World news

Ukrainian Armed Forces announces successful strike on Chonhar Bridge

The defence forces of Ukraine successfully struck the Chonhar Bridge on Saturday morning.

US Secretary of State tells Australia that WikiLeaks founder is accused of 'very serious' crime

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has pushed back against Australian demands for an end to WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange’s prosecution, saying the Australian citizen was accused of “very serious criminal conduct” in publishing a trove of classified documents more than a decade ago.

Putin says Russia withdrew army from Kyiv because it was “asked”

At a meeting with African leaders, Russian dictator Vladimir Putin has said that Russia withdrew its army from Kyiv last year because it was “asked to do so to create conditions” for signing a peace treaty.

Wagner troops moving towards Polish border and could try sneaking across, PM says

Taliban use stun guns and fire hoses on beauty salon ban protesters

“We are here for justice,” said one protester who identified herself as Farzana. “We want work, food and freedom.”

'Exiled' Russian mercenary boss Prigozhin hails Niger coup, touts services

Wagner's role in Africa is a source of concern for Western governments. Washington has accused the group of atrocities and imposed sanctions on it. Founder Yevgeny Prigozhin says it works lawfully.

‘We’re angry’: Israel tensions mount as army reservists threaten to refuse duty

Conflict over Netanyahu’s plans to overhaul judiciary is leading to new levels of civil disobedience – and potential security risks

Cruise Ship With Russian Tourists Leaves Georgian Port Amid Public Protests

The Astoria Grande cruise ship, carrying some 800 passengers including Russians, was forced to leave the Georgian Black Sea port of Batumi on July 27 upon arriving there the same day from the Russia port of Sochi, after groups of Georgians protested its presence there.

Ukraine moves Christmas to December 25, distancing itself from Russian tradition - “Celebrating December 25 is logical. This is how Europe celebrates. We celebrated in December this year and there was nothing difficult about it. We want to be closer to Europe and to the world,”

More Wagner fighters move closer to Polish border, Poland PM says

A group of a hundred soldiers from the Russian Wagner group have moved closer to the Belarusian city of Grodno near the Polish border, Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said on Saturday.

J&J effort to resolve baby powder cancer lawsuits in bankruptcy fails a second.

A US judge on Friday shot down Johnson & Johnson's second attempt to resolve tens of thousands of lawsuits over its talc products in bankruptcy, imperiling a proposed $8.9 billion settlement that would stop new lawsuits.

Antarctica hits -83.2C, earth's lowest temperature since 2017

A weather station at Concordia Research Station in Antarctica may have just registered the world’s lowest temperature in six years. According to real-time data published by Italy’s Antarctic Meteo-Climatological Observatory, the temperature at Concordia Research Station dropped to -83.2ºC on July 25. Image: Real-time temperature observations from the Concordia Automatic Weather Station (blue box), showing a provisional minimum temperature observation of -83.2ºC. Source: Antarctic Meteo-Climatological Observatory. Another nearby Automatic Weather Station, named Dome C II, also registered temperatures lower than -80ºC, reaching -81.4ºC at 18:47 UTC on July 24 and -81.6ºC shortly before 03:00 UTC on July 25. Images: Real-time temperature observations from the Dome C II Automatic Weather Station on July 24 and 25, 2023. Source: AMRC / UW-Madison These provisional values, which need to be officially validated, are the lowest temperatures observed anywhere in the world so far this year. Prior to July 24, the coldest global temperature in 2023 was 80.5ºC at the JASE2007 Automatic Weather Station. If valid, Concordia’s -82.7ºC would rank as the lowest temperature anywhere in the world since 2019, according to weather historian Maximiliano Herrera. The more recent lower reading of -83.1C from July 25 would be the lowest temperature globally since 2017. Images: Modelled surface air temperature (top) and temperature anomaly (bottom) over Antarctica on July 24, 2023. Source: ClimateReanalyzer.org Concordia is a French-Italian research station that sits roughly 3,233 m above sea level on the Antarctic Plateau, about 1,100 km inland from Australia’s Casey Station. Image: Map of Antarctica showing the location of Concordia Research Station. Source: Wikipedia This week’s exceptionally cold temperatures high on the Antarctic Plateau are a stark contrast to the record-low sea ice extent that is currently being observed near the continent’s coasts. According to the University of Colorado Boulder’s National Sea and Ice Data Center, “Antarctic ice extent as of mid-July is more than 2.6 million square kilometers below the 1981 to 2010 average". This is an area as large as Western Australia. Image: Antarctic sea ice extent anomalies between 1979 and 2023, showing the current run of record-breaking low sea ice in 2023. Source: Zac Labe Researchers are actively trying to determine why the sea ice around Antarctica has been struggling to grow this winter. The leading theory is that relatively warm water from the north has mixed into the upper-ocean layer around the Antarctic coast.

Ukraine Is Lobbing Eight-Ton Air-Defense Missiles At Russian Cities

Russian rocket strikes on Ukrainian civilians are a near-daily occurrence. Retaliatory strikes could become more common as the Ukrainians field more long-range weapons.

Melting ice reveals remains of climber lost on glacier 37 years ago

African leaders tell Putin: 'We have a right to call for peace'

African leaders pressed Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday to move ahead with their plan to end the Ukraine conflict and to renew a deal crucial to Africa on the safe wartime export of Ukrainian grain, which Moscow tore up last week.

Disqualified Ukrainian fencer Kharlan awarded Olympics place and reinstated

Ukrainian fencer Olha Kharlan was awarded a place in the 2024 Paris Olympics by the IOC on Friday after she was disqualified at the world championships for refusing to shake the hand of her Russian opponent.Then on Friday, IOC President Thomas Bach, a former Olympic fencer himself, sent Kharlan a letter saying she would be guaranteed a place at next year's Olympics in Paris regardless of whether she gained the qualification points.

Ukrainian Fencer Invited To Olympics After Refusing To Shake Russian's Hand

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) on July 28 awarded Ukrainian fencer Olha Kharlan a place in the Paris Olympics after she was disqualified at the World Fencing Championships for refusing to shake her Russian opponent's hand.

Ukraine got its hands on North Korean rockets that troops say are wildly unpredictable and 'do crazy things,' and they're lobbing them at the Russians

Ukrainian forces are using unreliable North Korean rockets against Russian forces despite Pyongyang's support for Russia's war.

July has been the hottest month in humanity’s history

The heat has claimed lives from Arizona to Greece to China.