Astronomers believe they might have found the source of the brightest explosion ever in space. The record-breaking explosion recorded in October 2022 was the most powerful ever seen, leaving equipment and instruments struggling to measure it as it pointed directly at planet Earth. The bright gamma-ray burst is officially called GRB 221009A and when it first went off, scientists were left scrabbling to point telescopes in its direction to record it. The explosion has affectionately been nicknamed BOAT, standing for “brightest of all time”, and was caused by the death of a large star located 2.4 billion light-years away – relatively close in terms of space activity. The star collapsed into a black hole after ejecting its outer envelope, causing this huge, bright explosion comprised of gamma rays, producing not only a narrow structured jet but with an additional outflow of gas. Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter This “exceptionally rare event” surprised astronomers, who had not predicted the existence of gas, and certainly provides plenty of new information around the question of how black holes form. The study’s lead author and astronomer from George Washington University, Brendan O'Connor, explained: “GRB 221009A represents a massive step forward in our understanding of gamma-ray bursts, and demonstrates that the most extreme explosions do not obey the standard physics assumed for garden variety gamma-ray bursts.” He continued: “GRB 221009A might be the equivalent Rosetta stone of long GRBs, forcing us to revise our standard theories of how relativistic outflows are formed in collapsing massive stars.” The huge and long-lasting blast measured up to 18 teraelectronvolts which is a staggering record for a gamma-ray burst, leaving scientists to hypothesise that it was a supernova. Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

As Democratic presidential primary candidate Robert F

Anti-EU, anti-immigration firebrand Geert Wilders' surprise victory in the Dutch general election this week shows right-wing populism's success in gobbling up support from traditional conservative parties and taking...

Vladimir Putin has admitted that Russia's security services "stopped a civil war" during the mutiny led by Yevgeny Prigozhin and his Wagner mercenaries – whose wages and bonuses Moscow funded to the tune of £800m in the past year. His remarks came as the Belarusian President, Alexander Lukashenko, confirmed that the Wagner chief had arrived in his country as part of the last-minute deal that ended the extraordinary attempted coup. Mr Lukashenko said that Mr Progozhin and some of his troops were welcome to stay "for some time" at their own expense. Mr Putin appeared outside the Kremlin the praise his troops, seeking to portray the image of strength that Saturday's events had left a severe crack in. Speaking in front of hundreds of troop, Mr Putin said said the country's armed forces had prove their "loyalty to the people of Russia" in protecting the "motherland and its future". The Russian leader claimed that Moscow had not been forced to withdraw troops from Ukraine and he held a minute’s silence in honour of the servicemen killed when Wagner forces shot down Russian military aircraft, including helicopters and a communications plane, as they marched on Moscow. The mercenaries stopped about 125 miles outside the capital. Mr Putin was joined by the defence minister, Sergei Shoigu, whose dismissal had been one of Mr Prigozhin's main demands – having feuded with Russia's military leadership for months. While Russian authorities dropped a criminal case against his Wagner Group – apparently fulfilling another condition of the deal brokered by Mr Lukashenko – Mr Putin appeared to set the stage for financial charges against an organisation owned by Mr Prigozhin. After his speech outside the Kremlin, Mr Putin told a military gathering that Mr Prigozhin's Concord Group earned 80 billion rubles (£733m) from a contract to provide the military with food, and that Wagner received more than 86 billion rubles (£790bn) between May 2022 and May 2023 for wages and additional items. That had come out of the Defence Ministry and state budgets. For years, the Kremlin denied any links to the Wagner group. "I hope that while doing so they didn't steal anything or stole not so much," Mr Putin said, adding that authorities would look closely at Concord's contract. Police who searched his St Petersburg office on Saturday said they found 4 billion rubles (£37m) in trucks outside, according to media reports confirmed by the Wagner boss. He said the money was intended to pay soldiers' families. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov would not disclose details about the Kremlin's deal with the Wagner chief – saying only that Mr Putin had provided Mr Prigozhiin with "certain guarantees," with the aim of avoiding a "worst-case scenario." Asked why the armed Wagner forces were allowed to get as close as they did Moscow without facing any serious resistance, National Guard chief Viktor Zolotov told reporters, "We concentrated our forces in one fist closer to Moscow. If we spread them thin, they would have come like a knife through butter." Mr Zolotov also said the National Guard lacks battle tanks and other heavy weapons and now would get them. Some Russian war bloggers have vented outrage about Mr Prigozhin and his troops not getting punished for killing Russian forces. The treatment stands in stark contrast to the harsh jail terms handed out to opposition activists in Russia who have criticised Russia's invasion of Ukraine. In Belarus, Mr Lukashenko said that he had convinced Mr Prigozhin to end the mutiny in an emotional, expletive-laden phone call, adding that Mr Prigozhin had arrived in the southern Russian city of Rostov – which Wagner seized to start the rebellion – in a "semi-mad state". Mr Lukashenko said he tried for hours by phone to reason with the Wagner chief, who has said he was furious at corruption and incompetence in the military leadership and wanted to avenge an alleged Russian army attack on his men. The Belarusian president said their calls contained "10 times" as many obscenities as normal language. Mr Lukashenko also said that, earlier on Saturday, Russian Mr Putin had sought his help, complaining that Prigozhin was not taking any calls. Lukashenko said he had advised Putin against "rushing" to crush the mutineers. Mr Lukashenko said that his country would accommodate Wagner fighters who wanted to go there, though it was not building any camps for them. "We offered them one of the abandoned military bases. Please - we have a fence, we have everything - put up your tents," Lukashenko said, according to state media. Such a prospect alarms Belarus's neighbours. Latvia and Lithuania both called for Nato to strengthen its eastern borders in response, and Polish President Andrzej Duda called the move a "negative signal". Ukraine is hoping to take advantage of the chaos caused by the attempted coup to push on with its counteroffensive to retake its territory from Russia. Mr Putin offering Wagner's troops the chance to sign contracts with the Russian army is said that was "likely in an effort to retain them" in the fight in Ukraine because Moscow needs "trained and effective manpower" as it faces a Ukrainian counteroffensive, the Institute for the Study of War, a US-based think tank that monitors the war said. In the US, the Pentagon said it would provide a new military package worth $500 million (£390m) to support Ukraine's war effort. The package will include ground vehicles including Bradley fighting vehicles and Stryker armored personnel carriers, and munitions for High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (Himars) to support air defences. Reuters and Associated Press contributed to this report Read More The Body in the Woods | An Independent TV Original Documentary The harrowing discovery at centre of The Independent’s new documentary Wagner chief walks free after armed revolt. Other Russians defying the Kremlin aren’t so lucky In China, muted reaction to revolt in Russai belies anxiety over war, global balance of power Who is Yevgeny Prigozhin?

By Humeyra Pamuk WASHINGTON Palestinians should govern Gaza once Israel ends its war against Hamas, the United States

'Vladimir Putin made the wrong choice. All the worse for him. Soon we will have a new president,' said Yevgeny Prigozhin

Rescue teams raced against time on Tuesday to find a deep-diving tourist submersible that went missing near the wreck of the Titanic...

The Biden administration on Monday announced a goal to produce 50 million metric tons of clean hydrogen fuel by 2050 -- an ambitious roadmap that, if successful, would cut around 10% of the country's planet-warming pollution by the same date.

A homeowner reportedly opened fire on escaped prisoner Danelo Cavalcante after he broke into his home and stole a .22 caliber rifle. A man fired seven times at Cavalcante after the convicted prisoner broke into his home in East Nantmeal on Monday night, FOX 29 reported. Police have not confirmed the shooting or if Cavalcante was injured. Pennsylvania State Police have been contacted for comment. Cavalcante, 34, escaped from Chester County Prison on 31 August, days after he was sentenced to life without parole for stabbing his ex-girlfriend Deborah Brandao, 33, to death. He is also wanted for a 2017 murder in Brazil. A manhunt was launched by police to find the convicted murderer, who police have described as extremely dangerous. Pennsylvania State Police said its search is now centred on South Coventry Township in Chester County, warning locals that the fugitive is armed and that they should “lock all doors and windows” as a precaution. It comes after police responded to reports of gunshots in Coventryville Road in East Nantmeal Township on Monday night. Philadelphia ABC station WPVI reported a homeowner shot at someone matching Cavalcante’s description. Officers reportedly recovered the green hoodie and shoes the prisoner was pictured wearing over the weekend. Since his escape from prison, there have been almost a dozen sightings of Cavalcante but he has continued to elude a massive manhunt, police said. Police said they believe Cavlcante has changed his appearance since his escape, shaving his beard off to evade police. Cavalcante was spotted near Phoenixville in northern Chester County overnight on Saturday wearing a yellow or green hooded sweatshirt, black baseball cap, green prison pants, and white shoes. He was driving a white 2020 Ford Transit van with a refrigeration unit on top, bearing a Pennsylvania registration plate ZST8818, police said in a statement. Authorities subsequently recovered the van after it was left abandoned and with the keys inside in East Nantmeal. Cavalcante was also spotted twice near Chester County Prison on 8 September, according to police. He was spotted again late on 9 September. Footage released by prison authorities of the convicted murderer’s dramatic escape from prison showed Cavlcante crab-walking up a wall in the prison yard, pushing through razor wire and making a dash across a roof. On Monday, Pennsylvania authorities said they had expanded the search perimeter by 10 miles to Phoenixville in their manhunt for Cavlcante after he stole a transit van and drove to the homes of former associates. A corrections officer who failed to report his escape was fired. Read More Danelo Cavalcante - live: Homeowner ‘opened fire’ on fugitive after he stole rifle, locals told to lock doors Where has Danelo Cavalcante been spotted since his Pennsylvania jailbreak? Police hunting Danelo Cavalcante say it’s ‘advantage law enforcement’ as search zeroes in on township

A Michael Jackson estate lawyer said such a premise 'would require low-level employees to confront their supervisor and call them pedophiles'

(This May 8 story has been refiled to correct a misspelled word in paragraph 7) By Andrew Goudsward (Reuters) -

A Swedish appeals court has upped a prison sentence for an Italian surgeon for causing bodily harm during experimental stem cell windpipe transplants on three patients who eventually died