Israel threatened on Tuesday to return to war in Lebanon if its truce with Hezbollah collapses, and said this time its attacks would go deeper and target the Lebanese state itself, after the deadliest day since the ceasefire was agreed last week. In its strongest threat since the truce was agreed to end 14 months of war with Hezbollah, Israel said it would hold Lebanon responsible for failing to disarm militants who violated the truce. “If we return to war we will act strongly, we will go deeper, and the most important thing they need to know: that there will

On Monday, December 2, Russian president Vladimir Putin commented ironically on the decision to recount votes from the first round of Romania’s presidential elections following the surprising victory of pro-Russian candidate Călin Georgescu.  “A candidate was not to the liking of the authorities, so they decided to recount the votes,” the Kremlin leader stated during a meeting with young scientists broadcast on state television. The same day, the Romanian Constitutional Court validated the results of the first round of the presidential elections. The Court rejected a request alleging electoral fraud from Cristian Terheș, a candidate backed by the Romanian National Conservative Party who won some 1%

The two-stage rocket, powered by burning kerosene and liquid oxygen, is notable as China’s first 3.8-metre-wide rocket China successfully launched its newest rocket on Saturday, making another step towards stronger launch capabilities and a crewed moon landing before 2030. The 62-metre-tall, 3.8-metre-wide Long March 12 lifted off from Wenchang spaceport on south China’s Hainan island at 10:25pm Beijing time, sending two “technology test satellites” into orbit, according to the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC), the country’s main space contractor. CASC did not provide more detail about the satellites. Do you have questions about the biggest topics and trends

Anthony Albanese has set aside criticism from Elon Musk who opposed the Australian government’s social media ban for under 16s.  The prime minister told ABC’s Insiders he was willing to talk to anyone about the ban and how it will be implemented, but added that parliament had strongly supported it.     ‘We’ll talk to anyone,’ he said on Sunday.  ‘But with regard to Elon Musk, he has an agenda, he’s entitled to push that as the owner of X, formerly known as Twitter. ‘But we are determined to get this done. The parliament has overwhelmingly passed this legislation and it’s the right thing to do.’

Three Bulgarian nationals allegedly carried out surveillance on individuals and places of interest to Russia. A “sophisticated” UK-based spy ring passed secrets to Russia for nearly three years, a court has heard. Bulgarian nationals Katrin Ivanova, 33, Vanya Gaberova, 30, and Tihomir Ivanov Ivanchev, 39, allegedly carried out surveillance on individuals and places of interest to Russia. The spying activities allegedly included locations in London, Vienna, Valencia, Montenegro and Stuttgart, jurors have heard. Opening the trial on Thursday, Alison Morgan KC said: “This case is about espionage activity. “Between 2020 and 2023 these three defendants together with a number of other people spied for

Mars is critical to the long-term survival of humanity. That’s Elon Musk’s assertion, and he has remained steadfast in his belief. The Tesla chief and SpaceX founder swiftly lashed out at famed astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson, who was sceptical of his plans to colonise Mars. In an American talk show interview, Tyson poured scorn on Musk’s plans, which he said would never find investors. During a recent episode of HBO’s ‘Real Time with Bill Maher’, the astrophysicist argued that the Mars plan offers a terrible value proposition to venture capitalists. -ADVERTISEMENT- javascript:false Ads by  Funding the Mars project It would

European and Iranian diplomats meet on Friday to discuss whether they can engage in serious talks in the coming weeks to defuse tensions in the region, including over Tehran’s disputed nuclear programme, before Donald Trump’s return to the White House. The meetings in the Swiss city of Geneva, where world powers and Iran achieved a first breakthrough in nuclear talks more than a decade ago before reaching a deal in 2015, are the first since the US election, and aim to see whether any momentum can be built ahead of January 20, when Trump is inaugurated. Iran’s deputy foreign minister and senior nuclear

The world’s top court will next week start unprecedented hearings aimed at finding a “legal blueprint” for how countries should protect the environment from damaging greenhouse gases — and what the consequences are if they do not. From Monday, lawyers and representatives from more than 100 countries and organisations will make submissions before the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague — the highest number ever. Activists hope the legal opinion from the ICJ judges will have far-reaching consequences in the fight against climate change. But others fear the UN-backed request for a non-binding advisory opinion will have limited impact — and it

As the US celebrates its last Thanksgiving before Donald Trump begins his second term as president, many Ukrainians and Russian dissidents living in the country are questioning what Trump’s second term will mean for the war in Ukraine — and their own futures. “I think that Trump will try to make a dirty deal, to stop the war at any cost, which means at Ukraine’s cost, because it’s the easiest way,” says Dmytro Vovk, a Ukrainian law professor, who fled the war in his home country at the end of 2022. Sitting in a brightly lit café filled with Thanksgiving

Matiullah Jan’s arrest sparks outcry over alleged abduction and terrorism charges. He was covering a protest by supporters of Pakistan’s imprisoned former Prime Minister Imran Khan. A journalist in Pakistan investigating violence during a protest march for the release of jailed former Prime Minister Imran Khan was arrested by Islamabad Police. Television host Matiullah Jan, who also has a big presence on YouTube, has been charged with terrorism, drug peddling, and attacking police, according to his lawyer Imaan Mazari. “It is no less than a joke,” she said. “There is not an iota of truth in these charges.” Jan and colleague ‘abducted’