A Chinese-Australian writer who has been detained in China for more than four years said he fears he could die in jail, after a large cyst was found on his kidney.

Adin Ross and Andrew Tate describe their bond as a special one and the two often have conversations off-camera

Many of us look to the stars for answers to life’s most complex questions. But actually, some of the greatest mysteries lie beneath our very feet. One might think we’d know the Earth pretty well by now but, in fact, our planet’s core remains shrouded in enigma. Indeed, there are two gigantic blobs located beneath Africa and the Pacific Ocean that occupy around six per cent of the world’s entire volume. And yet, we’re still not entirely sure what they’re made of or where they came from. There are a number of hypotheses, including that they are piles of oceanic crust that have accumulated over billions of years. Sign up for our free Indy100 weekly newsletter But a more interesting theory is that they are huge chunks of an ancient planet that hit the Earth around 4.5 billion years ago. To give an indication of just how massive these things are, the structure under Africa – an area known as Tuzo – is thought to be around 800km (497 miles) tall – the equivalent of some 90 Mount Everests stacked on top of one another, as IFLScience notes. The problem with determining the origin of these monster formations is that there are no direct ways of observing the Earth’s core. The deepest hole humans have ever dug – branded the "entrance to hell" – reached a pretty staggering 12,263m (40,230ft), but that doesn’t even come close to breaking through the crust to the layers beneath. Our most effective tool for analysing what lies beneath the ground is a technique called seismic tomography, which looks at how waves of energy travel when earthquakes occur. Since rocks and liquids have different densities, the waves move through them at different speeds. By measuring the tremors from different points on the surface, geologists can determine what kind of material the waves are travelling through and, in so doing, map out the Earth’s interior. It was by using this technique that the two unusual structures – known as large low shear velocity provinces (LLSVPs) – were found. Waves travel more slowly in these areas – fondly known as “blobs” – than through the surrounding lower mantle, indicating that they’re made of something different. We can’t tell what this material is based on seismic tomography data alone, but some scientists like to believe that they are the remnants of an ancient planet called Theia – an idea known as the “giant impact hypothesis”. According to this hypothesis, around 4.5 billion years ago, a Mars-sized object collided with the Earth. This impact not only created the planet we call home today, but also threw off enough rock to form the moon that lights up our night skies. Some scientists suggest that some of Theia’s leftovers also sunk to the bottom of the planet, probably settling somewhere above the core – thereby forming at least one of the two LLSVPs. More Updates About Strange Blob Structures Inside Planet Earth youtu.be Experts have been investigating the area for decades but there’s still no way of knowing for sure just what these two giant blobs are. Still, studies into Theia have offered important insights into how the possible collision might have kickstarted key plate tectonic and mantle motion inside our planet – crucial processes for establishing the world on which we live. It’s also a useful reminder that we still have so much to learn about our planet and where we came from. 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.

Samuel Garcia, who stepped down as governor of the Mexican state of Nuevo Leon to run for the

The touching note came with two images of the couple on their wedding day

During a recent live stream on Twitch, Cenat demonstrated his empathetic side by coming to the defense of YouTuber Fousey

Apple has unveiled the new iPhone 15 Pro, with an entirely new material. The new device will be made out of titanium, and rely on a host of new manufacturing processes. Its new material and design allows it to be the lightest Pro phone Apple has made, and includes the thinnest edges around the display. As well as the titanium, the new phone has the toughest glass-based material in the industry and an aluminium structure inside the phone, with the two materials joined in a new way that should make the phone extra strong, Apple said. The glass is now much easier to replace, Apple said. The iPhone 15 Pro comes at the same price as the previous pro model, at $999. The iPhone 15 Pro Max will be slightly more, starting at $1,199, though Apple stressed the price increase comes with more storage. :: Follow our coverage of the Apple event here. It comes in two sizes, 6.1-inches and 6.7-inches. And it comes in four new colours: black, white, blue and a natural titanium. The titanium itself is a “grade five” alloy, Apple said, the same material used on the Mars rover. The new material also brings a new look, with a brushed texture on the side of the phone. As well as the new material, the iPhone 15 Pro brings a new customisable “action button” on the side of the phone, and an improved “A17 Pro” chip inside it. The action button replaces the mute switch on the side of the phone, and does the same job by default. But it can be changed to start voice memos, open the camera – or to start complex processes, by using Apple’s Shortcuts app. The new chip has “next-level performance”, Apple said, with improvements including dramatically improved graphics performance. Apple claimed the device is a “new chapter in iPhone performance”, and it focused particularly on the gaming performance that the new chip will allow. The iPhone 15 Pro has “the equivalent of seven camera lenses”, Apple said, even though it retains the three visible lenses on the back of the phone. That is partly because the iPhone 15 Pro Max has a 5x optical zoom, by using the extra space in the bigger device as well as a “tetra prism” design that bounces light around in the phone. The new camera also has a new coating to reduce lens flare, and better performance in low light. Like the normal iPhone 15, it has a 48 megapixel camera but offers the option to merge that down into a 24 megapixel image, which Apple said should allow for better quality and high resolution images. The iPhone 15 Pro is also able to stitch together images from two of the lenses to capture spatial video, which can later be viewed in the Vision Pro headset. At the time of the release of that headset, some had expressed concern that people would be forced to put those headsets on to take the new kinds of videos. Like its cheaper iPhone 15 sibling, the 15 Pro will also be the first phone to switch to a USB-C charging port to charge. In the Pro model, that allows for USB 3 speeds, Apple said. Read More Apple to stop using leather in all new products Apple is changing the plug on the bottom of your iPhone Here’s the new iPhone Pro, made out of an entirely new material Apple reveals when huge new iPhone update is coming Everything Apple just announced at its huge ‘Wonderlust’ event Here is the iPhone 15

Pakistan has opened three new border crossings to expedite the deportation of Afghans living in the country illegally

By Patricia Zengerle WASHINGTON A group of Democratic U.S. House of Representatives members urged President Joe Biden's administration

The interior minister said no female soldiers would serve in prisons holding Palestinian "terrorirsts".

The U.N. Commission on Human Rights in South Sudan has accused the country’s National Security Service of threatening media and civil society and undermining prospects for a democratic transition before next year's election

Florida-based radio host Mike Calta recently sparked outrage when a video of him verbally assaulting a female fan went viral