Rainer Hannig believes he might have cracked the case that's been baffling scholars for years.
The German Egyptologist has managed to decipher parts of the Voynich Manuscript, a mysterious document stored at Yale University that's made up of elegant handwriting and strange drawings that no one has ever been able to make sense of.
There have been many past attempts to work out what the illustrated codex's unique text says, but all have failed.
Until now.
The document consists of a mixture of Latin letters, Arabic numbers and other unknown characters. However, Hannig, from the Roemer and Pelizaeus Museum in Hildesheim, Germany believes he's figured out the language to be based on Hebrew.
"A lot of languages were proposed such as Latin, Czech, or amongst others Nahuatl, just to name a few," he wrote in an article explaining his process. He adds that the word structure leaves only one possible explanation: the manuscript was not composed in an Indo-European language.
Using this logic, he then concluded, after three years of analysis, that it must be a Semitic language, possibly Arabic, Aramaic or Hebrew. These were languages spoken by European scholars of the Middle Ages, as the document dates back to the 15th century.
Spotting a connection between some of the characters and Hebrew specifically, he managed to translate full sentences.
"The actual translation of the Voynich-book will need a couple of years work, even if specialists in Hebrew language, who are well versed in mediaeval Hebrew and the terminology of botanical and medical texts, take over the analysis,” he wrote.
“The character of the script, the pronunciation which one needs to get used to, the peculiarity and the vocabulary of the period will cause a lot of trouble even to a native speaker."
What exactly is the Voynich Manuscript?
The 15th-century codex is known to be the world's most mysterious book. It was written in an unknown script by an anonymous author and has no clear purpose.
The manuscript was rediscovered by rare books dealer Wilfrid Voynich in 1912 and, since 1969, it's been kept in the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library at Yale University in New Haven, US.
Watch this video from Yale University to learn more:
It's baffled so many codebreakers, scholars and cryptologists over the years that it's even featured in popular culture, from TV shows to books and video games.
It has a patchy historical record before Voynich found it. It is said to have formed part of the Holy Roman Emperor Rudolf II's library and was tracked back to a secret sale of books in 1903 by the Society of Jesus in Rome, for example.
Its elusiveness stems from the elaborate illustrations of plants, constellations, fantastical creatures and signs of the zodiac, to name a few. Not to mention its unreadable language.
It's become a source of fascination for scholars across the world in a number of disciplines. And while it has been suspected in the past that Hebrew was the source language, others have claimed it's all simply a hoax.
A conference will now take place in Hildesheim this August for scholars to discuss Hannig's breakthrough.
Why are asylum seekers being housed in hotels?
The number of asylum applications in the UK has reached a new record high, driven by those illegally entering the country in small boats crossing the English Channel.
A total of 111,084 people applied for asylum in the UK in the year to June 2025, the highest number for any 12-month period since current records began in 2001.
Asylum seekers and their families can be housed in temporary accommodation while their claim is assessed.
The Home Office provides the accommodation, meaning asylum seekers cannot choose where they live.
When there is not enough housing, the Home Office can move people to hotels or large sites like former military bases.
How to apply for a drone permit
- Individuals must register on UAE Drone app or website using their UAE Pass
- Add all their personal details, including name, nationality, passport number, Emiratis ID, email and phone number
- Upload the training certificate from a centre accredited by the GCAA
- Submit their request
What are the regulations?
- Fly it within visual line of sight
- Never over populated areas
- Ensure maximum flying height of 400 feet (122 metres) above ground level is not crossed
- Users must avoid flying over restricted areas listed on the UAE Drone app
- Only fly the drone during the day, and never at night
- Should have a live feed of the drone flight
- Drones must weigh 5 kg or less
How green is the expo nursery?
Some 400,000 shrubs and 13,000 trees in the on-site nursery
An additional 450,000 shrubs and 4,000 trees to be delivered in the months leading up to the expo
Ghaf, date palm, acacia arabica, acacia tortilis, vitex or sage, techoma and the salvadora are just some heat tolerant native plants in the nursery
Approximately 340 species of shrubs and trees selected for diverse landscape
The nursery team works exclusively with organic fertilisers and pesticides
All shrubs and trees supplied by Dubai Municipality
Most sourced from farms, nurseries across the country
Plants and trees are re-potted when they arrive at nursery to give them room to grow
Some mature trees are in open areas or planted within the expo site
Green waste is recycled as compost
Treated sewage effluent supplied by Dubai Municipality is used to meet the majority of the nursery’s irrigation needs
Construction workforce peaked at 40,000 workers
About 65,000 people have signed up to volunteer
Main themes of expo is ‘Connecting Minds, Creating the Future’ and three subthemes of opportunity, mobility and sustainability.
Expo 2020 Dubai to open in October 2020 and run for six months
Women’s World T20, Asia Qualifier
UAE results
Beat China by 16 runs
Lost to Thailand by 10 wickets
Beat Nepal by five runs
Beat Hong Kong by eight wickets
Beat Malaysia by 34 runs
Standings (P, W, l, NR, points)
1. Thailand 5 4 0 1 9
2. UAE 5 4 1 0 8
3. Nepal 5 2 1 2 6
4. Hong Kong 5 2 2 1 5
5. Malaysia 5 1 4 0 2
6. China 5 0 5 0 0
Final
Thailand v UAE, Monday, 7am
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The Great Derangement: Climate Change and the Unthinkable
Amitav Ghosh, University of Chicago Press
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
How to wear a kandura
Dos
- Wear the right fabric for the right season and occasion
- Always ask for the dress code if you don’t know
- Wear a white kandura, white ghutra / shemagh (headwear) and black shoes for work
- Wear 100 per cent cotton under the kandura as most fabrics are polyester
Don’ts
- Wear hamdania for work, always wear a ghutra and agal
- Buy a kandura only based on how it feels; ask questions about the fabric and understand what you are buying
