The United States on Thursday blocked a United Nations Security Council resolution that would have recognised a Palestinian state. Twelve members of the Security Council had voted in favor of the resolution, while two countries – the UK and Switzerland – abstained. The US vetoed it. The Palestinian Authority President, Mahmoud Abbas, sharply criticized the US veto, saying in a ...

A huge heart-shaped feature on the surface of Pluto has intrigued astronomers since NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft captured it in a 2015 image. Now, researchers think they have solved the mystery of how the distinctive heart came to be — and it could reveal new clues about the dwarf planet’s origins. The feature is called Tombaugh Regio in honor of ...

A giant prehistoric snake longer than a school bus slithered around what is now India 47 million years ago, according to new research. The extinct snake may have been one of the largest to have ever lived, dwarfing present-day anacondas and pythons that can grow to about 6 meters (20 feet). The colossal creature’s scientific name is Vasuki indicus, after ...

The potential change of plans comes as the administration faces fierce political headwinds, a conservative Supreme Court majority that has shown aggressive interest in curtailing the Environmental Protection Agency’s authority and questions over how fast electric utilities can pivot to the most innovative climate solutions. The EPA is considering eliminating a proposal for new natural gas plants to use hydrogen alongside ...

Kenya’s military chief, Francis Ogolla, died in a helicopter crash in the western part of the country on Thursday, President William Ruto announced in a televised address. The helicopter crashed shortly after take-off on Thursday afternoon local time, killing Ogolla and nine other members of the military, Ruto said. Two people survived the crash, he added. “I am deeply saddened ...

A far-right German politician has gone on trial accused of using banned Nazi slogans at two rallies dating back to 2021. Björn Höcke, leader of the regional branch of Alternative for Germany party (AfD) in the eastern state of Thuringia, is accused of ending a May 2021 election event in Merseburg by shouting the Socialist Nationalist slogan, “Everything for our ...

The world’s first known combat between a human pilot and a fighter jet controlled by AI has been carried out in California, the US military has said. In a drill over Edwards Air Force Base, the pair of F-16 fighter jets flew at speeds of up to 1,200mph and got as close as 600 metres during aerial combat, also known ...

Bitcoin’s rare halving event has taken place, according to crypto analysis firm CoinGecko. It slashes the number of new Bitcoin entering the market by cutting the rewards earned by Bitcoin miners by 50%. Taking place roughly every four years, it’s designed to cap supply at 21 million by 2140. It means just 450 Bitcoin will now be created each day. ...

The UK’s first professional women’s gaming tournament of its kind starts on Saturday. Four teams of professional gamers will play the first-person shooter game Valorant, which is the most-watched esports game in women’s leagues. It is the first time Europe’s best teams have battled it out in the UK, and organisers hope it will bring more women into gaming. “The ...

Presidential elections are odd things. They happen regularly and unfold in familiar ways, but because they’re spaced out by several years, we tend to forget some of the specifics. Combine that with the seemingly insatiable (albeit certainly not universal) interest in figuring out how the thing will unfold, and you have a period of two years or so in which ...