’s make this concrete with a simple example: normalizing an image with PyTorch: Normalization is a crucial preprocessing step that scales pixel values to have similar ranges (typically mean=0 and standard deviation=1), which helps neural networks train more effectively. However, the normalization doesn’t really make this picture suitable for inspection with human eyes. To fix this, we need to manually write an inverse transform: And this is not some obscure problem. This has been a pain point of many ML practicioners for years: And this was just for a simple normalization. In real projects, you’re probably dealing with: - Segmentation masks that need to be transformed in sync with images - Text data with tokenization, padding, and special tokens - Time series with sliding windows, normalization, and encoding Each transformation adds another layer of complexity to unwind. And here’s the worst part: because it’s so painful to look at your transformed data, many of us just… don’t. We end up debugging our models based on abstract numbers rather than actual data, hoping our transformations are doing what we think they’re doing. Remember how easy it was in our fastai example to see exactly what the model was seeing? That’s not magic - it’s the power of reversible transforms. Let’s see how fasttransform makes this possible. A Better Way: reversible pipelines Here’s how fastai handles the same pipeline as the pytorch example of the previous section: That’s it. No manual inverse functions. No remembering means and standard deviations. Just .decode() and we’re back to something we can actually look at. fasttransform brings this same capability to your own code. The key insight is that for any transformation you want to apply, you probably already know how to undo it. Let’s look at how this works internally. How it works: .decode() The core idea behind fasttransform is simple: pair a transformation with its inverse. Here’s how you write a reversible normalization transform: That’s all it takes. By defining both encodes and decodes, fasttransform automatically knows how to reverse your transformations. Compare this to our earlier PyTorch example - instead of writing separate forward and inverse functions, we keep them together where they belong. You might notice the peculiar naming - encodes and decodes with an ‘s’. We’ll explain why later, but it has everything to do with how fasttransform handles different types of data automatically. When you call decode(), fasttransform is smart about which transforms to reverse. Some transforms, like loading an image or resizing it, don’t need to be undone, you actually want to see what the model sees! Others, like normalization, need to be reversed to be human-readable. How do you do this? Well, only define a .decodes method if the transform needs to be inverted! The introduction’s plotting functions used exactly this functionality to turn the transformed inputs back into a human interpretable state. Problem #2: Dealing with multiple types We’ve seen how making transforms reversible makes it easier to look at your data. But there’s another challenge when working with transforms: different types of data need different transformations. You see this most often where your inputs and your labels need different transforms. Here the same principle applies. We’d like to keep all those transforms in one place together because we want to be able to undo both of them. For example, we want to transform our categorical labels from strings to integers and back to strings again for human readability. But we don’t want to maintain separate transform pipelines for the inputs and the outputs. To understand why this is a problem, let’s look at how PyTorch - one of the most popular deep learning frameworks - handles this situation. Here’s an example from the tutorial showing a typical custom dataset: The transforms for images and labels are separately defined and provided to the dataset class. This separation might seem reasonable at first, but it creates two problems: Let’s see how fasttransform makes this easier. A better way: one pipeline for both input and outputs Here’s where fasttransform’s approach shines: instead of juggling separate pipelines, it handles both your image and its label in a single transform. When you pass a tuple to a transform, it only applies the relevant transforms. This might sound like a small thing, but it’s a game-changer for real-world machine learning work. Let’s see this in action. First, we’ll create a function that loads both an image and its label: Now for the cool part - we can use this function in our transform pipeline with just one small change. Look how clean this is: But we’re not done yet! Those string labels (“husky”, “wolf”) need to be converted to numbers for our model. In PyTorch, we’d need a separate transform pipeline for this. With fasttransform, we just add another transform that only applies to strings: And you might think “Okay, keeping transforms in one pipeline is nice, but is it really that important?” Well, one benefit is that now you can also reverse both transforms again in one go: Next we’ll show another example that shows why it’s crucial to keep those transforms in one place: image segmentation. In segmentation, you’re trying to identify specific regions in an image - like finding a husky in a photo. But here’s the tricky part: both your input image AND your target mask need to be transformed in exactly the same way. And that gets tricky when you use random transforms as a form of data augmentation. To illustrate, if you apply a randomized crop to your image, then you better crop that mask in the exact same way! Let’s see what this looks like in practice. First, we define a new function which loads both images and their corresponding mask: Now, if we want to randomly crop both the image and the mask (a common augmentation technique), they need to be cropped in exactly the same way. If they’re not aligned then your whole training data becomes nonsense. Here’s how fasttransform handles this: And voila, both the source image and the target mask have been transformed in identical ways. If these transforms were stored in different pipelines then it would have been a lot harder to keep these transforms in sync. Especially because there was a randomized element in the transform. Also, note that reversing is still just as easy: At this point you might be thinking: “This is pretty great - one pipeline handling different types of data, applying on the the relevant transforms where needed. But how does it actually work?” Well, let’s dive into that next! How it works: multiple dispatch The secret sauce that makes Transforms only apply to relevant data types is something called multiple dispatch. Don’t worry if you haven’t heard of it before - it’s a powerful programming concept that’s popular in languages like Julia2, but relatively unknown in Python. Think of multiple dispatch like having different versions of the same function, each designed to handle specific types of data. When you call the function, Python automatically picks the right version based on what you give it. Python provides an implementation limited to single argument functions out of the box: Multiple dispatch extends this idea to functions with multiple arguments. While Python’s built-in tools only handle single argument dispatch, the plum library provides true multiple dispatch for any number of arguments. Here’s a simple example to illustrate the concept: Transform uses plum’s multiple dispatch capabilities internally, but the core idea is the same: the right function is called based on the runtime data types it receives. This is what allows a single pipeline to handle images, labels, masks, and other types of data. There are three different ways you can define type-specific behavior in your transforms, each suited to different situations. Let’s look at each one in turn. The simplest way to create a transform is to pass it functions directly. This is great for quick experiments or one-off transforms: You might use this approach when you’re prototyping or when you don’t need to reuse the transform elsewhere in your code. But for more structured code, you’ll probably want to create a proper class… Subclassing Transform gives you a more organized way to handle different types: Notice something interesting here: in a regular Python class, you can’t define the same method multiple times. But when subclassing from Transform, you can! The encodes method is automatically set up for multiple dispatch, so Python knows which version to call based on the input type. But there’s one more way to define transforms, which is particularly useful when you want to extend an existing transform… This decorator syntax is incredibly useful in real-world applications. For instance, in fastai, the Normalize transform is defined in the core library to handle images, but other modules can extend it to work with new types: This plugin-like architecture means anyone can extend existing transforms to work with new types of data, without modifying the original code. That’s the power of multiple dispatch in action! The real power shows up when code is reused and extended in the ecosystem around fastai. Libraries like fastxtend add support for new data types without modifying the original code. Without multiple dispatch, they’d face a classic inheritance problem. Instead, with fasttransform, they can simply register new behaviors for existing transforms. Conclusion We’ve seen how fasttransform solves two fundamental problems in data processing: While these ideas grew out of fastai’s deep learning needs, their applications extend far beyond. Whether you’re processing images, text, time series, or quantum states, fasttransform offers a simple promise: if you can transform your data one way, you should be able to transform it back just as easily. Ready to try it yourself? Install fasttransform with: Check out our documentation for more examples and detailed API references. If you were already using fastcore’s dispatch and transform modules, then you might want to take a look at our migration guide. We’d love to hear how you’re using fasttransform in your own projects! Footnotes Dataset adapted from the academic paper which introduced the LIME technique. The dataset was tailored to showcase their technique of highlighting the snowy backgrounds as being most imoprtant in identifying the huskies. Source: Ribeiro, Marco Tulio, Sameer Singh, and Carlos Guestrin. “” Why should i trust you?” Explaining the predictions of any classifier.” Proceedings of the 22nd ACM SIGKDD international conference on knowledge discovery and data mining. 2016.↩︎ If you want to go down the multiple dispatch rabbit hole then we recommend this talk by Stefan Karpinski, one of the language’s co-creators, titled “The Unreasonable Effectiveness of Multiple Dispatch”.↩︎
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[SOURCE: https://www.fast.ai/posts/2025-02-20-fasttransform.html] \| [TOKENS: 2660]
fasttransform: Reversible Pipelines Made Simple Rens Dimmendaal, Hamel Husain, & Jeremy Howard February 20, 2025 On this page fasttransform: Reversible Pipelines Made Simple Introducing fasttransform, a Python library that makes data transformations reversible and extensible through the power of multiple dispatch. “How did this image get misclassified?” If you’ve ever trained a machine learning model, you know what comes next: the frustrating journey of trying to understand what your model actually saw. You dig through layers of transformations - normalizations, resizes, augmentations - only to realize you’ll need to write inverse functions just to see your data again. It’s so painful that many of us skip it altogether, debugging our models based on abstract numbers rather than actual data. Or as OpenAI’s Greg Brockman puts it: Let’s look at what you might be missing. Here’s a simple example using fastai: With just these four lines, we discover something fascinating: our “wolf detector” isn’t detecting wolves at all - it’s detecting snow! Look at the training data: wolves in snow, huskies in forests. Then look at the predictions: the model fails whenever we flip the backgrounds. Without being able to easily visualize our data, we might never have caught this obvious flaw. While sophisticated interpretability techniques like LIME1 can beautifully visualize what parts of the image your model is focusing on (as shown above), often the most valuable insights come from simply being able to look at your data with your own eyes. In this case, a quick visual inspection revealed an obvious dataset bias just as well. How does fastai do this? Well, it uses Transform – a deceptively simple yet powerful idea that’s been hiding inside fastcore’s codebase. Today, we’re excited to announce that we’ve moved it to its own library: fasttransform, because we believe its applications may go beyond machine learning. Whether you’re working with images, text, time series, or any other data that needs processing, fasttransform offers a simple promise: if you can transform your data one way, you should be able to transform it back just as easily. No more writing inverse functions, no more losing sight of your data. Let’s see how it works. Problem #1: One-Way Transforms Ever tried to debug a machine learning pipeline by looking at your data? It usually goes something like this: Let’s make this concrete with a simple example: normalizing an image with PyTorch: Normalization is a crucial preprocessing step that scales pixel values to have similar ranges (typically mean=0 and standard deviation=1), which helps neural networks train more effectively. However, the normalization doesn’t really make this picture suitable for inspection with human eyes. To fix this, we need to manually write an inverse transform: And this is not some obscure problem. This has been a pain point of many ML practicioners for years: And this was just for a simple normalization. In real projects, you’re probably dealing with: - Segmentation masks that need to be transformed in sync with images - Text data with tokenization, padding, and special tokens - Time series with sliding windows, normalization, and encoding Each transformation adds another layer of complexity to unwind. And here’s the worst part: because it’s so painful to look at your transformed data, many of us just… don’t. We end up debugging our models based on abstract numbers rather than actual data, hoping our transformations are doing what we think they’re doing. Remember how easy it was in our fastai example to see exactly what the model was seeing? That’s not magic - it’s the power of reversible transforms. Let’s see how fasttransform makes this possible. A Better Way: reversible pipelines Here’s how fastai handles the same pipeline as the pytorch example of the previous section: That’s it. No manual inverse functions. No remembering means and standard deviations. Just .decode() and we’re back to something we can actually look at. fasttransform brings this same capability to your own code. The key insight is that for any transformation you want to apply, you probably already know how to undo it. Let’s look at how this works internally. How it works: .decode() The core idea behind fasttransform is simple: pair a transformation with its inverse. Here’s how you write a reversible normalization transform: That’s all it takes. By defining both encodes and decodes, fasttransform automatically knows how to reverse your transformations. Compare this to our earlier PyTorch example - instead of writing separate forward and inverse functions, we keep them together where they belong. You might notice the peculiar naming - encodes and decodes with an ‘s’. We’ll explain why later, but it has everything to do with how fasttransform handles different types of data automatically. When you call decode(), fasttransform is smart about which transforms to reverse. Some transforms, like loading an image or resizing it, don’t need to be undone, you actually want to see what the model sees! Others, like normalization, need to be reversed to be human-readable. How do you do this? Well, only define a .decodes method if the transform needs to be inverted! The introduction’s plotting functions used exactly this functionality to turn the transformed inputs back into a human interpretable state. Problem #2: Dealing with multiple types We’ve seen how making transforms reversible makes it easier to look at your data. But there’s another challenge when working with transforms: different types of data need different transformations. You see this most often where your inputs and your labels need different transforms. Here the same principle applies. We’d like to keep all those transforms in one place together because we want to be able to undo both of them. For example, we want to transform our categorical labels from strings to integers and back to strings again for human readability. But we don’t want to maintain separate transform pipelines for the inputs and the outputs. To understand why this is a problem, let’s look at how PyTorch - one of the most popular deep learning frameworks - handles this situation. Here’s an example from the tutorial showing a typical custom dataset: The transforms for images and labels are separately defined and provided to the dataset class. This separation might seem reasonable at first, but it creates two problems: Let’s see how fasttransform makes this easier. A better way: one pipeline for both input and outputs Here’s where fasttransform’s approach shines: instead of juggling separate pipelines, it handles both your image and its label in a single transform. When you pass a tuple to a transform, it only applies the relevant transforms. This might sound like a small thing, but it’s a game-changer for real-world machine learning work. Let’s see this in action. First, we’ll create a function that loads both an image and its label: Now for the cool part - we can use this function in our transform pipeline with just one small change. Look how clean this is: But we’re not done yet! Those string labels (“husky”, “wolf”) need to be converted to numbers for our model. In PyTorch, we’d need a separate transform pipeline for this. With fasttransform, we just add another transform that only applies to strings: And you might think “Okay, keeping transforms in one pipeline is nice, but is it really that important?” Well, one benefit is that now you can also reverse both transforms again in one go: Next we’ll show another example that shows why it’s crucial to keep those transforms in one place: image segmentation. In segmentation, you’re trying to identify specific regions in an image - like finding a husky in a photo. But here’s the tricky part: both your input image AND your target mask need to be transformed in exactly the same way. And that gets tricky when you use random transforms as a form of data augmentation. To illustrate, if you apply a randomized crop to your image, then you better crop that mask in the exact same way! Let’s see what this looks like in practice. First, we define a new function which loads both images and their corresponding mask: Now, if we want to randomly crop both the image and the mask (a common augmentation technique), they need to be cropped in exactly the same way. If they’re not aligned then your whole training data becomes nonsense. Here’s how fasttransform handles this: And voila, both the source image and the target mask have been transformed in identical ways. If these transforms were stored in different pipelines then it would have been a lot harder to keep these transforms in sync. Especially because there was a randomized element in the transform. Also, note that reversing is still just as easy: At this point you might be thinking: “This is pretty great - one pipeline handling different types of data, applying on the the relevant transforms where needed. But how does it actually work?” Well, let’s dive into that next! How it works: multiple dispatch The secret sauce that makes Transforms only apply to relevant data types is something called multiple dispatch. Don’t worry if you haven’t heard of it before - it’s a powerful programming concept that’s popular in languages like Julia2, but relatively unknown in Python. Think of multiple dispatch like having different versions of the same function, each designed to handle specific types of data. When you call the function, Python automatically picks the right version based on what you give it. Python provides an implementation limited to single argument functions out of the box: Multiple dispatch extends this idea to functions with multiple arguments. While Python’s built-in tools only handle single argument dispatch, the plum library provides true multiple dispatch for any number of arguments. Here’s a simple example to illustrate the concept: Transform uses plum’s multiple dispatch capabilities internally, but the core idea is the same: the right function is called based on the runtime data types it receives. This is what allows a single pipeline to handle images, labels, masks, and other types of data. There are three different ways you can define type-specific behavior in your transforms, each suited to different situations. Let’s look at each one in turn. The simplest way to create a transform is to pass it functions directly. This is great for quick experiments or one-off transforms: You might use this approach when you’re prototyping or when you don’t need to reuse the transform elsewhere in your code. But for more structured code, you’ll probably want to create a proper class… Subclassing Transform gives you a more organized way to handle different types: Notice something interesting here: in a regular Python class, you can’t define the same method multiple times. But when subclassing from Transform, you can! The encodes method is automatically set up for multiple dispatch, so Python knows which version to call based on the input type. But there’s one more way to define transforms, which is particularly useful when you want to extend an existing transform… This decorator syntax is incredibly useful in real-world applications. For instance, in fastai, the Normalize transform is defined in the core library to handle images, but other modules can extend it to work with new types: This plugin-like architecture means anyone can extend existing transforms to work with new types of data, without modifying the original code. That’s the power of multiple dispatch in action! The real power shows up when code is reused and extended in the ecosystem around fastai. Libraries like fastxtend add support for new data types without modifying the original code. Without multiple dispatch, they’d face a classic inheritance problem. Instead, with fasttransform, they can simply register new behaviors for existing transforms. Conclusion We’ve seen how fasttransform solves two fundamental problems in data processing: While these ideas grew out of fastai’s deep learning needs, their applications extend far beyond. Whether you’re processing images, text, time series, or quantum states, fasttransform offers a simple promise: if you can transform your data one way, you should be able to transform it back just as easily. Ready to try it yourself? Install fasttransform with: Check out our documentation for more examples and detailed API references. If you were already using fastcore’s dispatch and transform modules, then you might want to take a look at our migration guide. We’d love to hear how you’re using fasttransform in your own projects! Footnotes Dataset adapted from the academic paper which introduced the LIME technique. The dataset was tailored to showcase their technique of highlighting the snowy backgrounds as being most imoprtant in identifying the huskies. Source: Ribeiro, Marco Tulio, Sameer Singh, and Carlos Guestrin. “” Why should i trust you?” Explaining the predictions of any classifier.” Proceedings of the 22nd ACM SIGKDD international conference on knowledge discovery and data mining. 2016.↩︎ If you want to go down the multiple dispatch rabbit hole then we recommend this talk by Stefan Karpinski, one of the language’s co-creators, titled “The Unreasonable Effectiveness of Multiple Dispatch”.↩︎
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DestinationsAfricaAntarcticaAsiaAustralia and PacificCaribbean & BermudaCentral AmericaEuropeMiddle EastNorth AmericaSouth AmericaWhere tourism is growing fastest in 2026As global travel rebounds, the fastest growth is happening beyond the usual tourism heavyweights – from Ethiopia to Bhutan.AntarcticaThe ethics of visiting the ends of the EarthAs polar tourism surges, experts warn of its environmental impact. From transport choices to local food, here's how to visit responsibly while protecting fragile ecosystems.AsiaThe most anticipated restaurant openings of 2026From flame-seared dishes in Mexico to avant-garde cooking in India, these six new restaurants are worth travelling for this year.Australia & PacificBeat the winter blues with these escapesFrom a Maldivian island alliance to Peru's pisco heartlands, these warm-weather trips pair sunshine with soul-enriching experiences.Caribbean & BermudaHow Trump is disrupting global travelSome travellers are now second-guessing whether it's safe to visit destinations the US has recently threatened.Central AmericaFive of the best countries for expats in 2025From Panama's jungles to Vietnam's buzzing cities, these five countries offer expats the best mix of affordability, friendliness and quality of life.EuropeWhat it's like to stay in an Oxford collegeDuring university holidays, visitors can stay overnight inside Oxford University's historic colleges. A former student returns to see what access to this hidden world feels like.Middle EastWhy the world fell in love with dolmaThis labour-intensive dish has crossed empires, borders and belief systems, becoming a shared language of generosity around the world.North AmericaThe most anticipated hotel openings of 2026From luxury island villas in the Maldives to an off-grid Australian resort, these are the six new property openings we're most excited about.South AmericaIs it time to retire terms like 'Venice of the East'?From "Venice of the East" to "lost civilisations", colonial-era travel metaphors still shape how some see non-Western places. But that language deserves a rethink. Destinations Where tourism is growing fastest in 2026 As global travel rebounds, the fastest growth is happening beyond the usual tourism heavyweights – from Ethiopia to Bhutan. Antarctica The ethics of visiting the ends of the Earth As polar tourism surges, experts warn of its environmental impact. From transport choices to local food, here's how to visit responsibly while protecting fragile ecosystems. Asia The most anticipated restaurant openings of 2026 From flame-seared dishes in Mexico to avant-garde cooking in India, these six new restaurants are worth travelling for this year. Australia & Pacific Beat the winter blues with these escapes From a Maldivian island alliance to Peru's pisco heartlands, these warm-weather trips pair sunshine with soul-enriching experiences. Caribbean & Bermuda How Trump is disrupting global travel Some travellers are now second-guessing whether it's safe to visit destinations the US has recently threatened. Central America Five of the best countries for expats in 2025 From Panama's jungles to Vietnam's buzzing cities, these five countries offer expats the best mix of affordability, friendliness and quality of life. Europe What it's like to stay in an Oxford college During university holidays, visitors can stay overnight inside Oxford University's historic colleges. A former student returns to see what access to this hidden world feels like. Middle East Why the world fell in love with dolma This labour-intensive dish has crossed empires, borders and belief systems, becoming a shared language of generosity around the world. North America The most anticipated hotel openings of 2026 From luxury island villas in the Maldives to an off-grid Australian resort, these are the six new property openings we're most excited about. South America Is it time to retire terms like 'Venice of the East'? From "Venice of the East" to "lost civilisations", colonial-era travel metaphors still shape how some see non-Western places. But that language deserves a rethink. Copyright 2026 BBC. All rights reserved. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read about our approach to external linking.
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[SOURCE: https://www.bbc.com/travel/destinations/africa] \| [TOKENS: 2210]
DestinationsAfricaAntarcticaAsiaAustralia and PacificCaribbean & BermudaCentral AmericaEuropeMiddle EastNorth AmericaSouth AmericaBeat the winter blues with these escapesFrom a Maldivian island alliance to Peru's pisco heartlands, these warm-weather trips pair sunshine with soul-enriching experiences.2 Jan 2026TravelWhere to see pygmy hippos in the wildTiwai Island, Sierra Leone’s first Unesco site where you camp in a rainforest, is home to pygmy hippos and endangered chimpanzees.2 Oct 2025TravelBeat the winter blues with these escapesFrom a Maldivian island alliance to Peru's pisco heartlands, these warm-weather trips pair sunshine with soul-enriching experiences.2 Jan 2026TravelWhere to see pygmy hippos in the wildTiwai Island, Sierra Leone’s first Unesco site where you camp in a rainforest, is home to pygmy hippos and endangered chimpanzees.2 Oct 2025TravelFour countries betting big on sports tourismFrom Spain to South Africa, nations are investing big in sports infrastructure to attract the growing wave of travelling fans.26 Jun 2025TravelA technicolour visit to Morocco's holiest townClosed for centuries to outsiders, Moulay Idriss is a sacred place bathed in colour and tradition – and it makes a welcome respite from the crowds of Chefchaouen.21 Jun 2025TravelWhere tourism is growing fastest in 2026As global travel rebounds, the fastest growth is happening beyond the usual tourism heavyweights – from Ethiopia to Bhutan.Four countries betting big on sports tourismFrom Spain to South Africa, nations are investing big in sports infrastructure to attract the growing wave of travelling fans.26 Jun 2025TravelA technicolour visit to Morocco's holiest townClosed for centuries to outsiders, Moulay Idriss is a sacred place bathed in colour and tradition – and it makes a welcome respite from the crowds of Chefchaouen.21 Jun 2025TravelMorocco's new cross-country cycling routeWinding from southern deserts into snowcapped mountains towards northern beaches, the Route of Caravans offers adventurous travellers a stunning glimpse of the nation few tourists see.Africa's ice cream cafe that nurtures self-esteemTapi Tapi makes ice cream with a deep mission: to soothe the collective souls of African people by sharing folk traditions, rituals and cultures through food.Destination dupes: Where to go instead of the USBig skies, bold cities and iconic prison islands - these destinations offer a familiar feel with a global twist.South Africa's new 'Big Five' safari destinationOnce emptied of wildlife, South Africa's Babanango Game Reserve is now home to the Big Five – thanks to a bold rewilding project led by Zulu communities and global conservationists.The vital tradition of naming baby gorillasInspired by an ancient Rwandan practice, Kwita Izina honours each button-cute baby gorilla born in Volcanoes National Park with a meaningful moniker.Is there such a thing as guilt-free safari?Electric Jeeps and carbon credits are unlikely to make up for gas-guzzling private flights and building mini towns in the remote savannah. 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Why are they controversial?8 days ago8 days agoThe true story behind a tragic US iconAlongside husband JFK Jr, Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy was one half of America's great 1990s golden couple, before their untimely deaths. A new drama is set to explore her struggles.8 days ago11 Feb 2026The true story of Japan's mysterious samuraiFrom medieval beginnings, the samurai have inspired art, fiction and films, from Shōgun to Star Wars. But their true story is more complex and surprising than we might realise.11 Feb 202610 Feb 2026Eight iconic Nordic homes throughout historyThese design masterworks reveal the origins of Scandi style – and they all emerge from a distinctive vision of "soft modernism" that still influences how we live now.10 Feb 20267 Feb 2026The tiny slice of 'America' in EnglandInspired by the US's revolutionary spirit, a formerly "lawless" part of Hastings modelled itself after the former British colony across the pond.7 Feb 20265 Feb 2026'Do you love me?': The surprising messages Vikings left behindRunic inscriptions from the Viking Age still turn up in Sweden 1,000 years after they were written – revealing fascinating stories of love, loss and epic battles.5 Feb 2026... Destinations Beat the winter blues with these escapes From a Maldivian island alliance to Peru's pisco heartlands, these warm-weather trips pair sunshine with soul-enriching experiences. Where to see pygmy hippos in the wild Tiwai Island, Sierra Leone’s first Unesco site where you camp in a rainforest, is home to pygmy hippos and endangered chimpanzees. Beat the winter blues with these escapes From a Maldivian island alliance to Peru's pisco heartlands, these warm-weather trips pair sunshine with soul-enriching experiences. Where to see pygmy hippos in the wild Tiwai Island, Sierra Leone’s first Unesco site where you camp in a rainforest, is home to pygmy hippos and endangered chimpanzees. Four countries betting big on sports tourism From Spain to South Africa, nations are investing big in sports infrastructure to attract the growing wave of travelling fans. A technicolour visit to Morocco's holiest town Closed for centuries to outsiders, Moulay Idriss is a sacred place bathed in colour and tradition – and it makes a welcome respite from the crowds of Chefchaouen. Where tourism is growing fastest in 2026 As global travel rebounds, the fastest growth is happening beyond the usual tourism heavyweights – from Ethiopia to Bhutan. Four countries betting big on sports tourism From Spain to South Africa, nations are investing big in sports infrastructure to attract the growing wave of travelling fans. A technicolour visit to Morocco's holiest town Closed for centuries to outsiders, Moulay Idriss is a sacred place bathed in colour and tradition – and it makes a welcome respite from the crowds of Chefchaouen. Morocco's new cross-country cycling route Winding from southern deserts into snowcapped mountains towards northern beaches, the Route of Caravans offers adventurous travellers a stunning glimpse of the nation few tourists see. Africa's ice cream cafe that nurtures self-esteem Tapi Tapi makes ice cream with a deep mission: to soothe the collective souls of African people by sharing folk traditions, rituals and cultures through food. Destination dupes: Where to go instead of the US Big skies, bold cities and iconic prison islands - these destinations offer a familiar feel with a global twist. South Africa's new 'Big Five' safari destination Once emptied of wildlife, South Africa's Babanango Game Reserve is now home to the Big Five – thanks to a bold rewilding project led by Zulu communities and global conservationists. The vital tradition of naming baby gorillas Inspired by an ancient Rwandan practice, Kwita Izina honours each button-cute baby gorilla born in Volcanoes National Park with a meaningful moniker. Is there such a thing as guilt-free safari? Electric Jeeps and carbon credits are unlikely to make up for gas-guzzling private flights and building mini towns in the remote savannah. So, what should travellers be looking for? More Travel The historic US home that embodied the super-rich The largest privately owned home in the US, Biltmore House was an "American chateau built on the scale of a European palace". It reveals much about the dreams of the US's one per cent. 10 early photographic 'fakes' that trick the eye Some 150 years before today's AI deep fakes, photographers created remarkable image manipulations that tricked viewers. Here are 10 pictures from the 19th and 20th centuries. The mysterious kidnapping of a champion racehorse Shergar was the world's most famous stallion. When armed men seized him from an Irish stud farm on 8 February 1983, the BBC reported on a sensational true crime saga. The secretive islands behind the US-UK dispute Remote and off-limits to tourists, Chagos is a tropical paradise that's home to one of the world's most pristine reef systems. Why are they controversial? The true story behind a tragic US icon Alongside husband JFK Jr, Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy was one half of America's great 1990s golden couple, before their untimely deaths. A new drama is set to explore her struggles. The true story of Japan's mysterious samurai From medieval beginnings, the samurai have inspired art, fiction and films, from Shōgun to Star Wars. But their true story is more complex and surprising than we might realise. Eight iconic Nordic homes throughout history These design masterworks reveal the origins of Scandi style – and they all emerge from a distinctive vision of "soft modernism" that still influences how we live now. The tiny slice of 'America' in England Inspired by the US's revolutionary spirit, a formerly "lawless" part of Hastings modelled itself after the former British colony across the pond. 'Do you love me?': The surprising messages Vikings left behind Runic inscriptions from the Viking Age still turn up in Sweden 1,000 years after they were written – revealing fascinating stories of love, loss and epic battles. Copyright 2026 BBC. All rights reserved. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read about our approach to external linking.
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[SOURCE: https://www.bbc.com/travel/destinations/asia] \| [TOKENS: 2270]
DestinationsAfricaAntarcticaAsiaAustralia and PacificCaribbean & BermudaCentral AmericaEuropeMiddle EastNorth AmericaSouth AmericaThe slowest train journey in IndiaNobody uses the Nilgiri Mountain Railway to get from A to B, but for the sheer joy of riding in a train that passes through 16 tunnels, 250 bridges and 208 serpentine curves.14 Mar 2023TravelFive countries that are safer for womenDespite the growing trend in solo travel, women still encounter challenges when they travel abroad alone. But some places are topping the rankings when it comes to safety and equality.3 Apr 2023TravelThe slowest train journey in IndiaNobody uses the Nilgiri Mountain Railway to get from A to B, but for the sheer joy of riding in a train that passes through 16 tunnels, 250 bridges and 208 serpentine curves.14 Mar 2023TravelFive countries that are safer for womenDespite the growing trend in solo travel, women still encounter challenges when they travel abroad alone. But some places are topping the rankings when it comes to safety and equality.3 Apr 2023TravelSix must-do things in Hong KongFrom hiking to Lion Rock to shopping for embroidered shoes, these insider picks will help you discover a different side of one of the world's busiest cities.8 Oct 2023TravelIndia's 10,000 forgotten mansionsOnce symbolic of the power and wealth of the Nattukottai Chettiar community, thousands of gigantic and glamourous mansions in Tamil Nadu now lie in ruins.5 Apr 2023TravelThe secret keepers of Japan's cherry blossomsFor 16 generations, master gardeners in this one family have dedicated their lives to preserving one of the nation's most cherished – and highly sought-out – symbols.Six must-do things in Hong KongFrom hiking to Lion Rock to shopping for embroidered shoes, these insider picks will help you discover a different side of one of the world's busiest cities.8 Oct 2023TravelIndia's 10,000 forgotten mansionsOnce symbolic of the power and wealth of the Nattukottai Chettiar community, thousands of gigantic and glamourous mansions in Tamil Nadu now lie in ruins.5 Apr 2023TravelAsia fast foodThe next fried-chicken craze?For more than 70 years, this tiny restaurant has been dishing out its signature meal – Kethel's fried chicken – Kerala's spicy, finger-licking food.Delhi's opulent 'snack of wealth'Some vendors say moonlight and dew are the magic ingredients, but modern developments are moving this beloved sweet treat off the streets and into fine-dining restaurants.India's next big street-food craze?For years, sattu flour, the main ingredient in a variety of unpretentious street snacks, has remained at the fringes of India's urban foodscape – but now it's going mainstream.A strangely delicious black 'soup'Thiểu Ngô has been serving up a beloved black sesame pudding on the streets of Hoi An for more than half a century. Now his family are continuing his legacy.The street food with a cult followingCombining two of Bangladesh's greatest loves – rice and spice – jhal muri is a pungent snack prepared with drama by street-side vendors with cult followings.A sweet Asian spin on BBQWhile yakitori and satay may be better known, the Philippines has their very own charcoal-grilled delicacies – whose distinctively sweet and tangy flavour unites the nation.More Travel18 Jul 2023Kulfi: India's classic frozen dessertCardamom and pistachios flavour this smooth and creamy frozen treat, which has origins dating as far back as the 16th Century.18 Jul 202316 Feb 2023A walk through India's 'City of Death'Hindu pilgrims have long come to Varanasi to die, believing that it will bring salvation. But by wandering aimlessly, Pico Iyer realises this city of death is actually a city of joy.16 Feb 202322 Feb 2023The herbal drink that powers a nationA herbal tincture that originated in Java's royal courts more than 1,300 years ago is being given a new twist by young Indonesians.22 Feb 202323 Feb 2023The university that changed the worldMore than 500 years before Oxford University was founded, India's Nalanda University was home to nine million books and attracted 10,000 students from around the world.23 Feb 20233 Mar 2023A blouse that unites Southeast AsiaThere's one garment in Southeast Asia that embodies fashion, heritage and national pride. And now the kebaya is being nominated to join Unesco's Intangible Heritage List for 2023.3 Mar 20237 Mar 2023Gujiya: A pastry to celebrate HoliThe festive treat is flaky and crumbly on the outside, with a soft and sweet filling that can be made with a variety of ingredients like coconut, cashews and khoya (milk solids).7 Mar 202318 Mar 2023Shirini zereshk palau (berry pilaf)A visually striking special occasion recipe, with ruby berries studding a bed of glossy, saffron-tinged rice that cradles juicy cuts of chicken.18 Mar 202327 Mar 2023The princess sisters who opened a hotelNot only has Odisha's Belgadia Palace been transformed into an award-winning boutique hotel, but its princess owners are redefining the role of Indian royalty.27 Mar 202329 Mar 2023The islanders who weave their dreamsFor more than 300 years, women residing around a turquoise lake have woven textiles from visions they say were bestowed to them by a goddess in their dreams.29 Mar 2023... Destinations The slowest train journey in India Nobody uses the Nilgiri Mountain Railway to get from A to B, but for the sheer joy of riding in a train that passes through 16 tunnels, 250 bridges and 208 serpentine curves. Five countries that are safer for women Despite the growing trend in solo travel, women still encounter challenges when they travel abroad alone. But some places are topping the rankings when it comes to safety and equality. The slowest train journey in India Nobody uses the Nilgiri Mountain Railway to get from A to B, but for the sheer joy of riding in a train that passes through 16 tunnels, 250 bridges and 208 serpentine curves. Five countries that are safer for women Despite the growing trend in solo travel, women still encounter challenges when they travel abroad alone. But some places are topping the rankings when it comes to safety and equality. Six must-do things in Hong Kong From hiking to Lion Rock to shopping for embroidered shoes, these insider picks will help you discover a different side of one of the world's busiest cities. India's 10,000 forgotten mansions Once symbolic of the power and wealth of the Nattukottai Chettiar community, thousands of gigantic and glamourous mansions in Tamil Nadu now lie in ruins. The secret keepers of Japan's cherry blossoms For 16 generations, master gardeners in this one family have dedicated their lives to preserving one of the nation's most cherished – and highly sought-out – symbols. Six must-do things in Hong Kong From hiking to Lion Rock to shopping for embroidered shoes, these insider picks will help you discover a different side of one of the world's busiest cities. India's 10,000 forgotten mansions Once symbolic of the power and wealth of the Nattukottai Chettiar community, thousands of gigantic and glamourous mansions in Tamil Nadu now lie in ruins. Asia fast food The next fried-chicken craze? For more than 70 years, this tiny restaurant has been dishing out its signature meal – Kethel's fried chicken – Kerala's spicy, finger-licking food. Delhi's opulent 'snack of wealth' Some vendors say moonlight and dew are the magic ingredients, but modern developments are moving this beloved sweet treat off the streets and into fine-dining restaurants. India's next big street-food craze? For years, sattu flour, the main ingredient in a variety of unpretentious street snacks, has remained at the fringes of India's urban foodscape – but now it's going mainstream. A strangely delicious black 'soup' Thiểu Ngô has been serving up a beloved black sesame pudding on the streets of Hoi An for more than half a century. Now his family are continuing his legacy. The street food with a cult following Combining two of Bangladesh's greatest loves – rice and spice – jhal muri is a pungent snack prepared with drama by street-side vendors with cult followings. A sweet Asian spin on BBQ While yakitori and satay may be better known, the Philippines has their very own charcoal-grilled delicacies – whose distinctively sweet and tangy flavour unites the nation. More Travel Kulfi: India's classic frozen dessert Cardamom and pistachios flavour this smooth and creamy frozen treat, which has origins dating as far back as the 16th Century. A walk through India's 'City of Death' Hindu pilgrims have long come to Varanasi to die, believing that it will bring salvation. But by wandering aimlessly, Pico Iyer realises this city of death is actually a city of joy. The herbal drink that powers a nation A herbal tincture that originated in Java's royal courts more than 1,300 years ago is being given a new twist by young Indonesians. The university that changed the world More than 500 years before Oxford University was founded, India's Nalanda University was home to nine million books and attracted 10,000 students from around the world. A blouse that unites Southeast Asia There's one garment in Southeast Asia that embodies fashion, heritage and national pride. And now the kebaya is being nominated to join Unesco's Intangible Heritage List for 2023. Gujiya: A pastry to celebrate Holi The festive treat is flaky and crumbly on the outside, with a soft and sweet filling that can be made with a variety of ingredients like coconut, cashews and khoya (milk solids). Shirini zereshk palau (berry pilaf) A visually striking special occasion recipe, with ruby berries studding a bed of glossy, saffron-tinged rice that cradles juicy cuts of chicken. The princess sisters who opened a hotel Not only has Odisha's Belgadia Palace been transformed into an award-winning boutique hotel, but its princess owners are redefining the role of Indian royalty. The islanders who weave their dreams For more than 300 years, women residing around a turquoise lake have woven textiles from visions they say were bestowed to them by a goddess in their dreams. Copyright 2026 BBC. All rights reserved. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read about our approach to external linking.
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[SOURCE: https://www.bbc.com/travel/destinations/antarctica] \| [TOKENS: 1795]
DestinationsAfricaAntarcticaAsiaAustralia and PacificCaribbean & BermudaCentral AmericaEuropeMiddle EastNorth AmericaSouth AmericaThe ultimate solo adventure?Spanish adventure athlete Antonio de la Rosa attempted to row alone through the roughest seas on the planet to Antarctica. Very little went according to plan.20 Mar 2023TravelThe Antarctic ghost town left in ruinsNot only is Deception Island littered with lore and history, it's also one of the only places on the planet where ships can sail directly into the centre of a submerged caldera.13 Mar 2022TravelThe ultimate solo adventure?Spanish adventure athlete Antonio de la Rosa attempted to row alone through the roughest seas on the planet to Antarctica. Very little went according to plan.20 Mar 2023TravelThe Antarctic ghost town left in ruinsNot only is Deception Island littered with lore and history, it's also one of the only places on the planet where ships can sail directly into the centre of a submerged caldera.13 Mar 2022TravelHow to become a better travellerThe celebrated writer reflects on how this once-in-a-lifetime experiment of global stillness can teach us to see the world with new eyes.11 Jun 2020TravelWhat will happen to the 7th continent?While Covid-19 might be a major concern for the Antarctic tourist industry, it could be good news for the region itself.12 Oct 2020TravelA world isolated from life by 1,400kmA rugged land of glaciers, mountains and fjords, South Georgia is one of the remotest places on Earth.How to become a better travellerThe celebrated writer reflects on how this once-in-a-lifetime experiment of global stillness can teach us to see the world with new eyes.11 Jun 2020TravelWhat will happen to the 7th continent?While Covid-19 might be a major concern for the Antarctic tourist industry, it could be good news for the region itself.12 Oct 2020TravelAntarcticaTravelling to the ends of the earth aged eightYuam said his favourite place so far has been Antarctic and next he is keen to explore Egypt.Landscape beneath Antarctica's icy surface revealed in unprecedented detailScientists believe the map could shed light on how Antarctica's vast ice sheet will respond to climate change.Wildlife researcher spends Christmas counting penguinsPeter Watson says "life is pretty basic here, but at the same time, utterly charming".Captain Scott Antarctic expedition skis for saleA set of skis and poles from Captain Scott's Antarctic expedition are set to be auctioned.'I spent Christmas having a beer in South Pole' Having reached the South Pole, Ian Hughes is now climbing the highest mountain in Antartica.The £3m race to save polar explorer Shackleton's villaThe building was used as a base by Shackleton while he orchestrated the famous rescue of his stranded crewMore travel31 Dec 2025Amputee on cusp of completing climbing challengeHari Budha Magar set himself the challenge of climbing the highest mountain on all seven continents.31 Dec 202524 Dec 2025'Freezing Antarctica is my home for Christmas'Radio operator Michael Young from Esh Winning, prepares for Christmas Day 10,000 miles away.24 Dec 202522 Dec 2025Hunting for new deep-sea creatures at the edge of the worldDr Michelle Taylor's team make history as they film a rare colossal squid for the first time ever.22 Dec 202518 Dec 2025Disabled adventurer 'gutted' to ditch South Pole bidDarren Edwards says he and his team are not moving quick enough to make it to the South Pole.18 Dec 202518 Dec 2025Will Smith visits Antarctica with ex-rugby star in seven-continent adventureRugby player turned explorer Richard Parks guided the Fresh Prince of Bel Air around the world's coldest continent. 18 Dec 202511 Dec 2025Disabled adventurer starts South Pole challengeDarren Edwards aims to break a record for the longest sit-ski to the South Pole.11 Dec 202517 Nov 2025Adventurer aims to break South Pole world recordDarren Edwards is set to undertake an epic challenge by sit-skiing 137 miles (222km) to the pole. 17 Nov 202511 Nov 2025Carnivorous 'death-ball' among odd deep-sea findsThe unusual creature lurks more than two miles (3.2km) deep in a trench in the Southern Ocean.11 Nov 20253 Nov 2025Antarctic glacier's rapid retreat sparks scientific 'whodunnit'A new study suggests that changes to Hektoria Glacier are unprecedented - but not all scientists agree.3 Nov 2025... Destinations The ultimate solo adventure? Spanish adventure athlete Antonio de la Rosa attempted to row alone through the roughest seas on the planet to Antarctica. Very little went according to plan. The Antarctic ghost town left in ruins Not only is Deception Island littered with lore and history, it's also one of the only places on the planet where ships can sail directly into the centre of a submerged caldera. The ultimate solo adventure? Spanish adventure athlete Antonio de la Rosa attempted to row alone through the roughest seas on the planet to Antarctica. Very little went according to plan. The Antarctic ghost town left in ruins Not only is Deception Island littered with lore and history, it's also one of the only places on the planet where ships can sail directly into the centre of a submerged caldera. How to become a better traveller The celebrated writer reflects on how this once-in-a-lifetime experiment of global stillness can teach us to see the world with new eyes. What will happen to the 7th continent? While Covid-19 might be a major concern for the Antarctic tourist industry, it could be good news for the region itself. A world isolated from life by 1,400km A rugged land of glaciers, mountains and fjords, South Georgia is one of the remotest places on Earth. How to become a better traveller The celebrated writer reflects on how this once-in-a-lifetime experiment of global stillness can teach us to see the world with new eyes. What will happen to the 7th continent? While Covid-19 might be a major concern for the Antarctic tourist industry, it could be good news for the region itself. Antarctica Travelling to the ends of the earth aged eight Yuam said his favourite place so far has been Antarctic and next he is keen to explore Egypt. Landscape beneath Antarctica's icy surface revealed in unprecedented detail Scientists believe the map could shed light on how Antarctica's vast ice sheet will respond to climate change. Wildlife researcher spends Christmas counting penguins Peter Watson says "life is pretty basic here, but at the same time, utterly charming". Captain Scott Antarctic expedition skis for sale A set of skis and poles from Captain Scott's Antarctic expedition are set to be auctioned. 'I spent Christmas having a beer in South Pole' Having reached the South Pole, Ian Hughes is now climbing the highest mountain in Antartica. The £3m race to save polar explorer Shackleton's villa The building was used as a base by Shackleton while he orchestrated the famous rescue of his stranded crew More travel Amputee on cusp of completing climbing challenge Hari Budha Magar set himself the challenge of climbing the highest mountain on all seven continents. 'Freezing Antarctica is my home for Christmas' Radio operator Michael Young from Esh Winning, prepares for Christmas Day 10,000 miles away. Hunting for new deep-sea creatures at the edge of the world Dr Michelle Taylor's team make history as they film a rare colossal squid for the first time ever. Disabled adventurer 'gutted' to ditch South Pole bid Darren Edwards says he and his team are not moving quick enough to make it to the South Pole. Will Smith visits Antarctica with ex-rugby star in seven-continent adventure Rugby player turned explorer Richard Parks guided the Fresh Prince of Bel Air around the world's coldest continent. Disabled adventurer starts South Pole challenge Darren Edwards aims to break a record for the longest sit-ski to the South Pole. Adventurer aims to break South Pole world record Darren Edwards is set to undertake an epic challenge by sit-skiing 137 miles (222km) to the pole. Carnivorous 'death-ball' among odd deep-sea finds The unusual creature lurks more than two miles (3.2km) deep in a trench in the Southern Ocean. Antarctic glacier's rapid retreat sparks scientific 'whodunnit' A new study suggests that changes to Hektoria Glacier are unprecedented - but not all scientists agree. Copyright 2026 BBC. All rights reserved. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read about our approach to external linking.
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[SOURCE: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:IPA/Swedish] \| [TOKENS: 136]
Contents Help:IPA/Swedish The chart below shows how the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) represents Swedish pronunciations in Wikipedia articles. For a guide to adding IPA characters to Wikipedia articles, see Template:IPA and Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Pronunciation § Entering IPA characters. The Sweden pronunciation is based primarily on Central Standard Swedish, and the Finland one on Helsinki pronunciation. Recordings and example transcriptions in this help are in Sweden Swedish, unless otherwise noted. See Swedish phonology and Swedish alphabet § Sound–spelling correspondences for a more thorough look at the sounds of Swedish. SWE FIN SWE FIN SWE FIN Notes Bibliography See also External links
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[SOURCE: https://www.fast.ai/posts/2025-02-20-fasttransform.html] \| [TOKENS: 2660]
fasttransform: Reversible Pipelines Made Simple Rens Dimmendaal, Hamel Husain, & Jeremy Howard February 20, 2025 On this page fasttransform: Reversible Pipelines Made Simple Introducing fasttransform, a Python library that makes data transformations reversible and extensible through the power of multiple dispatch. “How did this image get misclassified?” If you’ve ever trained a machine learning model, you know what comes next: the frustrating journey of trying to understand what your model actually saw. You dig through layers of transformations - normalizations, resizes, augmentations - only to realize you’ll need to write inverse functions just to see your data again. It’s so painful that many of us skip it altogether, debugging our models based on abstract numbers rather than actual data. Or as OpenAI’s Greg Brockman puts it: Let’s look at what you might be missing. Here’s a simple example using fastai: With just these four lines, we discover something fascinating: our “wolf detector” isn’t detecting wolves at all - it’s detecting snow! Look at the training data: wolves in snow, huskies in forests. Then look at the predictions: the model fails whenever we flip the backgrounds. Without being able to easily visualize our data, we might never have caught this obvious flaw. While sophisticated interpretability techniques like LIME1 can beautifully visualize what parts of the image your model is focusing on (as shown above), often the most valuable insights come from simply being able to look at your data with your own eyes. In this case, a quick visual inspection revealed an obvious dataset bias just as well. How does fastai do this? Well, it uses Transform – a deceptively simple yet powerful idea that’s been hiding inside fastcore’s codebase. Today, we’re excited to announce that we’ve moved it to its own library: fasttransform, because we believe its applications may go beyond machine learning. Whether you’re working with images, text, time series, or any other data that needs processing, fasttransform offers a simple promise: if you can transform your data one way, you should be able to transform it back just as easily. No more writing inverse functions, no more losing sight of your data. Let’s see how it works. Problem #1: One-Way Transforms Ever tried to debug a machine learning pipeline by looking at your data? It usually goes something like this: Let’s make this concrete with a simple example: normalizing an image with PyTorch: Normalization is a crucial preprocessing step that scales pixel values to have similar ranges (typically mean=0 and standard deviation=1), which helps neural networks train more effectively. However, the normalization doesn’t really make this picture suitable for inspection with human eyes. To fix this, we need to manually write an inverse transform: And this is not some obscure problem. This has been a pain point of many ML practicioners for years: And this was just for a simple normalization. In real projects, you’re probably dealing with: - Segmentation masks that need to be transformed in sync with images - Text data with tokenization, padding, and special tokens - Time series with sliding windows, normalization, and encoding Each transformation adds another layer of complexity to unwind. And here’s the worst part: because it’s so painful to look at your transformed data, many of us just… don’t. We end up debugging our models based on abstract numbers rather than actual data, hoping our transformations are doing what we think they’re doing. Remember how easy it was in our fastai example to see exactly what the model was seeing? That’s not magic - it’s the power of reversible transforms. Let’s see how fasttransform makes this possible. A Better Way: reversible pipelines Here’s how fastai handles the same pipeline as the pytorch example of the previous section: That’s it. No manual inverse functions. No remembering means and standard deviations. Just .decode() and we’re back to something we can actually look at. fasttransform brings this same capability to your own code. The key insight is that for any transformation you want to apply, you probably already know how to undo it. Let’s look at how this works internally. How it works: .decode() The core idea behind fasttransform is simple: pair a transformation with its inverse. Here’s how you write a reversible normalization transform: That’s all it takes. By defining both encodes and decodes, fasttransform automatically knows how to reverse your transformations. Compare this to our earlier PyTorch example - instead of writing separate forward and inverse functions, we keep them together where they belong. You might notice the peculiar naming - encodes and decodes with an ‘s’. We’ll explain why later, but it has everything to do with how fasttransform handles different types of data automatically. When you call decode(), fasttransform is smart about which transforms to reverse. Some transforms, like loading an image or resizing it, don’t need to be undone, you actually want to see what the model sees! Others, like normalization, need to be reversed to be human-readable. How do you do this? Well, only define a .decodes method if the transform needs to be inverted! The introduction’s plotting functions used exactly this functionality to turn the transformed inputs back into a human interpretable state. Problem #2: Dealing with multiple types We’ve seen how making transforms reversible makes it easier to look at your data. But there’s another challenge when working with transforms: different types of data need different transformations. You see this most often where your inputs and your labels need different transforms. Here the same principle applies. We’d like to keep all those transforms in one place together because we want to be able to undo both of them. For example, we want to transform our categorical labels from strings to integers and back to strings again for human readability. But we don’t want to maintain separate transform pipelines for the inputs and the outputs. To understand why this is a problem, let’s look at how PyTorch - one of the most popular deep learning frameworks - handles this situation. Here’s an example from the tutorial showing a typical custom dataset: The transforms for images and labels are separately defined and provided to the dataset class. This separation might seem reasonable at first, but it creates two problems: Let’s see how fasttransform makes this easier. A better way: one pipeline for both input and outputs Here’s where fasttransform’s approach shines: instead of juggling separate pipelines, it handles both your image and its label in a single transform. When you pass a tuple to a transform, it only applies the relevant transforms. This might sound like a small thing, but it’s a game-changer for real-world machine learning work. Let’s see this in action. First, we’ll create a function that loads both an image and its label: Now for the cool part - we can use this function in our transform pipeline with just one small change. Look how clean this is: But we’re not done yet! Those string labels (“husky”, “wolf”) need to be converted to numbers for our model. In PyTorch, we’d need a separate transform pipeline for this. With fasttransform, we just add another transform that only applies to strings: And you might think “Okay, keeping transforms in one pipeline is nice, but is it really that important?” Well, one benefit is that now you can also reverse both transforms again in one go: Next we’ll show another example that shows why it’s crucial to keep those transforms in one place: image segmentation. In segmentation, you’re trying to identify specific regions in an image - like finding a husky in a photo. But here’s the tricky part: both your input image AND your target mask need to be transformed in exactly the same way. And that gets tricky when you use random transforms as a form of data augmentation. To illustrate, if you apply a randomized crop to your image, then you better crop that mask in the exact same way! Let’s see what this looks like in practice. First, we define a new function which loads both images and their corresponding mask: Now, if we want to randomly crop both the image and the mask (a common augmentation technique), they need to be cropped in exactly the same way. If they’re not aligned then your whole training data becomes nonsense. Here’s how fasttransform handles this: And voila, both the source image and the target mask have been transformed in identical ways. If these transforms were stored in different pipelines then it would have been a lot harder to keep these transforms in sync. Especially because there was a randomized element in the transform. Also, note that reversing is still just as easy: At this point you might be thinking: “This is pretty great - one pipeline handling different types of data, applying on the the relevant transforms where needed. But how does it actually work?” Well, let’s dive into that next! How it works: multiple dispatch The secret sauce that makes Transforms only apply to relevant data types is something called multiple dispatch. Don’t worry if you haven’t heard of it before - it’s a powerful programming concept that’s popular in languages like Julia2, but relatively unknown in Python. Think of multiple dispatch like having different versions of the same function, each designed to handle specific types of data. When you call the function, Python automatically picks the right version based on what you give it. Python provides an implementation limited to single argument functions out of the box: Multiple dispatch extends this idea to functions with multiple arguments. While Python’s built-in tools only handle single argument dispatch, the plum library provides true multiple dispatch for any number of arguments. Here’s a simple example to illustrate the concept: Transform uses plum’s multiple dispatch capabilities internally, but the core idea is the same: the right function is called based on the runtime data types it receives. This is what allows a single pipeline to handle images, labels, masks, and other types of data. There are three different ways you can define type-specific behavior in your transforms, each suited to different situations. Let’s look at each one in turn. The simplest way to create a transform is to pass it functions directly. This is great for quick experiments or one-off transforms: You might use this approach when you’re prototyping or when you don’t need to reuse the transform elsewhere in your code. But for more structured code, you’ll probably want to create a proper class… Subclassing Transform gives you a more organized way to handle different types: Notice something interesting here: in a regular Python class, you can’t define the same method multiple times. But when subclassing from Transform, you can! The encodes method is automatically set up for multiple dispatch, so Python knows which version to call based on the input type. But there’s one more way to define transforms, which is particularly useful when you want to extend an existing transform… This decorator syntax is incredibly useful in real-world applications. For instance, in fastai, the Normalize transform is defined in the core library to handle images, but other modules can extend it to work with new types: This plugin-like architecture means anyone can extend existing transforms to work with new types of data, without modifying the original code. That’s the power of multiple dispatch in action! The real power shows up when code is reused and extended in the ecosystem around fastai. Libraries like fastxtend add support for new data types without modifying the original code. Without multiple dispatch, they’d face a classic inheritance problem. Instead, with fasttransform, they can simply register new behaviors for existing transforms. Conclusion We’ve seen how fasttransform solves two fundamental problems in data processing: While these ideas grew out of fastai’s deep learning needs, their applications extend far beyond. Whether you’re processing images, text, time series, or quantum states, fasttransform offers a simple promise: if you can transform your data one way, you should be able to transform it back just as easily. Ready to try it yourself? Install fasttransform with: Check out our documentation for more examples and detailed API references. If you were already using fastcore’s dispatch and transform modules, then you might want to take a look at our migration guide. We’d love to hear how you’re using fasttransform in your own projects! Footnotes Dataset adapted from the academic paper which introduced the LIME technique. The dataset was tailored to showcase their technique of highlighting the snowy backgrounds as being most imoprtant in identifying the huskies. Source: Ribeiro, Marco Tulio, Sameer Singh, and Carlos Guestrin. “” Why should i trust you?” Explaining the predictions of any classifier.” Proceedings of the 22nd ACM SIGKDD international conference on knowledge discovery and data mining. 2016.↩︎ If you want to go down the multiple dispatch rabbit hole then we recommend this talk by Stefan Karpinski, one of the language’s co-creators, titled “The Unreasonable Effectiveness of Multiple Dispatch”.↩︎
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[SOURCE: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_best-selling_video_games] \| [TOKENS: 614]
Contents List of best-selling video games This is a list of the best-selling video games worldwide, ranked up to 50th place by reported software unit sales. The game considered to be the best-selling video game to date is contested among reliable sources. Sources are split as to whether the title should belong to Tetris, a 1988 multi-platform puzzle video game created by Alexey Pajitnov, or to Minecraft, a 2011 multi-platform sandbox game created by Markus Persson and developed by Mojang Studios. Sources such as Forbes, Encyclopædia Britannica, and IGN consider Tetris to be the best-selling video game by combining the sales of all of its different versions, totaling 520 million as of 2025. Other sources, however, such as the BBC, Guinness World Records, and GamesRadar, consider the best-selling video game to be Minecraft, which has sold 350 million copies as of 2025, rejecting the aggregation of each Tetris release. The closest competitor to either is Grand Theft Auto V, which has sold over 225 million copies. The best-selling single-platform game is Wii Sports, with nearly 83 million sales for the Wii console.[a] The 1998 game Snake is estimated to have shipped on over 400 million devices, but is not listed as it was preinstalled and freely accessible on Nokia mobile phones. Another sales issue involves The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, which game director Todd Howard claims has sold over 60 million copies, is deemed contentious due to Howard's history of making exaggerated statements about his games for promotional purposes. For this list, standard re-releases, remasters and enhanced versions of games are considered iterative updates to the original, thus their sales are combined. In contrast, remakes generally contain significant deviations from the original and are considered separate products. Likewise, expansion packs are not combined with the base game to avoid inflating sales figures. Additionally, titles with unique release structures are classified based on their specific publishing context. Other metrics, such as "players" or "installs", typically refer to active users engaging with the game rather than sales, thus are not listed; even for paid games, these metrics could include free trials or other free promotions and cannot reliably be substituted for sales figures. Paid bundled titles are also included in this list; their sales often benefit from being packaged with other products, typically at a discounted price. The listed developers and publishers correspond to each game's original release, and release years refer only to the first full public launch, excluding any prerelease stages. Rankings serve solely for numbering purposes and are not meant to be precise, reflecting the list's limited scope because there is no credible, comprehensive sales-tracking source for the video game industry, unlike for films, which have box office tracking sites such as Box Office Mojo and The Numbers. Tied ranks are resolved using the standard competition ranking method, in which entries with equal figures share the same rank and following ranks are increased based on the number of tied entries. See also Notes References
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[SOURCE: https://www.bbc.com/travel/destinations/north-america] \| [TOKENS: 2160]
DestinationsAfricaAntarcticaAsiaAustralia and PacificCaribbean & BermudaCentral AmericaEuropeMiddle EastNorth AmericaSouth AmericaThe US' 113-mile 'floating' highwayStretching 113 miles into the open ocean, this engineering marvel linked the far-flung Florida Keys to the mainland and forever changed Florida.29 May 2023TravelThe first autism-friendly US cityHolidays can be stressful for neurodiverse people, but Mesa, Arizona, is becoming more inclusive so that everyone can enjoy the benefits of travel – not just the neurotypical.30 May 2023TravelThe US' 113-mile 'floating' highwayStretching 113 miles into the open ocean, this engineering marvel linked the far-flung Florida Keys to the mainland and forever changed Florida.29 May 2023TravelThe first autism-friendly US cityHolidays can be stressful for neurodiverse people, but Mesa, Arizona, is becoming more inclusive so that everyone can enjoy the benefits of travel – not just the neurotypical.30 May 2023TravelSweet tea peach pie from GeorgiaNew book 50 Pies: 50 States celebrates pies across America, including Georgia's famous fresh peach pie in a flaky crust, topped with a crunchy, buttery, brown sugar pecan crumble.13 Jun 2023TravelThe street that epitomises New YorkTravellers may go to Central Park or Times Square to see New York City, but there's no better place to feel the city's DNA and understand how it started than here.22 Mar 2023TravelThe best of Boston's Seaport DistrictThe director of Boston's renowned Institute of Contemporary Art shares her picks for the best ways to explore Boston's fastest-growing neighbourhood.Sweet tea peach pie from GeorgiaNew book 50 Pies: 50 States celebrates pies across America, including Georgia's famous fresh peach pie in a flaky crust, topped with a crunchy, buttery, brown sugar pecan crumble.13 Jun 2023TravelThe street that epitomises New YorkTravellers may go to Central Park or Times Square to see New York City, but there's no better place to feel the city's DNA and understand how it started than here.22 Mar 2023TravelMore North America destinationsThe most anticipated museum openings of 2026From a futuristic sci-fi attraction in Los Angeles to a dramatic monument to a millennia-old Aboriginal civilisation, these long-awaited museums are worth travelling for.Extreme ways countries are combatting overtourismAs global travel surges toward 1.8 billion arrivals, destinations are testing controversial new measures to control the crowds.The most anticipated restaurant openings of 2026From flame-seared dishes in Mexico to avant-garde cooking in India, these six new restaurants are worth travelling for this year.The secretive islands behind the US-UK disputeRemote and off-limits to tourists, Chagos is a tropical paradise that's home to one of the world's most pristine reef systems. Why are they controversial?The best places to elope, according to expertsOnce furtive affairs, elopements now happen in spectacular destinations and have become an increasingly popular way for couples to embark on the adventure of marriage.The most anticipated hotel openings of 2026From luxury island villas in the Maldives to an off-grid Australian resort, these are the six new property openings we're most excited about.More travel5 Feb 2026Eight of New Orleans' best live music venuesSinger-songwriter Andrew Duhon shares the best live music in his hometown New Orleans, from acoustic sets at The Tigermen Den to candlelit piano acts at Lafitte's Blacksmith Shop Bar.5 Feb 20264 Feb 2026A surprising solution for the summer childcare crunchAs school holidays approach, some hotels are offering full-day, structured kids' camps that allow parents to travel, work and keep routines intact.4 Feb 202628 Jan 2026The 109km trail opening up the Canadian RockiesAway from Banff and Jasper national parks, a new rail trail is opening up a previously inaccessible corner of Canada and teaching travellers about the nation's past.28 Jan 202623 Jan 2026Colorado's wildest winter sportEqual parts rodeo and ski race, skijoring is drawing winter visitors into Colorado's ranching towns, offering a cheaper, wilder alternative to the state's famous slopes.23 Jan 202618 Jan 2026Why these sustainable towns in the US are worth a tripFrom compost-powered cities to dark-sky pioneers, these lesser-known US towns are proving that sustainability and great travel go hand in hand.18 Jan 202615 Jan 2026Five US national parks only reached by sea or skyRoad trips to national parks are a classic US travel experience. But for truly "wild" landscapes, venture to these remote protected lands you can only reach via boat or seaplane.15 Jan 202612 Jan 2026How Trump is disrupting global travelSome travellers are now second-guessing whether it's safe to visit destinations the US has recently threatened.12 Jan 202611 Jan 2026The last von Trapp is 86 - and still runs a hotelThe last living von Trapp child still helps run the family resort in the mountains of New England – where fans of The Sound of Music can explore a little slice of Austria.11 Jan 20267 Jan 2026Paddling the dramatic 'Grand Canyon of Canada'Navigating the Nahanni River is a once-in-a-lifetime bucket list experience that reveals a remote and untouched side of Canada few travellers ever see.7 Jan 2026... Destinations The US' 113-mile 'floating' highway Stretching 113 miles into the open ocean, this engineering marvel linked the far-flung Florida Keys to the mainland and forever changed Florida. The first autism-friendly US city Holidays can be stressful for neurodiverse people, but Mesa, Arizona, is becoming more inclusive so that everyone can enjoy the benefits of travel – not just the neurotypical. The US' 113-mile 'floating' highway Stretching 113 miles into the open ocean, this engineering marvel linked the far-flung Florida Keys to the mainland and forever changed Florida. The first autism-friendly US city Holidays can be stressful for neurodiverse people, but Mesa, Arizona, is becoming more inclusive so that everyone can enjoy the benefits of travel – not just the neurotypical. Sweet tea peach pie from Georgia New book 50 Pies: 50 States celebrates pies across America, including Georgia's famous fresh peach pie in a flaky crust, topped with a crunchy, buttery, brown sugar pecan crumble. The street that epitomises New York Travellers may go to Central Park or Times Square to see New York City, but there's no better place to feel the city's DNA and understand how it started than here. The best of Boston's Seaport District The director of Boston's renowned Institute of Contemporary Art shares her picks for the best ways to explore Boston's fastest-growing neighbourhood. Sweet tea peach pie from Georgia New book 50 Pies: 50 States celebrates pies across America, including Georgia's famous fresh peach pie in a flaky crust, topped with a crunchy, buttery, brown sugar pecan crumble. The street that epitomises New York Travellers may go to Central Park or Times Square to see New York City, but there's no better place to feel the city's DNA and understand how it started than here. More North America destinations The most anticipated museum openings of 2026 From a futuristic sci-fi attraction in Los Angeles to a dramatic monument to a millennia-old Aboriginal civilisation, these long-awaited museums are worth travelling for. Extreme ways countries are combatting overtourism As global travel surges toward 1.8 billion arrivals, destinations are testing controversial new measures to control the crowds. The most anticipated restaurant openings of 2026 From flame-seared dishes in Mexico to avant-garde cooking in India, these six new restaurants are worth travelling for this year. The secretive islands behind the US-UK dispute Remote and off-limits to tourists, Chagos is a tropical paradise that's home to one of the world's most pristine reef systems. Why are they controversial? The best places to elope, according to experts Once furtive affairs, elopements now happen in spectacular destinations and have become an increasingly popular way for couples to embark on the adventure of marriage. The most anticipated hotel openings of 2026 From luxury island villas in the Maldives to an off-grid Australian resort, these are the six new property openings we're most excited about. More travel Eight of New Orleans' best live music venues Singer-songwriter Andrew Duhon shares the best live music in his hometown New Orleans, from acoustic sets at The Tigermen Den to candlelit piano acts at Lafitte's Blacksmith Shop Bar. A surprising solution for the summer childcare crunch As school holidays approach, some hotels are offering full-day, structured kids' camps that allow parents to travel, work and keep routines intact. The 109km trail opening up the Canadian Rockies Away from Banff and Jasper national parks, a new rail trail is opening up a previously inaccessible corner of Canada and teaching travellers about the nation's past. Colorado's wildest winter sport Equal parts rodeo and ski race, skijoring is drawing winter visitors into Colorado's ranching towns, offering a cheaper, wilder alternative to the state's famous slopes. Why these sustainable towns in the US are worth a trip From compost-powered cities to dark-sky pioneers, these lesser-known US towns are proving that sustainability and great travel go hand in hand. Five US national parks only reached by sea or sky Road trips to national parks are a classic US travel experience. But for truly "wild" landscapes, venture to these remote protected lands you can only reach via boat or seaplane. How Trump is disrupting global travel Some travellers are now second-guessing whether it's safe to visit destinations the US has recently threatened. The last von Trapp is 86 - and still runs a hotel The last living von Trapp child still helps run the family resort in the mountains of New England – where fans of The Sound of Music can explore a little slice of Austria. Paddling the dramatic 'Grand Canyon of Canada' Navigating the Nahanni River is a once-in-a-lifetime bucket list experience that reveals a remote and untouched side of Canada few travellers ever see. Copyright 2026 BBC. All rights reserved. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read about our approach to external linking.
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[SOURCE: https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2026/02/why-final-fantasy-is-now-targeting-pc-as-its-lead-platform/] \| [TOKENS: 1516]
Now do Dragon Quest Why Final Fantasy is now targeting PC as its “lead platform” Director says PC is the “foundation” when targeting “high-end environments first.” Kyle Orland – Feb 20, 2026 12:26 pm \| 48 This screenshot of a "Cloud in a dress" mod is being used in place of some other Final Fantasy PC mods that are way too inappropriate for publication on Ars. Credit: Nexus Mods This screenshot of a "Cloud in a dress" mod is being used in place of some other Final Fantasy PC mods that are way too inappropriate for publication on Ars. Credit: Nexus Mods Text settings Story text Size Small Standard Large Width * Standard Wide Links Standard Orange * Subscribers only Learn more Minimize to nav For a long time now, PC gamers have been used to the Final Fantasy series treating their platform as somewhat secondary to the game’s core console versions. There are some signs that may be starting to change, though, as director Naoki Hamaguchi has confirmed that the PC is now the “lead platform” for development of the Final Fantasy VII Remake trilogy. In a recent interview with Automaton, Hamaguchi clarified that the team takes the relatively common practice of creating visual assets for its multiplatform games by targeting “high-end environments first,” then performing a “reduction” for less powerful platforms. These days, that means “our 3D assets are created at the highest quality level based on PC as the foundation,” he said. Players have already noticed this graphical difference in the PC version of Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, Hamaguchi said, and “our philosophy will not change for the third installment.” While PC gaming is only “gradually expanding in Japan,” Hamaguchi said the rapid growth in international PC gamers has led the company to “develop assets with the broad PC market in mind.” The PC versions of recent Final Fantasy VII Remake games have sold well on Steam and the Epic Games Store, he added. It’s unclear if that means PC gamers will have to wait longer than console owners for future Final Fantasy games. The first Final Fantasy VII Remake didn’t hit PCs until 19 months after the PlayStation 4 version, and Rebirth was first available on PC 11 months after its PS5 launch. Elsewhere in the franchise, the PC versions of both Final Fantasy XVI and Final Fantasy XV didn’t hit until over a year after their console counterparts. “Mid-range platforms” Elsewhere in the interview, Hamaguchi went into some detail about what he sees as the relative deficiencies of various game consoles. Compared to a high-end PC, for instance, Hamaguchi said he considers the PS5 and PS5 Pro “mid-range platforms” that require texture sizes, mesh loads, and polygon counts that are 1.5 to 3 times lower than the PC versions. Further down the line, the Steam Deck operates “at less than half the PS5’s baseline,” Hamaguchi said. Further considerations are necessary for other consoles. On the PS4, Switch 2, and Xbox Series S, for instance, Hamaguchi said the relative limitations of the CPU generally require limiting graphics to 30 fps (rather than the 60 fps on high-end platforms), as well as reducing the number of NPCs that can appear in a town when compared to higher-end systems. Hamaguchi also specifically called out the memory limitations on the Xbox Series S, which requires specific optimizations compared to the “ample memory” available on the Switch 2. Development of the third part of the Final Fantasy VII Remake trilogy is “progressing very smoothly,” Hamaguchi said, and the team is currently “almost exactly on schedule” with planned development milestones. Kyle Orland Senior Gaming Editor Kyle Orland Senior Gaming Editor Kyle Orland has been the Senior Gaming Editor at Ars Technica since 2012, writing primarily about the business, tech, and culture behind video games. He has journalism and computer science degrees from University of Maryland. He once wrote a whole book about Minesweeper. 48 Comments Why Final Fantasy is now targeting PC as its “lead platform” Director says PC is the “foundation” when targeting “high-end environments first.” For a long time now, PC gamers have been used to the Final Fantasy series treating their platform as somewhat secondary to the game’s core console versions. There are some signs that may be starting to change, though, as director Naoki Hamaguchi has confirmed that the PC is now the “lead platform” for development of the Final Fantasy VII Remake trilogy. In a recent interview with Automaton, Hamaguchi clarified that the team takes the relatively common practice of creating visual assets for its multiplatform games by targeting “high-end environments first,” then performing a “reduction” for less powerful platforms. These days, that means “our 3D assets are created at the highest quality level based on PC as the foundation,” he said. Players have already noticed this graphical difference in the PC version of Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, Hamaguchi said, and “our philosophy will not change for the third installment.” While PC gaming is only “gradually expanding in Japan,” Hamaguchi said the rapid growth in international PC gamers has led the company to “develop assets with the broad PC market in mind.” The PC versions of recent Final Fantasy VII Remake games have sold well on Steam and the Epic Games Store, he added. It’s unclear if that means PC gamers will have to wait longer than console owners for future Final Fantasy games. The first Final Fantasy VII Remake didn’t hit PCs until 19 months after the PlayStation 4 version, and Rebirth was first available on PC 11 months after its PS5 launch. Elsewhere in the franchise, the PC versions of both Final Fantasy XVI and Final Fantasy XV didn’t hit until over a year after their console counterparts. “Mid-range platforms” Elsewhere in the interview, Hamaguchi went into some detail about what he sees as the relative deficiencies of various game consoles. Compared to a high-end PC, for instance, Hamaguchi said he considers the PS5 and PS5 Pro “mid-range platforms” that require texture sizes, mesh loads, and polygon counts that are 1.5 to 3 times lower than the PC versions. Further down the line, the Steam Deck operates “at less than half the PS5’s baseline,” Hamaguchi said. Further considerations are necessary for other consoles. On the PS4, Switch 2, and Xbox Series S, for instance, Hamaguchi said the relative limitations of the CPU generally require limiting graphics to 30 fps (rather than the 60 fps on high-end platforms), as well as reducing the number of NPCs that can appear in a town when compared to higher-end systems. Hamaguchi also specifically called out the memory limitations on the Xbox Series S, which requires specific optimizations compared to the “ample memory” available on the Switch 2. Development of the third part of the Final Fantasy VII Remake trilogy is “progressing very smoothly,” Hamaguchi said, and the team is currently “almost exactly on schedule” with planned development milestones. Ars Technica has been separating the signal from the noise for over 25 years. With our unique combination of technical savvy and wide-ranging interest in the technological arts and sciences, Ars is the trusted source in a sea of information. After all, you don’t need to know everything, only what’s important.
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[SOURCE: https://www.bbc.com/travel/destinations/australia-and-pacific] \| [TOKENS: 2100]
DestinationsAfricaAntarcticaAsiaAustralia and PacificCaribbean & BermudaCentral AmericaEuropeMiddle EastNorth AmericaSouth AmericaThe 333 islands opening to the worldAs of 1 December, Fiji instituted a quarantine-free travel policy to welcome vaccinated travellers from countries across the globe.21 Dec 2021TravelThe nation that's banishing lightThe Pacific nation's audacious bid to become the world's first dark sky nation might provide a blueprint for the rest of the world.3 Feb 2022TravelThe 333 islands opening to the worldAs of 1 December, Fiji instituted a quarantine-free travel policy to welcome vaccinated travellers from countries across the globe.21 Dec 2021TravelThe nation that's banishing lightThe Pacific nation's audacious bid to become the world's first dark sky nation might provide a blueprint for the rest of the world.3 Feb 2022TravelThe oldest place on Earth?Dating to around 3.6 billion years ago, the Pilbara region of Western Australia is home to the fossilised evidence of the Earth's oldest lifeforms.27 Jan 2022TravelThe Australian myth being disprovedAlthough many people believe that this ancient culture and people were lost, recent years have seen a seismic shift in recognition for indigenous Tasmanians.25 Oct 2021TravelAustralia's X-rated underwater showEach year, the small South Australian town of Whyalla becomes home to one of the most spectacular underwater events: the spawning of the giant Australian cuttlefish.The oldest place on Earth?Dating to around 3.6 billion years ago, the Pilbara region of Western Australia is home to the fossilised evidence of the Earth's oldest lifeforms.27 Jan 2022TravelThe Australian myth being disprovedAlthough many people believe that this ancient culture and people were lost, recent years have seen a seismic shift in recognition for indigenous Tasmanians.25 Oct 2021TravelMore Australia & PacificThe most anticipated museum openings of 2026From a futuristic sci-fi attraction in Los Angeles to a dramatic monument to a millennia-old Aboriginal civilisation, these long-awaited museums are worth travelling for.Beat the winter blues with these escapesFrom a Maldivian island alliance to Peru's pisco heartlands, these warm-weather trips pair sunshine with soul-enriching experiences.Meaningful Christmas rituals around the worldThese seven global traditions show a different side to the season - one that's more communal, reflective and far less materialistic.Five of the world's safest countries in 2025In a year marked by conflict, five nations continue to rank among the world's most peaceful. Residents reveal how policies and culture shape daily life and create a sense of calm.A remote adventure on Australia’s 'other' reefAlong Western Australia's remote coast, Ningaloo Reef offers a rare experience: a multi-day kayak trip into a world of extraordinary beauty and biodiversity.Five of Australia's best outdoor adventuresBindi Irwin is continuing her family's legacy of protecting the Earth. Here are her top outdoor picks, from the Dinosaur Trail to snorkelling at Lady Elliot Island.More travel5 Sep 2025Paneer to poutine: Inside the world's local McDonald'sFrom paneer wraps in India to ski-through burgers in Sweden, photojournalist Gary He's new book McAtlas shows that the world's most global chain is also one of the most local.5 Sep 202523 Jul 2025The secret to life in the world's best citiesAustralia now has three cities in the global top 10 for liveability. Residents reveal what makes daily life here so appealing – and why it's not just about the weather.23 Jul 202514 Jul 2025What it's really like to reside in the world's most liveable citiesCopenhagen has overtaken Vienna as the world's most liveable city in 2025. But what makes these places tick? Locals in five top-ranking cities share what life is really like there.14 Jul 202526 Jun 2025Four countries betting big on sports tourismFrom Spain to South Africa, nations are investing big in sports infrastructure to attract the growing wave of travelling fans.26 Jun 20259 May 2025Exploring Australia's 'magical' glow-in-the-dark worldIn Australia's Illawarra region, a ghostbusting-style night tour reveals ghost fungi, sea sparkles and tiny organisms lighting up the dark.9 May 202529 Apr 2025How a smiling animal put an island on the mapFamous for its adorable quokkas, Rottnest Island has become a global favourite. But beyond the selfies lies a rich, complex story of culture, conservation and community.29 Apr 202526 Mar 2025Finding calm in the cosmos: A new wellness trendFrom the Yorkshire Moors in England to the South African wilderness, star bathing is emerging as a transformative wellness trend – offering awe, calm and a cosmic reset.26 Mar 202523 Mar 2025The Pacific islands that don't want to be HawaiiThe Cook Islands is proving that sustainable tourism isn't just possible – it's essential. Here's how this South Pacific nation is preserving their paradise for generations for come.23 Mar 202518 Feb 2025Is it time to change how we buy travel souvenirs?The BBC looks into the psychology behind travel souvenirs: why we buy them, their impact on local communities and the planet, and how we can shop more thoughtfully.18 Feb 2025... Destinations The 333 islands opening to the world As of 1 December, Fiji instituted a quarantine-free travel policy to welcome vaccinated travellers from countries across the globe. The nation that's banishing light The Pacific nation's audacious bid to become the world's first dark sky nation might provide a blueprint for the rest of the world. The 333 islands opening to the world As of 1 December, Fiji instituted a quarantine-free travel policy to welcome vaccinated travellers from countries across the globe. The nation that's banishing light The Pacific nation's audacious bid to become the world's first dark sky nation might provide a blueprint for the rest of the world. The oldest place on Earth? Dating to around 3.6 billion years ago, the Pilbara region of Western Australia is home to the fossilised evidence of the Earth's oldest lifeforms. The Australian myth being disproved Although many people believe that this ancient culture and people were lost, recent years have seen a seismic shift in recognition for indigenous Tasmanians. Australia's X-rated underwater show Each year, the small South Australian town of Whyalla becomes home to one of the most spectacular underwater events: the spawning of the giant Australian cuttlefish. The oldest place on Earth? Dating to around 3.6 billion years ago, the Pilbara region of Western Australia is home to the fossilised evidence of the Earth's oldest lifeforms. The Australian myth being disproved Although many people believe that this ancient culture and people were lost, recent years have seen a seismic shift in recognition for indigenous Tasmanians. More Australia & Pacific The most anticipated museum openings of 2026 From a futuristic sci-fi attraction in Los Angeles to a dramatic monument to a millennia-old Aboriginal civilisation, these long-awaited museums are worth travelling for. Beat the winter blues with these escapes From a Maldivian island alliance to Peru's pisco heartlands, these warm-weather trips pair sunshine with soul-enriching experiences. Meaningful Christmas rituals around the world These seven global traditions show a different side to the season - one that's more communal, reflective and far less materialistic. Five of the world's safest countries in 2025 In a year marked by conflict, five nations continue to rank among the world's most peaceful. Residents reveal how policies and culture shape daily life and create a sense of calm. A remote adventure on Australia’s 'other' reef Along Western Australia's remote coast, Ningaloo Reef offers a rare experience: a multi-day kayak trip into a world of extraordinary beauty and biodiversity. Five of Australia's best outdoor adventures Bindi Irwin is continuing her family's legacy of protecting the Earth. Here are her top outdoor picks, from the Dinosaur Trail to snorkelling at Lady Elliot Island. More travel Paneer to poutine: Inside the world's local McDonald's From paneer wraps in India to ski-through burgers in Sweden, photojournalist Gary He's new book McAtlas shows that the world's most global chain is also one of the most local. The secret to life in the world's best cities Australia now has three cities in the global top 10 for liveability. Residents reveal what makes daily life here so appealing – and why it's not just about the weather. What it's really like to reside in the world's most liveable cities Copenhagen has overtaken Vienna as the world's most liveable city in 2025. But what makes these places tick? Locals in five top-ranking cities share what life is really like there. Four countries betting big on sports tourism From Spain to South Africa, nations are investing big in sports infrastructure to attract the growing wave of travelling fans. Exploring Australia's 'magical' glow-in-the-dark world In Australia's Illawarra region, a ghostbusting-style night tour reveals ghost fungi, sea sparkles and tiny organisms lighting up the dark. How a smiling animal put an island on the map Famous for its adorable quokkas, Rottnest Island has become a global favourite. But beyond the selfies lies a rich, complex story of culture, conservation and community. Finding calm in the cosmos: A new wellness trend From the Yorkshire Moors in England to the South African wilderness, star bathing is emerging as a transformative wellness trend – offering awe, calm and a cosmic reset. The Pacific islands that don't want to be Hawaii The Cook Islands is proving that sustainable tourism isn't just possible – it's essential. Here's how this South Pacific nation is preserving their paradise for generations for come. Is it time to change how we buy travel souvenirs? The BBC looks into the psychology behind travel souvenirs: why we buy them, their impact on local communities and the planet, and how we can shop more thoughtfully. Copyright 2026 BBC. All rights reserved. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read about our approach to external linking.
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[SOURCE: https://he.wikipedia.org/wiki/וורמייזא] \| [TOKENS: 1750]
תוכן עניינים וורמס ווֹרְמְס (בגרמנית: ‏Wormsⓘ‏Ⓘ‏; במקורות היהודים נקראת ורמייזא, וורמיישא או גרמייזא) היא עיר במדינת ריינלנד-פפאלץ בגרמניה, על גדות הריין. בעיר 83,081 תושבים נכון לשנת 2017. העיר וורמס קדומה ביותר והיא אחת מהערים העתיקות שבצפון אירופה. רקע בימי הרומאים הייתה העיר מאחז צבאי אסטרטגי על הדרך הראשית שמובילה לנהר הריין, ולימים – עיר מסחר משגשגת. בשנת 14 אחר הספירה נכבשה על ידי המצביא דרוסוס. את שרידי העיר הרומאית שפיתח דרוסוס ניתן לראות עד היום במבני הרחוב הרומאי, בפורום, ובשרידי המקדש לאל יופיטר. בימי הביניים הייתה לעיר קיסרית חופשית, ומאז ימי קארל הגדול שימשה לעיתים כעיר מושבו של הקיסר ועמדה במרכזם של אירועים היסטוריים חשובים. כבר במאה ה-14 מנתה העיר 20,000 תושבים (הרבה יותר מבפרנקפורט). וורמס היא אחת הערים הגרמניות המוזכרות ב'שירת הניבלונגים', יצירה ספרותית עתיקה מהמוקדמות ביותר ששרדו בלשון גרמאנית שנתחברה סביבות המאה ה-13. מספר פעמים במהלך ההיסטוריה, נהרסה העיר כמעט לחלוטין. במהלך מלחמת תשע השנים בשנת 1689 נבזזה העיר על ידי כוחות צרפתיים, שאף הצליחו להחזיק בה לזמן קצר. ב-1792 נכבשה העיר שוב על ידי כוחות הצבא הצרפתי המהפכני; העיר הייתה בשליטת צרפת עד שנת 1815, אז נמסרה לידי הדוכס הגדול של הסן במסגרת קונגרס וינה. בפעם נוספת נחרבה העיר בשנת 1945 בהפצצות אוויריות של חיל האוויר הבריטי, לקראת תום מלחמת העולם השנייה. ההיסטוריה היהודית של העיר לקהילה היהודית בעיר היסטוריה מפוארת בימי הביניים, ופעלו בה בין השאר ר' יצחק הלוי, רש"י, ר' אלעזר מוורמס, ר' אליהו לואנץ, ר' יאיר חיים בכרך ור' מיכל שייאר. ביחד עם שפייר ומיינץ (מגנצא) הרכיבה וורמס את שלוש הקהילות היהודיות הגדולות שלאורך הריין, שנודעו בראשי התיבות שו"ם. בשנת 1096, בימי מסע הצלב הראשון, אירע בעיר הטבח בוורמס, כחלק ממאורעות הדמים שכונו גזירות תתנ"ו. במהלך הטבח אולצו היהודים להתנצר או למות. בעקבות אותם מאורעות דמים, חיבר ר' מנחם ברבי מכיר את הקינה "אבל אעורר", שייחודה בכך שיש בה אזכור מדויק של התאריך, שנת תתנ"ו. ערים תאומות גלריה קישורים חיצוניים
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[SOURCE: https://www.bbc.com/travel/destinations/caribbean] \| [TOKENS: 2049]
DestinationsAfricaAntarcticaAsiaAustralia and PacificCaribbean & BermudaCentral AmericaEuropeMiddle EastNorth AmericaSouth AmericaNatalia Vallejo's Caldo de gallinaThe James Beard award-winning chef's ancestral soup combines a richly simmered broth with herbs, avocado and traditional mofongo balls: garlicky twice-fried mashed green plantains.16 Jun 2023TravelA Caribbean secret to happinessThe word "dushi" is part of the national identity in Curacao – and there is much we all can learn from this Caribbean island's sweet philosophy.13 Feb 2023TravelNatalia Vallejo's Caldo de gallinaThe James Beard award-winning chef's ancestral soup combines a richly simmered broth with herbs, avocado and traditional mofongo balls: garlicky twice-fried mashed green plantains.16 Jun 2023TravelA Caribbean secret to happinessThe word "dushi" is part of the national identity in Curacao – and there is much we all can learn from this Caribbean island's sweet philosophy.13 Feb 2023TravelThe crab dish with a shameful historyWhile most of Tobago's food specialties – such as shark and bake, doubles and callaloo – originated in Trinidad, crab and dumpling is quintessential Tobago.4 Jul 2022TravelThe Caribbean's rare crowds-free isleThe British overseas territory of Montserrat is joining the trend of island states pushing to attract remote workers to come and stay a while.25 Mar 2022TravelCuba's remote 'Treasure Island'From pirate haven to ecological hotspot, Cuba's "Treasure Island" is a far-flung gem home to some of the Caribbean's rarest animals.The crab dish with a shameful historyWhile most of Tobago's food specialties – such as shark and bake, doubles and callaloo – originated in Trinidad, crab and dumpling is quintessential Tobago.4 Jul 2022TravelThe Caribbean's rare crowds-free isleThe British overseas territory of Montserrat is joining the trend of island states pushing to attract remote workers to come and stay a while.25 Mar 2022TravelMore on Caribbean travelOverlooked Caribbean islands to visitFrom Dominica to St John, these escapes set a new standard for elevated, responsible tourism – while still delivering luxurious, laid-back vibes.Thirteen photos that will make you care about the oceanDiving can help us explore the role of awe in protecting the planet's beating blue heart. The mysterious people of the CaribbeanA rare archaeological discovery on the Dominican Republic's secluded Samaná Peninsula could unlock the mystery behind the Caribbean's little-known pre-Arawak past.The man making the world's tallest bikeFélix Ramón Guirola Cepero has used everything from tin fencing to PVC pipes in his efforts to build the world’s tallest bicycle.The Bahamas' queen of JunkanooIn the Bahamas, special parades and the culture that surrounds them are known by one word: Junkanoo. For historian Arlene Nash Ferguson, it's been a lifelong passion.The 'Indiana Jones' of the CaribbeanKnown as "the Indiana Jones of Grenada", Telfor Bedeau has kayaked around his Caribbean island home, walked nearly every inch of it and climbed its highest peak 217 times.More travel18 Nov 2020The city that kept slavery silentThe Dominican Republic was home to the first black people in the Americas. So why has Europe’s oldest permanent settlement in the Americas turned its back on its African past?18 Nov 20206 May 2019Havana’s dazzling new makeoverIn the 1950s, Havana was aglow with thousands of neon signs. Now, one man has made it his mission to shine a light on the Cuban capital’s vintage past.6 May 20199 Aug 2018The world’s largest ice cream parlour?This state-run ‘people’s park’ offers a for-pennies indulgence for the masses and serves an average of 30,000 customers a day – and up to 600 at any one time.9 Aug 201811 Nov 2013Voices of NassauThere’s more to the Caribbean island capital than its diminutive dimensions insinuate.11 Nov 20136 Nov 2013Havana's second revolutionAs state control over Cuba’s food supply lessens, local restaurants are gaining access to previously hard-to-find ingredients, and hometown chefs are bringing their talents back.6 Nov 20138 Jul 2013Voices of Havana, CubaOne of the most iconic and romanticised cities in the world, Havana reveals many varying faces when you scratch beneath the surface and hang out with the Habaneros.8 Jul 201321 May 2013Best places to heal a broken heartWhether an Italian cycling tour or a Bahamas beach break better suits your fancy, these five destinations are the perfect cure for the relationship blues.21 May 201310 Dec 2012Gambling in the BahamasA casino-hopping tour around the islands is the perfect way to kick back, relax and have some offshore fun.10 Dec 201223 Oct 2012Cuba’s eclectic architectureCuba’s architecture has assimilated various outside influences over the last 600 years, mixing Moorish, Baroque, Art Deco and more to create strikingly unique cityscapes.23 Oct 2012... Destinations Natalia Vallejo's Caldo de gallina The James Beard award-winning chef's ancestral soup combines a richly simmered broth with herbs, avocado and traditional mofongo balls: garlicky twice-fried mashed green plantains. A Caribbean secret to happiness The word "dushi" is part of the national identity in Curacao – and there is much we all can learn from this Caribbean island's sweet philosophy. Natalia Vallejo's Caldo de gallina The James Beard award-winning chef's ancestral soup combines a richly simmered broth with herbs, avocado and traditional mofongo balls: garlicky twice-fried mashed green plantains. A Caribbean secret to happiness The word "dushi" is part of the national identity in Curacao – and there is much we all can learn from this Caribbean island's sweet philosophy. The crab dish with a shameful history While most of Tobago's food specialties – such as shark and bake, doubles and callaloo – originated in Trinidad, crab and dumpling is quintessential Tobago. The Caribbean's rare crowds-free isle The British overseas territory of Montserrat is joining the trend of island states pushing to attract remote workers to come and stay a while. Cuba's remote 'Treasure Island' From pirate haven to ecological hotspot, Cuba's "Treasure Island" is a far-flung gem home to some of the Caribbean's rarest animals. The crab dish with a shameful history While most of Tobago's food specialties – such as shark and bake, doubles and callaloo – originated in Trinidad, crab and dumpling is quintessential Tobago. The Caribbean's rare crowds-free isle The British overseas territory of Montserrat is joining the trend of island states pushing to attract remote workers to come and stay a while. More on Caribbean travel Overlooked Caribbean islands to visit From Dominica to St John, these escapes set a new standard for elevated, responsible tourism – while still delivering luxurious, laid-back vibes. Thirteen photos that will make you care about the ocean Diving can help us explore the role of awe in protecting the planet's beating blue heart. The mysterious people of the Caribbean A rare archaeological discovery on the Dominican Republic's secluded Samaná Peninsula could unlock the mystery behind the Caribbean's little-known pre-Arawak past. The man making the world's tallest bike Félix Ramón Guirola Cepero has used everything from tin fencing to PVC pipes in his efforts to build the world’s tallest bicycle. The Bahamas' queen of Junkanoo In the Bahamas, special parades and the culture that surrounds them are known by one word: Junkanoo. For historian Arlene Nash Ferguson, it's been a lifelong passion. The 'Indiana Jones' of the Caribbean Known as "the Indiana Jones of Grenada", Telfor Bedeau has kayaked around his Caribbean island home, walked nearly every inch of it and climbed its highest peak 217 times. More travel The city that kept slavery silent The Dominican Republic was home to the first black people in the Americas. So why has Europe’s oldest permanent settlement in the Americas turned its back on its African past? Havana’s dazzling new makeover In the 1950s, Havana was aglow with thousands of neon signs. Now, one man has made it his mission to shine a light on the Cuban capital’s vintage past. The world’s largest ice cream parlour? This state-run ‘people’s park’ offers a for-pennies indulgence for the masses and serves an average of 30,000 customers a day – and up to 600 at any one time. Voices of Nassau There’s more to the Caribbean island capital than its diminutive dimensions insinuate. Havana's second revolution As state control over Cuba’s food supply lessens, local restaurants are gaining access to previously hard-to-find ingredients, and hometown chefs are bringing their talents back. Voices of Havana, Cuba One of the most iconic and romanticised cities in the world, Havana reveals many varying faces when you scratch beneath the surface and hang out with the Habaneros. Best places to heal a broken heart Whether an Italian cycling tour or a Bahamas beach break better suits your fancy, these five destinations are the perfect cure for the relationship blues. Gambling in the Bahamas A casino-hopping tour around the islands is the perfect way to kick back, relax and have some offshore fun. Cuba’s eclectic architecture Cuba’s architecture has assimilated various outside influences over the last 600 years, mixing Moorish, Baroque, Art Deco and more to create strikingly unique cityscapes. Copyright 2026 BBC. All rights reserved. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read about our approach to external linking.
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[SOURCE: https://www.bbc.com/travel/destinations/europe] \| [TOKENS: 2113]
DestinationsAfricaAntarcticaAsiaAustralia and PacificCaribbean & BermudaCentral AmericaEuropeMiddle EastNorth AmericaSouth AmericaLondon's newest hip area isn't where you thinkA few miles from East London's perennially hip neighbourhoods, an explosion of art and culture is transforming a once-neglected stretch into one of the city's hottest destinations.2 May 2025TravelThe European nation where bears are boomingAs Romania's bear population grows, so do the opportunities for travellers to come face to face with the predators in a responsible way.28 Apr 2025TravelLondon's newest hip area isn't where you thinkA few miles from East London's perennially hip neighbourhoods, an explosion of art and culture is transforming a once-neglected stretch into one of the city's hottest destinations.2 May 2025TravelThe European nation where bears are boomingAs Romania's bear population grows, so do the opportunities for travellers to come face to face with the predators in a responsible way.28 Apr 2025TravelInside the fortress that inspired HamletAs Radiohead and the RSC launch an innovative reinterpretation of Hamlet, a visit to the play's setting in Denmark brings a new dimension to the tragedy.25 Apr 2025TravelThere's more to Iceland than Reykjavik This more remote part of Iceland offers visitors a deep dive into its fascinating history and authentic culture.14 Feb 2025TravelEurope's most exciting getaways for 2025 travelFrom romantic retreats in the Mediterranean to fresh-air-filled Alpine hikes, these are the most exciting areas of Europe to visit this year.Inside the fortress that inspired HamletAs Radiohead and the RSC launch an innovative reinterpretation of Hamlet, a visit to the play's setting in Denmark brings a new dimension to the tragedy.25 Apr 2025TravelThere's more to Iceland than Reykjavik This more remote part of Iceland offers visitors a deep dive into its fascinating history and authentic culture.14 Feb 2025TravelMore travel in EuropeWhat it's like to stay in an Oxford collegeDuring university holidays, visitors can stay overnight inside Oxford University's historic colleges. A former student returns to see what access to this hidden world feels like.Inside the town that invented the spaLong before wellness became a global industry, a small town in eastern Belgium shaped how Europeans thought about health, leisure and water.The best places to elope, according to expertsOnce furtive affairs, elopements now happen in spectacular destinations and have become an increasingly popular way for couples to embark on the adventure of marriage.The most anticipated hotel openings of 2026From luxury island villas in the Maldives to an off-grid Australian resort, these are the six new property openings we're most excited about.Inside Italy's secretive food confraternitiesAcross Italy, ceremonial brotherhoods are sworn to protect historic dishes – from salted cod stew to cured meats – using medieval rituals, velvet robes and fierce culinary devotion.The tiny slice of 'America' in EnglandInspired by the US's revolutionary spirit, a formerly "lawless" part of Hastings modelled itself after the former British colony across the pond.More travel6 Feb 2026Fifty courses, no leftovers: Inside Italy's sacred Panarda feastEach year in the village of Villavallelonga, friends and family gather to honour a local saint with a 50-course meal where no forkful goes uneaten – just as they have for centuries.6 Feb 20264 Feb 2026A surprising solution for the summer childcare crunchAs school holidays approach, some hotels are offering full-day, structured kids' camps that allow parents to travel, work and keep routines intact.4 Feb 20263 Feb 2026Inside Switzerland's extraordinary medieval libraryThe Abbey Library of St Gallen is a Baroque hall of globes, manuscripts and curiosities that has survived, improbably, for 1,300 years.3 Feb 20261 Feb 2026The Italian city where life is sweetest in winterFrom Carnival parades and an annual chocolate festival to vermouth rituals and winter-only dishes, February brings Turin's food culture and traditions into sharp focus.1 Feb 202630 Jan 2026A 65km hike into Norway's vanishing rural pastThe Stølstruta offers hikers a responsible, respectful way to witness a pastoral tradition that has disappeared almost everywhere else in Europe.30 Jan 202629 Jan 2026The mysterious football drink taking Ireland by stormOnce a local secret in Ireland’s north-west, Football Special is now a non-alcoholic hit across the country - and only two people know its recipe.29 Jan 202626 Jan 2026Seven new Bridgerton filming locations you can visitBridgerton is back, and from London palaces to Bath ballrooms, here are some of the best places to experience Regency-era England.26 Jan 202621 Jan 2026Is it time to retire terms like 'Venice of the East'?From "Venice of the East" to "lost civilisations", colonial-era travel metaphors still shape how some see non-Western places. But that language deserves a rethink.21 Jan 202620 Jan 2026The biggest all-you-can-eat buffet in the worldFrance's highest-grossing restaurant isn't a Michelin-starred bistro or a Parisian institution, but an all-you-can-eat buffet on the outskirts of Narbonne.20 Jan 2026... Destinations London's newest hip area isn't where you think A few miles from East London's perennially hip neighbourhoods, an explosion of art and culture is transforming a once-neglected stretch into one of the city's hottest destinations. The European nation where bears are booming As Romania's bear population grows, so do the opportunities for travellers to come face to face with the predators in a responsible way. London's newest hip area isn't where you think A few miles from East London's perennially hip neighbourhoods, an explosion of art and culture is transforming a once-neglected stretch into one of the city's hottest destinations. The European nation where bears are booming As Romania's bear population grows, so do the opportunities for travellers to come face to face with the predators in a responsible way. Inside the fortress that inspired Hamlet As Radiohead and the RSC launch an innovative reinterpretation of Hamlet, a visit to the play's setting in Denmark brings a new dimension to the tragedy. There's more to Iceland than Reykjavik This more remote part of Iceland offers visitors a deep dive into its fascinating history and authentic culture. Europe's most exciting getaways for 2025 travel From romantic retreats in the Mediterranean to fresh-air-filled Alpine hikes, these are the most exciting areas of Europe to visit this year. Inside the fortress that inspired Hamlet As Radiohead and the RSC launch an innovative reinterpretation of Hamlet, a visit to the play's setting in Denmark brings a new dimension to the tragedy. There's more to Iceland than Reykjavik This more remote part of Iceland offers visitors a deep dive into its fascinating history and authentic culture. More travel in Europe What it's like to stay in an Oxford college During university holidays, visitors can stay overnight inside Oxford University's historic colleges. A former student returns to see what access to this hidden world feels like. Inside the town that invented the spa Long before wellness became a global industry, a small town in eastern Belgium shaped how Europeans thought about health, leisure and water. The best places to elope, according to experts Once furtive affairs, elopements now happen in spectacular destinations and have become an increasingly popular way for couples to embark on the adventure of marriage. The most anticipated hotel openings of 2026 From luxury island villas in the Maldives to an off-grid Australian resort, these are the six new property openings we're most excited about. Inside Italy's secretive food confraternities Across Italy, ceremonial brotherhoods are sworn to protect historic dishes – from salted cod stew to cured meats – using medieval rituals, velvet robes and fierce culinary devotion. The tiny slice of 'America' in England Inspired by the US's revolutionary spirit, a formerly "lawless" part of Hastings modelled itself after the former British colony across the pond. More travel Fifty courses, no leftovers: Inside Italy's sacred Panarda feast Each year in the village of Villavallelonga, friends and family gather to honour a local saint with a 50-course meal where no forkful goes uneaten – just as they have for centuries. A surprising solution for the summer childcare crunch As school holidays approach, some hotels are offering full-day, structured kids' camps that allow parents to travel, work and keep routines intact. Inside Switzerland's extraordinary medieval library The Abbey Library of St Gallen is a Baroque hall of globes, manuscripts and curiosities that has survived, improbably, for 1,300 years. The Italian city where life is sweetest in winter From Carnival parades and an annual chocolate festival to vermouth rituals and winter-only dishes, February brings Turin's food culture and traditions into sharp focus. A 65km hike into Norway's vanishing rural past The Stølstruta offers hikers a responsible, respectful way to witness a pastoral tradition that has disappeared almost everywhere else in Europe. The mysterious football drink taking Ireland by storm Once a local secret in Ireland’s north-west, Football Special is now a non-alcoholic hit across the country - and only two people know its recipe. Seven new Bridgerton filming locations you can visit Bridgerton is back, and from London palaces to Bath ballrooms, here are some of the best places to experience Regency-era England. Is it time to retire terms like 'Venice of the East'? From "Venice of the East" to "lost civilisations", colonial-era travel metaphors still shape how some see non-Western places. But that language deserves a rethink. The biggest all-you-can-eat buffet in the world France's highest-grossing restaurant isn't a Michelin-starred bistro or a Parisian institution, but an all-you-can-eat buffet on the outskirts of Narbonne. Copyright 2026 BBC. All rights reserved. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read about our approach to external linking.
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[SOURCE: https://arstechnica.com/science/2026/02/new-dates-on-chinese-fossils-raise-question-of-how-many-times-we-left-africa/] \| [TOKENS: 4345]
careful with that, it’s an antique “Million-year-old” fossil skulls from China are far older—and not Denisovans The revised age may help make sense of 2-million-year-old stone tools elsewhere in China. Kiona N. Smith – Feb 20, 2026 12:03 pm \| 44 An archaeologist comes face to face with the Yunxian 3 skull Credit: government of Wuhan An archaeologist comes face to face with the Yunxian 3 skull Credit: government of Wuhan Text settings Story text Size Small Standard Large Width * Standard Wide Links Standard Orange * Subscribers only Learn more Minimize to nav Two skulls from Yunxian, in northern China, aren’t ancestors of Denisovans after all; they’re actually the oldest known Homo erectus fossils in eastern Asia. A recent study has re-dated the skulls to about 1.77 million years old, which makes them the oldest hominin remains found so far in East Asia. Their age means that Homo erectus (an extinct common ancestor of our species, Neanderthals, and Denisovans) must have spread across the continent much earlier and much faster than we’d previously given them credit for. It also sheds new light on who was making stone tools at some even older archaeological sites in China. Homo erectus spread like wildfire Yunxian is an important—and occasionally contentious—archaeological site on the banks of central China’s Han River. Along with hundreds of stone tools and animal bones, the layers of river sediment have yielded three nearly complete hominin skulls (only two of which have been described in a publication so far). Shantou University paleoanthropologist Hua Tu and his colleagues measured the ratio of two isotopes, aluminum-26 and beryllium-10, in grains of quartz from the sediment layer that once held the skulls. The results suggest that Homo erectus lived and died along the Han River 1.77 million years ago. That’s just 130,000 years after the species first appeared in Africa. (Side note: This river has been depositing layers of silt and gravel on the same terraces for at least 2 million years, and that’s just extremely cool.) The revised date suggests that Homo erectus spread across Asia much more quickly than anthropologists had realized. So far, the oldest hominin bones found anywhere outside Africa are five skulls, along with hundreds of other bones, from Dmanisi Cave in Georgia. The Dmanisi bones are between 1.85 million and 1.77 million years old, and they (probably—more on that below) also belong to Homo erectus. Until recently, the next-oldest Homo erectus fossils outside Africa were the 1.63-million-year-old fossils from another Chinese site, Gongwangling, a short distance north of Yunxian. (That’s not counting a couple of teeth from a site in southern China with an age that is a little less certain.) Those dates had suggested Homo erectus seemed to have taken a leisurely 140,000 years to spread east into Asia. But it now looks like hominins were living in Georgia and central China at about the same time, which means they spread out very fast, started earlier than we knew, or both. The Homo longi and short of it All of this means that the Yunxian skulls are probably not—as a September 2025 study claimed—close ancestors of the enigmatic Denisovans. The authors of that paper had digitally reconstructed one of the skulls and concluded that it looked a lot like a 146,000-year-old skull from Harbin, China (which a recent DNA study identified as a Denisovan, also known as Homo longi). The researchers had argued that the original owners of the Yunxian skulls had lived not long after the Denisovan/Homo longi branch of the hominin family tree split off from ours—in other words, that the Yunxian skulls weren’t mere Homo erectus but early Homo longi, close cousins of our own species. Using the original paleomagnetic dates for the Yunxian skulls, that study’s authors drew up a hominin family tree in which our species and Denisovans are more closely related to each other than either is to Neanderthals—one in which the branching happened much earlier than DNA evidence suggests. There were many issues with those arguments, but the revised age for the Yunxian skulls sounds like a death knell for them. “1.77 million years is just too old to be a credible connection to the Denisovan group, which DNA tells us got started after around 700,000 years ago,” University of Wisconsin paleoanthropologist John Hawks, who was not involved in the study, told Ars in an email. But the most interesting thing about these skulls being 1.77 million years old is that the date provides a reference point for understanding even older sites in China—sites that may suggest that Homo erectus wasn’t even the first hominin to make it this far. Stone tools collected from Shangchen, China. Credit: Prof. Zhaoyu Zhu Stone tools collected from Shangchen, China. Credit: Prof. Zhaoyu Zhu Out of Africa: The prequel Homo erectus first shows up in the fossil record around 1.9 million years ago in Africa, where it’s sometimes also called Homo ergaster because paleoanthropologists seem to enjoy naming things and then arguing about those names for several decades. A few hundred thousand years later, Homo erectus showed up everywhere: from South Africa northward to the Levant and from Dmanisi Cave in Georgia eastward to the islands of Indonesia. We typically think of Homo erectus as the first of our hominin ancestors to expand beyond Africa, along routes that our own species would retread 1.5 million years later. More to the point, many paleoanthropologists think of them as the first hominin that could have adapted to so many different environments, each with its own challenges, along the way. But we may need to give earlier members of our genus, like Homo habilis, a little more credit because stone tools from two other sites in China seem to be older than Homo erectus. At Shangchen, a site on the southern edge of China’s Loess Plateau, archaeologists unearthed stone tools from a 2.1-million-year-old layer of sediment. And at the Xihoudu site in northern China, stone tools date to 2.43 million years ago. “If you have a site in China that’s 2.43 million years, and the origin of Homo erectus is 1.9 million years ago, either you need to push the origin of Homo erectus back to 2.5 or 2.6 million years or we need to accept that we need to be looking at other hominins that may have actually moved out of Africa,” University of Hawai’i at Manoa paleoanthropologist Christopher Bae, a coauthor of the new study, told Ars. So who made those 2-million-year-old tools? Archaeologists have unearthed stone tools but no hominin fossils at both sites, making it difficult to say for sure who the toolmakers were. But if they weren’t Homo erectus, the next most likely suspects would be older members of our genus, like Homo habilis or Homo rudolfensis. That would mean hominin expansion “out of Africa” actually happened several times during the history of our genus: once with early Homo, again with Homo erectus, and yet again with our species. “There could have been an earlier wave that died out or interbred, so there’s all kinds of possibilities open there,” Purdue University paleoanthropologist Darryl Granger, also a coauthor of the recent study, told Ars. In fact, there’s some debate about whether the Dmanisi fossils actually belonged to Homo erectus proper. One thing the two dueling reconstructions of the Yunxian skulls agree on is that those hominins had flattish faces, more like ours—and like the 1.63-million-year-old Homo erectus skull from Gongwangling. But the Dmanisi hominins’ lower faces project dramatically forward, like those of older hominins. Some paleoanthropologists classify the Dmanisi fossils as their own species, but others argue they’re more like early members of our genus, such as Homo habilis or Homo rudolfensis. Those earlier hominins may have been more capable of migrating and adapting than we’ve realized. It’s still very clear, from both fossil and genetic evidence, that our species evolved in Africa and spread from there to the rest of the world. But it’s also increasingly clear that there were several other species of hominins in other places, doing other things, at least off and on, for a very long time before we showed up. Yunxian, and its revised age, could help anthropologists better understand part of that story. “Actually being able to anchor the Homo erectus sites with firm, solid dates helps us try to reconfigure this model,” said Bae. “This is where Yunxian really plays a major role in this. Now that we’ve got older dates to anchor the Yunxian Homo erectus fossils, I think we can really bring in this discussion with Xihoudu and Shangchen.” Time to dig deeper The answers may still lie buried—maybe just a few meters below the fossil skulls and stone tools at sites like Yunxian and Gongwangling, in older sediment layers. Archaeologists may not have seen a reason to explore these, since no one lived in China before 1.7 million years ago. The age of the Yunxian skulls, along with the even older stone tools at Shangchen and Xihoudu, may warrant deeper digging. “People haven’t been looking for artifacts and fossils in two-plus million-year-old sediments in these locations in China,” said Granger. “I can think of places that I would like to go back and look if I had more time and money.” At other sites, researchers have already unearthed fossil animal bones from the same age range as China’s oldest stone tools, but paleoanthropologists haven’t double-checked whether any of those bones might belong to early hominins rather than other mammals. Bae said, “It’s just that they haven’t been receiving any attention, or not enough attention.” Science Advances, 2026. DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.ady2270 About DOIs). Kiona N. Smith Science correspondent Kiona N. Smith Science correspondent Kiona is a freelance science journalist and resident archaeology nerd at Ars Technica. 44 Comments “Million-year-old” fossil skulls from China are far older—and not Denisovans The revised age may help make sense of 2-million-year-old stone tools elsewhere in China. Two skulls from Yunxian, in northern China, aren’t ancestors of Denisovans after all; they’re actually the oldest known Homo erectus fossils in eastern Asia. A recent study has re-dated the skulls to about 1.77 million years old, which makes them the oldest hominin remains found so far in East Asia. Their age means that Homo erectus (an extinct common ancestor of our species, Neanderthals, and Denisovans) must have spread across the continent much earlier and much faster than we’d previously given them credit for. It also sheds new light on who was making stone tools at some even older archaeological sites in China. Homo erectus spread like wildfire Yunxian is an important—and occasionally contentious—archaeological site on the banks of central China’s Han River. Along with hundreds of stone tools and animal bones, the layers of river sediment have yielded three nearly complete hominin skulls (only two of which have been described in a publication so far). Shantou University paleoanthropologist Hua Tu and his colleagues measured the ratio of two isotopes, aluminum-26 and beryllium-10, in grains of quartz from the sediment layer that once held the skulls. The results suggest that Homo erectus lived and died along the Han River 1.77 million years ago. That’s just 130,000 years after the species first appeared in Africa. (Side note: This river has been depositing layers of silt and gravel on the same terraces for at least 2 million years, and that’s just extremely cool.) The revised date suggests that Homo erectus spread across Asia much more quickly than anthropologists had realized. So far, the oldest hominin bones found anywhere outside Africa are five skulls, along with hundreds of other bones, from Dmanisi Cave in Georgia. The Dmanisi bones are between 1.85 million and 1.77 million years old, and they (probably—more on that below) also belong to Homo erectus. Until recently, the next-oldest Homo erectus fossils outside Africa were the 1.63-million-year-old fossils from another Chinese site, Gongwangling, a short distance north of Yunxian. (That’s not counting a couple of teeth from a site in southern China with an age that is a little less certain.) Those dates had suggested Homo erectus seemed to have taken a leisurely 140,000 years to spread east into Asia. But it now looks like hominins were living in Georgia and central China at about the same time, which means they spread out very fast, started earlier than we knew, or both. The Homo longi and short of it All of this means that the Yunxian skulls are probably not—as a September 2025 study claimed—close ancestors of the enigmatic Denisovans. The authors of that paper had digitally reconstructed one of the skulls and concluded that it looked a lot like a 146,000-year-old skull from Harbin, China (which a recent DNA study identified as a Denisovan, also known as Homo longi). The researchers had argued that the original owners of the Yunxian skulls had lived not long after the Denisovan/Homo longi branch of the hominin family tree split off from ours—in other words, that the Yunxian skulls weren’t mere Homo erectus but early Homo longi, close cousins of our own species. Using the original paleomagnetic dates for the Yunxian skulls, that study’s authors drew up a hominin family tree in which our species and Denisovans are more closely related to each other than either is to Neanderthals—one in which the branching happened much earlier than DNA evidence suggests. There were many issues with those arguments, but the revised age for the Yunxian skulls sounds like a death knell for them. “1.77 million years is just too old to be a credible connection to the Denisovan group, which DNA tells us got started after around 700,000 years ago,” University of Wisconsin paleoanthropologist John Hawks, who was not involved in the study, told Ars in an email. But the most interesting thing about these skulls being 1.77 million years old is that the date provides a reference point for understanding even older sites in China—sites that may suggest that Homo erectus wasn’t even the first hominin to make it this far. Out of Africa: The prequel Homo erectus first shows up in the fossil record around 1.9 million years ago in Africa, where it’s sometimes also called Homo ergaster because paleoanthropologists seem to enjoy naming things and then arguing about those names for several decades. A few hundred thousand years later, Homo erectus showed up everywhere: from South Africa northward to the Levant and from Dmanisi Cave in Georgia eastward to the islands of Indonesia. We typically think of Homo erectus as the first of our hominin ancestors to expand beyond Africa, along routes that our own species would retread 1.5 million years later. More to the point, many paleoanthropologists think of them as the first hominin that could have adapted to so many different environments, each with its own challenges, along the way. But we may need to give earlier members of our genus, like Homo habilis, a little more credit because stone tools from two other sites in China seem to be older than Homo erectus. At Shangchen, a site on the southern edge of China’s Loess Plateau, archaeologists unearthed stone tools from a 2.1-million-year-old layer of sediment. And at the Xihoudu site in northern China, stone tools date to 2.43 million years ago. “If you have a site in China that’s 2.43 million years, and the origin of Homo erectus is 1.9 million years ago, either you need to push the origin of Homo erectus back to 2.5 or 2.6 million years or we need to accept that we need to be looking at other hominins that may have actually moved out of Africa,” University of Hawai’i at Manoa paleoanthropologist Christopher Bae, a coauthor of the new study, told Ars. So who made those 2-million-year-old tools? Archaeologists have unearthed stone tools but no hominin fossils at both sites, making it difficult to say for sure who the toolmakers were. But if they weren’t Homo erectus, the next most likely suspects would be older members of our genus, like Homo habilis or Homo rudolfensis. That would mean hominin expansion “out of Africa” actually happened several times during the history of our genus: once with early Homo, again with Homo erectus, and yet again with our species. “There could have been an earlier wave that died out or interbred, so there’s all kinds of possibilities open there,” Purdue University paleoanthropologist Darryl Granger, also a coauthor of the recent study, told Ars. In fact, there’s some debate about whether the Dmanisi fossils actually belonged to Homo erectus proper. One thing the two dueling reconstructions of the Yunxian skulls agree on is that those hominins had flattish faces, more like ours—and like the 1.63-million-year-old Homo erectus skull from Gongwangling. But the Dmanisi hominins’ lower faces project dramatically forward, like those of older hominins. Some paleoanthropologists classify the Dmanisi fossils as their own species, but others argue they’re more like early members of our genus, such as Homo habilis or Homo rudolfensis. Those earlier hominins may have been more capable of migrating and adapting than we’ve realized. It’s still very clear, from both fossil and genetic evidence, that our species evolved in Africa and spread from there to the rest of the world. But it’s also increasingly clear that there were several other species of hominins in other places, doing other things, at least off and on, for a very long time before we showed up. Yunxian, and its revised age, could help anthropologists better understand part of that story. “Actually being able to anchor the Homo erectus sites with firm, solid dates helps us try to reconfigure this model,” said Bae. “This is where Yunxian really plays a major role in this. Now that we’ve got older dates to anchor the Yunxian Homo erectus fossils, I think we can really bring in this discussion with Xihoudu and Shangchen.” Time to dig deeper The answers may still lie buried—maybe just a few meters below the fossil skulls and stone tools at sites like Yunxian and Gongwangling, in older sediment layers. Archaeologists may not have seen a reason to explore these, since no one lived in China before 1.7 million years ago. The age of the Yunxian skulls, along with the even older stone tools at Shangchen and Xihoudu, may warrant deeper digging. “People haven’t been looking for artifacts and fossils in two-plus million-year-old sediments in these locations in China,” said Granger. “I can think of places that I would like to go back and look if I had more time and money.” At other sites, researchers have already unearthed fossil animal bones from the same age range as China’s oldest stone tools, but paleoanthropologists haven’t double-checked whether any of those bones might belong to early hominins rather than other mammals. Bae said, “It’s just that they haven’t been receiving any attention, or not enough attention.” Science Advances, 2026. DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.ady2270 About DOIs). Ars Technica has been separating the signal from the noise for over 25 years. With our unique combination of technical savvy and wide-ranging interest in the technological arts and sciences, Ars is the trusted source in a sea of information. After all, you don’t need to know everything, only what’s important.
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[SOURCE: https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2026/02/why-final-fantasy-is-now-targeting-pc-as-its-lead-platform/] \| [TOKENS: 1516]
Now do Dragon Quest Why Final Fantasy is now targeting PC as its “lead platform” Director says PC is the “foundation” when targeting “high-end environments first.” Kyle Orland – Feb 20, 2026 12:26 pm \| 48 This screenshot of a "Cloud in a dress" mod is being used in place of some other Final Fantasy PC mods that are way too inappropriate for publication on Ars. Credit: Nexus Mods This screenshot of a "Cloud in a dress" mod is being used in place of some other Final Fantasy PC mods that are way too inappropriate for publication on Ars. Credit: Nexus Mods Text settings Story text Size Small Standard Large Width * Standard Wide Links Standard Orange * Subscribers only Learn more Minimize to nav For a long time now, PC gamers have been used to the Final Fantasy series treating their platform as somewhat secondary to the game’s core console versions. There are some signs that may be starting to change, though, as director Naoki Hamaguchi has confirmed that the PC is now the “lead platform” for development of the Final Fantasy VII Remake trilogy. In a recent interview with Automaton, Hamaguchi clarified that the team takes the relatively common practice of creating visual assets for its multiplatform games by targeting “high-end environments first,” then performing a “reduction” for less powerful platforms. These days, that means “our 3D assets are created at the highest quality level based on PC as the foundation,” he said. Players have already noticed this graphical difference in the PC version of Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, Hamaguchi said, and “our philosophy will not change for the third installment.” While PC gaming is only “gradually expanding in Japan,” Hamaguchi said the rapid growth in international PC gamers has led the company to “develop assets with the broad PC market in mind.” The PC versions of recent Final Fantasy VII Remake games have sold well on Steam and the Epic Games Store, he added. It’s unclear if that means PC gamers will have to wait longer than console owners for future Final Fantasy games. The first Final Fantasy VII Remake didn’t hit PCs until 19 months after the PlayStation 4 version, and Rebirth was first available on PC 11 months after its PS5 launch. Elsewhere in the franchise, the PC versions of both Final Fantasy XVI and Final Fantasy XV didn’t hit until over a year after their console counterparts. “Mid-range platforms” Elsewhere in the interview, Hamaguchi went into some detail about what he sees as the relative deficiencies of various game consoles. Compared to a high-end PC, for instance, Hamaguchi said he considers the PS5 and PS5 Pro “mid-range platforms” that require texture sizes, mesh loads, and polygon counts that are 1.5 to 3 times lower than the PC versions. Further down the line, the Steam Deck operates “at less than half the PS5’s baseline,” Hamaguchi said. Further considerations are necessary for other consoles. On the PS4, Switch 2, and Xbox Series S, for instance, Hamaguchi said the relative limitations of the CPU generally require limiting graphics to 30 fps (rather than the 60 fps on high-end platforms), as well as reducing the number of NPCs that can appear in a town when compared to higher-end systems. Hamaguchi also specifically called out the memory limitations on the Xbox Series S, which requires specific optimizations compared to the “ample memory” available on the Switch 2. Development of the third part of the Final Fantasy VII Remake trilogy is “progressing very smoothly,” Hamaguchi said, and the team is currently “almost exactly on schedule” with planned development milestones. Kyle Orland Senior Gaming Editor Kyle Orland Senior Gaming Editor Kyle Orland has been the Senior Gaming Editor at Ars Technica since 2012, writing primarily about the business, tech, and culture behind video games. He has journalism and computer science degrees from University of Maryland. He once wrote a whole book about Minesweeper. 48 Comments Why Final Fantasy is now targeting PC as its “lead platform” Director says PC is the “foundation” when targeting “high-end environments first.” For a long time now, PC gamers have been used to the Final Fantasy series treating their platform as somewhat secondary to the game’s core console versions. There are some signs that may be starting to change, though, as director Naoki Hamaguchi has confirmed that the PC is now the “lead platform” for development of the Final Fantasy VII Remake trilogy. In a recent interview with Automaton, Hamaguchi clarified that the team takes the relatively common practice of creating visual assets for its multiplatform games by targeting “high-end environments first,” then performing a “reduction” for less powerful platforms. These days, that means “our 3D assets are created at the highest quality level based on PC as the foundation,” he said. Players have already noticed this graphical difference in the PC version of Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, Hamaguchi said, and “our philosophy will not change for the third installment.” While PC gaming is only “gradually expanding in Japan,” Hamaguchi said the rapid growth in international PC gamers has led the company to “develop assets with the broad PC market in mind.” The PC versions of recent Final Fantasy VII Remake games have sold well on Steam and the Epic Games Store, he added. It’s unclear if that means PC gamers will have to wait longer than console owners for future Final Fantasy games. The first Final Fantasy VII Remake didn’t hit PCs until 19 months after the PlayStation 4 version, and Rebirth was first available on PC 11 months after its PS5 launch. Elsewhere in the franchise, the PC versions of both Final Fantasy XVI and Final Fantasy XV didn’t hit until over a year after their console counterparts. “Mid-range platforms” Elsewhere in the interview, Hamaguchi went into some detail about what he sees as the relative deficiencies of various game consoles. Compared to a high-end PC, for instance, Hamaguchi said he considers the PS5 and PS5 Pro “mid-range platforms” that require texture sizes, mesh loads, and polygon counts that are 1.5 to 3 times lower than the PC versions. Further down the line, the Steam Deck operates “at less than half the PS5’s baseline,” Hamaguchi said. Further considerations are necessary for other consoles. On the PS4, Switch 2, and Xbox Series S, for instance, Hamaguchi said the relative limitations of the CPU generally require limiting graphics to 30 fps (rather than the 60 fps on high-end platforms), as well as reducing the number of NPCs that can appear in a town when compared to higher-end systems. Hamaguchi also specifically called out the memory limitations on the Xbox Series S, which requires specific optimizations compared to the “ample memory” available on the Switch 2. Development of the third part of the Final Fantasy VII Remake trilogy is “progressing very smoothly,” Hamaguchi said, and the team is currently “almost exactly on schedule” with planned development milestones. Ars Technica has been separating the signal from the noise for over 25 years. With our unique combination of technical savvy and wide-ranging interest in the technological arts and sciences, Ars is the trusted source in a sea of information. After all, you don’t need to know everything, only what’s important.
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[SOURCE: https://arstechnica.com/science/2026/02/new-dates-on-chinese-fossils-raise-question-of-how-many-times-we-left-africa/] \| [TOKENS: 4345]
careful with that, it’s an antique “Million-year-old” fossil skulls from China are far older—and not Denisovans The revised age may help make sense of 2-million-year-old stone tools elsewhere in China. Kiona N. Smith – Feb 20, 2026 12:03 pm \| 44 An archaeologist comes face to face with the Yunxian 3 skull Credit: government of Wuhan An archaeologist comes face to face with the Yunxian 3 skull Credit: government of Wuhan Text settings Story text Size Small Standard Large Width * Standard Wide Links Standard Orange * Subscribers only Learn more Minimize to nav Two skulls from Yunxian, in northern China, aren’t ancestors of Denisovans after all; they’re actually the oldest known Homo erectus fossils in eastern Asia. A recent study has re-dated the skulls to about 1.77 million years old, which makes them the oldest hominin remains found so far in East Asia. Their age means that Homo erectus (an extinct common ancestor of our species, Neanderthals, and Denisovans) must have spread across the continent much earlier and much faster than we’d previously given them credit for. It also sheds new light on who was making stone tools at some even older archaeological sites in China. Homo erectus spread like wildfire Yunxian is an important—and occasionally contentious—archaeological site on the banks of central China’s Han River. Along with hundreds of stone tools and animal bones, the layers of river sediment have yielded three nearly complete hominin skulls (only two of which have been described in a publication so far). Shantou University paleoanthropologist Hua Tu and his colleagues measured the ratio of two isotopes, aluminum-26 and beryllium-10, in grains of quartz from the sediment layer that once held the skulls. The results suggest that Homo erectus lived and died along the Han River 1.77 million years ago. That’s just 130,000 years after the species first appeared in Africa. (Side note: This river has been depositing layers of silt and gravel on the same terraces for at least 2 million years, and that’s just extremely cool.) The revised date suggests that Homo erectus spread across Asia much more quickly than anthropologists had realized. So far, the oldest hominin bones found anywhere outside Africa are five skulls, along with hundreds of other bones, from Dmanisi Cave in Georgia. The Dmanisi bones are between 1.85 million and 1.77 million years old, and they (probably—more on that below) also belong to Homo erectus. Until recently, the next-oldest Homo erectus fossils outside Africa were the 1.63-million-year-old fossils from another Chinese site, Gongwangling, a short distance north of Yunxian. (That’s not counting a couple of teeth from a site in southern China with an age that is a little less certain.) Those dates had suggested Homo erectus seemed to have taken a leisurely 140,000 years to spread east into Asia. But it now looks like hominins were living in Georgia and central China at about the same time, which means they spread out very fast, started earlier than we knew, or both. The Homo longi and short of it All of this means that the Yunxian skulls are probably not—as a September 2025 study claimed—close ancestors of the enigmatic Denisovans. The authors of that paper had digitally reconstructed one of the skulls and concluded that it looked a lot like a 146,000-year-old skull from Harbin, China (which a recent DNA study identified as a Denisovan, also known as Homo longi). The researchers had argued that the original owners of the Yunxian skulls had lived not long after the Denisovan/Homo longi branch of the hominin family tree split off from ours—in other words, that the Yunxian skulls weren’t mere Homo erectus but early Homo longi, close cousins of our own species. Using the original paleomagnetic dates for the Yunxian skulls, that study’s authors drew up a hominin family tree in which our species and Denisovans are more closely related to each other than either is to Neanderthals—one in which the branching happened much earlier than DNA evidence suggests. There were many issues with those arguments, but the revised age for the Yunxian skulls sounds like a death knell for them. “1.77 million years is just too old to be a credible connection to the Denisovan group, which DNA tells us got started after around 700,000 years ago,” University of Wisconsin paleoanthropologist John Hawks, who was not involved in the study, told Ars in an email. But the most interesting thing about these skulls being 1.77 million years old is that the date provides a reference point for understanding even older sites in China—sites that may suggest that Homo erectus wasn’t even the first hominin to make it this far. Stone tools collected from Shangchen, China. Credit: Prof. Zhaoyu Zhu Stone tools collected from Shangchen, China. Credit: Prof. Zhaoyu Zhu Out of Africa: The prequel Homo erectus first shows up in the fossil record around 1.9 million years ago in Africa, where it’s sometimes also called Homo ergaster because paleoanthropologists seem to enjoy naming things and then arguing about those names for several decades. A few hundred thousand years later, Homo erectus showed up everywhere: from South Africa northward to the Levant and from Dmanisi Cave in Georgia eastward to the islands of Indonesia. We typically think of Homo erectus as the first of our hominin ancestors to expand beyond Africa, along routes that our own species would retread 1.5 million years later. More to the point, many paleoanthropologists think of them as the first hominin that could have adapted to so many different environments, each with its own challenges, along the way. But we may need to give earlier members of our genus, like Homo habilis, a little more credit because stone tools from two other sites in China seem to be older than Homo erectus. At Shangchen, a site on the southern edge of China’s Loess Plateau, archaeologists unearthed stone tools from a 2.1-million-year-old layer of sediment. And at the Xihoudu site in northern China, stone tools date to 2.43 million years ago. “If you have a site in China that’s 2.43 million years, and the origin of Homo erectus is 1.9 million years ago, either you need to push the origin of Homo erectus back to 2.5 or 2.6 million years or we need to accept that we need to be looking at other hominins that may have actually moved out of Africa,” University of Hawai’i at Manoa paleoanthropologist Christopher Bae, a coauthor of the new study, told Ars. So who made those 2-million-year-old tools? Archaeologists have unearthed stone tools but no hominin fossils at both sites, making it difficult to say for sure who the toolmakers were. But if they weren’t Homo erectus, the next most likely suspects would be older members of our genus, like Homo habilis or Homo rudolfensis. That would mean hominin expansion “out of Africa” actually happened several times during the history of our genus: once with early Homo, again with Homo erectus, and yet again with our species. “There could have been an earlier wave that died out or interbred, so there’s all kinds of possibilities open there,” Purdue University paleoanthropologist Darryl Granger, also a coauthor of the recent study, told Ars. In fact, there’s some debate about whether the Dmanisi fossils actually belonged to Homo erectus proper. One thing the two dueling reconstructions of the Yunxian skulls agree on is that those hominins had flattish faces, more like ours—and like the 1.63-million-year-old Homo erectus skull from Gongwangling. But the Dmanisi hominins’ lower faces project dramatically forward, like those of older hominins. Some paleoanthropologists classify the Dmanisi fossils as their own species, but others argue they’re more like early members of our genus, such as Homo habilis or Homo rudolfensis. Those earlier hominins may have been more capable of migrating and adapting than we’ve realized. It’s still very clear, from both fossil and genetic evidence, that our species evolved in Africa and spread from there to the rest of the world. But it’s also increasingly clear that there were several other species of hominins in other places, doing other things, at least off and on, for a very long time before we showed up. Yunxian, and its revised age, could help anthropologists better understand part of that story. “Actually being able to anchor the Homo erectus sites with firm, solid dates helps us try to reconfigure this model,” said Bae. “This is where Yunxian really plays a major role in this. Now that we’ve got older dates to anchor the Yunxian Homo erectus fossils, I think we can really bring in this discussion with Xihoudu and Shangchen.” Time to dig deeper The answers may still lie buried—maybe just a few meters below the fossil skulls and stone tools at sites like Yunxian and Gongwangling, in older sediment layers. Archaeologists may not have seen a reason to explore these, since no one lived in China before 1.7 million years ago. The age of the Yunxian skulls, along with the even older stone tools at Shangchen and Xihoudu, may warrant deeper digging. “People haven’t been looking for artifacts and fossils in two-plus million-year-old sediments in these locations in China,” said Granger. “I can think of places that I would like to go back and look if I had more time and money.” At other sites, researchers have already unearthed fossil animal bones from the same age range as China’s oldest stone tools, but paleoanthropologists haven’t double-checked whether any of those bones might belong to early hominins rather than other mammals. Bae said, “It’s just that they haven’t been receiving any attention, or not enough attention.” Science Advances, 2026. DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.ady2270 About DOIs). Kiona N. Smith Science correspondent Kiona N. Smith Science correspondent Kiona is a freelance science journalist and resident archaeology nerd at Ars Technica. 44 Comments “Million-year-old” fossil skulls from China are far older—and not Denisovans The revised age may help make sense of 2-million-year-old stone tools elsewhere in China. Two skulls from Yunxian, in northern China, aren’t ancestors of Denisovans after all; they’re actually the oldest known Homo erectus fossils in eastern Asia. A recent study has re-dated the skulls to about 1.77 million years old, which makes them the oldest hominin remains found so far in East Asia. Their age means that Homo erectus (an extinct common ancestor of our species, Neanderthals, and Denisovans) must have spread across the continent much earlier and much faster than we’d previously given them credit for. It also sheds new light on who was making stone tools at some even older archaeological sites in China. Homo erectus spread like wildfire Yunxian is an important—and occasionally contentious—archaeological site on the banks of central China’s Han River. Along with hundreds of stone tools and animal bones, the layers of river sediment have yielded three nearly complete hominin skulls (only two of which have been described in a publication so far). Shantou University paleoanthropologist Hua Tu and his colleagues measured the ratio of two isotopes, aluminum-26 and beryllium-10, in grains of quartz from the sediment layer that once held the skulls. The results suggest that Homo erectus lived and died along the Han River 1.77 million years ago. That’s just 130,000 years after the species first appeared in Africa. (Side note: This river has been depositing layers of silt and gravel on the same terraces for at least 2 million years, and that’s just extremely cool.) The revised date suggests that Homo erectus spread across Asia much more quickly than anthropologists had realized. So far, the oldest hominin bones found anywhere outside Africa are five skulls, along with hundreds of other bones, from Dmanisi Cave in Georgia. The Dmanisi bones are between 1.85 million and 1.77 million years old, and they (probably—more on that below) also belong to Homo erectus. Until recently, the next-oldest Homo erectus fossils outside Africa were the 1.63-million-year-old fossils from another Chinese site, Gongwangling, a short distance north of Yunxian. (That’s not counting a couple of teeth from a site in southern China with an age that is a little less certain.) Those dates had suggested Homo erectus seemed to have taken a leisurely 140,000 years to spread east into Asia. But it now looks like hominins were living in Georgia and central China at about the same time, which means they spread out very fast, started earlier than we knew, or both. The Homo longi and short of it All of this means that the Yunxian skulls are probably not—as a September 2025 study claimed—close ancestors of the enigmatic Denisovans. The authors of that paper had digitally reconstructed one of the skulls and concluded that it looked a lot like a 146,000-year-old skull from Harbin, China (which a recent DNA study identified as a Denisovan, also known as Homo longi). The researchers had argued that the original owners of the Yunxian skulls had lived not long after the Denisovan/Homo longi branch of the hominin family tree split off from ours—in other words, that the Yunxian skulls weren’t mere Homo erectus but early Homo longi, close cousins of our own species. Using the original paleomagnetic dates for the Yunxian skulls, that study’s authors drew up a hominin family tree in which our species and Denisovans are more closely related to each other than either is to Neanderthals—one in which the branching happened much earlier than DNA evidence suggests. There were many issues with those arguments, but the revised age for the Yunxian skulls sounds like a death knell for them. “1.77 million years is just too old to be a credible connection to the Denisovan group, which DNA tells us got started after around 700,000 years ago,” University of Wisconsin paleoanthropologist John Hawks, who was not involved in the study, told Ars in an email. But the most interesting thing about these skulls being 1.77 million years old is that the date provides a reference point for understanding even older sites in China—sites that may suggest that Homo erectus wasn’t even the first hominin to make it this far. Out of Africa: The prequel Homo erectus first shows up in the fossil record around 1.9 million years ago in Africa, where it’s sometimes also called Homo ergaster because paleoanthropologists seem to enjoy naming things and then arguing about those names for several decades. A few hundred thousand years later, Homo erectus showed up everywhere: from South Africa northward to the Levant and from Dmanisi Cave in Georgia eastward to the islands of Indonesia. We typically think of Homo erectus as the first of our hominin ancestors to expand beyond Africa, along routes that our own species would retread 1.5 million years later. More to the point, many paleoanthropologists think of them as the first hominin that could have adapted to so many different environments, each with its own challenges, along the way. But we may need to give earlier members of our genus, like Homo habilis, a little more credit because stone tools from two other sites in China seem to be older than Homo erectus. At Shangchen, a site on the southern edge of China’s Loess Plateau, archaeologists unearthed stone tools from a 2.1-million-year-old layer of sediment. And at the Xihoudu site in northern China, stone tools date to 2.43 million years ago. “If you have a site in China that’s 2.43 million years, and the origin of Homo erectus is 1.9 million years ago, either you need to push the origin of Homo erectus back to 2.5 or 2.6 million years or we need to accept that we need to be looking at other hominins that may have actually moved out of Africa,” University of Hawai’i at Manoa paleoanthropologist Christopher Bae, a coauthor of the new study, told Ars. So who made those 2-million-year-old tools? Archaeologists have unearthed stone tools but no hominin fossils at both sites, making it difficult to say for sure who the toolmakers were. But if they weren’t Homo erectus, the next most likely suspects would be older members of our genus, like Homo habilis or Homo rudolfensis. That would mean hominin expansion “out of Africa” actually happened several times during the history of our genus: once with early Homo, again with Homo erectus, and yet again with our species. “There could have been an earlier wave that died out or interbred, so there’s all kinds of possibilities open there,” Purdue University paleoanthropologist Darryl Granger, also a coauthor of the recent study, told Ars. In fact, there’s some debate about whether the Dmanisi fossils actually belonged to Homo erectus proper. One thing the two dueling reconstructions of the Yunxian skulls agree on is that those hominins had flattish faces, more like ours—and like the 1.63-million-year-old Homo erectus skull from Gongwangling. But the Dmanisi hominins’ lower faces project dramatically forward, like those of older hominins. Some paleoanthropologists classify the Dmanisi fossils as their own species, but others argue they’re more like early members of our genus, such as Homo habilis or Homo rudolfensis. Those earlier hominins may have been more capable of migrating and adapting than we’ve realized. It’s still very clear, from both fossil and genetic evidence, that our species evolved in Africa and spread from there to the rest of the world. But it’s also increasingly clear that there were several other species of hominins in other places, doing other things, at least off and on, for a very long time before we showed up. Yunxian, and its revised age, could help anthropologists better understand part of that story. “Actually being able to anchor the Homo erectus sites with firm, solid dates helps us try to reconfigure this model,” said Bae. “This is where Yunxian really plays a major role in this. Now that we’ve got older dates to anchor the Yunxian Homo erectus fossils, I think we can really bring in this discussion with Xihoudu and Shangchen.” Time to dig deeper The answers may still lie buried—maybe just a few meters below the fossil skulls and stone tools at sites like Yunxian and Gongwangling, in older sediment layers. Archaeologists may not have seen a reason to explore these, since no one lived in China before 1.7 million years ago. The age of the Yunxian skulls, along with the even older stone tools at Shangchen and Xihoudu, may warrant deeper digging. “People haven’t been looking for artifacts and fossils in two-plus million-year-old sediments in these locations in China,” said Granger. “I can think of places that I would like to go back and look if I had more time and money.” At other sites, researchers have already unearthed fossil animal bones from the same age range as China’s oldest stone tools, but paleoanthropologists haven’t double-checked whether any of those bones might belong to early hominins rather than other mammals. Bae said, “It’s just that they haven’t been receiving any attention, or not enough attention.” Science Advances, 2026. DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.ady2270 About DOIs). Ars Technica has been separating the signal from the noise for over 25 years. With our unique combination of technical savvy and wide-ranging interest in the technological arts and sciences, Ars is the trusted source in a sea of information. After all, you don’t need to know everything, only what’s important.
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[SOURCE: https://www.bbc.com/travel/destinations/central-america] \| [TOKENS: 2101]
DestinationsAfricaAntarcticaAsiaAustralia and PacificCaribbean & BermudaCentral AmericaEuropeMiddle EastNorth AmericaSouth AmericaGallo pinto: Costa Rica rice and beansDeeply rooted in Costa Rican and Nicaraguan culture, this staple of rice and beans with a side of eggs gets a spicy kick from Salsa Lizano (a sauce similar to Worcestershire).15 Apr 2023TravelIs this the next smoothie trend?In southern Belize, a sweet and creamy heritage drink made from seaweed has become a symbol of the country's sustainable underwater farming initiatives.7 Jun 2022TravelGallo pinto: Costa Rica rice and beansDeeply rooted in Costa Rican and Nicaraguan culture, this staple of rice and beans with a side of eggs gets a spicy kick from Salsa Lizano (a sauce similar to Worcestershire).15 Apr 2023TravelIs this the next smoothie trend?In southern Belize, a sweet and creamy heritage drink made from seaweed has become a symbol of the country's sustainable underwater farming initiatives.7 Jun 2022TravelThe Maya's ingenious secret to survivalTikal was the economic and ceremonial hub of the Maya civilisation. But its stone palaces and temples would never have been constructed without mastery over one vital substance.9 Aug 2021TravelThe islands with a 'third gender'In the small indigenous territory of Guna Yala off Panama’s eastern coast, a flourishing ‘third gender’ community is defying stereotypes – and venerating women.14 Aug 2018TravelAn eerie portal to the Maya underworldIn Belize's ATM Cave, details of ancient Maya religious sacrifices come into focus as new research creates a picture of how rituals were used to re-enact the Maya creation story.The Maya's ingenious secret to survivalTikal was the economic and ceremonial hub of the Maya civilisation. But its stone palaces and temples would never have been constructed without mastery over one vital substance.9 Aug 2021TravelThe islands with a 'third gender'In the small indigenous territory of Guna Yala off Panama’s eastern coast, a flourishing ‘third gender’ community is defying stereotypes – and venerating women.14 Aug 2018TravelMore Central America travelBeat the winter blues with these escapesFrom a Maldivian island alliance to Peru's pisco heartlands, these warm-weather trips pair sunshine with soul-enriching experiences.Five of the best countries for expats in 2025From Panama's jungles to Vietnam's buzzing cities, these five countries offer expats the best mix of affordability, friendliness and quality of life.Costa Rica's nine-course meal in the skyIn Monteverde's misty cloud forest, a restaurant suspended in the canopy is offering one of Costa Rica's most immersive dining experiences.Trekking Costa Rica's last wild frontierHow an isolated peninsula in Costa Rica is showing the world how to protect its wild places.What it's like travelling to El Salvador's 'Bitcoin Beach'El Zonte, a quiet surf town on El Salvador's coast, draws travellers not just for its waves, but for a bold financial experiment playing out in real time.The simple Costa Rican secrets to longevityCosta Rica is home to one of the five Blue Zones – regions of the world with populations that regularly live into healthy old ageMore travel28 Feb 2024Costa Rica's uniquely positive outlook on lifeCosta Rica's national saying "pura vida", which is associated with a sense of wellbeing, positivity and gratitude, is far more than just a simple catchphrase.28 Feb 202410 Jan 2024Sustainable travel destinations for 2024With huge numbers of travellers now seeking to travel more lightly and mindfully, these destinations are making sustainable travel easier this year.10 Jan 20245 Jan 2024The Americas' disappearing islandFor more than 100 years, the Indigenous Guna people have lived on a tiny Caribbean island. Now, they're poised to become some of the Americas' first climate change refugees.5 Jan 202428 Nov 2023The 2,000-year-old tamale few knowAn icon in its native land, the Guatemalan tamale is wrapped in a striking green banana leaf that gives way to an airy corn dumpling stuffed with spicy pork, peppers and olives.28 Nov 202316 Sep 2023A crowd-pleasing chicken soupPanama's version of the ubiquitous Latin American soup is a nostalgic panacea of poultry and produce that is both restorative and celebratory.16 Sep 202323 Aug 2023Five top countries for expats in 2023A new survey on living and working abroad has revealed the best countries for expats to live. From Malaysia to Mexico, residents explain what makes them love their new home.23 Aug 202321 Jul 2023A charming city with a dangerous sideAntigua is Guatemala's most popular destination – but the picturesque city sits on an active tectonic zone. Travel photographer Bella Falk captures a slice of life.21 Jul 202325 Feb 2022The 350+ islands set to disappearPanama’s indigenous Guna tribe have called San Blas home for hundreds of years. But the entire idyllic archipelago is at risk of being underwater within a matter of decades.25 Feb 202225 Feb 2022Where people were sent to disappearWith venomous snakes and shark-infested waters, this desert island had no hope of escape.25 Feb 2022... Destinations Gallo pinto: Costa Rica rice and beans Deeply rooted in Costa Rican and Nicaraguan culture, this staple of rice and beans with a side of eggs gets a spicy kick from Salsa Lizano (a sauce similar to Worcestershire). Is this the next smoothie trend? In southern Belize, a sweet and creamy heritage drink made from seaweed has become a symbol of the country's sustainable underwater farming initiatives. Gallo pinto: Costa Rica rice and beans Deeply rooted in Costa Rican and Nicaraguan culture, this staple of rice and beans with a side of eggs gets a spicy kick from Salsa Lizano (a sauce similar to Worcestershire). Is this the next smoothie trend? In southern Belize, a sweet and creamy heritage drink made from seaweed has become a symbol of the country's sustainable underwater farming initiatives. The Maya's ingenious secret to survival Tikal was the economic and ceremonial hub of the Maya civilisation. But its stone palaces and temples would never have been constructed without mastery over one vital substance. The islands with a 'third gender' In the small indigenous territory of Guna Yala off Panama’s eastern coast, a flourishing ‘third gender’ community is defying stereotypes – and venerating women. An eerie portal to the Maya underworld In Belize's ATM Cave, details of ancient Maya religious sacrifices come into focus as new research creates a picture of how rituals were used to re-enact the Maya creation story. The Maya's ingenious secret to survival Tikal was the economic and ceremonial hub of the Maya civilisation. But its stone palaces and temples would never have been constructed without mastery over one vital substance. The islands with a 'third gender' In the small indigenous territory of Guna Yala off Panama’s eastern coast, a flourishing ‘third gender’ community is defying stereotypes – and venerating women. More Central America travel Beat the winter blues with these escapes From a Maldivian island alliance to Peru's pisco heartlands, these warm-weather trips pair sunshine with soul-enriching experiences. Five of the best countries for expats in 2025 From Panama's jungles to Vietnam's buzzing cities, these five countries offer expats the best mix of affordability, friendliness and quality of life. Costa Rica's nine-course meal in the sky In Monteverde's misty cloud forest, a restaurant suspended in the canopy is offering one of Costa Rica's most immersive dining experiences. Trekking Costa Rica's last wild frontier How an isolated peninsula in Costa Rica is showing the world how to protect its wild places. What it's like travelling to El Salvador's 'Bitcoin Beach' El Zonte, a quiet surf town on El Salvador's coast, draws travellers not just for its waves, but for a bold financial experiment playing out in real time. The simple Costa Rican secrets to longevity Costa Rica is home to one of the five Blue Zones – regions of the world with populations that regularly live into healthy old age More travel Costa Rica's uniquely positive outlook on life Costa Rica's national saying "pura vida", which is associated with a sense of wellbeing, positivity and gratitude, is far more than just a simple catchphrase. Sustainable travel destinations for 2024 With huge numbers of travellers now seeking to travel more lightly and mindfully, these destinations are making sustainable travel easier this year. The Americas' disappearing island For more than 100 years, the Indigenous Guna people have lived on a tiny Caribbean island. Now, they're poised to become some of the Americas' first climate change refugees. The 2,000-year-old tamale few know An icon in its native land, the Guatemalan tamale is wrapped in a striking green banana leaf that gives way to an airy corn dumpling stuffed with spicy pork, peppers and olives. A crowd-pleasing chicken soup Panama's version of the ubiquitous Latin American soup is a nostalgic panacea of poultry and produce that is both restorative and celebratory. Five top countries for expats in 2023 A new survey on living and working abroad has revealed the best countries for expats to live. From Malaysia to Mexico, residents explain what makes them love their new home. A charming city with a dangerous side Antigua is Guatemala's most popular destination – but the picturesque city sits on an active tectonic zone. Travel photographer Bella Falk captures a slice of life. The 350+ islands set to disappear Panama’s indigenous Guna tribe have called San Blas home for hundreds of years. But the entire idyllic archipelago is at risk of being underwater within a matter of decades. Where people were sent to disappear With venomous snakes and shark-infested waters, this desert island had no hope of escape. Copyright 2026 BBC. All rights reserved. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read about our approach to external linking.
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[SOURCE: https://arstechnica.com/science/2026/02/new-dates-on-chinese-fossils-raise-question-of-how-many-times-we-left-africa/#comments] \| [TOKENS: 4345]
careful with that, it’s an antique “Million-year-old” fossil skulls from China are far older—and not Denisovans The revised age may help make sense of 2-million-year-old stone tools elsewhere in China. Kiona N. Smith – Feb 20, 2026 12:03 pm \| 44 An archaeologist comes face to face with the Yunxian 3 skull Credit: government of Wuhan An archaeologist comes face to face with the Yunxian 3 skull Credit: government of Wuhan Text settings Story text Size Small Standard Large Width * Standard Wide Links Standard Orange * Subscribers only Learn more Minimize to nav Two skulls from Yunxian, in northern China, aren’t ancestors of Denisovans after all; they’re actually the oldest known Homo erectus fossils in eastern Asia. A recent study has re-dated the skulls to about 1.77 million years old, which makes them the oldest hominin remains found so far in East Asia. Their age means that Homo erectus (an extinct common ancestor of our species, Neanderthals, and Denisovans) must have spread across the continent much earlier and much faster than we’d previously given them credit for. It also sheds new light on who was making stone tools at some even older archaeological sites in China. Homo erectus spread like wildfire Yunxian is an important—and occasionally contentious—archaeological site on the banks of central China’s Han River. Along with hundreds of stone tools and animal bones, the layers of river sediment have yielded three nearly complete hominin skulls (only two of which have been described in a publication so far). Shantou University paleoanthropologist Hua Tu and his colleagues measured the ratio of two isotopes, aluminum-26 and beryllium-10, in grains of quartz from the sediment layer that once held the skulls. The results suggest that Homo erectus lived and died along the Han River 1.77 million years ago. That’s just 130,000 years after the species first appeared in Africa. (Side note: This river has been depositing layers of silt and gravel on the same terraces for at least 2 million years, and that’s just extremely cool.) The revised date suggests that Homo erectus spread across Asia much more quickly than anthropologists had realized. So far, the oldest hominin bones found anywhere outside Africa are five skulls, along with hundreds of other bones, from Dmanisi Cave in Georgia. The Dmanisi bones are between 1.85 million and 1.77 million years old, and they (probably—more on that below) also belong to Homo erectus. Until recently, the next-oldest Homo erectus fossils outside Africa were the 1.63-million-year-old fossils from another Chinese site, Gongwangling, a short distance north of Yunxian. (That’s not counting a couple of teeth from a site in southern China with an age that is a little less certain.) Those dates had suggested Homo erectus seemed to have taken a leisurely 140,000 years to spread east into Asia. But it now looks like hominins were living in Georgia and central China at about the same time, which means they spread out very fast, started earlier than we knew, or both. The Homo longi and short of it All of this means that the Yunxian skulls are probably not—as a September 2025 study claimed—close ancestors of the enigmatic Denisovans. The authors of that paper had digitally reconstructed one of the skulls and concluded that it looked a lot like a 146,000-year-old skull from Harbin, China (which a recent DNA study identified as a Denisovan, also known as Homo longi). The researchers had argued that the original owners of the Yunxian skulls had lived not long after the Denisovan/Homo longi branch of the hominin family tree split off from ours—in other words, that the Yunxian skulls weren’t mere Homo erectus but early Homo longi, close cousins of our own species. Using the original paleomagnetic dates for the Yunxian skulls, that study’s authors drew up a hominin family tree in which our species and Denisovans are more closely related to each other than either is to Neanderthals—one in which the branching happened much earlier than DNA evidence suggests. There were many issues with those arguments, but the revised age for the Yunxian skulls sounds like a death knell for them. “1.77 million years is just too old to be a credible connection to the Denisovan group, which DNA tells us got started after around 700,000 years ago,” University of Wisconsin paleoanthropologist John Hawks, who was not involved in the study, told Ars in an email. But the most interesting thing about these skulls being 1.77 million years old is that the date provides a reference point for understanding even older sites in China—sites that may suggest that Homo erectus wasn’t even the first hominin to make it this far. Stone tools collected from Shangchen, China. Credit: Prof. Zhaoyu Zhu Stone tools collected from Shangchen, China. Credit: Prof. Zhaoyu Zhu Out of Africa: The prequel Homo erectus first shows up in the fossil record around 1.9 million years ago in Africa, where it’s sometimes also called Homo ergaster because paleoanthropologists seem to enjoy naming things and then arguing about those names for several decades. A few hundred thousand years later, Homo erectus showed up everywhere: from South Africa northward to the Levant and from Dmanisi Cave in Georgia eastward to the islands of Indonesia. We typically think of Homo erectus as the first of our hominin ancestors to expand beyond Africa, along routes that our own species would retread 1.5 million years later. More to the point, many paleoanthropologists think of them as the first hominin that could have adapted to so many different environments, each with its own challenges, along the way. But we may need to give earlier members of our genus, like Homo habilis, a little more credit because stone tools from two other sites in China seem to be older than Homo erectus. At Shangchen, a site on the southern edge of China’s Loess Plateau, archaeologists unearthed stone tools from a 2.1-million-year-old layer of sediment. And at the Xihoudu site in northern China, stone tools date to 2.43 million years ago. “If you have a site in China that’s 2.43 million years, and the origin of Homo erectus is 1.9 million years ago, either you need to push the origin of Homo erectus back to 2.5 or 2.6 million years or we need to accept that we need to be looking at other hominins that may have actually moved out of Africa,” University of Hawai’i at Manoa paleoanthropologist Christopher Bae, a coauthor of the new study, told Ars. So who made those 2-million-year-old tools? Archaeologists have unearthed stone tools but no hominin fossils at both sites, making it difficult to say for sure who the toolmakers were. But if they weren’t Homo erectus, the next most likely suspects would be older members of our genus, like Homo habilis or Homo rudolfensis. That would mean hominin expansion “out of Africa” actually happened several times during the history of our genus: once with early Homo, again with Homo erectus, and yet again with our species. “There could have been an earlier wave that died out or interbred, so there’s all kinds of possibilities open there,” Purdue University paleoanthropologist Darryl Granger, also a coauthor of the recent study, told Ars. In fact, there’s some debate about whether the Dmanisi fossils actually belonged to Homo erectus proper. One thing the two dueling reconstructions of the Yunxian skulls agree on is that those hominins had flattish faces, more like ours—and like the 1.63-million-year-old Homo erectus skull from Gongwangling. But the Dmanisi hominins’ lower faces project dramatically forward, like those of older hominins. Some paleoanthropologists classify the Dmanisi fossils as their own species, but others argue they’re more like early members of our genus, such as Homo habilis or Homo rudolfensis. Those earlier hominins may have been more capable of migrating and adapting than we’ve realized. It’s still very clear, from both fossil and genetic evidence, that our species evolved in Africa and spread from there to the rest of the world. But it’s also increasingly clear that there were several other species of hominins in other places, doing other things, at least off and on, for a very long time before we showed up. Yunxian, and its revised age, could help anthropologists better understand part of that story. “Actually being able to anchor the Homo erectus sites with firm, solid dates helps us try to reconfigure this model,” said Bae. “This is where Yunxian really plays a major role in this. Now that we’ve got older dates to anchor the Yunxian Homo erectus fossils, I think we can really bring in this discussion with Xihoudu and Shangchen.” Time to dig deeper The answers may still lie buried—maybe just a few meters below the fossil skulls and stone tools at sites like Yunxian and Gongwangling, in older sediment layers. Archaeologists may not have seen a reason to explore these, since no one lived in China before 1.7 million years ago. The age of the Yunxian skulls, along with the even older stone tools at Shangchen and Xihoudu, may warrant deeper digging. “People haven’t been looking for artifacts and fossils in two-plus million-year-old sediments in these locations in China,” said Granger. “I can think of places that I would like to go back and look if I had more time and money.” At other sites, researchers have already unearthed fossil animal bones from the same age range as China’s oldest stone tools, but paleoanthropologists haven’t double-checked whether any of those bones might belong to early hominins rather than other mammals. Bae said, “It’s just that they haven’t been receiving any attention, or not enough attention.” Science Advances, 2026. DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.ady2270 About DOIs). Kiona N. Smith Science correspondent Kiona N. Smith Science correspondent Kiona is a freelance science journalist and resident archaeology nerd at Ars Technica. 44 Comments “Million-year-old” fossil skulls from China are far older—and not Denisovans The revised age may help make sense of 2-million-year-old stone tools elsewhere in China. Two skulls from Yunxian, in northern China, aren’t ancestors of Denisovans after all; they’re actually the oldest known Homo erectus fossils in eastern Asia. A recent study has re-dated the skulls to about 1.77 million years old, which makes them the oldest hominin remains found so far in East Asia. Their age means that Homo erectus (an extinct common ancestor of our species, Neanderthals, and Denisovans) must have spread across the continent much earlier and much faster than we’d previously given them credit for. It also sheds new light on who was making stone tools at some even older archaeological sites in China. Homo erectus spread like wildfire Yunxian is an important—and occasionally contentious—archaeological site on the banks of central China’s Han River. Along with hundreds of stone tools and animal bones, the layers of river sediment have yielded three nearly complete hominin skulls (only two of which have been described in a publication so far). Shantou University paleoanthropologist Hua Tu and his colleagues measured the ratio of two isotopes, aluminum-26 and beryllium-10, in grains of quartz from the sediment layer that once held the skulls. The results suggest that Homo erectus lived and died along the Han River 1.77 million years ago. That’s just 130,000 years after the species first appeared in Africa. (Side note: This river has been depositing layers of silt and gravel on the same terraces for at least 2 million years, and that’s just extremely cool.) The revised date suggests that Homo erectus spread across Asia much more quickly than anthropologists had realized. So far, the oldest hominin bones found anywhere outside Africa are five skulls, along with hundreds of other bones, from Dmanisi Cave in Georgia. The Dmanisi bones are between 1.85 million and 1.77 million years old, and they (probably—more on that below) also belong to Homo erectus. Until recently, the next-oldest Homo erectus fossils outside Africa were the 1.63-million-year-old fossils from another Chinese site, Gongwangling, a short distance north of Yunxian. (That’s not counting a couple of teeth from a site in southern China with an age that is a little less certain.) Those dates had suggested Homo erectus seemed to have taken a leisurely 140,000 years to spread east into Asia. But it now looks like hominins were living in Georgia and central China at about the same time, which means they spread out very fast, started earlier than we knew, or both. The Homo longi and short of it All of this means that the Yunxian skulls are probably not—as a September 2025 study claimed—close ancestors of the enigmatic Denisovans. The authors of that paper had digitally reconstructed one of the skulls and concluded that it looked a lot like a 146,000-year-old skull from Harbin, China (which a recent DNA study identified as a Denisovan, also known as Homo longi). The researchers had argued that the original owners of the Yunxian skulls had lived not long after the Denisovan/Homo longi branch of the hominin family tree split off from ours—in other words, that the Yunxian skulls weren’t mere Homo erectus but early Homo longi, close cousins of our own species. Using the original paleomagnetic dates for the Yunxian skulls, that study’s authors drew up a hominin family tree in which our species and Denisovans are more closely related to each other than either is to Neanderthals—one in which the branching happened much earlier than DNA evidence suggests. There were many issues with those arguments, but the revised age for the Yunxian skulls sounds like a death knell for them. “1.77 million years is just too old to be a credible connection to the Denisovan group, which DNA tells us got started after around 700,000 years ago,” University of Wisconsin paleoanthropologist John Hawks, who was not involved in the study, told Ars in an email. But the most interesting thing about these skulls being 1.77 million years old is that the date provides a reference point for understanding even older sites in China—sites that may suggest that Homo erectus wasn’t even the first hominin to make it this far. Out of Africa: The prequel Homo erectus first shows up in the fossil record around 1.9 million years ago in Africa, where it’s sometimes also called Homo ergaster because paleoanthropologists seem to enjoy naming things and then arguing about those names for several decades. A few hundred thousand years later, Homo erectus showed up everywhere: from South Africa northward to the Levant and from Dmanisi Cave in Georgia eastward to the islands of Indonesia. We typically think of Homo erectus as the first of our hominin ancestors to expand beyond Africa, along routes that our own species would retread 1.5 million years later. More to the point, many paleoanthropologists think of them as the first hominin that could have adapted to so many different environments, each with its own challenges, along the way. But we may need to give earlier members of our genus, like Homo habilis, a little more credit because stone tools from two other sites in China seem to be older than Homo erectus. At Shangchen, a site on the southern edge of China’s Loess Plateau, archaeologists unearthed stone tools from a 2.1-million-year-old layer of sediment. And at the Xihoudu site in northern China, stone tools date to 2.43 million years ago. “If you have a site in China that’s 2.43 million years, and the origin of Homo erectus is 1.9 million years ago, either you need to push the origin of Homo erectus back to 2.5 or 2.6 million years or we need to accept that we need to be looking at other hominins that may have actually moved out of Africa,” University of Hawai’i at Manoa paleoanthropologist Christopher Bae, a coauthor of the new study, told Ars. So who made those 2-million-year-old tools? Archaeologists have unearthed stone tools but no hominin fossils at both sites, making it difficult to say for sure who the toolmakers were. But if they weren’t Homo erectus, the next most likely suspects would be older members of our genus, like Homo habilis or Homo rudolfensis. That would mean hominin expansion “out of Africa” actually happened several times during the history of our genus: once with early Homo, again with Homo erectus, and yet again with our species. “There could have been an earlier wave that died out or interbred, so there’s all kinds of possibilities open there,” Purdue University paleoanthropologist Darryl Granger, also a coauthor of the recent study, told Ars. In fact, there’s some debate about whether the Dmanisi fossils actually belonged to Homo erectus proper. One thing the two dueling reconstructions of the Yunxian skulls agree on is that those hominins had flattish faces, more like ours—and like the 1.63-million-year-old Homo erectus skull from Gongwangling. But the Dmanisi hominins’ lower faces project dramatically forward, like those of older hominins. Some paleoanthropologists classify the Dmanisi fossils as their own species, but others argue they’re more like early members of our genus, such as Homo habilis or Homo rudolfensis. Those earlier hominins may have been more capable of migrating and adapting than we’ve realized. It’s still very clear, from both fossil and genetic evidence, that our species evolved in Africa and spread from there to the rest of the world. But it’s also increasingly clear that there were several other species of hominins in other places, doing other things, at least off and on, for a very long time before we showed up. Yunxian, and its revised age, could help anthropologists better understand part of that story. “Actually being able to anchor the Homo erectus sites with firm, solid dates helps us try to reconfigure this model,” said Bae. “This is where Yunxian really plays a major role in this. Now that we’ve got older dates to anchor the Yunxian Homo erectus fossils, I think we can really bring in this discussion with Xihoudu and Shangchen.” Time to dig deeper The answers may still lie buried—maybe just a few meters below the fossil skulls and stone tools at sites like Yunxian and Gongwangling, in older sediment layers. Archaeologists may not have seen a reason to explore these, since no one lived in China before 1.7 million years ago. The age of the Yunxian skulls, along with the even older stone tools at Shangchen and Xihoudu, may warrant deeper digging. “People haven’t been looking for artifacts and fossils in two-plus million-year-old sediments in these locations in China,” said Granger. “I can think of places that I would like to go back and look if I had more time and money.” At other sites, researchers have already unearthed fossil animal bones from the same age range as China’s oldest stone tools, but paleoanthropologists haven’t double-checked whether any of those bones might belong to early hominins rather than other mammals. Bae said, “It’s just that they haven’t been receiving any attention, or not enough attention.” Science Advances, 2026. DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.ady2270 About DOIs). Ars Technica has been separating the signal from the noise for over 25 years. With our unique combination of technical savvy and wide-ranging interest in the technological arts and sciences, Ars is the trusted source in a sea of information. After all, you don’t need to know everything, only what’s important.
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[SOURCE: https://he.wikipedia.org/wiki/כלא] \| [TOKENS: 6097]
תוכן עניינים בית סוהר בית סוהר (מכונה גם בית כלא, כלא ובית אסורים) הוא לרוב מבנה מבוצר ושמור, שבו אנשים מוחזקים בכפייה ונשללות מהם חירויות שונות. בתי סוהר מוקמים בהוראת ממשלות כחלק ממערכת המשפט, לשם ריצוי עונש מאסר, בדרך כלל כזה שהוטל על ידי בית המשפט, בהתאם להוראות החוק. בנוסף לבתי סוהר, כליאה מתקיימת גם בבתי מעצר, שבהם מוחזקים חשודים בביצוע פשעים שטרם הורשעו בדיון פלילי, ובמחנות שבויים, שבהם מוחזקים שבויי מלחמה. אטימולוגיה ההשערה הרווחת היא שמקור המילה משותף למילה סהר שממנה מגיע גם כינוי הירח. משמעות המילה היא דבר עגול ועל כן נקרא כך הירח. בית הסוהר היה בור עגול ולכן נקרא כך. מילה זו קרובה למילה סחר שמשמעותה הקפה או סיבוב כגון במילה סחרחורת. מקור אפשרי נוסף הוא הדמיון למילה "צוהר", שהוראתה היא אשנב, חלון קטן, פתח צר. הכליאה בימי קדם נעשתה בבור עמוק, שבראשו היה פתח צר שהיה צוהר אל החוץ. טבעי שהאותיות צ' וס' תתחלפנה פונטית, והמילה 'צוהר' תהפוך ל'סוהר'. למלים 'צוהר' ו'צהריים' שורש משותף (צ.ה.ר.) - כאשר הכלוא מסתכל מן הבור כלפי מעלה דרך הצוהר, הוא יכול לראות את השמש ישירות רק בחלק מסוים של היום, וייתכן שלכן מכונה חלק זה של היום 'צהריים', כך לדוגמה פירש הרמב"ן (בראשית פרק לט) גבי התיבה סהר. בתי סוהר כחלק ממערכת המשפט במשפט הפלילי, בתי סוהר משמשים כדי להגביל את תנועתם של פושעים מורשעים. מאסר הוא עונש שניתן להטיל על אדם לפי החוק על מבחר עברות. אופיים של בתי סוהר משתנה ממדינה למדינה, אולם כמעט בכל מקום ישנה הפרדה בין המינים ובין דרגות שונות של סיכון. מטרותיו המוצהרת של עונש הכליאה בבתי הסוהר הן הרתעה, גמול, הרחקה מן החברה ושיקום. מחקרים קרימינולוגיים רבים מטילים ספק בכך שעונש המאסר אכן ממלא את מטרותיו המוצהרות. הדעות שנויות במחלוקת בעיקר באשר להרתעה ולשיקום. פשיעה וענישה הם תחומים רחבים, הנתונים במחלוקת פוליטית עמוקה, וכך גם סוגיית בתי הכלא, מערכת הכליאה, העקרונות והביצוע של הכליאה; ועונש המאסר לעומת עונשים שאינם מאסר כמו גם מול עונש המוות. בבתי סוהר שונים המנוהלים על ידי אותה מדינה יש תנאי כליאה שונים. יש בתי כלא עם שמירה כבדה יותר וכאלה עם שמירה כבדה פחות. כמו כן, יש בתי כלא עם זכויות שונות לאסירים שאין בבתי כלא אחרים או באגפים שונים באותו כלא. מעבר לזאת יש אסירים שיש להם זכויות רבות יותר מאשר לאסירים אחרים וזאת מטעמים ענייניים. לדוגמה, יש אסירים שיש להם זכות לקבל חופשות וכאלה שאין להם. חלק מהאסירים מוחזקים בבידוד בתוך בית הסוהר ואינם פוגשים אסירים אחרים מטעמים שונים. לדוגמה, אסיר שיש חשש שיפיץ סודות מדינה, נכלא בבידוד. בתוך מתחמם של בתי סוהר רבים מצוי צינוק - חדר קטן מאוד, בלא חלונות, שבו נכלאים בבידוד. אל הצינוק מכניסים לתקופת מה אסירים שהפרו את הסדר בבית הסוהר. סיבה אחרת לשוני בתנאי המאסר היא הצורך להגן על אסירים מסוימים מפני אוכלוסיית האסירים הכללית. אסירים כאלה מכונים "טעוני הגנה". בתי סוהר צבאיים בתי סוהר הם גם חלק מהמערכת הצבאית, ומשמשים לעיתים כדי להחזיק חיילים שכשלו בתפקידם ולעיתים כדי להחזיק שבויי מלחמה, לוחמי אויב, אזרחי אויב בזמן מלחמה ואנשים שרשויות הצבא קובעות ששהותם בחופשי היא סיכון ביטחוני. אמנת ז'נבה קובעת פרוטוקול בינלאומי המגדיר את תנאי המינימום של שבויים. פלישת ארצות הברית לאפגניסטן בשנת 2001 ולעיראק בשנת 2003 ומעצר אנשי הטליבאן ואל-קאעידה, כמו גם פרשת כלא אבו גרייב, העלו לכותרות את נושא בתי הכלא הצבאיים ואת הסוגיות המשפטיות סביבם. בתי סוהר פוליטיים במדינות מסוימות יש, או היו בעבר, בתי מאסר פוליטיים. המוכרים ביותר הם הגולאגים המקושרים לשלטון סטלין. ההגדרות "מהו פשע פוליטי?" ו"מהו בית סוהר פוליטי?" שנויות במחלוקת. דוגמאות לבתי סוהר פוליטיים: אוכלוסיית בתי הסוהר בעולם בעולם אסורים מעל תשעה מיליון אנשים. אוכלוסיית בתי הסוהר גדלה באופן משמעותי בשנות התשעים של המאה ה-20. המדינה בה מספר האסורים הוא הגבוה ביותר היא ארצות הברית - יותר מ-2.5 מיליון אסירים. על אף שאוכלוסיית ארצות הברית מהווה רק 5% מאוכלוסיית העולם, מערכת המשפט האמריקאית אחראית לכליאת 25% מהאסירים בעולם. ארצות הברית שנייה אחרי רואנדה באחוז האוכלוסייה האסור בבתי הכלא - בארצות הברית 701 מתוך 100,000 איש. ברואנדה, נכון לשנת 2002, מעל 100,000 איש עצורים בחשד למעורבות ברצח עם בשנת 1994. לרוסיה ולסין הייתה אוכלוסיית אסורים של מעל למיליון איש בשנת 2002. אין מידע בסוגיה זו לגבי קוריאה הצפונית. בבריטניה היו 73,000 אסירים בשנת 2003, כאשר בצרפת ובגרמניה יש מספרים דומים. בישראל ישנם כיום כ-16,000 אסירים. בתי סוהר בישראל חוק העונשין הישראלי מאפשר לבתי משפט לגזור עונשי מאסר על מי שהורשע בדין. בישראל ממונה שירות בתי הסוהר על מתקני הכליאה. שב"ס מתפעל 32 מתקני כליאה שונים ברחבי הארץ המחולקים לפי שלושה מחוזות גאוגרפיים. בנוסף מופעלים בישראל בתי כלא צבאיים באחריות המשטרה הצבאית, שבהם כלואים חיילים על עבירות שרובן צבאיות. היחס לבית סוהר בתורה ובמשפט העברי בסיפור יוסף ואשת פוטיפר נכתב ”וַיִּקַּח אֲדֹנֵי יוֹסֵף אֹתוֹ וַיִּתְּנֵהוּ אֶל בֵּית הַסֹּהַר מְקוֹם אֲשֶׁר אסורי [אֲסִירֵי] הַמֶּלֶךְ אֲסוּרִים וַיְהִי שָׁם בְּבֵית הַסֹּהַר.” (בראשית ל"ט, כ'). בפרשה זו קיימים המופעים היחידים של המילה במשמעות זו בתנ"ך. בדינים המופיעים בתורה שבכתב, הפעם היחידה שמוזכר בית סוהר היא בפרשת המקושש: "וַיִּמְצְאוּ אִישׁ מְקֹשֵׁשׁ עֵצִים בְּיוֹם הַשַּׁבָּת...וַיַּנִּיחוּ אֹתוֹ בַּמִּשְׁמָר כִּי לֹא פֹרַשׁ מַה יֵּעָשֶׂה לוֹ, וַיֹּאמֶר ה' אֶל מֹשֶׁה מוֹת יוּמַת הָאִישׁ רָגוֹם אֹתוֹ בָאֲבָנִים כָּל הָעֵדָה מִחוּץ לַמַּחֲנֶה. וַיֹּצִיאוּ אֹתוֹ כָּל הָעֵדָה אֶל מִחוּץ לַמַּחֲנֶה וַיִּרְגְּמוּ אֹתוֹ בָּאֲבָנִים וַיָּמֹת כַּאֲשֶׁר צִוָּה ה' אֶת מֹשֶׁה" (במדבר, ט"ו) - כאשר הכליאה אינה עונש בפני עצמה, אלא רק דרך לשמור על החוטא עד שיתברר מה עונשו. בתי סוהר פרטיים בית סוהר פרטי הוא בית סוהר שניהולו הועבר מידי המדינה לידי חברה פרטית. בתי סוהר פרטיים קיימים במדינות שונות בעולם, במידות שונות של הפרטה ורגולציה. בראשיתם, היו בתי הסוהר באירופה בבעלות פרטית, ודווקא בתי הסוהר הציבוריים הם חידוש יחסי. במהלך המאה ה-19 החל תהליך של הקמת בתי סוהר ציבוריים במקומם של בתי הסוהר הפרטיים. באנגליה הולאמו בתי הסוהר הפרטיים, וב-1877 נחקק חוק המסדיר את ניהול מערך הכליאה בידי המדינה (1877 Prisons Act). בארצות הברית הסתיים תהליך דומה בראשית המאה ה-20. באמצע שנות ה-80, החלה ארצות הברית להפריט בתי סוהר בתחומה, מתוך התפיסה האופיינית לתומכי ההפרטה, לפיה הדבר יעיל וחסכוני יותר. ההפרטה יושמה בהדרגה בכל מערכות הכליאה בארצות הברית - הפדרלית, המדינתית והמקומית. בשנת 2000, כבר שהו כ-120 אלף אסירים ב-158 בתי סוהר פרטיים ברחבי ארצות הברית, שהיוו כ-6% מכלל האסירים באותה שנה. מדינות רבות אחרות הלכו בדרכה של ארצות הברית, ובהן בריטניה, צרפת, ניו זילנד, דרום אפריקה ופרו, וכן כמה ממדינות אוסטרליה וגרמניה. בחלק מהמדינות בהן החלה מגמת הפרטה, החלה לאחר מכן מגמה של צמצום היקף ההפרטה, והטלת סייגים ומגבלות עליה. ב-2016 הודיעה סגנית שרת המשפטים האמריקאית על צמצום הדרגתי של בתי הסוהר הפרטיים. ראו גם לקריאה נוספת קישורים חיצוניים הערות שוליים
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