Europe
Webb telescope discovers oldest black hole yet
The James Webb space telescope has discovered the oldest black hole ever detected, which was thriving so soon after the Big Bang that it challenges our understanding of how these celestial behemoths form, astronomers said Wednesday.
Ukrainian drone hits targets in St Petersburg
Ukraine hit targets in Russia during a drone attack on an oil terminal in St Petersburg yesterday as part of a “new phase” in the region, a Ukrainian military source told Reuters.
Migrant crisis / 40 Tunisians missing in Med
Around 40 Tunisian migrants attempting to reach Italy by sea have been missing for five days, the Tunisian National Guard said.
Study permits to Indian students drop due to row
The number of study permits Canada issued to Indian students fell sharply late last year after India ejected Canadian diplomats who would process the permits and fewer Indian students applied due to a diplomatic dispute over the murder of a Sikh separatist leader in Canada, a top Canadian official told Reuters.
Tobacco use shrinking worldwide
The number of adult tobacco users has dropped steadily in recent years, the World Health Organization said yesterday but it warned Big Tobacco was working hard to reverse that trend.
SHOPLIFTING ALLEGATIONS / NZ MP resigns after CCTV footage emerges
The first refugee to be elected to New Zealand’s parliament resigned yesterday over alleged shoplifting, which she said was related to personal stress and trauma.
Births in France fall to post-war low in 2023
Births in France fell last year to their lowest annual number since World War II, the national statistics bureau said yesterday. Around 678,000 babies were born in 2023, INSEE said, a drop of 6.6 percent from the previous year and the lowest number for any year since 1946.
Ukraine downs two Russian command aircraft
Ukraine said yesterday it had destroyed a Russian Beriev A-50 spy plane and an Ilyushin Il-22 airborne command post in the Sea of Azov area, dealing a blow to Russian military operations in occupied southern Ukraine.
UK declares Hizb ut-Tahrir as terrorist group
Britain yesterday declared global Islamist group Hizb ut-Tahrir as a proscribed terrorist group, making it a criminal offence to belong to what it described as an antisemitic organisation.
Five migrants die trying to cross Channel
Five migrants trying to cross the Channel to Britain died in French waters in the early hours of yesterday, French local authorities said.
NZ’s ex-PM Ardern marries partner
New Zealand’s former prime minister Jacinda Ardern married her longtime partner Clarke Gayford in a private ceremony on Saturday, finally tying the knot after cancelling ceremonies during strict Covid-19 controls she imposed on the country.
Vast network of lost ancient cities found in the Amazon
Archaeologists have discovered the largest and oldest network of pre-Hispanic cities ever found in the Amazon rainforest, revealing a 2,500-year-old lost civilisation of farmers.
16 killed in Papua New Guinea rioting
Papua New Guinea’s prime minister declared a state of emergency yesterday, suspending government and police officials after 16 people were killed in rioting in the Pacific island nation.
Ceasefire would only benefit Moscow
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky said yesterday that a ceasefire in Russia’s war against Ukraine would not lead to political dialogue, and would only benefit Moscow.
US, UK repel major Houthi attack in Red Sea
US and UK forces have shot down more than 20 drones and missiles over the Red Sea launched by Yemen’s Houthis, in what London branded yesterday the “largest attack” yet by Iran-backed rebels.
Over 6,000 migrants vanished trying to reach Spain in 2023
At least 6,618 migrants died or disappeared while trying to reach Spain by sea in 2023, when record numbers headed for the Canary Islands, a migrants rights group said yesterday.
2023 was world’s hottest year on record
Last year was the planet’s hottest on record by a substantial margin and likely the world’s warmest in the last 100,000 years, the European Union’s Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) said yesterday.
Gabriel Attal picked as France’s youngest PM
French leader Emmanuel Macron yesterday picked Gabriel Attal as prime minister in a bid to give new momentum to his presidency, with the 34-year-old becoming France’s youngest and first openly gay head of government.
