A suspicious aerial object looking like a weather balloon has been spotted flying in Romania’s airspace. The country’s air force scrambled two MiG 21 LanceR jets to the area in the southeast 10 minutes after its surveillance system detected the object, but they were unable to confirm its presence, the defence ministry said. The planes
World
The Chinese governor of Xinjiang has pulled out of a trip to London after senior MPs protested over the persecution of Uyghur Muslims in his province. Downing Street confirmed on Monday that Erkin Tuniyaz was set to meet officials in the Foreign Office, saying they would “make clear the UK’s abhorrence to Uyghur people’s treatment”.
Indian tax officials have raided the BBC’s offices in New Delhi. Teams from the tax department surveyed the BBC’s Delhi and Mumbai offices, the Press Trust of India news agency reported, quoting officials who were not identified. A BBC spokesperson said: “The income tax authorities are currently at the BBC offices in New Delhi and
Two new border crossings have been opened between Turkey and Syria to allow for the delivery of humanitarian aid following last week’s devastating earthquake, the United Nations (UN) has said. Syrian President Bashar al Assad has agreed to allow UN deliveries to opposition-held northwest Syria through the crossings for three months, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres
The Philippines has accused a Chinese coast guard ship of hitting a Philippine coast guard vessel with a military-grade laser and temporarily blinding some of its crew in the disputed South China Sea. In an incident which it called a “blatant” violation of Manila’s sovereign rights, the Chinese ship reportedly manoeuvered dangerously close, about 137m
Justin Trudeau has ordered the “take down” of an “unidentified object” that “violated” Canadian airspace. The country’s prime minister tweeted that both Canadian and US aircraft were scrambled. A US F-22 stealth fighter jet, sent by the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD), “successfully fired at the object”, Mr Trudeau said. It was taken down
Hugging a cow on Valentine’s Day is no longer being encouraged by the Indian government – despite it previously asking people to do so to promote Hindu values. The Animal Welfare Board of India (AWBI) retracted its “Cow Hug Day” appeal after it attracted criticism from political rivals and social media users. The Indian government
A dog breeder was shot and killed on Monday night after a planned sale of a French bulldog went wrong, police have said. Lonnie A Ray, 76, organised to sell the dog in Bishopville, South Carolina. Authorities described Mr Ray as “probably the best breeder” in the area. Mr Ray had planned to meet the
Recep Tayyip Erdogan has spent two decades in power, serving as Turkey’s prime minister from 2003 to 2014, when he was elected president. He now faces the enormous challenge of rebuilding swathes of the country that have crumbled to rubble in the most devastating earthquake since 1999. He is also seeking re-election in May. Who
The heart of this disaster lies at the end of the highway which leads to Kahramanmaras, a bustling city of a million people, perched up in the mountains of central Turkey. The setting is spectacular but this community also sits along the East Anatolian Fault. When two major earthquakes ruptured the surface on Monday, the