Australian officials declared a state of emergency for the capital city of Canberra and surrounding regions on Friday, as soaring temperatures and strong winds threatened to propel a large bushfire beyond the control of firefighters. Andrew Barr, Chief Minister for the Australian Capital Territory (ACT), said the decision to declare ... Read More »
Global fears spread over coronavirus
The World Health Organization has declared the novel coronavirus outbreak a public health emergency of international concern, after an emergency meeting on Thursday. The decision came after cases of human-to-human transmissions were confirmed outside China, where the outbreak started. A first such case was confirmed in the United States on ... Read More »
Lungs damaged by smoking can ‘magically’ heal – study
Smokers can turn back time in their lungs by kicking the habit, with healthy cells emerging to replace some of their tobacco-damaged and cancer-prone ones, a study shows. Smokers have long been told their risk of developing diseases like lung cancer will fall if they can quit, and stopping smoking ... Read More »
Diab: Several ways out of ongoing crisis
Lebanon’s new prime minister said Wednesday that there were ways out of the economic and financial crisis that the country was facing after he held a number of meetings with ministers and senior World Bank officials. Prime Minister Hassan Diab headed a number of meetings in Beirut Wednesday where he ... Read More »
Brexit: MEPs ratify UK withdrawal agreement
Britain’s departure from the EU on 31 January was set in stone in a historic moment for the nation as MEPs in Brussels ratified the withdrawal agreement before breaking out in a rendition of Auld Lang Syne. As the president of the European parliament, David Sassoli, announced the result of ... Read More »
Telescope captures most detailed pictures yet of the sun
First observations from Inouye telescope bring previously hazy star into sharp focus The sun’s turbulent surface has been revealed in unprecedented detail in the first observations by the Inouye solar telescope in Hawaii. The striking images reveal a surprising level of structure hidden within the churning plasma exterior, bringing ... Read More »
Iran missile strike: 50 US troops now diagnosed with brain injuries
The Pentagon said on Tuesday 50 US service members were now diagnosed with traumatic brain injury after missile strikes by Iran on a base in Iraq earlier this month, 16 more than the military had previously announced. Donald Trump and other top officials initially said Iran’s 8 January attack had ... Read More »
‘Slap of the century’: Palestinian leaders vehemently reject Trump’s long-awaited Middle East peace plan
The Palestinian leadership has roundly rejected Donald Trump’s long-awaited peace plan for the Middle East calling it “the slap of the century”. The deal, released with a flourish on Tuesday, is widely seen to meet Israel’s key demands in the decades-old conflict while creating a Palestinian state with limited control ... Read More »
Iran prepares site for satellite launch that U.S. links to ballistic missiles
Iran is preparing a site for launching a satellite, a government minister said on Monday, highlighting a program the United States says is a cover for ballistic missile development. “Yes, a site is being prepared for placing the Zafar satellite into orbit,” Iranian Minister of Information and Communications Technology Mohammad ... Read More »
Coronavirus has killed 106 and infected 4,515 people, Chinese health authorities say
Chinese health authorities said Tuesday that the coronavirus outbreak has killed 106 people and infected 4,515. The officials also said 60 people had been discharged. The majority of the reported cases are in mainland China, where local authorities have quarantined several major cities and canceled Lunar New Year’s events in Beijing ... Read More »