World

International affairs, events, and conflicts

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Hamas returns bodies of captives; attack in Tel-Aviv
Hamas has handed over four bodies of Israelis taken captive during the October 2023 attacks. The bodies that were handed over were those of a woman, her two young children and an elderly man. Hamas maintains they were killed in an Israeli air strike during the war. A Hamas spokesman said it had “preserved the lives of the occupation prisoners” and “treated them humanely", before "Zionist occupation aircraft deliberately bombed the locations where they were being held”. The handover was facilitated by the Red Cross, in a public handover ceremony in Khan Younis, southern Gaza. The bodies were delivered in four coffins in front of a poster depicting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu with fangs and blood on his face. Red Cross staff put up white screens to conceal coffins from large crowds. “These operations should be done privately out of the utmost respect for the deceased and for those left grieving,” the International Committee of the Red Cross said in a statement. Meanwhile, just hours later, in the Tel-Aviv area Israeli police reported a series of explosions on buses as a “suspected terror attack”, but with no injuries reported so far. Israeli police said three bombs exploded while two were defused a
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Supreme Court rejects Greta Thunberg climate action case
Sweden’s Supreme Court ruled that Greta Thunberg and hundreds of other activists could not proceed with a lawsuit that sought to force the state to take stronger action on climate change. The lawsuit was initially filed in 2022, where the activists requested that the District Court declare that the state violated their rights under the European Convention on Human Rights. They argued that the state was not taking enough measures to counteract climate change and not achieving specified climate change goals. One of the Supreme Court Justices in the case, Jonas Malmberg, said the court ruled the group’s actions inadmissible and would not go further in the case. “The court has not taken a position on how the issue should be assessed if the action was brought by an association and if the action was limited to requesting a declaration that the state violated their rights under the European Convention of Human Rights by not taking sufficient measures to counteract the effects of climate change," Malmberg said. There were around 300 plaintiffs in the case who called themselves the Aurora group who wanted the courts to order Sweden to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius. Aurora’s legal and scientific coordinator, Ida
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Yale scientists link COVID vaccine to new syndrome
While COVID-19 vaccines have been instrumental in preventing the spread and severity of the disease for many, Yale scientists found that some develop chronic symptoms after receiving the vaccine. They refer to the condition as post-vaccine syndrome (PVS) with the most common symptoms being exercise intolerance, excessive fatigue, brain fog, insomnia and dizziness. According to researchers, symptoms typically develop shortly after vaccination and can become more severe within a day or two. “It’s clear that some individuals are experiencing significant challenges after vaccination,” Harlan Krumholz, the Harold H. Hines, Jr. Professor of Medicine (Cardiology) at Yale School of Medicine (YSM) and co-senior author of the study said. “Our responsibility as scientists and clinicians is to listen to their experiences, rigorously investigate the underlying causes, and seek ways to help.” Data from the study came from Yale’s Listen to Immune, Symptom and Treatment Experiences Now (LISTEN) study where they compared blood samples between 42 participants with PVS symptoms and 22 without. Common drivers for PVS include a spoke in protein tissue and reactivation of Epstein-Barr Virus (EPV). YSM Sterling professor of immunobi
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Chopper 'dangerous' in South China Sea: Philippines
The Philippines has accused a Chinese navy helicopter of flying within three metres of one of their own government aircrafts, which was patrolling a disputed section of the South China Sea. The incident occurred on Tuesday and was described by the Philippine coast guard as flying “dangerously” close. However, China has denied this and accused the Philippines of “spreading false narratives”. This new incident occurred just an “unsafe and unprofessional interaction” involving a Chinese J-16 fighter aircraft and Australian Air Force P-8A Poseidon aircraft. The Australian plane was patrolling over the Paracel islands in the South China Sea when the jet from the People's Liberation Army released flares within a distance of 30 metres. Chinese defence ministry spokesperson Zhang Xiaogang hit back, accusing Australia of inventing a “false narrative”. “We urge Australia to abandon its illusion of speculation and adventure.”
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Pope Francis to remain in hospital due to infection
Pope Francis is expected to remain in hospital as doctors treat his respiratory infection, the Vatican said. The pope, 88, has had a respiratory infection for more than a week. He was admitted to Rome’s Gemelli University Hospital on Friday. “The results of the tests carried out in recent days and today have demonstrated a polymicrobial infection of the respiratory tract, which has led to a further modification of the therapy,” said a Vatican spokesperson. “All tests conducted up to today are indicative of a complex clinical picture that will require an appropriate hospital stay.” “The Holy Father remains without a fever and is proceeding with the prescribed treatment,” the Vatican later said. “His condition is stable.” Pope Francis’ appointments until Monday have been cancelled, including his weekly general audience in St Peter’s Square on Wednesday. While in hospital, the pope spoke by phone with the Holy Family church in Gaza. The pope has called the Holy Family church each day since Israel begun its invasion of Gaza in October 2023. Polymicrobial respiratory infections involve a combination of bacteria, viruses, fungi, or parasites. Pope Francis was also hospitalised for three days in March 2023 due to acu

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Argentina's Milei under fire for alleged crypto fraud
Argentinian President Javier Milei is under federal investigation after he endorsed a cryptocurrency that collapsed hours later, with opposition politicians calling for impeachment. Milei said on X on Friday that the cryptocurrency coin $LIBRA would boost the country’s economy “by funding small businesses and startups”. $LIBRA’s value surged from near zero to US$5 after his comments, and then quickly dropped to less than $1 once Milei deleted his post. “I was not aware of the details of the project and once I found out, I decided to not continue giving it publicity,” said Milei. Eight buyers received most of the coin’s US$4.5 billion market capitalisation after the coin’s value fell, according to the Buenos Aires Herald. Argentinian federal judge Maria Servini has been appointed to investigate. More than 100 complaints were filed in Argentina’s courts about the incident, local media reported. “We denounce Milei as being part of an illicit association that organized a scam with the $LIBRA cryptocurrency that simultaneously affected more than 40,000 people with a loss of more than $4 billion,” said non-governmental organisation Observatorio del Derecho a la Ciudad, which filed one major fraud complaint. Milei said
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Passengers walk away after plane flips in Toronto
At least eight people were injured when a plane carrying 80 people flipped onto its roof while landing in frigid conditions at an airport in Canada on Monday (Tuesday AEDT). Delta Airlines flight 4819 operated by Endeavour Air travelling from Minneapolis crashed at Toronto Pearson International Airport at about 2:45 pm local time (7:45 pm GMT, 6:45 am Tuesday AEDT). “All passengers and crew are accounted for,” Toronto Pearson Airport said in a post on its X account. Videos showed passengers safely leaving the CRJ-900 jet. Earlier the airport said snow had stopped falling but frigid temperatures and high winds were expected. Crews had been clearing about 22 centimetres of snow that fell over the weekend to enable flights to operate.
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Egypt writing up plans for Gaza reconstruction
Egypt is in the process of drawing up an alternative to Donald Trump’s plans for a United States-owned Gaza. In conjunction with the World Bank, a plan is being prepared that would formally remove Hamas from governance and control of the war-torn territory. However, the future military status of Hamas within Gaza is yet to be resolved which is likely to be a barrier to Israel endorsing the plan. The United Arab Emirates and Qatar are also expected to make financial offers to fund the reconstruction, but under the expectation that Palestinians have the right to remain in Gaza and are not replaced in neighbouring Egypt or Jordan as the U.S. president has suggested. Reconstruction is expected to take 3-5 years, as 65% of Gaza's property has been destroyed. This comes as Egypt announced last week it would host Arab leaders for an emergency Arab summit to discuss Gaza to be held on 27 February. The Egyptian foreign ministry said in a statement last week that it hoped to cooperate with the Trump administration to reach "a just settlement of the Palestinian cause". President Trump met with Jordan's King Abdullah on Tuesday, where he continued to push his plan for the US to take over Gaza. However, Abdullah said ev
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Ukrainians not invited to US-Russia peace summit
Ukraine has not been invited to negotiations between the United States and Russia that seek to end Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, according to Ukrainian officials. These peace talks are set to begin in Saudi Arabia this week. U.S. President Donald Trump said the peace process was underway last week after a phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin, without consulting Ukraine or European nations. “I saw that someone said that there would be a meeting in Saudi Arabia. I do not know what it is,” said Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. Keith Kellogg, the United States’ special envoy for Ukraine and Russia, said on Saturday that Ukraine would attend the meeting in Saudi Arabia. However, Ukrainian officials told the BBC that its delegation was not invited. European delegations will also not be present at the talks, according to Kellogg. “There's no way in which we can have discussions or negotiations about Ukraine, Ukraine's future or European security structure, without Europeans,” said Finnish President Alexander Stubb. European leaders have reportedly been given a set of questions asking which resources these nations could send to Ukraine to “improve its negotiating hand”, and how many troops they could c