Researchers in Canada photographed an unidentified baby North Atlantic right whale off Anticosti Island in Quebec in September. The species is one of the rarest large sea mammals in the world, with only a few hundred individuals remaining. Scientists who study right whales were encouraged by the calf, which suggests that the population is still producing new young despite serious threats from ship strikes and entanglement in fishing gear. The sighting is a rare bright spot for a species that conservationists are working hard to save.

Hampi is a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Karnataka, India, with more than 1,600 surviving remains spread over 4,100 hectares. It was the capital of the Vijayanagara Empire from 1336 to 1565. Travellers from Persia and Portugal described it as a prosperous, wealthy and grand city with temples, markets and farms along the Tungabhadra River. By 1500 it was estimated to be the world's second-largest city after Beijing, and probably India's richest at the time. In 1565 a coalition of Muslim sultanates defeated the Vijayanagara Empire, its capital was conquered and destroyed, and the city was left in ruins. Hampi remains a religious centre, with the active Virupaksha Temple at its heart.