Rhodes fires: Planes sent to collect stranded Britons
Holiday firms are operating flights from the Greek island to help those evacuated after wildfires.
2023-07-24 12:15
Russia accuses Ukraine of Moscow drone attack
The Kremlin accuses Ukraine of being behind an attack that damaged at least two buildings.
2023-07-24 11:25
Cambodia's ruling party claims landslide win in one-sided election
The party of Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen declared a landslide victory in a general election on Sunday, a vote that critics widely dismissed as a sham aimed at cementing the party's rule before an expected transfer of power to his eldest son.
2023-07-24 10:21
Taliban beauty salon ban: Three Afghan women mourn the end of a valued service
Women tell the BBC about what they will miss from salons before they close on orders from the Taliban.
2023-07-24 07:57
Ukraine war: Russia hits Odesa after killing grain deal
Russia is hammering Ukraine's port city of Odesa after quitting the grain deal. What happens now?
2023-07-24 07:55
Scientists discover strange 'candyfloss' planet with fluffy atmosphere
Scientists have discovered one of the strangest exoplanets ever that is so light and fluffy that it is actually being compared to candyfloss (or cotton candy if you are American). The planet is called WASP-193b and is 1,232 light-years away and was discovered by researchers at the University of Liège in Belgium. The findings of their study, led by astronomer Khalid Barkaoui has been published on arXiv. The planet, which is believed to be a so-called gas giant is nearly 50 per cent bigger than Jupiter and is orbiting a Sun-like star named WASP-193, which the scientists believe is up to 6 billion years old. Although this star is slightly bigger than our sun it is still said to have the same temperature but compared to Earth, WASP-193b orbits its star just every 6.25 days. Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter By studying the planet, Barkaoui and his team were able to determine that its density was around 0.059 grams per cubic centimetre. Earth's density per cubic centimetre for comparison, is 5.51 grams whereas candyfloss has a density of 0.05 grams. There are few other examples of a planet like this existing but its close proximity to a star may give an indication as to how it came to exist as its heat is likely to have warmed up the planet's puffy atmosphere, which is mostly made up of hydrogen and helium. This state of the planet is only set to last for around a few ten million years as the temperatures and winds emitted from the star are only likely to strip back the atmosphere further. Due to this scientists cannot fully recreate or determine what is causing WASP-193b's unique atmosphere but is it likely to be a continued source of study to try and determine the cause of this phenomenon. 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.
2023-07-24 00:18
Gemma Atkinson and Gorka Marquez share newborn son’s sweet name and first photo
Gemma Atkinson has announced the name of her second child with Gorka Marquez as she shared the first picture of the infant. The couple, who met when the former Emmerdale star took part in BBC reality show Strictly Come Dancing in 2017, welcomed their first child earlier this week. In her original post, Atkinson, 38, shared that she had given birth to a boy, with the pair spending a joyous week together before Spanish dancer Marquez, 32, heads off to rehearsal for the new series of Strictly. On Saturday (22 July), Atkinson shared her first photo of her baby son sleeping in his cot in a blue t-shirt. She confirmed his name in the comment section, writing: “Thiago Thomas Marquez [heart emoji]. Our family is complete.” Atkinson and Marquez’s fellow Strictly stars flooded the comment section with support, with pro Oti Mabuse calling the picture “beautiful”. It Takes Two host Janette Manrara commented: “Look at him! CONGRATULATIONS GUYS!” Dianne Buswell said that Thiago was a “mini” version of his father, while Karen Hauer wrote: “Oh the most beautiful little one. Felicidades.” The couple, who already share a three-year-old daughter, Mia, were not partnered up on Strictly in 2017, but started dating after the series finished. Atkinson gave birth to Mia in 2019, during which she he needed an emergency c-section and suffered a haemorrhage after the birth, losing nearly a litre of blood. Following the experience she said she was initially “adamant” that she and Marquez would not want another child. Appearing on Steph’s Packed Lunch last year, she recalled: “All these things were going through my mind, what did I do that caused all that to happen? I was telling myself for weeks and weeks I’d failed at childbirth. “I was having horrible dreams that someone was going to take Mia from me. I remember my mum running into my bedroom and I was sat up screaming, sweating.” Marquez will appear as a professional dancer on the forthcoming series of Strictly Come Dancing, which kicks off in September. One fan favourite pro who won’t be taking part this year, however, is Amy Dowden, following her breast cancer diagnosis. The Welsh dancer, 32, told fans she’d been diagnosed with breast cancer in May and underwent a full mastectomy to treat the disease shortly after. Dowden had shared ambitions to compete on the dancing competition this year, saying that only chemotherapy would affect whether she’d compete on this year’s Strictly. However, on Friday (21 July), Dowden shared that she would be needing to have chemo after more tumours were discovered following her mastectomy. “They found another type of cancer and then they told me I needed chemo – for me that was a massive blow,” she said. “It wasn’t in the plan, originally – and I know the plan you can’t get fixated on. “This year, it means I’m not going to be able to dance with a celebrity on Strictly, but I’m in such regular contact with the team – the BBC have just been utterly incredible,” she said. Read More Fans defend Prince Harry and Meghan Markle amid breakup rumours Tim Shaddock rescue: Ben Fogle offers to pay for Australian sailor and dog to be reunited after emotional separation Father sparks outrage for calling son ‘spoiled’ after 23-year-old said he can’t throw wedding for under $7,000 Gemma Atkinson announces birth of second baby in heartwarming Instagram post Myleene Klass says she’s ‘changed history’ as government pledge miscarriage support Researchers warn after 25 types of toxic flame retardant found in human breast milk
2023-07-23 22:20
Hidden structure discovered in Earth's core could 'rewrite' scientist's understanding of the planet
Scientists think they have discovered a previously unknown hidden structure inside the Earth’s core that could change our understanding of our planet. In school, most of us were taught there are four main layers to the Earth’s structure: the crust, the mantle, the outer core and the inner core. What we know about the Earth’s insides has mostly derived from geologists’ knowledge and observations of volcanoes and seismic waves. But now, scientists believe that there may also be a whole extra layer hidden inside the inner core that no one knew about. Earth’s molten inner core is predicted to be around 5,000 degrees Celsius in temperature and scientists have calculated that it takes up around just 1 per cent of the planet’s total volume. The discovery of a potential fifth layer to the planet’s core came a few years ago when scientists used an algorithm to model thousands of scenarios of the inner core to observe the length of time it takes seismic waves to travel through Earth based on data by the International Seismological Centre. Sign up to our new free Indy100 weekly newsletter Scientists were able to analyse how different material properties within the inner core would affect seismic waves differently and found that some scenarios were certainly more likely than others. The algorithm showed how different materials altered the angle of seismic waves, leading them to hypothesise that there was a change of material somewhere in the inner core. Joanne Stephenson, an Australian National University geophysicist, explained: “We found evidence that may indicate a change in the structure of iron, which suggests perhaps two separate cooling events in Earth's history.” She continued: “The details of this big event are still a bit of a mystery, but we've added another piece of the puzzle when it comes to our knowledge of the Earth's inner core.” While their data isn’t conclusive, it does correlate with other similar studies that have looked into the anisotropy of the Earth’s inner core. Stephenson said: “It's very exciting - and might mean we have to re-write the textbooks!” 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.
2023-07-23 20:52
Rhodes fires: Scots tourists sleep on street as blazes spread
One couple from Kilmarnock had to sleep on a mattress in the street after hotels on the Greek island were evacuated.
2023-07-23 19:18
Portland hospital shooting leaves at least 1 injured as police search for suspect
Police in Oregon are looking for a suspect after a shooting at a hospital in downtown Portland left at least one person injured, authorities said.
2023-07-23 06:17
Greece fires: Honeymoon couple from NI 'stranded' in Rhodes
Lee Ruane and his wife Rosaleen are among thousands evacuated from houses and homes on the island.
2023-07-23 05:25
McDonald's to investigate Irish rape victim taunts
McDonald's UK and Ireland chief executive says he commends Ciara Mangan's bravery in speaking out.
2023-07-23 01:48