By Ricardo Brito and Anthony Boadle BRASILIA (Reuters) -Former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro faced mounting legal pressure on Friday, as

Could we have aliens to thank for preventing a nuclear war on Earth? That’s what one former Nasa astronaut has claimed. Edgar Mitchell, who was involved in the Apollo 14 mission, gained a reputation for sharing conspiracy theories when he arrived back from the moon in 1971. Mitchell was the sixth man on the moon and was the Lunar Module Pilot on Apollo 14. Before his death in 2016, Mitchell spoke at length claiming that aliens visited Earth. Speaking to the Mirror, he alleged that aliens were responsible for preventing nuclear war between the US and the Soviets at the height of Cold War tensions. Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter At the time, Mitchell focused on the White Sands Missile Range facility in New Mexico. “White Sands was a testing ground for atomic weapons – and that's what the extraterrestrials were interested in,” he said. "They wanted to know about our military capabilities. My own experience talking to people has made it clear the ETs had been attempting to keep us from going to war and help create peace on Earth." White Sands Missile Range is where the first atomic bomb was tested in 1945, and Mitchell claimed that officers there had told him aliens had shot down missiles flying over the site. The claims were, as you’d expect, disputed. UFO expert Nigel Watson told IFL Science at the time: "To me, this is just another case of UFO fantasy and speculation. When you try getting to the facts it is like trying to herd cats." Meanwhile, a UFO conspiracy theorist recently described the south pole as an “air traffic control” hub for aliens. A recent discussion centred on the Amundsen–Scott South Pole, which Eric Hecker claimed communicated with “exotic” crafts by sending neutrino rays up into space. Hecker went further by talking about “digital optical modules” buried a mile beneath the surface under the ice. He claims they were buried in order to detect neutrino interactions while being deep enough not to interfere with radiation readings. 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.

Wild Youth face strong competition against favourites Sweden and Finland in Tuesday's semi-final.

European Union leaders gathered Thursday to debate ways to use their combined leverage to ensure that more aid reaches Palestinians in need, and how to help EU citizens in Gaza escape danger, including some held hostage by Hamas. EU nations have long been divided in their approach to Israel and the Palestinians, but the brutal nature of the Hamas attack on Israel on Oct 7., which killed more than 1,400 people, and the hardship of civilians forced from their homes in Gaza have shone a bright spotlight on those divisions. Across the EU spectrum, Austria, Germany and Hungary are among Israel's top supporters. The leaders of Austria and Germany went to Israel to show solidarity after the assault. Spain and Ireland often focus on the plight of the Palestinians. Hamas, for its part, is on the EU’s list of terrorist groups. The challenge has been to strike a balance between condemning the Hamas attacks, supporting Israel’s right to defend itself and ensuring that the rights of civilians on both sides are protected under international law. EU envoys have wrangled in recent days over whether to call for a “humanitarian pause” or “pauses,” or even a “window” in the fighting, to allow aid in. Israel’s strongest backers oppose any language that might be seen to constrain its right to self-defense. Meanwhile, the death toll in Gaza has soared past 7,000, according to Palestinian officials. It’s unprecedented in the decades-long Israeli-Palestinian conflict. A draft of the leaders’ summit statement, seen by The Associated Press, sees them call “for continued, rapid, safe and unhindered humanitarian access and aid to reach those in need through all necessary measures including humanitarian corridors and pauses.” Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar said: “I’m not obsessed about what language we use. What we want is the killing and the violence to stop; to stop so that humanitarian aid can get into Gaza, where Palestinian people are ... suffering, and also to allow us to get EU citizens out." He said that about 30 Irish Palestinian citizens are stuck. "We’re keen for them to be able to leave Gaza if they want to leave, and that’s currently not possible,” Varadkar told reporters. Despite its limited political leverage, the 27-nation bloc is the world’s top aid supplier to the Palestinians. It has sent almost 78 million euros ($82 million) this year and over 930 million euros ($982 million) since 2000. The EU has little influence over Israel – the United States is its staunchest ally – but remains the country’s biggest trade partner. The EU’s executive branch, the European Commission, has trumpeted what it calls an “air bridge” for Gaza – it consists of two plane loads of aid so far – and has demanded that more humanitarian assistance be allowed into poverty and conflict-hit Gaza. In recent days, Israel has let more than 60 trucks with aid enter from Egypt. Aid workers and the EU say it's not enough, just a tiny fraction of what came in before the war. Israel is still barring deliveries of fuel — needed to power generators — saying it believes that Hamas will take it. A warning by the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, over waning fuel supplies has raised alarm that the humanitarian crisis could quickly worsen. Gaza’s population has also been running out of food, water and medicine. The EU is UNRWA’s third biggest funder. Dozens of European nationals are believed to be among the more than 200 Israelis and foreigners taken hostage by Hamas. Scores more have been caught up in the turmoil as around 1.4 million of Gaza’s 2.3 million residents fled their homes under orders from the Israeli army. Exact numbers are difficult to establish as some countries prefer not to provide them for security reasons. EU officials also declined to say. Qatar has become a key interlocutor for countries hoping to have their captive nationals released. EU officials have said that Turkey could also play an important role, underscoring the need for the bloc to maintain good relations with countries in the region, beyond Israel. In the draft summit statement – perhaps due to the extreme security concerns – the leaders note only that they “reviewed the state of play and the follow-up on the different strands of action, including concerted efforts to assist EU citizens.” Read More Harris will attend an AI summit at a UK estate that was a base for World War II codebreakers European Union to press the leaders of Serbia and Kosovo to set decades of enmity behind them Europe's central bank is set to halt rate hikes as the Mideast war casts a shadow over the economy Israel-Hamas war could threaten already fragile economies in Egypt, Lebanon and Jordan British leader Rishi Sunak marks a year in office with little to celebrate Belgian police are looking for a Palestinian man following media report he could plan an attack

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