Europe
Ireland looking to send asylum seekers back to UK: report
Ireland is looking to amend the law to allow the return of asylum seekers to the United Kingdom, broadcaster RTE said yesterday after an influx over the border with Northern Ireland.
Fighting in eastern Ukraine worsens
Fighting in eastern Ukraine has worsened, with Kyiv’s troops falling back to new positions in at least three places along the front, Ukraine’s top general said yesterday.
Russia hits energy sites in Ukraine
Russia launched a “massive” missile strike at Ukraine overnight, damaging four power plants in the latest barrage targeting the country’s energy supply, officials in Kyiv said yesterday.
Mona Lisa could get a room of her own
The Mona Lisa by Leonardo da Vinci, the world’s most famous portrait, could get a room of its own in the Louvre, the museum’s president said on Saturday.
Putin likely didn’t kill Alexei Navalny
US intelligence agencies have determined that Russian President Vladimir Putin probably didn’t order opposition politician Alexei Navalny killed at an Arctic prison camp in February, the Wall Street Journal reported yesterday.
7 killed as Ukraine, Russia trade drone, fire
Ukrainian and Russian forces exchanged drone and artillery fire yesterday, leaving at least seven dead, regional officials on both sides of the frontline announced.
French national library quarantines ‘poisonous’ books
France’s national library said yesterday it had removed four 19th-century books from its shelves whose emerald green covers were likely laced with highly poisonous arsenic.
Macron warns 'mortal' Europe needs credible defence
French President Emmanuel Macron on Thursday warned that Europe faced an existential threat from Russian aggression, calling on the continent to adopt a "credible" defence strategy less dependent on the United States
282 million people faced acute hunger last year
Food insecurity worsened around the world in 2023, with some 282 million people suffering from acute hunger due to conflicts, particularly in Gaza and Sudan, UN agencies and development groups said yesterday.
‘I’d rather die than go to Rwanda’
Asylum seekers housed on an accommodation barge on the coast of southern England say they are afraid of being sent to Rwanda, after a controversial proposal for deportation was approved.
Russia hits TV tower in Ukraine’s Kharkiv
A Russian air attack on Ukraine’s second biggest city, Kharkiv, hit TV broadcast infrastructure, prompting disruptions with the signal, a local official said.
Russia orders jail term for Meta spokesman in absentia
A Russian military court yesterday sentenced in absentia Meta spokesman Andy Stone to six years behind bars for “justifying terrorism,” as part of efforts to restrict Western social media platforms in the country.
Queen bumblebees survive underwater for days: study
Queen bumblebees can surprisingly withstand days underwater, according to a study published yesterday, suggesting they could withstand increased floods brought on by climate change that threaten their winter hibernation burrows.
How European trash illegally ends up in Southeast Asia
Southeast Asian countries, including Malaysia, Vietnam, Thailand, and Indonesia, are facing an influx of illegal waste shipments from industrialized nations, with a considerable amount trafficked from Europe
Astronomers find largest black hole in Milky Way
Astronomers identified the largest stellar black hole yet discovered in the Milky Way, with a mass 33 times that of the Sun, according to a study published yesterday.
Russia orders fresh evacuations in Siberia amid flood fears
Russian authorities yesterday began fresh evacuations from towns and villages in western Siberia threatened by devastating floods that have swept the region and neighbouring Kazakhstan.
6 Ukrainians killed in Russian shelling
Russian shelling killed six people in the eastern Ukraine region of Donetsk, authorities said yesterday, as Moscow’s forces aim to push deeper into the war-battered industrial region.
Nobel-winning 'God particle' physicist Higgs dies aged 94
Higgs used ground-breaking theoretical work to help explain how the Universe has mass, thus resolving one of the greatest puzzles in physics and earning him a place alongside Albert Einstein and Max Planck in textbooks
