By Will Dunham WASHINGTON, Dec 4 (Reuters) - Paleontologists for decades debated whether meat-eating dinosaur Nanotyrannus was actually just a juvenile Tyrannosaurus.

A throat bone settles it - Nanotyrannus was not a juvenile T. rex

New data suggests an eruption cooled Europe, disrupted harvests and pushed Italian states into grain trades that may have begun one of history’s deadliest pandemics.

Volcanic eruption led to the Black Death, new research suggests

A study suggests that a volcanic eruption around 1345 cooled the climate, leading to crop failures. On the ships that carried grain to fill the gap came plague-carrying fleas.

A volcanic eruption may have catalyzed the plague's arrival in Europe, study suggests

A mishap during the successful Nov. 27 launch of three astronauts damaged the only pad that currently supports Russian crewed orbital liftoffs. How long before things are back up and running again?

Damaged launch pad: How long before Russia can send astronauts to the ISS again?

The Geminid meteor shower is active from Dec. 4 and hits its peak on the night of Dec. 13-14.

Geminid shooting stars: One of 2025's most exciting meteor showers begins tonight

The Israeli military says it struck Hezbollah sites, less than 24 hours after Israel and Lebanon sent civilian envoys to meet.

Israel strikes south Lebanon after first direct talks in decades

Ireland, Spain, Netherlands, and Slovenia refuse to participate in next year’s event after calling for Israel to be bann

Four countries to boycott Eurovision 2026 over Israel’s inclusion

An alleged Palestine Action member has told jury the group "didn't want any harm" during a break-in.

Violence 'never part' of break-in plan, court told

If Thailand complied, it would deliver a painful blow to Israel’s agricultural sector at the very moment it was struggling to recover from the shock of the attack. Iran offered Thailand help in securing the release of Thai hostages held in Hamas captivity on the condition that Bangkok label Israel an “unsafe country” and instruct its tens of thousands of agricultural workers working there to leave immediately, two sources familiar with the matter told The Jerusalem Post on Thursday.

Hostages as leverage: Iran's secret demand aimed at crippling Israel's agriculture

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz is seeking a solution with Belgium on the issue of the provision of Russian funds to support Ukraine. On Thursday, Merz said that he was taking the Belgian government's concerns seriously.

Merz postpones Norway trip for Belgium talks on frozen Russian assets

The Abu Shabab militia is a result of a short-sighted Israeli policy that doesn’t seem to want to see a legitimate and stable Gaza governance emerge. Gaza militia leader Yasser Abu Shabab was killed on Thursday, according to numerous reports.

Yasser Abu Shabab's killing raises questions about Israel's militia strategy in Gaza

Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s vaccine panel on Thursday delayed a vote on the hepatitis B vaccine for newborns.

RFK Jr.'s vaccine panel delays hepatitis B shot vote after chaotic meeting

Several Israeli soldiers were injured in calshes in the south of the Gaza Strip, despite a fragile ceasefire, the Israeli army said on Wednesday. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said "troops encountered several terrorists who emerged from an underground terrorist infrastructure.

Israel says soldiers wounded in Gaza fighting amid fragile truce

In a surprising turn of events, Malaysia’s transport ministry has decided to resume its search for the missing MH370 flight, more than ten years after the aircraft vanished without leaving a viable explanation. Authorities from the Southeast Asian country confirmed in an official statement that the hunt for the missing Malaysia Airlines aircraft will commence […] The post Malaysia To Revive Search for Missing Flight MH370 appeared first on Mandatory.

Malaysia To Revive Search for Missing Flight MH370

RIO DE JANEIRO, Dec 3 (Reuters) - A federal labor judge in Brazil ordered the government to add a poultry unit of meatpacker JBS to a so-called "dirty list" of employers responsible ​for subjecting workers to slavery-like conditions, according to a Tuesday court ruling seen by Reuters. The case ‌stems from a federal raid last year that found 10 people working in slavery-like conditions for a contractor hired to load and unload cargo ‌for poultry unit JBS Aves, in Brazil's Rio Grande do Sul stat

Brazil judge orders government to add JBS subsidiary to 'dirty list' for slavery

Rescue workers say they recovered bodies from a camp for displaced people. The IDF says it "struck a Hamas terrorist".

Five killed in Israeli air strikes on tents near Khan Younis, medics say

Japan deployed troops Wednesday to help contain a surge of bear attacks that have terrorized residents in a mountainous region in the northern prefecture of Akita.  Reports of sometimes deadly encounters with brown bears and Asiatic black bears are being reported almost daily ahead of hibernation season as the bears forage for food.  Since April, more than 100 people have been injured and at least 12 killed in bear attacks across Japan, according to Environment Ministry statistics at the end of

Japan deploys the military to counter a surge in bear attacks

A week before what the Indigenous Krenak people now call “the death of the river,” they say they could feel it coming.  The birds stopped singing, the air grew heavy, and an unusual silence settled over their village in Minas Gerais, a southeastern Brazilian state where forested hills give way to the winding Doce River.  A mining dam owned by Samarco — a joint venture between Brazilian company Vale and Anglo-Australian giant BHP Billiton — burst upstream near the town of Mariana, unleashing a to

A decade after Brazil’s deadly dam collapse, Indigenous peoples demand justice on the eve of COP30

Three Chinese astronauts have been forced to extend their six-month stay in space over concerns their return ship may have been hit by debris, China’s space agency said.

Chinese astronauts’ return to Earth delayed over fears spaceship damaged by debris

When summer heat comes to the Arara neighborhood in northern Rio, it lingers, baking the red brick and concrete that make up many of the buildings long after the sun has gone down.  Luis Cassiano, who's lived here more than 30 years, says he's getting worried as heat waves become more frequent and fierce.  In poor areas such as Arara, those who can afford air conditioning — Cassiano is one — can't always count on it because of frequent power outages on an overloaded system.

As world leaders enter climate talks, people in poverty have the most at stake

Vietnam is rethinking how it copes with floods after a year of relentless storms collapsed hillsides and left vast parts of cities under water.  From mapping high-risk areas to reimagining “sponge cities” that can absorb and release water naturally, Vietnam is investing billions to adapt to what experts call a new era of climate extremes.  In smaller cities like Vinh in central Vietnam, these ideas are taking shape.

Vietnam rethinks its flood strategy as climate change drives storms and devastation

A Palestinian journalist has been killed in an Israeli attack in the Gaza Strip, according to media reports Tuesday. Another journalist was injured in the drone strike in Khan Younis in the south of the territory, the Palestinian news agency WAFA reported.

Journalist reported killed in the Gaza Strip

The visit follows weeks of sharp clashes between the two and criticism Ben-Gvir faced during his previous trip to the town. National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir is expected to visit the Bedouin town of Lakiya in southern Israel on Tuesday night as part of Israel Police's new directive to combat crime in the Negev, despite the cancellation of a planned meeting between him and Council Head Sharif al Asad.

'Inflaming tensions': Bedouin mayor slams Ben-Gvir's unauthorized visit after meeting cancellation

French President Emmanuel Macron begins his multi-day state visit to the People's Republic of China on Wednesday. The French leader not only wants to visit the Forbidden City in Beijing, but will also meet Chinese state and party leaders on Thursday.

International issues on the agenda as Frances's Macron visits China

Some believe China's mega-embassy could be a hub for espionage in the heart of London.

Chinese mega embassy could bring security advantages, says No 10

Israel’s Supreme Court escalates its review of the Judicial Selection overhaul, assigning the case to all 11 justices and delaying hearings to June. Debating the heart of the judicial reform legislation – the overhaul of the Judicial Selection Committee – will be the entire 11-justice bench of the Supreme Court, Chief Justice Isaac Amit, Deputy Chief Justice Noam Sohlberg, and Justice Dafna Barak-Erez announced on Tuesday evening.

Full Supreme Court to hear challenge to Judicial Selection Committee law

The survey, conducted by Tel Aviv University, examined the attitudes of Israel’s Arab population following the conclusion of the war in Gaza. More than 75% of Israel’s Arab citizens support an Arab party joining the government coalition following the end of the war, a new study revealed.

75% of Arab Israelis support Arab party joining government coalition post-war, survey reveals

The UN warned Israel over alleged abuses against rights defenders and detainees, calling for stronger legal protections and impartial investigations. The UN Committee Against Torture addressed several concerns with Israel's alleged mistreatment of human rights defenders, journalists, whistleblowers, prisoners, and former military advocate-general Yifat Tomer-Yerushalmi, in a statement last week.

UN torture cm'tee report flags Israel for allegedly mistreating journalists, detainees, ex-MAG

BARCELONA/MADRID, Dec 1 (Reuters) - Spanish police, soldiers and park rangers are racing to identify wild boars that might be infected with African ​swine fever and prevent the disease from crossing into the country's domestic herd, which is central ‌to its multi-billion-euro pork export industry. Operatives are using drones, infrared technology and sniffer dogs to find any boar carcasses for testing, ‌as well as sealing off the areas around animal tracks under highways and pipework to prevent

Spanish police and soldiers track boars, reinforce farm security amid swine fever outbreak

Africa’s forests have turned from a carbon sink into a carbon source, according to research that underscores the need for urgent action to save the world’s great natural climate stabilizers.

African Forests Have Become a Source of Carbon Emissions

By Eduardo Baptista BEIJING, Dec 1 (Reuters) - China's first crewed spacecraft to be ruled unfit to fly in mid-mission will be sent back to Earth for experts to assess the damage it sustained more

Damaged Shenzhou-20 spacecraft to return to Earth uncrewed for inspection

HAVANA, Dec 1 () - Cuba on Monday confirmed the deaths of 33 people from mosquito-borne illnesses in recent ​months in an epidemic that has hit at least one-third of the ‌population, according to official reports. Deputy Minister of Health Carilda Peña said 12 people had died of dengue and ‌21 of chikungunya, the two viruses circulating widely across the Caribbean island nation.

Cuba says 33 have died of mosquito-borne illnesses as epidemic rages

Congo on Monday announced the end of an Ebola outbreak that killed 43 people in one of the country's southern provinces, with authorities saying no new confirmed cases had been reported in the past 45 days.  Health Minister Roger Kamba said the 43 deaths were among 53 confirmed cases in the outbreak, which was first announced in September in the Kasai province town of Bulape.  “Indeed, no new confirmed cases have been recorded for 45 consecutive days," Kamba said in the capital, Kinshasa.

Congo declares its latest Ebola outbreak over, after 43 deaths

“The IDF needs, more than ever, additional soldiers to carry the heavy burden of defending the state,” the letter said, arguing that mandatory service reflects Israel’s “shared destiny. ” Over 60 mayors and local council heads urged Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defense Minister Israel Katz, and Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee chair Boaz Bismuth to stop the advancement of the latest IDF haredi draft bill, in a Monday letter.

Over 60 local leaders push Netanyahu to halt haredi draft bill, warn of social rift

The far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) in Herforfd in the west of the country has removed Alexander Eichwald from its faction in the local council following a firebrand speech he held at the weekend, a party representative told dpa. Bielefeld AfD MP Maximilian Kneller told dpa on Monday that Eichwald has been removed.

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