Researchers scanning a boat-shaped hill in eastern Turkey say new radar images indicate the presence of a large, organized structure beneath the surface rather than natural rock alone.

On Wednesday, the private research group Noah’s Ark Scans published a preliminary report on its investigation of the Durupınar Formation in Turkey’s Ağrı Province. The team said the 515-foot boat-shaped mound contains what appears to be a “man-made object.”

The survey was carried out by Dr Khosrow Bakhtar, an engineer who spent decades developing detection systems for US defense agencies, including the Air Force, Navy and NORAD.

Bakhtar used a system he developed called BakhtarRadar. Originally designed to detect buried tunnels and concealed structures, the technology was deployed beneath the Durupınar mound to determine whether it consisted of solid natural rock or something built by people.

The completed analysis led the team to conclude that the feature beneath the mound is not simply a geological formation. Instead, researchers say it is a large, organized object containing possible corridors, chambers and hallways.

In a statement sent to the Daily Mail, Dr Bakhtar described the finding as extraordinary.

“Whatever the object is beneath the surface is extraordinary,” he said. “In forty years of this work, I have never seen anything like it. It could be a ship. It could be a spaceship. What I can say from the radar is that it is organized, it is structural, and a solid geological mass would not have returned such a strong signature.”

According to the Bible, the enormous vessel preserved humanity and every kind of animal from destruction during a catastrophic flood, which some biblical chronologies date to more than 4,300 years ago.

Bakhtar said the latest radar images do not resemble ordinary rock, mudflow or a solid natural hill beneath the Turkish site.

Instead, the scans appeared to show a series of organized internal features, including repeating lines and angles, open passageways, corridors, chambers and hallway-like spaces extending along the length of the alleged vessel.

Bakhtar told the Daily Mail that BakhtarRadar is designed to filter out typical geological features and identify buried structures, cavities and man-made materials.

Because the complex patterns remained prominent in the images, the researchers concluded that the feature was unlikely to be a natural formation. They said the results support the longstanding belief that the site may contain the ship described in the biblical account of the Great Flood.

“Natural ground does not organize itself into corridors, chambers and hallways,” Dr Bakhtar said.

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“The system was built to separate buried structure from host geology, tunnels, voids, worked materials, discontinuities. That is what it is seeing here. A solid geological mass would not have returned this signature.”

An earlier major radar survey conducted in 2019 detected linear and angular anomalies that the team interpreted as possible walls, passageways and separate compartments.

Core drilling to collect samples from the structure began in late September 2026 as part of a field program led by a Turkish university.

The first holes drilled struck a very hard layer about 12 to 15 feet down inside the Durupınar Formation. Those samples are being sent to outside labs for further testing.

The team previously revealed to the Daily Mail that those drilling samples of rich in organic material were being tested to determine whether it contained decayed wood. 

The full radar scan is expected to be completed by November 2026, with more lab results coming later.

The next major step in this ongoing investigation will be testing for animal DNA inside the structure. 

In the Bible’s Book of Genesis, chapter 6, verses 19-20, the flood story says God told Noah to bring male and female pairs of each kind of animal onto the ark so they could survive.

Noah’s Ark Scans revealed that they are in talks with scientists who specialize in recovering and reconstructing ancient and extinct animal DNA from pieces of deteriorating material, such as old bones, teeth or other remains that have been buried for millennia.

Andrew Jones, Vice President of the Noah’s Ark Research Project and founder of Noah’s Ark Scans, said in Wednesday’s announcement: ‘We now know we are looking at a massive, 515-foot, boat-shaped man-made structure with organized patterns and corridors in the Mountains of Ararat, where Genesis places the Ark.’

‘The challenge is how we prove this is the vessel that preserved living creation through a catastrophic flood. That proof will not come from another scan. It will come from identifying and confirming ancient animal DNA inside the voids Dr Bakhtar mapped inside the structure.’ 

New details have emerged about an interstate trip a former Newington College teacher allegedly took with a student before she was accused of raping him. The teacher has since been barred from entering any school campus.

Deandra Kontou, 32, was arrested last week over allegations that she groomed and sexually assaulted a student in her care while he was under 16.

Kontou taught geography at the all-boys school for two years before leaving in 2019. Following a lengthy police investigation, she was charged with nine sexual offences.

Court documents obtained by the Daily Mail allege the offending occurred over six months in 2019, with most of the alleged incidents taking place during school hours at the college’s Stanmore campus.

Police allege that on May 1, 2019, between 9am and 3pm, Kontou groomed the student and showed him indecent material with the intention of facilitating sexual activity.

According to police documents, she allegedly continued grooming the victim for unlawful sexual activity via a carriage service until September 27, 2019.

Over the same period, Kontou is accused of encouraging the student to perform a sexual act on her without his consent and of urging him to touch her sexually without consent.

She is also alleged to have sexually touched the boy without his consent during those six months.

She also faces an aggravated charge relating to the same offence, allegedly committed at the Stanmore campus on September 27.

The alleged offending culminated during a November 2019 trip to Fitzroy Island. Kontou is accused of sexually touching the student during the day before raping him that evening.

Police allege that between 10pm and 11pm on November 3, Kontou had sexual intercourse with the boy without his consent, knowing that he was not consenting.

There appears to be no online record of Kontou visiting Fitzroy Island in 2019. However, a post about a Newington school trip to the Far North Queensland island the previous year remains available online.

“The boys of Newington College participated in a whirlwind tour of Far North Queensland that included the Daintree Rainforest Observatory and research station, Fitzroy Island and the outer Great Barrier Reef,” a local educational group wrote.

The post said the students surveyed corals and a rainforest revegetation plot, debated a local environmental issue and attended presentations on sustainability and the Wet Tropics Heritage area. “Good luck in your studies, boys!” it added.

Kontou was granted conditional bail last week and allowed to return to her home in Sydney’s south. She remains employed at Georges River College Senior Campus, a public school.

Despite the serious allegations, Kontou remains on the public payroll and is understood to be performing “alternative duties” under bail conditions that prohibit her from teaching children.

When asked by the Daily Mail what those alternative duties involved, both the NSW Department of Education and Georges River College Senior Campus failed to comment.

The Daily Mail understands that Kontou, who taught society and culture, history, and geography at the co-ed school, was still in classrooms as recently as last week, with the school forced to remove her once learning of NSW Police’s plan to charge her.

Last night, Georges River College Senior Campus Principal Anna Girginis wrote to parents: ‘As you may be aware, a college staff member was recently charged with child sex offences.’ 

‘These offences do not relate to the staff member’s work at Georges River College, Oatley Campus, or in the NSW public education system.’

Ms Girginis reassured parents that Kontou is not currently working at the school. 

Indeed, under her bail conditions, Kontou is also banned from entering the grounds of any school and from going near any children. She must also report weekly to Sutherland police station and surrender her passport.

She is due to face Burwood Local Court on November 25 where a brief of evidence is expected to be served.

It comes days after the acting deputy head of Newington College’s Stanmore campus, Mark Morrison, wrote to parents about the ‘distressing news’ of the allegations facing Kontou.

‘Please know that our thoughts first and foremost are with the [alleged] victim, survivor and their family,’ Mr Morrison said in the letter.

‘I acknowledge that this news may land differently for you depending on your personal circumstances and tenure at the College. We did feel it was important that you heard from the College and if you have any concerns, please contact me.’

Kontou, who went by her maiden name Haralambidis while teaching at Newington, was newly married when she took up the job in late 2017.

Just months earlier, Kontou, who was known by the nickname ‘Miss Dee’, was commended by her personal trainer for maintaining her routine while balancing ‘a busy work life as a school teacher and after-hours tutor’.

When the Daily Mail attempted to reach family members for comment on Tuesday, some denied any relation to Deandra.

A woman who identified herself as the accused’s sister-in-law – the sister of her husband George – said, ‘I would prefer you not to stalk my [Facebook] account. I’ve got no further comment,’ before hanging up.

Responding to questions from the Daily Mail, a NSW Department of Education spokesperson said: ‘These are serious allegations and the department’s priority is the safety and wellbeing of students.

‘The department continues to work closely with NSW Police.’

Do you know more? Email tips@dailymail.com.au 

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My aching joints and habit of forgetting everyone’s name might suggest otherwise, but my face does not look 56 – and neither does my body.

Now that I’m post-menopausal, the dramatic fall in oestrogen – and consequently collagen – should have left me with loose skin and deep lines. Yet the ageing reckoning I expected at this stage of life has not arrived.

That is not to say everything looks as it once did. Firm fullness has given way to thinner, crepey skin in some unexpected areas, including my earlobes, inner elbows and the hollow between my collarbones. Still, I seem to be defying Mother Nature when it comes to visible ageing, judging by the surprise people express when I reveal my year of birth.

People regularly ask how I manage to look younger than I am, and one part of my explanation has proved decidedly controversial.

I was certainly fortunate to inherit excellent genes from my dermally blessed father. That is not just wishful thinking: several DNA tests assessing genetic susceptibility to skin ageing have consistently placed me below average, estimating that I look around five years younger than my biological age.

There has also been plenty of effort. For most of my life, I have cleansed, moisturised and applied SPF, aware that consistent preventive care offers the best long-term defence against environmental skin ageing caused by UV exposure, pollution, partying and stress.

Then there is a little cheating. As a beauty journalist, I have access to the ever-expanding world of cosmetic ‘tweakments’, although I have approached them cautiously because it is all too easy to end up looking desperate. In terms of the work I have had done, I am probably much like many of my colleagues. Despite what people may assume, I have no facial fillers and no Botox in my forehead. I do, however, have Botox in my neck, between my eyebrows to soften my angry frown, and in my top lip for a subtle boost of fullness.

It is also worth acknowledging the youth-preserving benefits of HRT, which I have been taking through the NHS for five years.

But I believe there is another, considerably more contentious, reason I look younger. And, dare I say it, that is simply because I have never had children – entirely by choice.

I never longed for children or imagined becoming a parent. Since I believe the least a child deserves is to be its parents’ most cherished wish, the question was never really up for discussion between my husband and me.

Choosing not to have children placed me in the minority among friends and colleagues. As I watched them welcome babies, I also watched them change.

For the most part, their youthful appearance survived their 30s, apart from the inevitable exhausted year or so after each newborn arrived. But during their 40s, ageing appeared to speed up. Wrinkles became more pronounced, age spots appeared sooner, and sagging jowls and looser necks arrived years before I noticed anything similar in my own reflection.

This was not something I observed smugly from behind an ageless face. They noticed it, too, often blaming their crow’s feet squarely on their children and the stress those years had brought. They said it with an indulgent smile, of course, but the point remained.

My grandmother gave birth to 13 children and died in her early 60s. I always assumed her body had simply been worn down by producing and raising so many small human beings.

Honestly, I cannot see how anyone would avoid adding ten years to their appearance while holding down a job and simultaneously battling the education, childcare and healthcare systems. Add sleep deprivation, relationship pressures, school runs, bullies, teenage angst and social media threats, and the anxiety would be enough to make my head explode.

A child-free life is not free of stress, of course, but it does not carry the same responsibility to resolve every problem for another person who depends on you.

My husband and I have always felt that not having children has allowed us to avoid growing up completely. We can selfishly pretend we are still 25, with little to worry about beyond ourselves and each other – setting aside our parents, friends, pets and the state of the world for a moment. Most importantly, it has spared us major upheavals and any sense of neglect within our relationship. After 30 years, we are still happily carrying on much as we did at the beginning.

No small children have ever joined us in bed (although the cat does). Life-affirming passions have been indulged without reservation: I’m sure I would have had something to say about my husband’s decades of racing classic cars, and he in turn about my years of jetting off to fabulous destinations, had we had kids – but we had no reason to cramp each other’s style.

Arguments are thrashed out without delay or time to fester because of more important child-related issues. As for the big blows that have and will come – bereavements, financial insecurity, illness – we can be the rock of undivided attention the other one requires. It all helps keep love and (perceived) youth alive.

Of course having the time and disposable income for so-called ‘self-care’ is another major youth-preserving factor.

I shell out £800 a year on gym fees in the name of self-improvement, and on top of my £2,000 annual skincare habit, I love my ‘tweakments’, such as skin-hydrating injections, the aforementioned Botox sessions and brightening Debbie Thomas DNA laser facials, at roughly £400, £750 and £500 respectively, three times each a year.

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Last year I had the collagen-boosting Julaine biostimulator injected across multiple areas of my face and neck, taking my skin from thinning and on the verge of sagging to looking and feeling dense and juicy. People noticed (thankfully, as it cost £4,500) – I’ve been told my cheeks ‘look like a baby’s’ (a stretch, but I’ll take it).

I even went under the knife in 2024, plumping for an upper eyelid blepharoplasty (or eye lift) to correct the tired, drooping lids that were going the way of my mum’s. It was, in expert hands, surprisingly low on downtime, with recovery taking just a week – but that’s still seven days that most mums can’t spare. It set me back a huge £7,000 but having my 30-something eyes looking back at me actually gives me energy.

And I mustn’t forget my regular haircuts and highlights at about £900 a year.

All told, my regular beauty regime costs over £5,000 annually, which can double if you add expensive, one-off treatments. I’m fully aware how big a part this self-indulgence plays in my holding back the years – something most mums neither would nor could allow themselves.

But it’s also undeniable that the rigours of child-rearing wind the clock forward for mothers. Sleep loss, lack of time for exercise, poor nutrition and inadequate emotional support all have well-established effects on inflammation, metabolic health and, ultimately, healthy ageing. It must be particularly galling for mums – not only is life more stressful, but they’re punished for it with crow’s feet.

Sleep deprivation in particular takes its toll on your system. On average, studies show, new mothers lose between one and two hours of sleep a night in the first year of their babies’ lives. Women’s health doctor Dr Jo Mennie cites a 2021 UCLA study proving that a lack of postpartum sleep ‘predicted increased biological ageing a year after giving birth’.

This is backed up by what we know about sleep deprivation in general, she says: shorter, poorer, more irregular sleep damages DNA and impairs internal DNA repair – meaning creaking bones, failing memories and wrinkles… ageing, in other words.

It’s not only mothers (and dads) who suffer sleep deprivation, of course. I’ve struggled with insomnia for 18 years, and I can definitely argue that I’ve slept less over this time than many of my mum friends. So, on the face of it, I should look 95. However, I’ve also had the freedom to recover whenever, and however, I needed. And that recovery can make all the difference.

Lie-ins, long runs, daily yoga, vegetating in front of the telly all weekend, impromptu holidays and mini breaks, all-nighters spent with friends and/or my husband and wine – it’s all been available on tap to me with no interruption and, very importantly, no guilt.

Apart from sleep, Mennie reckons that regular resistance training, consistent sun protection and limited alcohol consumption are important levers for longevity and youthfulness. Add a healthy diet with sufficient protein intake, close social connections and a lack of psychological stress (which, studies show, is as ageing as being a smoker), and you’ve got the best chance of living a long, healthy – and age-defying – life.

They’re habits I’ve been able to practice (well, minus the sleep) without compromise. For over-taxed mothers, however, they’re some of the first things to fall by the wayside. In that respect, I’ve probably had the edge in terms of keeping up youthful appearances.

But lifestyle factors aren’t the only reason mums may age faster than non-mums. There’s a clinically documented trade-off between the energy you need to produce babies and the energy the body needs to repair and regenerate itself (the former sapping the latter), although this primarily applies to those with six or more kids. It explains some of the turbocharged biological ageing in mothers with a large brood of children. I knew it, Granny!

In addition, Mennie reveals that pregnancy really does take a toll directly on your skin. While the damage it wreaks on the entirety of the body’s systems typically is reversed soon after giving birth, she explains, skin cells don’t get that benefit. The precipitous drop in oestrogen after childbirth goes hand-in-hand with a sudden freeze in the production of collagen: that pregnancy ‘glow’ turns into the dull, flaky skin of new motherhood. Breastfeeding delays renewed production of collagen yet further. ‘So while your system may not suffer, your face can tell a different story,’ says Mennie.

Weight gain can be another issue. According to the NHS, most pregnant women put on up to 2 stone. Dramatically fluctuating weight, particularly in successive pregnancies, plus the rigours of breastfeeding, will also make a difference to the tautness and elasticity of skin. 

In other words, there’s some real proof that having kids causes accelerated visible ageing. Not that my friends with children were too surprised.

But, I tell them, all the more reason for some well-earned mummy me-time. It might even make you look younger.

How to look younger for less 

As a beauty journalist, I’ve tried lots of expensive treatments and tweakments over the years. And yes, I do spend £2,000 on skincare annually. But, while I am partial to a pricey serum, I know for a fact that an effective skincare regime doesn’t have to cost a fortune. In fact, the best advice for turning your skin around and making you look radiant at any age – whether you have children or not – is based on affordable staples. Here is my pick of the best ones…  

A cheap and cheerful cleanser 

 Year-round SPF

There is no youthful-looking skin with out daily facial UV protection all year round and, if you commit to this, you can actually reverse signs of ageing over time. The choice is huge (and includes plenty of weightless, non-oily textures), but, personally, I swear by Ultrasun SPF50+ anti-ageing Face Fluids. Or La Roche Posay is another reliable brand. But whatever SPF you use, the most important thing is to wear it daily – rain or shine.

Personalised skincare (without the price tag) 

One smart way to tackle signs of ageing is Klira, an online subscription service offering bespoke prescription skincare formulations alongside personalised advice from its dermatologists. Your freshly-made treatment is delivered monthly and features clinical actives such as tretinoin and azelaic acid, with dosing adjusted over time to suit your needs. 

It costs £59 a month (klira.skin), which may be on the more expensive side, but will save you money in the long term. It’s designed to be your single night moisturiser, giving you everything you need and so avoiding convoluted routines which can end up costing a small fortune. 

I can tell you from experience it’s as effective as it is as cost-effective, and far cheaper than seeing a private dermatologist. Alternatively, The Inkey List Advanced Retinal Serum is a good and affordable age-defying vitamin A formula for nighttime – always pair with an SPF by day. I also like the brand’s gentle and plumping Bioactive Ceramide Eye Cream.

A Washington state man has sued the city of Seattle, alleging that taxpayer-funded diversity, equity and inclusion trainers told employees that “all white people are cannibals.”

Joshua Diemert, who is white, worked for the Seattle Human Services Department (HSD) from 2013 until resigning in 2021, according to an appellate court opinion reviewed by the Daily Mail.

Diemert said he was never disciplined during his employment and consistently received satisfactory performance reviews. According to the filing, that changed after he took part in the city’s Race and Social Justice Initiative (RSJI).

He filed a lawsuit against the city in November 2022, claiming that RSJI training sessions led to discrimination against him in the workplace.

A district court judge dismissed Diemert’s claims in February 2025. However, on Monday, a three-judge panel of the federal appeals court ruled that the incidents described in his complaint were “sufficiently numerous, frequent, and severe to create a triable issue” for a jury to consider.

All employees in the department, including Diemert, were required to participate in the RSJI program, which seeks to “undo institutionalized racism and achieve racial equity in city government and the Seattle community,” according to the opinion.

The initiative, first introduced in 2004, requires employees to attend training sessions. However, the legal document states that employees who do not participate “can still receive satisfactory performance reviews.”

Diemert attended a November 2019 session titled the “Undoing Institutional Racism Workshop.” During the training, an unnamed instructor allegedly said, “The real truth is… that all white people are cannibals,” Diemert recalled, according to the filing.

The same trainer also “ranted” that it was a “lie” that Christopher Columbus traveled to the Caribbean and that the Indigenous people living there were cannibals, the appellate opinion said.

Other trainers at the session allegedly said that “racism is in white people’s DNA” and that “white people are like the devil,” according to the filing.

Diemert also alleged that coworkers labeled him a “white supremacist” because of comments he made during the training. The opinion did not specify what he said.

He further described an incident involving his manager, Gloria Hatcher-Mays. Diemert said she discouraged him from applying for an open supervisory position, telling him she wanted someone who was bilingual and had connections within a marginalized community, according to the court document.

Hatcher-Mays, now the fire commissioner for King County Fire Protection District No. 20, ultimately filled the position with a person of color who, Diemert alleged, was inexperienced and unqualified, the opinion stated.

Although he was not selected for the job, Diemert claimed he was required to carry out many of the position’s responsibilities without receiving the corresponding title or pay.

Later that month, another unnamed HSD manager allegedly asked him, “[W]hat could you possibly offer our department…, being a straight white male?” according to the documents.

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Diemert also recalled seeing a coworker deny utility assistance to an eligible white applicant. The colleague allegedly justified the decision by saying the applicant had “white privilege,” the filing said.

When Diemert raised the issue with his coworker, Hatcher-Mays allegedly “berated him” and said that “it was impossible to be racist toward white people,” according to the appellate opinion.

Diemert also mentioned another one of his superiors in the complaint filing, Shamsu Said. 

Said, whom Diemert reported to at HSD, called Diemert a ‘colonist’ with ‘white privilege,’ according to the documents. 

He also told Diemert that he ‘was to blame for all injustices in the United States,’ the former HSD employee said, per the opinion. 

After his case was backed by the judges on Monday, Diemert’s lawyer, Laura D’Agostino, stressed that this is the kind of justice that they have been seeking for all these years. 

D’Agostino, who is representing Diemert pro bono, told the Daily Mail: ‘Title VII protects every employee from a racially hostile work environment, regardless of race. 

‘No one should have to endure years of racial hostility at work. The Ninth Circuit recognized that the repeated racial hostility Joshua Diemert endured deserves to be heard at trial. We look forward to returning to the district court so that Mr. Diemert can finally have his day in court.’ 

Although the judges ruled in his favor, they decided to toss Diemert’s equal protection claim on standing, the filing said. 

They ruled that the city’s race-based groups, like the White Caucus and the African Descent Caucus, and some race-based trainings were ‘explicit racial classifications,’ according to the documents. 

The court determined that Diemert was never forced into the White Caucus or barred from training, so he was not personally injured. 

Now, the hostile workplace claims are headed back to US District Judge Jamal Whitehead – the judge who threw out Diemert’s case to begin with. 

When approached for comment by the Daily Mail, Hatcher-Mays’s legal counsel said to direct inquiries about the matter to the attorney for the city of Seattle. 

The Daily Mail contacted D’Agostino, the Seattle Human Services Department, Said, and Seattle City Attorney Erika Evans for comment.