
Saudi Arabia getting closer to Israel normalisation deal, prince says
An agreement creating ties between the two historical foes would mark a huge regional shift.
2023-09-21 20:55

Tropical storm conditions possible for mid-Atlantic from coastal storm
A storm set to brew off the southeastern US coast late this week will bring gusty winds, heavy rain and hazardous seas from Florida to New England.
2023-09-21 20:52

Scientists issue warning about asteroid heading to Earth with force of 24 atomic bombs
Scientists are on alert after NASA confirmed there is a chance an asteroid the size of the Empire State Building could come smashing into Earth. The asteroid is named Bennu after the ancient Egyptian bird god and has been on the space agency’s radar for a long time as they try to prevent it from coming crashing into our planet. Bennu has been categorised as one of the two “most hazardous known asteroids” and, despite the chance of impact standing at 1-in-2,700, it could strike the Earth with the force of 24 times that of the largest nuclear bomb – 1,200 megatons of energy. The carbon-based asteroid is approximately 510 metres wide and experts predict that it will come closest to hitting Earth on September 24, 2182. While the asteroid is quite sizeable, it is not quite as sizeable as the six-mile-wide asteroid which almost completely wiped out the dinosaurs. But, NASA warns that Bennu “could cause continental devastation if it became an Earth impactor”. A space mission launched using NASA’s OSIRIS-REx spacecraft has successfully taken a sample from Bennu in order for scientists to better understand the potentially dangerous asteroid. On Sunday (24 September) a capsule of the material will be dropped by OSIRIS-REx and returned to Earth where it will be retrieved and the matter inside studied. Davide Farnocchia of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory told the Science Journal: “We improved our knowledge of Bennu's trajectory by a factor of 20.” As scientists work to investigate how much of a risk it could cause, Farnocchia added: “In 2135, we'll know for sure.” Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter 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.
2023-09-21 20:26

South Africa to clear Covid lockdown criminal records
More than 400,000 people were arrested for breaking some of the world's toughest lockdown restrictions.
2023-09-21 20:25

King's diplomatic speech to French Senate receives standing ovation
His speech, delivered in French and English, touched on climate change and the invasion of Ukraine.
2023-09-21 20:16

Putin trip to meet Xi in China confirmed for next month
Vladimir Putin has accepted an invite from Xi Jinping to visit China for a Belt and Road Summit being held in October in his first known trip abroad since an arrest warrant was slapped against him for the deportation of children from Ukraine. The Russian president recently met North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un and is looking to cement ties with a handful of allies after being isolated on the world stage due to his invasion of Ukraine. Russia and China are “integrating our ideas of creating a large Eurasian space”, Mr Putin said, adding that the Chinese-led Belt and Road initiative is a part of that. He announced his intention to visit Beijing after a meeting with Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi, who is in Moscow this week for a strategic diplomatic visit. Mr Putin told the top Chinese diplomat that the Belt and Road strategy “fully meets and coincides” with Russia’s interests, according to a statement by the Kremlin. He will be attending the summit in Chinese capital Beijing. “We believe in merging our vision of creating a Greater Eurasian space with the idea of our Chinese friends as part of the Belt and Road Initiative, and we have been quite good at synchronising our efforts,” he said. After invading Ukraine in February last year, Mr Putin has increasingly relied on seeking support from his allies in Asia, prominently China and North Korea. Russia has also amped up trade with China by selling it more energy and showing diplomatic bonhomie by carrying out joint military exercises. The talks in Beijing will be thorough, said Nikolai Patrushev, a close aide to the Russian president and the secretary of Russia’s Security Council. He said Russia and China should deepen cooperation in the face of the West’s attempt to contain them both. Both countries also have strained relations with the US, with Mr Xi briefly becoming the only foreign leader to have paid Mr Putin a visit in Moscow until recently, when Mr Kim revelled in his own six-day sojourn to Russia’s far east. A flagship initiative of Beijing, the Belt and Road project has been a key prospect for China to expand its influence in developing countries through infrastructure projects. On the continuing war in Ukraine, China has shown a neutral stand and has gone to the extent of criticising Western sanctions against Moscow and the arming of Kyiv by several Western nations. It also accused Nato and the US of provoking Russia’s military action and declared last year that it had a “no-limits” friendship with Russia. Earlier this year, CIA director William Burns said Russia was becoming more and more dependent on China and was even at risk of becoming its “economic colony” in time. Read More Why Vladimir Putin needs Xi Jinping now more than ever Why Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong-un are desperate for each other’s help Ukraine kills 130 Russian soldiers in single day in southern push Chinese foreign minister visits Russia for ‘security’ talks day after Kim Jong-un leaves country
2023-09-21 19:20

Sweden's central bank hikes key interest rate, saying inflation is still too high
Sweden’s central bank has raised its key interest rate, saying the “inflationary pressures in the Swedish economy are still too high.”
2023-09-21 19:18

US offers almost 500,000 Venezuelans legal status
US cities have been grappling with large numbers of Venezuelans fleeing economic and political turmoil.
2023-09-21 19:16

Travel boom not enough to drive profits at US budget airlines Frontier, Spirit
By Rajesh Kumar Singh CHICAGO Travel boom has delivered bumper earnings for U.S. carriers, but no-frills airlines such
2023-09-21 18:56

Nagorno-Karabakh: Fresh reports of gunfire despite ceasefire
Azerbaijan denies that fighting has resumed a day after ethnic-Armenian forces agreed to surrender.
2023-09-21 18:51

US House Republicans look to restart spending agenda with defense vote
By David Morgan WASHINGTON U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy will try to restart his stalled Republican spending agenda
2023-09-21 18:28

Calculate your monthly student loan bill under Biden's SAVE plan
A new federal student loan repayment plan known as SAVE (Saving on a Valuable Education) could lower monthly payments for millions of borrowers. Use CNN's calculator to see how much your monthly payment would be this year if you're enrolled in SAVE.
2023-09-21 18:20