This is the moment Russia launches its new Zircon hypersonic missile and reportedly hits a target 250 miles away.

The Russian Ministry of Defence said the Zircon hypersonic missile, which travels at five times the speed of sound, successfully took out its target during the test in the White Sea.

The Russian MoD shared footage of the missile launch on social media on 29th November with the message: “The crew of the Northern Fleet Admiral Gorshkov-class frigate, as part of the completion of a series of tests of hypersonic missile weapons, fired another Zircon rocket.

“The launch took place in the White Sea and the naval target was located over 400 kilometres (248 miles) away.

“According to the control data, the hypersonic missile’s flight corresponded to the specified parameters.”

The Russian MoD said the launch was “successful and the target was hit”, adding: “The previous test firing at a naval target position was successfully carried out by the crew of this frigate two weeks ago.”

President Vladimir Putin has called the Zircon hypersonic cruise missile an unrivalled weapons system, able to strike nearly any spot on the globe and avoid US-built missile shields.

Last month, Russian deputy premier Yury Borisov claimed that the Kremlin has outpaced the West in the race to develop hypersonic weapons and intends to keep its position at the top.

The US, China and North Korea are reportedly involved in the race to develop the next generation of long-range missiles that speed across the upper atmosphere at about 6,200kph (3,852mph).

The Russian MoD previously tested the Zircon missile in the White Sea on 18th November and last month it was first successfully launched from a submarine.

The test took place amid boiling tensions with the West over the amassing of Russian troops on the border with Ukraine.

A rising hockey star who was forced to give up playing professionally by an injury is back in the game he loves after becoming social media's top ice hockey sensation, who wows his followers with his amazing tricks.

Zac Bell is such a success that he attracts millions of views, and he has even set up a company now incorporated to market and cash in on the popularity of his tricks.

In this shot, for example, he amazes fans by hitting the left post, the crossbar and the right post in quick succession before he twirls his stick in the air, catches it and smashes the puck against the second crossbar.

Zac is a national athlete and holder of two Guinness World Records who has racked up over 317,000 followers on Instagram and 111,000 on YouTube with his incredible ice hockey skills.

He told Newsflash in an exclusive interview: "My Guinness world records are most consecutive puck flips in 30 seconds and most consecutive puck flips in one minute."

He opened up about his journey to becoming the so-called 'Hockey Jedi', telling Newsflash: "I played hockey my whole life. Unfortunately, I only got one season of junior hockey before being forced to retire due to head injuries. I was in the dark room for a long time battling PCS (post-concussion syndrome), unfortunately.

"Not long after that, my mom was diagnosed with cancer. That’s when I decided to put all my energy and focus into my platform and really become Zac Bell, the Hockey Jedi. This is how I stay involved with the game I love so much. This is how I play now."

Zac is just 20, hails from the province of Ontario in Central Canada, and supports the Detroit Red Wings. His social media videos often rack up hundreds of thousands of views, with one particular video of him launching one puck after another into the crossbar with the "world's lightest stick" accumulating an astonishing 1.4 million views on YouTube.

Of his rise to fame and acclaim, he told Newsflash: "I never expected everything would happen so fast. I always knew deep down this was my calling. It seemed to be that everything in my life would lead right back to AlwaysHockey."

AlwaysHockey is Zac's company, which he created in 2014 and incorporated last year. Of his future plans, he told Newsflash: "We have plans to start up our training facility and summer hockey team within the next two years."

This is the moment the Russian military's aerospace branch successfully launches a rocket carrying a military satellite system into space from the same cosmodrome that fired a missile that blew up a satellite and put the crew on board the International Space Station in danger.

The Soyuz-2.1B medium-class carrier rocket was launched carrying the Tundra 15L early warning satellite for the Russian Ministry of Defense from the Plesetsk cosmodrome in the Arkhangelsk region of Russia today, 25th November, the Russian Ministry of Defence said in a statement.

The last launch from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome saw an anti-satellite missile known as the 'Nudol missile' fired at a defunct Soviet Tselina-D ELINT satellite on 15th November.

The ministry said at the time: "The Russian Ministry of Defence successfully conducted a test on Nov. 15 that hit the non-operational Russian spacecraft Tselina-D, which had been in orbit since 1982."

The missile was fired as a test of the anti-satellite weapon's capabilities, it destroyed the satellite which resulted in debris being fired towards the International Space Station (ISS).

The incident made headlines when NASA announced that the debris could end up hitting the ISS and put the Expedition 66 crew onboard in danger.

Following the incident, NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said in a statement: "Earlier today, due to the debris generated by the destructive Russian Anti-Satellite (ASAT) test, ISS astronauts and cosmonauts undertook emergency procedures for safety.

"Like Secretary Blinken, I’m outraged by this irresponsible and destabilizing action. With its long and storied history in human spaceflight, it is unthinkable that Russia would endanger not only the American and international partner astronauts on the ISS but also their own cosmonauts."

The Russian Ministry of Defence responded to the accusation by stating that the debris did not pose any danger to the ISS and that Washington was well aware of this.

They added that the United States, China and India have carried out similar missions in the past.

The Tundra 15 is an early warning satellite that will join the four Tundra satellites currently orbiting our earth.

The satellites are designed and built by the Russian military and are able to detect ballistic missile launches that may be heading towards Russia.

They are also rumoured to have a secure communication system designed to function in case of a nuclear war on earth.

The Plesetsk Cosmodrome is regularly used by the Russian military to launch satellites and missiles into space and has been in operation since 1957.

This was the 69th launch of the Soyuz-2.1B rocket and the mission was made possible by over 40 ground-based measuring devices and more than 70 combat crews of the 15th army of the Aerospace Forces.

This is the moment a white ‘river’ rushes along a city street in Spain after hailstones the size of golf balls battered the region and blanketed the ground.

The city of Elche in the Spanish province of Alicante was covered in ice and huge hailstones following a cold snap on the morning of 23rd November.

Many local residents were awakened by the noise of the hailstones falling on the city in the early hours of the morning and got out of bed to see the slush on their windows and streets filled with water.

According to reports, the hailstorm was accompanied by a waterspout that left 40 litres of water per square meter in the streets in just half an hour.

Teodoro Hernandez Leyva, who filmed a flooded roundabout from his apartment window, told Newsflash: “The video was filmed in the early hours of Tuesday morning.

“The forecasts said there would be heavy rain and lightning, but hailstones and so much water were not expected.

“There was normal rainfall the day before. I filmed the images from my balcony close to the centre of Alicante next to the main train station.

“In this area, it is normal to see this type of phenomena. I was awake because I was worried about the situation and thought the building garage might get flooded as has happened in previous years.

“A few years ago we also experienced a similar situation but during the day.”

Other images of the devastation caused by the hailstones include orange groves packed with oranges surrounded by several inches of hailstones scattered over the ground.

As well as the video of the river of white stones washing down the road and circulating on a roundabout, police also issued a video of a patrol car attempting to make its way down a hailstone packed street.

Eventually the height of the hailstones forced the car to stop, and the policeman is seen climbing out and attempting to trudge through the thick coverage to make it down the street.

They shared the video together with a message saying: "We woke up after a busy morning to see this and were forced to issue an orange caution warning on certain roads due to the possibility of patches of black ice and accidents."

This is the moment a cute endangered Amur leopard cub explores its outdoor surroundings with its watchful mum at a German zoo.

The cub has been named ‘Manju’, which Leipzig Zoo press officer Melanie Ginzel told Newsflash comes from India and means ‘the sweet one’.

The cub was given the name by zookeepers at the animal park in the city of Leipzig in the German state of Saxony.

The little Amur leopard (Panthera pardus orientalis) was born at the animal park on 3rd September.

Leipzig Zoo said the name Manju was unanimously decided on by zookeepers, adding that it perfectly suits the cub’s soft fur, blue eyes and large paws.

Now nearly three months old, little Manju has started exploring the Leopard Valley enclosure with mother Mia, 8.

The female cub weighs nearly five kilogrammes and is developing very well, according to the zoo.

Manju enjoys nibbling on small pieces of meat and is not afraid of exploring her new play options in the outdoor enclosure.

The zoo said the cute cub is intrigued by everything around her, including tree branches, bushes, and the rocks on the ground.

Mia also seems to enjoy playing with her fluffy little offspring and is very vigilant when Manju sneaks away.

The zoo posted footage of the blue-eyed cub frolicking with its mum in their enclosure.

The pair stalks each other in the overgrowth before Mia pins her little cub on the ground and even nibbles at Manju’s bum as it runs off.

A video clip shared earlier this month shows Manju playfully nibbling on Mia’s tail before enjoying a feed and tender cuddle.

Zoo director Professor Jorg Junhold said: “Leipzig Zoo registered Manju as the first cub to be born in Europe this year, according to the European Endangered Species Programme (EEP).

“Therefore, we are all more than pleased to be able to announce the first offspring in 2021.

“Because the rarest big cat species and the rarest mammal in the world is threatened with extinction, we have been able to make an important contribution to the conservation of the species.”

He added that Amur leopards are the rarest subspecies of leopards in the world with only between 100 and 250 specimens left in the wild.

The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species categorises Amur leopards as ‘critically endangered’.

The main reasons for their drop in numbers are, among other things, poaching and habitat destruction.

This is the moment a wildlife officer encounters a buck with an antler missing after it broke into a Tennessee primary school and spent the night wrecking a classroom.

The incident took place at the Westside Elementary School in the city of Springfield in Robertson County in the US state of Tennessee on 23rd November.

The footage shows a Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency (TWRA) officer, named as Kaleb Stratton, encountering the buck in the classroom.

Stratton says: “So, how’s everybody else’s morning going today? This guy has had a rough one!”

He then pans around the wrecked classroom before laughing and focussing on the calm deer, which apparently has an antler missing, possibly after fighting a rival for a love interest during mating season.

The Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency (TWRA) shared the images on social media with the message: “Surprise student at Westside Elementary in Springfield this morning!

“Officer Kaleb Stratton was called to the school to remove the individual, who had apparently broken his way in through an emergency exit.”

“The 2.5/3.5-year-old whitetail buck was in good spirits and allowed Officer Stratton to lead him to an exit. Today teachers are teaching the 4 R’s at Westside. Reading, Righting, Rithmetic, and Rut!”

The animal reportedly broke into the school and spent the night in the classroom before Officer Stratton was able to release it back into the wild.

The deer overturned tables and chairs, but was uninjured in the incident.

Officer Stratton said “It’s not what I expected when I walked in”, adding that he thought ‘this is going to be hard’ when he saw it standing in the classroom.

He explained that it is mating season now and the buck was probably chasing a female when it broke into the school. He also said that it may have seen itself reflected in the window and thought it was another deer.

Officer Stratton added: “Deer running crazy (during mating season) and it’s not just in Robertson County, but all over the state of Tennessee.”

School officials said the students were allowed back inside after Officer Stratton had taken the deer outside ahead of releasing it in the wild.

An international trafficking gang that sent cannabis to the UK using courier services and vacuum-sealed packaging has been busted in Spain.

The organisation is also alleged to have engaged in human trafficking after a Vietnamese person was briefly detained before being released because investigators found that they had been coerced into tending the cannabis plantation.

Some of the drugs found in the international police bust were seized in the United Kingdom, the authorities said.

The Spanish Civil Guard issued a statement in which they said that they arrested 15 people suspected of belonging to a criminal organisation.

They said that the suspects have been charged with belonging to a criminal organisation, drug trafficking, trafficking in human beings, document forgery, money laundering, and fraud, among other charges.

The police conducted seven raids in Spain alone and seized over 6,600 cannabis plants. They said that they had seized over 47 kilogrammes of dried cannabis buds, and nearly EUR 10,000 (GBP 8,392) in cash, as well cash in other currencies and as seven luxury vehicles.

The Vietnamese person, who has not been named, was in a "deplorable hygienic sanitary condition", according to the cops, who said that they had been made to look after some of the cannabis plantations.

The police said that the criminal network was engaged in trafficking "large quantities of cannabis sativa buds to European countries" and that the organisation was the subject of so much demand for its services that the criminals opened up a special branch in a house in the city of Seville that served as a packaging and distribution centre from where the drugs were shipped abroad.

The police said that some of the drugs were being sent to the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Belgium and France. It is currently unclear if the international criminal organisation was only sending drugs or if they were engaged in human trafficking to other countries as well.

The police said that they arrested three suspects in the town of Roquetas de Mar, which is located in the province of Almeria in south-eastern Spain, when they tried to send several packets of cannabis to other countries using a transport company.

It was following these arrests that the civil guard said it was able to dismantle the rest of the organisation.

The authorities, in consultation with a Spanish electricity company, which has not been named, established that electricity had also been stolen in order to run the cannabis plantations. They said that the criminals stole over EUR 50,000 (GBP 42,000) worth of electricity from the grid.

The investigation is ongoing.

This is the moment an extremely fortunate jaguar that was on the verge of drowning in the middle of a river is saved by some sailors who tied a rope to a log and threw it to the big cat so they could drag it to the shore.

The jaguar (Panthera onca) was rescued from the mouth of the Leon River which is located in the Turbo municipality of Colombia's Antioquia region and which drains into the Caribbean Sea, according to a statement by the Colombian Navy (ARC) that was released on 15th November.

The jaguar is the only living member of the genus Panthera native to the Americas. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) classifies the big cat as 'Near Threatened'.

The jaguar is the largest cat species in the Americas and the third-largest in the world with a maximum length of 1.85 metres (6.1 feet) and a weight of up to 96 kilogrammes (212 lbs).

Local fishermen noticed the jaguar swimming about two kilometres (1.2 miles) from the shore and informed the Uraba Coast Guard Station.

A boat was sent to the scene and the sailors tied a rope to a log which they then threw to the big cat hoping it would latch on to it with its sharp claws.

The cat was suspicious of the sailors at first and it took over an hour of trial and error before it grabbed the lifeline.

After latching onto the log the big cat can be seen in the video floating calmly behind the boat on its way back to the shore.

The jaguar was taken from the shore and returned to its natural habitat in a protected mangrove area.

It is still unclear how the feline ended up in the middle of the river so far from the bank, added the ARC.

Jaguars can be found from Mexico all the way through Central and South America in countries including Brazil, Argentina, Belize, Bolivia and Colombia.

The species is threatened by the destruction of its habitat and illegally killing.

Jaguars are often killed for attacking the livestock of farmers and for their valuable body parts which are traded on the black market.

The ARC concluded their statement by saying that they are committed not only to safeguarding human life on the water but also to promoting the protection of animals and the environments that they inhabit.

This is the moment a two-headed tortoise crawls slowly across a table while being filmed by curious scientists.

The two-headed tortoise was found by a tourist at the Pamukkale hot springs which are a UNESCO World Heritage Site located in the Denizli Province of south-western Turkey.

After discovering the tortoises, the tourist, who was not named, called the Nature Conservation and National Parks Denizli (DKMP) who sent out a team of experts to the site, according to local media outlet IHA on 11th November.

The two-headed tortoise would not have survived in the wild so it was taken to the Pamukkale University Biology Department.

Dr Eyup Baskale, a faculty member at the Pamukkale University Biology Department, said that although the tortoise has two heads it shares a digestive system with only one exit point.

In the wild, the survival chances of the estimated to be four-week-old tortoise would be very low which is why it is now being looked after in the university's laboratory.

The researchers will study the tortoises closely as it is rare to get an opportunity to examine such a unique specimen.

Tortoises are interesting for science because they come in so many different sizes, with the Galapagos giant tortoise reaching up to 1.2 metres (3.9 feet) in length while the Speckled cape tortoise is just a few inches long.

The researchers have not yet specified what type of tortoise they believe the two-headed specimen may be.

This is the moment the Ingenuity Mars Helicopter is captured by NASA's Mars 2020 Perseverance rover carrying out a complicated flight in preparation for an upcoming mission on the red planet.

On 19th April, the Ingenuity space chopper carried out its maiden flight, becoming the first motorised craft to fly on another planet.

The engineers who designed the revolutionary helicopter never expected it to carry out more than five flights, but it is now preparing for its 16th mission, which is scheduled for tomorrow, 20th November.

NASA said in a statement yesterday, 18th November, that the video of the test flight was captured on 4th September and shows the helicopter performing to near-perfection despite the complex conditions it faced.

According to NASA, the 160.5-second flight involved hovering over varied terrain and snapping pictures of an outcrop for the Mars rover team.

The helicopter often works in tandem with the Mars rover, carrying out scouting missions by providing it with a view of what is up ahead.

The flight successfully took several pictures from eight metres (26 feet) above the Martian surface, which are now being studied by the Mars rover team.

The video was captured by the rover's Mastcam-Z and shows the 19-inch-tall mini-chopper taking off and landing safely.

Close-up footage was recorded of the take-off and landing specifically so that scientists could study the dust plumes generated in the process.

Justin Maki, the deputy principal investigator for the Mastcam-Z instrument, said: "The value of Mastcam-Z really shines through with these video clips.

"Even at 300 meters (984 feet) away, we get a magnificent closeup of take-off and landing through Mastcam-Z’s ‘right eye'. And while the helicopter is little more than a speck in the wide view taken through the ‘left eye,’ it gives viewers a good feel for the size of the environment that Ingenuity is exploring."

As seen in the clip, during take-off, the chopper creates a plume of Martian dust and then climbs to its maximum altitude of eight metres (26 feet) before turning to correctly angle its colour camera towards the area targeted for scouting.

The Ingenuity then moves horizontally above the planet's surface and lands at a new landing zone located around 12 metres (39 feet) from where it took off, as the sand at this site had become uneven following previous missions and may have complicated the landing.

NASA had serious doubts about the efficacy of the project, as the air on the surface of Mars is as thin as the air 30 kilometres (18 miles) above Earth's surface.

Despite the concerns, Ingenuity continues to exceed expectations and is expected to carry out its 16th mission tomorrow.

A 1787 letter written by Catherine the Great encouraging a vaccination programme is set to go under the hammer with British auctioneers McDougall's.

The letter is part of a lot that includes a portrait of the Russian Empress that has been valued at between GBP 800,000 and GBP 1.2 million.

The famous Russian ruler was the first in the country to be vaccinated against smallpox after her future husband was disfigured during an epidemic of the disease.

She wrote the letter to explain how to organise a vaccination campaign on a large scale, warning that without vaccination, there would be "great harm especially among the common people".

The letter, which the Russian Empress wrote on 20th April 1787, is set to be auctioned by McDougall's auction house, which is based in London in the United Kingdom, along with a portrait of her by Imperial artist and portrait painter Dmitry Levitsky (1735-1822).

Catherine the Great (1729-1796), also known as Catherine II, wrote the letter, "about inoculating against smallpox in parts of present-day Ukraine", during a trip to Crimea. It was addressed to Count Petr Alexandrovich Rumiantsev.

The letter is the first known document regarding Russia's very first vaccination campaign, according to the auction house, which specialises in Russian art.

Newsflash spoke to William McDougall in an exclusive interview, and he said that the letter was "certainly topical at the moment" and that it was "very interesting that prominent leaders encouraging vaccination is nothing new".

The letter reads, according to the auction house: "Count Piotr Aleksandrovich, among the other duties of the Welfare Boards in the Provinces entrusted to you, one of the most important should be the introduction of inoculation against smallpox, which, as we know, causes great harm, especially among the ordinary people.

"Such inoculation should be common everywhere, and it is now all the more convenient, since there are doctors or medical attendants in nearly all districts, and it does not call for huge expenditure."

It also reportedly says: "To set an example of this, issue an order on the first occasion in each provincial town, to count the remaining superfluous conventual residences or the small monasteries that have been abolished, and build the minimum number of lodgings for the temporary stay of those who are unable to have this inoculation at home; money needed for this could be borrowed from town revenues.

"Provincial doctors can put this matter right, especially since now there are people sent from us who have a low salary against the regulations: so, since Dr Gund in Novgorod-Seversky can successfully carry out this inoculation, then add three hundred rubles to his regular salary from the remaining income from the former monastery estates. We remain, by the way, favourably disposed towards you."

It is signed "Catherine" and, according to the auction, house it bears "the Empress's personal signature".

McDougall said that it is "not only a unique, authentic document from that age, but also an extremely pertinent testimony to the statecraft and foresight shown by the great monarch".

Catherine the Great ruled Russia from 1762 until her death in 1796. She expanded the country's borders and was a fervent patron of the arts. The Hermitage Museum in Saint Petersburg started out as her own private collection.

According to the auction house, after successfully being vaccinated against smallpox, the Empress "proudly wrote to her ambassador plenipotentiary in Britain, Count Ivan Grigorievuch Chernyshev", saying: "We now have only two topics of conversation: the first is the (Russo-Turkish) war, and the second is vaccination.

"Starting with me and my son, who is also recovering, there is no noble house in which there are not several vaccinated persons, and many regret that they had smallpox naturally and so cannot be fashionable. Count Grigory Grigorievich Orlov, Count Kirill Grigorievich Razumovsky and countless others have passed through Mr Dimsdale's hands – and even renowned beauties... Here is what example means."

The second part of the lot going up for auction is the portrait, which was "executed by one of Russia's greatest 18th-century masters" and "may rightly be regarded as a highest quality work by Dmitry Levitsky in its own right", the auction house said.

They added: "It is one of the examples of Catherine the Great iconography, which are extremely rare on the art market."

The letter and the portrait, which the auction house said came from a "distinguished private collection" and had been authenticated by experts, will go on show as one lot during an exhibition in Moscow from 19th to 30th November.

The auction is set to take place on 1st December in London and online. The exact location of the auction will be made known to bidders who register for the event, with William MacDougall adding: "Bidders can attend by 24 hour advance appointment, and people may view by appointment."

These giant teeth from an extinct prehistoric megalodon shark have been found in the Atacama desert and a top expert has said that despite treasure hunters pillaging the area, Chile has "one of the largest scientific collections of megalodon teeth in the world".

The discovery of the giant teeth belonging to the prehistoric shark that is believed to have lived between 23 and 2 million years ago, was made in the Bahia Inglesa Formation, located in the Atacama desert in northern Chile, near the Pacific coast.

Newsflash spoke to Pablo Quilodran, the Executive Director of the Atacama Palaeontology and Natural History Research and Advancement Corporation, in an exclusive interview and he said that the megalodon was "by far the largest shark of all time, a super predator whose wingspan is estimated to be between 16 and 20 metres (52 and 66 feet) long."

He said: "In the Atacama region there are extraordinary fossil deposits, and in the case of the coast, there are remains of marine vertebrates from about 8 million years ago (Neogene period)."

Quilodran said that extensive mining operations and looting by treasure hunters had led to possibly hundreds of teeth from megalodons as well as numerous other prehistoric artefacts being sold on the black market.

He said: "Although in Chile, fossils are protected by law, for many years one of the most spectacular localities, the Bahia Inglesa Formation, was the victim of destruction by deregulated mining operations and from looting by illegal fossil hunters."

He added, however, that some of them had been returned to Chile, allowing it to build the world's most impressive collection.

He said: "According to informal counts, we know that hundreds of megalodon teeth were found and sold on the international market. Some of them were returned to the Palaeontological Museum of the city of Caldera and the Chilean National Museum of Natural History.

"With this, we undoubtedly have one of the largest scientific collections of megalodon teeth in the world."

Explaining how the teeth from a marine animal were found in the middle of the desert, the expert said that this was "because the sea level has changed over millions of years (marine transgression and regression).

"This is visible not only in the abundant marine fossils found in sediments today, but also in the geomorphology of this part of the desert, where we can see natural esplanades, which are ancient marine terraces that testify to these different sea levels.

"In short, the sea has receded, but the ground has also risen as a result of earthquakes and subduction of plates, phenomena that we Chileans know and experience so well."

Quilodran said that the English naturalist Charles Darwin reported having found some megalodon teeth during his "trip to Chile in 1835".

But he added: "However, the diversity and abundance is a novelty."

And Quilodran also said that recent discoveries had put the total number of different shark species found in the area to 25.

He said: "In the case of sharks, it is not only Megalodon, we recently found a new sawshark record for the area, this adds up to more than 25 different species of shark that have been found in the sector."

Quilodran explained that a lot of these discoveries were down to sheer luck. He said: "The interesting thing is that much of these findings are fortuitous and did not respond to systematic scientific activity."

But future discoveries will no doubt be subject to more rigorous planning, with the experts saying: "Some very good news is that for the first time, continuous scientific research will be carried out thanks to the recently created Atacama Palaeontology and Natural History Research and Advancement Corporation (CIAHN ATACAMA), we are sure that great discoveries are yet to come."

The implications of the discoveries of megalodon teeth in the Atacama desert are huge for science, with Quilodran saying: "The unusual abundance of megalodon remains in this part of the desert opens up expectations for new knowledge about many aspects of ancient life regarding this remarkable species of shark.

"For example, what and how did it eat? New estimates of body size, growth speed, whether it was solitary or gregarious, internal temperature and palaeoenvironmental data, among many other topics.

"For its part, the Bahia Inglesa site also has an abundance of remains of bony fish, marine mammals, birds and even reptiles, and all the research potential to understand the evolution of a great diversity of different lineages of marine vertebrates is gigantic."

The recently discovered megalodon teeth will eventually end up in a museum, where the public will be able to go and view them.

"This cetacean, a relative of sperm whales, is called Leviathan and its fossils have also been found on the Atacama coast, along with those of the Megalodon."

Archaeologists have unearthed what they claim to be the easternmost aqueduct ever built by the Roman Empire.

Researchers from the National Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Armenia and from the University of Munster in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia in Germany, say they have discovered the remains of the arched aqueduct in the ancient Armenian city of Artaxata.

Excavation of the aqueduct began in 2019 and the University of Munster released a statement detailing the findings of the study that followed yesterday (15th November).

Professor Achim Lichtenberger of the University of Munster said that the aqueduct was constructed by the Romans between 114 and 117 AD.

The Roman Empire, at the time, had planned to make Artaxata the capital city of a province of the Empire in Armenia.

Aqueducts were a cornerstone of Roman cities and towns, as they were used to bring water into the populated territories from the sounding areas.

The aqueduct's construction in Artaxata took place during the reign of Emperor Trajan, during which the Roman Empire reached its territorial peak.

Trajan was considered a successful military ruler who oversaw the second-greatest military expansion in the history of the Roman Empire, after Augustus.

Torben Schreiber, the paper's co-author, said that the construction was never actually completed, as Trajan died in 117 AD and the next emperor, Hadrian, gave up the province of Armenia, leaving the aqueduct half-completed.

Hadrian ruled from 117 to 138 AD and abandoned many of his predecessor's expansionist military campaigns including the one in Armenia, resulting in disapproval from much of the empire's elite.

He is known in Britain for having built Hadrian's Wall, which served as a marker for the northernmost point of Roman-controlled Britannia.

The researchers concluded from the findings that the incomplete aqueduct in Armenia is evidence of the empire's failure to expand into the region.

The excavation, which began in 2019, took place as part of a project called 'Artaxata in Armenia – Fieldwork in a Hellenistic Metropolis in the Ararat Plain', which has been underway since 2018 and involves collaboration between German and Armenian experts.

In excavating the aqueduct, the experts used a variety of methods drawn from the fields of geophysics, archaeology, archaeoinformatics and geochemistry.

Geomagnetic examinations were carried out to locate areas of interest in Artaxata, then samples were taken using drills to pinpoint the aqueduct's location.

Dr Mkrtich Zardaryan, a co-author of the study, said that satellite and infrared imagery was then used to chart the path of the aqueduct's pillars.

Samples were then taken from the soil near the construction site, which were dated to between 60 and 460 AD, which led the researchers to conclude that it was most likely built during Emperor Trajan's reign.

The full study was published under the title 'Failed Roman Imperialism. An Unfinished Roman Aqueduct at Artaxata in Armenia' in the online journal IDAI in November.

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A pair of diamond bracelets that once belonged to France's last queen, Marie Antoinette, have sold at a Christie's auction for over GBP 6 million.

The bracelets, which are lined with 140- to 150-carat diamonds, were hidden in a chest and smuggled out of France when the queen was imprisoned during the French Revolution.

The two diamond bracelets that belonged to Marie Antoinette were sold at Christie's auction house in Geneva, Switzerland, for CHF 7.46 million (GBP 6.04 million) yesterday, 9th November.

Rahul Kadakia, the international director of jewellery at Christie's, conducted the auction, which was won by an unidentified buyer who called in the winning bid via telephone.

The highest bid was CHF 6.2 million (GBP 5.02 million) but after the sale commission was added on, the buyer had to cough up over GBP 6 million.

The bracelets had spent the last 200 years hidden from the public in a royal collection after they were smuggled away in the course of the French Revolution, Christie's said in a statement.

Marie Antoinette, who was the last queen of France, parted way with the bracelets in 1791 while she was interned in Paris' Tuileries Palace.

Sitting in her cell, she realised that the only way to keep the diamonds out of revolutionary hands was to smuggle them out of France.

The queen wrapped them up in some cotton and hid them inside a wooden box where they waited to be taken over the border into Brussels.

Brussels at the time was under Austrian rule and the diamonds arrived in the city to be handed over to the previous ambassador of Austria to France, Count Mercy-Argenteau.

The bracelets were then kept safe in a chest by Mercy-Argenteau, who was a friend to the family of the queen, who hoped that one day she would once again wear them.

However, Marie Antoinette was executed on 16th October 1793, and four months afterwards, the Holy Roman Emperor Francis II, Marie's nephew, instructed that the chest containing the bracelets be opened.

On orders from Francis II, the bracelets were sent to Vienna's Imperial Treasury, where the jewellery was kept for the late queen's only remaining heir, Marie-Therese Charlotte of France.

Marie-Therese claimed the jewellery after she arrived in Austria in the year 1796 and now, over two centuries thereafter, it has once again changed hands.

Jean-Marc Lunel, a senior international specialist in the Jewellery Department at Christie's in Geneva, said: "What is miraculous is that they have remained together and intact when they could have easily been broken up, as many other jewels of royal provenance have been."

He added: "This makes them particularly attractive to collectors."

The bracelets were presented in a blue velvet box with the inscription "Bracelets of Queen Marie Antoinette".

The bracelets are composed of three strings of diamonds totalling 112 stones held together by a large barrette clasp.

The auction house expected the bracelets to sell for between CHF 1 to 2 million (GBP 0.81-1.62 million), but the top bidder was clearly prepared to pay considerably more for the historic jewels.

This 13-foot-long dinosaur whose fossilised remains were unearthed under the freezing ice sheets of Greenland has earned the name 'Cold bone' in tribute to the location's Inuit people.

The dinosaur's scientific name 'Issi saaneq' was chosen in tribute to Greenland's Inuit language and is translated roughly to 'Cold bone'.

Despite its size, Cold bone was a herbivore and an ancestor of the diplodocus which is one of the most famous dinosaurs due to its incredibly long neck.

According to a statement released by Martin Luther University of Halle-Wittenberg (MLU), in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt, yesterday, 8th November, the two-legged herbivore lived in what is today Greenland 214 million years ago.

Cold bone is believed to have weighed up to one tonne and was unearthed by a group of researchers from Germany, Denmark and Portugal.

The first clues of Cold bone's existence emerged in 1994 when Harvard scientists working in eastern Greenland found a pair of skulls.

However, its existence was not confirmed until the results of CT scans on the skulls were published in a paper titled 'A New Sauropodomorph Dinosaur from the Late Triassic (Norian) of Jameson Land, Central East Greenland' in the journal Diversity on 3rd November.

Dr Oliver Wings of MLU, co-author of the study, said that it was a particularly exciting discovery because Cold bone is closely related to the famous Plateosaurus.

The CT scan created a digital model of the skulls clearly showing their internal structures, as seen in the video.

Victor Beccari, the paper's lead author, said that the skulls have a unique structure in terms of their shapes and proportions, proving that they come from a new species.

According to the study, the new species belongs to a long-necked group of dinosaurs known as sauropodomorphs.

The sauropodomorph family includes the diplodocus, which was the largest land animal ever to live on Earth.

When Cold bone roamed Greenland in the Late Triassic Period, the landmass was not the largely uninhabitable icy world that it is today.

During this period, there was a diverse and rich ecosystem in the region with plenty of greenery to keep Cold bone and other dinosaurs fed.

The Late Triassic was a period of change during which the Pangaea supercontinent diverged and the Atlantic Ocean was formed.

This change in the world's geography allowed plant-eating dinosaurs to reach Europe for the first time, said Professor Lars Clemmensen.

Cold bone marks the first proof of a recognisable Greenlandic species of dinosaurs and represents an addition to the already diverse number of species identified from the Late Triassic period.

Once the analysis of the skulls is completed, they are expected to be moved to the Natural History Museum of Denmark.

Sixteen ancient artefacts have been seized by the authorities at an Egyptian port during a foiled smuggling operation.

The artefacts, which are from different time periods, were seized by security officials at Safaga Port in the town of Safaga in the Egyptian governorate of Red Sea.

Mostafa al-Waziry, Secretary General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, said a committee was put together as soon as they received word that the seized items at the port were archaeological.

A team from the Archaeological Ports Unit in the governorate was formed to examine the 16 artefacts, which included bronze and wood statues.

Among the artefacts, there were also a funerary mask, a clay funerary funnel with hieroglyphic text, and gold-coated jewellery made of vine and wood, according to Hamdy Hammam, head of Central Administration of Ports and Archaeological Units.

The assigned committee said that the seized artefacts were all archaeological and must be returned to the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities, as stipulated by law.

There were no reports of any arrests and the local authorities are continuing to investigate what they suspect was an attempt to smuggle ancient artefacts overseas for sale.

The investigation is ongoing.

Finding hidden treasure and ancient artifacts is usually a task reserved for archaeologists and brave explorers in Hollywood movies, but sometimes your average Joe stumbles across priceless objects in the most unlikely of places.
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The discovery of nearly 500 ancient ceremonial sites in southern Mexico could transform how experts trace the rise of the Mayan civilisation.

A team of international researchers led by the University of Arizona uncovered 478 ceremonial complexes using lidar technology in the Mexican states of Tabasco and Veracruz.

Lidar is a radar technology that can 'cut' through the thick rainforest and scan the area for ancient remains. The technology gives researchers a rough idea of what's hiding under the vegetation before bringing in high-resolution lidar to scan more specific areas of interest.

The lidar scan covered a huge expanse of land estimated to be equivalent to the area of Ireland.

The University of Arizona gave more details on the discovery in a statement on Monday, 25th October.

The university said in the statement: "The newly uncovered sites are located in a broad area encompassing the Olmec region and the western Maya lowlands."

The statement also said: "The complexes were likely constructed between 1100 BC and 400 BC and were built by diverse groups nearly a millennium before the heyday of the Maya civilization between 250 AD and 950 AD."

The Olmecs were the earliest known major Mesoamerican civilisation that flourished from around 1500 BC to about 400 BC.

The researchers found that the complexes share similar features with the earliest centre in the Olmec area, San Lorenzo, which peaked between 1400 and 1100 BC.

The discovery comes just one year after researchers found the Aguada Fenix monument which is believed to be the largest and oldest Mayan monument.

The study found that Aguada Fenix adopted San Lorenzo's form around 1100 BC suggesting that there was a link between the development of the Mayan civilisation from the Olmecs.

The researchers think that San Lorenzo may have served as a template for the construction of the Mayan Aguada Fenix complex.

Takeshi Inomata, the paper's first author, said: "The sites are big horizontally but not vertically."

"People will be walking on one and won't notice its rectangular space, but we can see it with lidar really nicely."

Experts had previously assumed that San Lorenzo was a unique site and completely different from what came later on in terms of site structure.

Inomata said: "But now we show that San Lorenzo is very similar to Aguada Fenix – it has a rectangular plaza flanked by edge platforms. Those features become very clear in lidar and are also found at Aguada Fenix, which was built a little bit later."

He added: "This tells us that San Lorenzo is very important for the beginning of some of these ideas that were later used by the Maya."

The ceremonial sites are believed to have been used for rituals and to host gatherings involving large groups of people.

The sites also appear to have precisely measured orientation lining them up with the sunrise on a certain date.

Inomata said: "There are lots of exceptions; for example, not every site has enough space to place the rectangular form in a desired direction, but when they can, they seem to have chosen certain dates."

One explanation for the dates chosen by those who built the site is a link to the Zenith passage day which is when the sun passes directly overhead.

Zenith day occurs on 10th May in the region and marks the start of the rainy season. It signalled to ancient civilizations when to start planting maize.

Inomata added: "This means that they were representing cosmological ideas through these ceremonial spaces."

"In this space, people gathered according to this ceremonial calendar."

Inomata stressed that there is a huge amount left to learn about the site and he hopes to continue his research alongside many other scholars as they attempt to piece together the history of the ancient civilisations that once ruled Mexico.

This sword used by Napoleon Bonaparte to seize control of France when he chased the revolutionary government out of office, leading to him becoming Emperor, is set to be auctioned and could fetch USD 3.5 million.

The Rock Island Auction Company auction house told Newsflash in an exclusive interview that the auction is taking place in honour "of the 200th anniversary of Napoleon Bonaparte’s death", and that this lot includes six pieces "including a rifled carbine, carriage pistols, pocket pistols, and a distinctive sword and scabbard".

They added that the pre-auction estimate ranges from USD 1.5 million to USD 3.5 million" (GBP 1.1 million to GBP 2.56 million).

The auction house explained: "The sword is the one Bonaparte carried in his hand when he drove the Council of Five Hundred out of St. Cloud, and became in consequence First Consul." He was First Consul from 1799 to 1804, after which he declared himself Emperor.

This historical event is also known as the "Coup of 18 Brumaire”, widely agreed by historians as the event that ended the French Revolution. It eventually led to Napoleon crowning himself Emperor, with the auction house saying: "The Napoleon Garniture is among the most symbolic set of arms from the French Revolutionary Wars and Napoleonic Wars and dates back to when Napoleon was rising to power in the French Republic."

The auction house added: "The placement of this sword at the ousting, comes straight from the catalog of the set’s first exhibition in 1816 at the Oplotheca in London. This was at No. 20, Lower Brook Street, Bond Street, and promoted by Thomas Gwenapp. In that exhibition’s catalog, among other significant items, Napoleon’s Garniture is listed as No. 17.

"The Met Museum contains a drawing of this exhibition, and a case labeled “Bonaparte” can be seen in the back right corner."

They added: "It is unknown if Napoleon carried it in subsequent battles, but presentation arms were seldom used in combat."

They also said: "In 1804 after crowning himself Emperor, he presented the set to another general, his close friend, General Jean-Andoche Junot."

The auction house said that the sword, along with various rifles, dubbed the "Napoleon Garniture", is being sold as a single lot from 3rd to 5th December, starting at 9:00 AM CST, at the Rock Island Auction Company, which is located at 7819 42nd Street West, in the city of Rock Island, which is located in the US state of Illinois.

The Rock Island Auction Company will also host a public "Preview Day on the preceding Thursday" and the items will be sold on the Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. Bids can be placed on their website, as well as in person or over the phone.

During the auction, other items, that belonged to Elvis Presley, Brigham Young, Annie Oakley, and a member of the infamous Dalton Gang, are also going under the hammer.

The auction house has sold numerous items belonging to famous historical figures, including a revolver owned by John Wayne, which sold for USD 517,500 (GBP 379,000). The auction house said that "the Colt Single Action Army revolver can be seen used by Wayne in such films as True Grit, Rooster Cogburn, and The Cowboys, among others."

They have also auctioned off a pair of pistols "carried by Alexander Hamilton during the Revolutionary War", which sold for USD 1.15 million (GBP 841,000), as well as a revolver that belonged to US President Teddy Roosevelt.

They added: "The Colt Single Action Army revolver was ordered as a gift for Roosevelt’s 54th birthday. Factory engraved and silver plated, it was shipped four days before his birthday, just over a week prior to the election of 1912, and ten days prior to his assassination attempt in Milwaukee, WI."

This is the moment a Native American holy man reconnects with his ancestors through song and prayer at the Grand Canyon.

The religious ritual took place at the Havasupai Gardens in the Havasupai Indian Reservation, surrounded by the Grand Canyon National Park, which is home of the Native American Havasupai people.

Holy man James Uqualla carried out the ceremony to reconnect with his ancestors who used to farm the land in the area before it was taken by the National Park in the 1920s.

After carrying out the pilgrimage to the Havasupai Gardens, Uqualla performed ritualistic songs and prayers in full traditional dress.

The Grand Canyon National Park Service shared the video on social media on 29th November with the message: “For James Uqualla, a Havasupai religious practitioner, the hike from the Rim to Havasupai Gardens is a pilgrimage.

“Dressed for ceremony, Uqualla walked to his ancestors' traditional farming lands, where he reconnected with them through ritualistic song and prayer.”

The ceremony followed the Native American tribe’s “renewed relationship” with territory taken from them in the 1920s by the National Park.

The Grand Canyon NPS said: “Spend a Minute Out In It listening to chant, smelling burning sage, and feeling the spirit of Grand Canyon through its original protectors.

“The procession marks a renewed relationship with lands taken from the Havasupai by the NPS in the 1920s.”

During a pipeline protest at the Standing Rock Indian Reservation in Dakota in 2016, Uqualla said many people in mainstream society fail to understand native spirituality.

He said: “Many people fantasise and glorify this. And we’re not here as fantasy beings or glorified beings, we’re here basically to be sentinels for a force that is unseen.

“We’re praying to the rising sun. We’re praying to the setting sun. We’re bringing in the sacred songs. We’re building the sacred fire, so what we’ve created here is a huge vortex of such intensity that is growing skyward.”

Two women have been arrested for stealing a car with a toddler inside outside a daycare centre in California.

The incident took place outside a daycare centre in the city of Auburn in Placer County in the US state of California just before 7.30am on 11th November.

The Placer County Sheriff’s Office (PCSO) said parents Korral and Elijah Atkinson stepped away from their car for a moment to take their two-year-old child into the centre.

With their eight-month-old toddler still in the car, two suspects reportedly jumped in and sped away from the scene.

The suspects escaped from an attempted traffic stop on westbound Interstate 80, but crashed into a utility pole on Highway 193.

The two women then got out of the vehicle and tried to flee on foot, however Anastacia Andino, 23, was caught almost immediately while Roniqua Wartson, 29, ran into a nearby wood and was arrested a short while later, according to the police.

The PCSO shared footage of Wartson being arrested in the woods with the message: “At 7:21 this morning, the Placer County Sheriff dispatch center received a call stating a couple’s car had been stolen from a daycare center with their seven-month-old in a child seat still in the car.

“The couple had just arrived at the daycare center on Live Oak Lane in Auburn and briefly stepped away to walk their other child inside. That is when the suspects stole the car. Within minutes, a sheriff’s deputy located the stolen vehicle traveling west on Interstate 80 near Auburn.

“The suspect passenger, identified as 23-year old Anastacia Andino of Folsom, was detained almost immediately. The driver suspect, 29-year old Roniqua Wartson of Elk Grove, fled into a nearby wooded area. She was located and arrested about 30 minutes later, thanks to air support from the California Highway Patrol, our deputies on the ground, and officers from Roseville and Auburn police departments.”

The authorities also said that Wartson was driving the stolen car and Andino was a passenger.

The police said the toddler was unharmed in the incident and was returned to his distraught parents, adding: “It is unknown at this time what the suspects were doing in the area. Detectives are asking for the public’s help.”

Korral said “it was just nice to see his face” while Elijah told local media: “There’s nothing worse than seeing a car that has your child in it driving away from you.”

The investigation is ongoing.


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This is the moment seven masked men run from a car shortly before a violent attack on a teenage boy that left him fighting for his life in a coma.

Police released the footage in a bid to get help from the public about the attack on the 18-year-old in Carbrook in Queensland, Australia, on Sunday morning.

The footage captured from outside a Fortitude Valley location shows seven people running from a silver Toyota Camry. Investigations have revealed they ran to a Holden Commodore parked on Yeovil Street, where an initial altercation occurred between the seven and another group which included the 18-year-old.

The group are then seen running back to the Camry before they followed the Commodore southbound on the Pacific Motorway to Carbrook. Police reported no further details about the interaction between the two groups.

The 18-year-old man was located unresponsive on the side of Kruger Road with significant facial injuries and remains in an induced coma at the Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital.

Detectives wish to speak to the seven people seen in this footage and are calling on them to come forward.

Detectives are also seeking public assistance with identifying them and are appealing for anyone who may have knowledge of the Toyota Camry, or those involved, to contact Crime Stoppers.

Full Story Can Be Read Here:

Fresno firefighter helmet camera footage from last night’s auto dealership fire on Blackstone in Fresno, California.

Janitorial staff reportedly first noticed the fire and quickly called 911.

Although multiple parked vehicles made fire apparatus access difficult, firefighters were able to keep the fire contained to the shop building, saving the main showroom and other nearby structures.

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This is the moment a have-a-go hero rugby tackles a suspected carjacker to the ground while he flees from the cops.

The footage also shows his accomplice being cornered by another member of the public before a pursuing cop pounces on him.

The incident was filmed next to a sports field in the city of Southport in the Australian state of Queensland at around 4.15pm on 10th November.

The footage shows the police tracking the stolen vehicle from the air as it weaves among the busy traffic before the driver turns into a car park.

The suspects then abandon the stolen car and run along a path next to a sports field.

A member of the public is seen sprinting across the field towards the frontrunner and rugby tackling him to the ground in what the police called a “textbook tackle”.

The other suspect gives himself up when he sees another have-a-go hero running towards him on one side and a heavyset cop on the other.

The suspect drops to the ground before the officer even reaches him and he is quickly placed under arrest.

Queensland Police said in a statement obtained by Clipzilla that “two Gold Coast men have been charged after being apprehended with the assistance of members of the public at Southport yesterday afternoon”.

The police said they “observed a Volkswagen Golf, which had been stolen from Oxenford on November 8, travelling in traffic at Coomera” before they unsuccessfully tried to intercept the vehicle.

The police’s ‘eye in the sky’ tracked the car from Coomera to Runaway Bay where officer “successfully deployed a tyre deflation device”.

The suspects eventually pulled over in the car park of a sports field where a match of OzTag, a non-contact form of rugby league, was about to kick off.

A have-a-go hero then ‘rugby tackled’ one of the fleeing suspects to the ground before a chasing cop swooped on his accomplice.

Queensland Police said that a 29-year-old man, the alleged driver, was “charged with 12 offences including three counts of possessing dangerous drug, two counts of stealing and one of unlawful use of a motor vehicle”.

The suspect was denied bail and is expected to appear at Southport Magistrates Court on 11th November.

A 22-year-old man was “charged with 13 offences including six counts of receiving tainted property, three of stealing, three of enter premises and commit indictable offence, and one of unlawful use of a motor vehicle”.

The suspect was granted bail and is scheduled to appear at the same court on 24th November.

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This footage shows three people being rescued from their house by firefighters after floods in Sicily. The footage was shared online by local firefighter service who said: "Since yesterday afternoon, fire brigade teams have been engaged in the territory of Agrigento and Trapani to deal with the damage caused by bad weather. Over 100 relief interventions were carried out between the two provinces, most of which due to flooding, landslides and flooding of small streams. In the clip, the rescue carried out tonight in Mazara del Vallo (TP) by river rescuers of three elderly people, two women and a man, blocked in the house by high water."


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This is the moment a carjacker is caught red-handed by a police air unit and is swiftly arrested by cops on the ground.

The arrest was the result of a collaborative effort from the Atlanta Police Department's (APD) Phoenix Air Unit, Zone 4 officers and Auto Crimes Enforcement (ACE) Unit.

The incident took place in the southwest of the city of Atlanta in the US state of Georgia at around 9.16 pm on 9th November.

The APD had received intelligence that a stolen Hyundai Elantra whose theft had been reported in the city of Decatur, a roughly 24-minute drive away, was in the area.

The ACE requested Phoenix's assistance, and the air unit was able to swiftly find the stolen compact car at a petrol station.

Phoenix officials then tracked the car as it was driven to Myrtle Dr., where it was parked outside a building.

The officials gave the information to the police officers, who went to the location of the stolen car's driver.

Upon seeing the officers, the man tried to run away. However, the cops ran after him and saw him dropping a handgun during the chase.

The officers swiftly managed to catch up with him and arrest him, and they also seized the firearm he had discarded.

Infra-red footage shows how the suspect seemingly trips and falls on the ground, allowing one police officer to pounce on him and cuff his hands behind his back as another colleague comes to his aid.

The two officers are then seen picking him up and leading him into a police vehicle while the narrating air unit official is heard saying: "They got him successfully in custody".

The APD posted the footage to its social media channels, where it received thousands of views and congratulatory comments.

The man was identified as A'torrius Slaughter, born in 2002, and two pending arrest warrants were found to have been issued against him.

He was subsequently charged with the corresponding crimes, which were not specified, and taken to Fulton County Jail.

In its statement announcing the arrest, the APD revealed that 2,657 cars have been stolen since the start of the year, with 1,729 firearms stolen from vehicles during the same period.

It noted that of the stolen vehicles, 1,741 had either been left running or had the keys still inside, and so advised the local population to be mindful when leaving their vehicles.

Full Story Can Be Read Here: https://news.realpressglobal.com/carjacker-caught-red-handed-by-police-air-unit-and-swiftly-arrested-by-cops-on-ground/

This is the moment Nasa's SpaceX Crew-3 astronauts are blasted into orbit by a Falcon 9 rocket beginning their journey to the International Space Station.

NASA astronauts Tom Marshburn, Kayla Barron, Raja Chari, and astronaut Matthias Maurer from the European Space Agency (ESA) took off from NASA’s Kennedy Space Centre in Florida at 9.03 pm yesterday on 10th November.

The astronauts are setting off on a six-month-long mission carrying out research in the lab on the International Space Station (ISS).

The research will cover several areas of interest such as materials science, plant science, and health technologies.

In the footage, the astronauts can be seen preparing for the mission and waving for the cameras as they walk towards the launch site.

They then take their positions aboard the SpaceX Falcon 9 and as the countdown starts the powerful rocket fires up launching the crew out of earth's atmosphere and into space.

The crew are expected to dock at the forward port of the ISS' Harmony module at 7.10 pm today (11th November).

Upon their arrival at the space station, the Crew-3 astronauts will be greeted by NASA astronaut Mark Vande Hei and cosmonauts Anton Shkaplerov and Pyotr Dubrov – the Expedition 66 crew already on board.

Steve Stich, NASA’s Commercial Crew Program manager, said that the crew is very excited to reach the ISS and settle in for their mission and currently both NASA and SpaceX are doing everything possible to ensure their safe arrival at the station and preparing for their return to earth once the mission is completed.

Josef Aschbacher, ESA director-general, said that watching a rocket launch with the second ESA astronaut ever to take off onboard a Crew Dragon spacecraft was a very thrilling experience.

He added that it was fantastic to see Matthias Maurer launch alongside his NASA colleagues and continue the long-standing collaboration between nations in humanity's exploration of space.

NASA said that the mission is part of a wider plan to "restore and maintain American leadership in human spaceflight."

By carrying out regular long-term missions NASA is able to rotate crews and carry out extensive research and technology investigations on the ISS.

The research benefits the people back on Earth by contributing to the technology and understanding needed for future missions to Mars and the Moon, wrote NASA in the statement.

The launch marked SpaceX’s third operational crew launch for NASA and brings the number of astronauts launched by SpaceX to a total of 18.

Full Story Can Be Read Here: https://news.realpressglobal.com/nasas-spacex-crew-3-successfully-launch-and-enter-orbit-on-their-way-to-the-international-space-station/

This is the tense moment Florida cops rescue a panicked woman driver as her car sinks into a canal she swerved into during heavy rain.

The incident took place in the city of Port Orange in Volusia County in the US state of Florida on the evening of 5th November.

The police said the woman, name not reported, lost control of her car and plunged into the roadside canal during a period of heavy rain.

Two cops on the scene found that the driver was trapped inside the car as it was sinking in the canal.

The officers eventually managed to smash a window and help the woman out of the submerged car before it was too late.

In the tense footage, one of the cops is seen arriving on the scene and encountering a man in the canal next to the sinking car.

The man, apparently a helpful resident, says: “The doors are locked, I can’t get them open.”

The cop gets into the water and repeatedly attempts to break a rear window while shouting at the woman to “climb out the back”.

The video cuts and another cop is seen clearing the glass from around the car door after apparently smashing a rear window to get to the woman.

They shout for the driver to climb to the back as she screams in fear inside the vehicle before one officer says “I got her” and manages to pull her through the smashed window.

The officers then help the woman onto dry land and one cop asks “are you okay ma’am” as she sobs in shock on the grass and says “yes”.

The Port Orange Police Department shared the video on social media on 8th November with the message: “Friday night after the heavy rains, a car ran off the road and into a canal, next to Cedar in the Wood.

“Sgt. Mialki, Ofc. Calenda and Ofc. Brashier responded to the crash and found that the driver was trapped in the vehicle as it was sinking.

“The Officers entered the water, broke the window, and pulled the driver out of the sinking car.”

The police added: “This is another great example of Port Orange Police Officer’s daily commitment to the safety of their community and their willingness to put themselves in harm’s way to protect a stranger.”

The police have released this footage of two men wanted for a fatal shooting inside a Chicago store.

The shooting occurred at Midtown Market and Liquor in Humboldt Park in Chicago at around 9.10 am on 8th November.

This critically endangered Somali wild ass born at a Swiss zoo was initially rejected by its nervous, first-time mum before veterinarians and zookeepers managed to help the pair bond.

The Somali wild ass (Equus africanus somaliensis) foal, called Salia, was born at Basel zoo in Switzerland to mare Mwana and stallion Adam on the morning of 13th November 2021.

But the zoo said that the "natural mother-foal bond was broken after the birth", with the mother at first rejecting her foal and stopping it from feeding.

The zoo said: "The mare Mwana was visibly stressed and overwhelmed with the young animal after giving birth - which often happens with first-time mothers.

"This meant that the bond between mother and young animal could not develop properly. Mwana showed no interest in her foal and drove Salia away as soon as she wanted to drink.

"The foal's chances of survival dropped drastically."

The zoo said that it consulted with two local horse specialists and on Monday, 15th November, it was decided to give the mare "a hormone injection so that she could relive the birth hormonally."

The zoo added: "The vital bond between mother and foal was established within 30 minutes. For the first time, little Salia was allowed to drink extensively. Today the offspring is fine.

"She is playful and likes to test her long legs when she does sprints together with her mother in the outdoor area."

The footage shows an energetic Salia playfully discovering a new surroundings under the watchful eye of her mother Mwana.

Somali wild asses are listed as critically endangered on the International Union for Conservation of Nature's (IUCN) Red List of Endangered Species, with fewer than 1,000 individuals estimated to remain in the wild. The zoo said that Salia is among approximately 200 wild asses living in zoos all over the world.

The zoo said: "In nature, these donkeys are threatened with extinction and are among the rarest mammals. Only a few hundred animals still live in Ethiopia, Eritrea and perhaps Somalia. Wars, competition with the livestock of the population and the meager food and water reserves have decimated their populations in recent years.

"This makes the efforts of the zoological gardens all the more important, with the European conservation breeding program, called EEP (ex situ program of the European Association of Zoos and Aquaria EAZA) to preserve this rare mammal species. Basel Zoo coordinates the EEP of the Somali wild ass and maintains the international herd book."

This is the moment an injured horse is airlifted to safety by a rescue chopper in California.

The incident took place near Lake Skinner, which is a reservoir in Riverside County, in the state of California on the western coast of the United States, when the horse ended up in a ravine on Wednesday 24th November after its rider fell off.

The horse was stuck between two boulders and a rescue helicopter was dispatched to assist in the efforts to save the horse. The rescue took place on Friday 26th November after being delayed due to high winds, according to the Riverside County Department of Animal Services.

The footage was shared online by the department, which released a statement saying: "It was uncertain what caused the accident, but the horse bolted at some point, causing the woman to fall off the animal as it continued charging away."

It added that "the rider and the horse suffered injuries which were believed to be minor. The horse, a 4-year-old gelding named Sunny, was treated on scene by an equine veterinarian prior to today’s rescue. It was believed the owner of the horse camped overnight with her pet to offer it company and comfort."

Lt. Lesley Huennekens led the Animal Services team, according to the Riverside County Department of Animal Services, with assistance provided by the Riverside County Fire Department, members of the Horse Animal Rescue Team (HART), which is a specialised unit from the Riverside Fire Department, and NART, the Norco Animal Rescue Team.

Huennekens said: "These airlift rescues require optimum conditions. We’re so thankful to the HART crew from the Riverside city fire department, and our county partners in the fire and sheriff’s departments to make this operation a major success. Saving Sunny from this predicament will be a highlight of the year for all of us."

The Riverside County Department of Animal Services said in its statement that "Sunny, weighing approximately 1,000 pounds with a height of almost 16 hands, was sedated before his flight to allow his rescuers safe conditions to strap on the specialized harness. The harness – called an Anderson Sling – is placed atop the horse and straps are wrapped around the animal to offer stability."

It added that "the rescue happened at about 2:40 p.m. All told, Sunny’s flight lasted about 10 minutes. A resident in the area provided the sheriff’s helicopter pilot with a field to land Sunny for his recovery period."

The health status of the horse is currently unclear, although its injuries are thought to be minor.

This is the moment Chinese firefighters pull a dead heron from a city building after it flew into the wall mid-flight and impaled itself in the building facade like a spear.

The incident was filmed in the city of Songyuan in the Chinese province of Jilin and the footage has been widely shared by local media.

The bird, identified as a heron after it was found dead, reportedly slammed into the outside wall of a city building and was left hanging upright with its beak impaled in the facade.

Local residents spotted the bird and informed the emergency services with the fire brigade arriving on the scene shortly afterwards to rescue the heron.

After reaching its lofty position, firefighters realised the bird was already dead.

The local authorities later confirmed that it was a heron, a second-class national protected animal in China.

In the footage, firefighters are seen arriving at the building while a small crowd of people looks up from the pavement.

The motionless heron dangles from the outside pink wall and firefighters tug it free by its feet before the deceased bird flops into their arms.

It is unclear how the fire brigade disposed of the dead heron after freeing its trapped corpse from the city building.

Oregon cops have corralled a roaming sea lion into the nearest river point after she ‘refused to come quietly’ despite the use of fish bait.

The sea lion, named Tiffany by the local cops, was spotted wandering the streets of Lincoln City in the US state of Oregon on 26th November.

The police said the marine mammal came ashore from the Siletz River and roamed Southeast 51st Street before officers arrived and set up a barrier around her.

During several hours, the police tried several methods of tempting the sea lion back into the water, but to no avail.

In a Facebook post on 26th November, the police said: “Tiffany was very content on staying in the middle of the roadway and slowly moved closer to Highway 101.”

One officer nipped to a local shop to purchase fresh fish, but Tiffany was “too over-stimulated and unfortunately was not willing to follow the bait”, according to the police.

With no other option available to them, the police decided to use plywood sheets to slowly corral the marine animal to the nearest river point, just three blocks from their location.

The police said: “After several breaks for the sake [of] Tiffany’s health, (and a few refreshing soaks from garden hoses) she was guided to an opening which led down to the river.

“The tide was currently out and would be a while longer before she would be covered in water completely, but she settled down happily [in] a small stream section and seemed content to wait it out until the next tide.”

The police said they had never dealt with such a situation in Lincoln City before, although adventurous sea lions are not uncommon in the country’s northwest.

They shared images of the sea lion stood in the middle-of-the-road blocking any traffic and also curiously checking out a patrol car that was parked nearby before she was successfully edged back into the water.

They also shared a very short clip of Tiffany as she walks down the road surrounded by the wooden sheet bearing officers to slowly force her in the direction of the water and home.

These images show how a snapping turtle was saved from a canal after it was found tangled in a fishing line during a police training exercise.

The incident took place in Cape Coral canal, which is a 400-mile canal system in Cape Coral, which is a city in south-western Florida, in the United States.

The footage shows a police officer from the Lee County Sheriff's Office, named only as deputy Scozzafava, diving and helping the snapping turtle (Chelydra serpentina) to get free.

He can be seen struggling to remove a fishing line tangled around the turtle, which can reach a shell size of 50 centimetres (20 inches) as adults. An off-camera colleague asks deputy Scozzafava if he needs a knife. The turtle can at this point be seen retracting its head inside its shell. The deputy removes his diving mask as he appears ready to emerge from the water as the footage ends.

The footage of the rescue was shared online by Lee County Sheriff's Office, who said: "TURTLE-Y GREAT

"While conducting training in the Cape Coral canals, one of our dive team members swam across a snapping turtle in distress.

"The turtle was tangled up in fishing line and had a hook stuck in its mouth. Dep. Scozzafava was able to untangle the turtle enough to safely remove it from the water.

"The turtle was taken to Chiquita Animal Hospital, where it will be transferred to CROW to receive the spe-shell treatment it needs." (sic)

The current health status of the turtle, which is part of a species that is usually quite confident and aggressive as they are at the top of the food chain, is unclear, and it is unknown when it will be strong enough to be released back into the wild. When they encounter humans in the water, they tend to avoid confrontation.

Snapping turtles are found as far north as Canada and as far south as Florida. They tend to live in ponds and streams, with many electing to live in estuaries.

Despite being listed on the International Union for Conservation of Nature's (IUCN's) Red List of Endangered Species is a species of Least Concern, in Canada, snapping turtles are listed as a species of Special Concern and hunting it is banned.

The destruction of their habitat and pollution, as well as a scarcity in food and other factors are driving snapping turtles to migrate.

An international team of scientists has confirmed that this ancient ancestor of humans from nearly two million years ago that was unearthed in Africa's Cradle of Humankind is a missing-link species that could both walk upright and climb trees like an ape.

Australopithecus sediba is an extinct species of early hominin, some bones of which were found in Malapa cave, which is a fossil-rich archaeological site located about 28 miles north-west of the city of Johannesburg in South Africa.

And now scientists have pieced together how the early hominins "used their upper limbs to climb like apes and their lower limbs to walk like humans".

The National Research Centre on Human Evolution ('Centro Nacional de Investigacion sobre la Evolucion Humana'; CENIEH), which is located in Burgos, Spain, released a statement saying: "These vertebrae can be considered the 'missing link' that resolves a decades-long debate by showing that early hominins used their upper extremities to climb like apes and their lower extremities to walk like humans."

And New York University (NYU) in the USA also released a statement saying that the "new lower back fossils are the 'missing link' that settles a decades old debate proving early hominins used their upper limbs to climb like apes and their lower limbs to walk like humans".

NYU said that the study was the result of collaboration between experts at New York University, the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, "and 15 other institutions" after the bones were discovered in 2015 "during excavations of a mining trackway running next to the site of Malapa in the Cradle of Humankind World Heritage Site".

NYU explained that the Malapa site is where Professor Lee Berger from the University of the Witwatersrand and his then nine-year old son Matthew discovered "the first remains of what would be a new species of ancient human relative named Australopithecus sediba" in 2008, with a partial skeleton unearthed in 2010.

Further digs took place and more fossils were found. The fossils which were found in 2015 and which have been dated back to about two million years ago, have now revealed their secrets, with Professor Scott Williams of NYU and Wits University, a lead author on the paper, saying: "The lumbar region is critical to understanding the nature of bipedalism in our earliest ancestors and to understanding how well adapted they were to walking on two legs."

The bones recovered in 2015 match up with the partial skeleton unearthed in 2010. The CENIEH said in a statement that "the fossils were virtually reconstructed, after being scanned using computed microtomography, thus eliminating the risk of damaging the delicate bones.

"Once virtually reconstructed, the vertebrae were added to previously recovered fossils, which perfectly articulated with the spine of the fossil skeleton MH 2, part of the original type specimens of Australopithecus sediba first described in 2010."

The partial skeleton at the heart of the study is technically called "MH 2" but the researchers have nicknamed her - she is female - "Issa", which means "protector" in Swahili.

Issa "is one of the first two hominid skeletons to retain both a relatively complete lower spine and the dentition of the same individual, which allows us to be certain about the species to which the spinal column belongs", according to the CENIEH statement.

The NYU statement also said: "The discovery also established that like humans, sediba had only five lumbar vertebrae."

Professor Berger, who is an author on the study and leader of the Malapa project, said: "While Issa was already one of the most complete skeletons of an ancient hominin ever discovered, these vertebrae practically complete the lower back and make Issa’s lumbar region a contender for not only the best-preserved hominin lower back ever discovered, but also probably the best preserved."

The NYU statement said: "Previous studies of the incomplete lower spine by authors not involved in the present study hypothesised that sediba would have had a relatively straight spine, without the curvature, or lordosis, typically seen in modern humans.

"They further hypothesised Issa's spine was more like that of the extinct species [Neanderthals] and other more primitive species of ancient hominins older than two million years.

"Lordosis is the inward curve of the lumbar spine and is typically used to demonstrate strong adaptations to bipedalism.

"However, with the more complete spine, and excellent preservation of the fossils, the present study found the lordosis of sediba was in fact more extreme than any other australopithecines yet discovered, and the amount of curvature of the spine observed was only exceeded by that seen in the spine of the 1.6-million-year-old Turkana boy (Homo erectus) from Kenya and some modern humans."

The research was published in the academic magazine e-Life on 23rd November.

Two female giraffes have joined the gang at the world’s oldest zoo in Vienna during its fourth COVID-19 closure.

The existing giraffes at Schoenbrunn Zoo in the Austrian capital Vienna, named Sofie, Fleur and Obi, all rubbernecked to see females Carla and Rita arrive at the animal park and join the gang.

The Viennese zoo said the two females used to be part of the Schoenbrunn population, but were relocated to a nearby centre when their enclosure underwent reforms.

Carla and Rita lived with Kimbar, Europe’s oldest bull giraffe for many years, but he was too old to be transported to the newly-designed giraffe area in Schoenbrunn Zoo, so the females remained with him until his death in May at the age of 28.

Transported by trailer, Carla and Rita arrived at the Viennese zoo on 25th November, and the new arrivals are gradually getting to know their herd members.

Zoo director Stephan Hering-Hagenbeck said: “In the wild, giraffes live in larger groups, the structure of which changes again and again. We therefore assume that the merger will be beneficial for everyone.”

Sofie, Fleur and Obi are reticulated giraffes (Giraffa camelopardalis reticulata), also known as Somali giraffes, however Carla and Rita are from a subspecies that has intermingled over the course of their family tree and they are no longer integrated in the park’s breeding programme.

The zoo said in a statement: “Before anyone can visit the zoo’s herd of giraffes, they will have to be patient. The zoo has been closed again since Monday due to the nationwide lockdown. For Vienna Zoo, this is the fourth coronavirus-related closure in the last two years.”

The zoo added that the restrictions “pose financial challenges” with regards to “feeding, energy, and staff” and that the “transportation of the giraffes alone cost around EUR 2,000”.

This is the moment a kitten is finally rescued from the top of a utility pole, where she had been chased by dogs days earlier, after her owner, people in the community and even the mayor bombarded rescuers and the local electricity company with pleas for help.

The emergency services and the local electricity company had initially passed the buck to each other before declaring it was only a cat, and refusing to help, but she was then rescued anyway in the city of Indio in Riverside County in the US state of California after the concerted campaign finally worked some six days after she went missing.

The cat’s owner Heather Padilla told Newsflash: “The kitten’s name is Ruth, she is 11 months old. Ruth is very outgoing, loving and so friendly. Too friendly, she would let anyone pick her up!

“Ruth was a stray and got rescued at a young age from our friend that helps rescue stray cats. She is neutered and micro-chipped and also has human siblings who love her very much. My other cat is an inside-only kitty and I tried to keep Ruth inside too but she loves to run around in the grass and chase bugs.

“She is so smart, every time our door opens it chimes and she darts outside. She was always really good at going outside and coming back in when I would whistle for her or shake her treats.

“One night, I got home from work late and Ruth hadn’t been home, she was missing for four days. I started posting on local neighbourhood lost and found sites hoping someone had seen her or taken her in thinking she was a stray.”

Heather told Newsflash: “About the fourth day she was gone, I was headed to work walking to my van and she saw me and started meowing. I looked everywhere in the backyard the front yard, I was looking over our brick wall thinking she was stuck in the neighbour’s yard, she sounded so close but so far away at the same time.

“I said her name and she faintly cried. I finally looked up and she was at the top of an electric pole three houses down from us. It was really sunny out that day and the sun was glaring in my eyes and I had to do a double-take because she blended in with the wooden pole.

“We think the neighbour’s dogs scared her, there are two big dogs and another big dog in the front yard and I think that she got scared and ran up the pole and she was not coming down for anything.

“The neighbours were kind enough to bring their dogs in so we could try and get her down by talking to her real softly with a plate of food.

“I called the fire department but they told me to call the police station. The police told me to call the fire department, and then they both told me to call the electric company because of the live wires.

“I called the electric company and they said that they wouldn’t come out for a cat and that they weren’t going to shut down power.

“Finally, on the second day she was up there, I couldn’t stop thinking that she was going to die if I couldn’t get somebody to get her down. It’s so hot during the day and very cold at night. She probably hadn’t eaten for the four whole days she was missing and then she’s at the top of this pole for two days, she was so dehydrated, you could tell she was just weak.”

Heather told Newsflash: “So I called Elaine the mayor and I said that I had exhausted all my options and she said she would do everything she could to help me try and get my kitty down.

“I think with a phone call from Elaine to the IID board and with all the phone calls from the community to the fire department and electric company, finally IID came out here and shut the power down for around 20 minutes and got my baby kitty down from the pole.

“It was so traumatic for me, my husband and my kids, I couldn’t eat or sleep I was so worried. We took her straight to the vet and they said she was fine. We brought her home and it took her a couple days but she finally started eating again and she slept for a solid three days. Finally she is fine and full of life again.

“I’m making sure everyone in this house is extra careful of not letting her out because she is sitting at every door looking at us so sad because she wants to go outside, but I’m so fearful I don’t want her to get hurt.

She added: “I’m so thankful for the word of mouth from everyone in this community and everyone that helped my baby kitty.”

This is the moment a cute endangered Amur leopard cub explores its outdoor surroundings with its watchful mum at a German zoo.

The cub has been named ‘Manju’, which Leipzig Zoo press officer Melanie Ginzel told Newsflash comes from India and means ‘the sweet one’.

The cub was given the name by zookeepers at the animal park in the city of Leipzig in the German state of Saxony.

The little Amur leopard (Panthera pardus orientalis) was born at the animal park on 3rd September.

Leipzig Zoo said the name Manju was unanimously decided on by zookeepers, adding that it perfectly suits the cub’s soft fur, blue eyes and large paws.

Now nearly three months old, little Manju has started exploring the Leopard Valley enclosure with mother Mia, 8.

The female cub weighs nearly five kilogrammes and is developing very well, according to the zoo.

Manju enjoys nibbling on small pieces of meat and is not afraid of exploring her new play options in the outdoor enclosure.

The zoo said the cute cub is intrigued by everything around her, including tree branches, bushes, and the rocks on the ground.

Mia also seems to enjoy playing with her fluffy little offspring and is very vigilant when Manju sneaks away.

Zoo director Professor Jorg Junhold said: “Leipzig Zoo registered Manju as the first cub to be born in Europe this year, according to the European Endangered Species Programme (EEP).

“Therefore, we are all more than pleased to be able to announce the first offspring in 2021.

“Because the rarest big cat species and the rarest mammal in the world is threatened with extinction, we have been able to make an important contribution to the conservation of the species.”

He added that Amur leopards are the rarest subspecies of leopards in the world with only between 100 and 250 specimens left in the wild.

The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species categorises Amur leopards as ‘critically endangered’.

The main reasons for their drop in numbers are, among other things, poaching and habitat destruction.

This is the moment a wildlife officer encounters a buck with an antler missing after it broke into a Tennessee primary school and spent the night wrecking a classroom.

The incident took place at the Westside Elementary School in the city of Springfield in Robertson County in the US state of Tennessee on 23rd November.

The footage shows a Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency (TWRA) officer, named as Kaleb Stratton, encountering the buck in the classroom.

Stratton says: “So, how’s everybody else’s morning going today? This guy has had a rough one!”

He then pans around the wrecked classroom before laughing and focussing on the calm deer, which apparently has an antler missing, possibly after fighting a rival for a love interest during mating season.

The Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency (TWRA) shared the images on social media with the message: “Surprise student at Westside Elementary in Springfield this morning!

“Officer Kaleb Stratton was called to the school to remove the individual, who had apparently broken his way in through an emergency exit.”

“The 2.5/3.5-year-old whitetail buck was in good spirits and allowed Officer Stratton to lead him to an exit. Today teachers are teaching the 4 R’s at Westside. Reading, Righting, Rithmetic, and Rut!”

The animal reportedly broke into the school and spent the night in the classroom before Officer Stratton was able to release it back into the wild.

The deer overturned tables and chairs, but was uninjured in the incident.

Officer Stratton said “It’s not what I expected when I walked in”, adding that he thought ‘this is going to be hard’ when he saw it standing in the classroom.

He explained that it is mating season now and the buck was probably chasing a female when it broke into the school. He also said that it may have seen itself reflected in the window and thought it was another deer.

Officer Stratton added: “Deer running crazy (during mating season) and it’s not just in Robertson County, but all over the state of Tennessee.”

School officials said the students were allowed back inside after Officer Stratton had taken the deer outside ahead of releasing it in the wild.

Russia has sent two Tu-160 strategic missile carriers into Belarusian airspace to carry out a patrol amid rising tensions on the border with Poland.

The Russian Ministry of Defence (MoD) sent two Tu-160 bombers into Belarusian airspace where they took part in a patrol with Su-30SM fighter jets from the Belarusian Air Force on 11th November.

The Russian MoD said the pilots completed the patrol successfully and demonstrated impeccable flying skills, adding that communication with their Belarusian counterparts took place throughout the entire flight.

The flight duration was 4 hours and 36 minutes. During this time, the strategic missile carriers covered a distance of over 3,000 kilometres (1,864 miles).

The Russian MoD shared footage of the exercise with the message: “Two strategic missile carriers Tu-160 of the Russian Aerospace Forces performed patrols in the airspace of the Republic of Belarus, during which issues with the fighter cover by Su-30SM jets of the Belarusian Air Force were worked out. The pilots successfully completed the assigned task.”

Earlier this week, Russia sent two supersonic Tu-22M3 bombers into Belarusian airspace in a show of support for their neighbours amid rising tensions on the border with Poland.

Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko has been accused of encouraging migrants, mainly from the Middle East, into his country only to send them to the Polish border in an alleged attempt to provoke a migrant crisis in Europe.

The international row started over a strong crackdown on anti-government protesters initiated by Lukashenko, who is widely known as "Europe's last dictator". The EU recently accused Belarus of taking part in state-sponsored 'trafficking'.

In a statement released on 9th November, the United Nations (UN) urged states to ensure that the migrants' human rights be respected. The UN also said that its refugee agency, the UNHCR, As well as the International Organization for Migration (IOM), "issued a joint statement calling on States to ensure 'the safety and human rights of migrants and refugees'."

The statement also said: "The border became a flash point after the European Union imposed sanctions on Belarus on the basis of alleged human rights violations, following the crackdown on protests, and the forcing down of a commercial flight between two EU nations by Belarus in May, in order to remove a leading dissident, according to news reports.

"The EU reportedly contends that in reprisal, Belarus has been deliberately assisting migrants to cross the border into Poland illegally, a charge which Belarus denies."

But the UN said: "With several tragic deaths recently recorded at the border area amidst the onset of winter temperatures, the UN agencies reminded States that it is 'imperative to prevent further loss of life' and to treat migrants and refugees humanely, 'as the highest priority'."

US soldiers of the 38th Air Defense Artillery have conducted a joint Patriot missile live fire with their counterparts from the Japanese Self Defense Force's Air Defense Missile Groups at Fort Bliss in Texas.

Russian troops on a training exercise have climbed to the top of Mount Chapal in the Russian Caucasus.

The feat was reported by the Russian Ministry of Defence who said that the Subdivisions of the Southern Military District (YuVO) carried out the successful operation.

The ascent took place in the framework of the mountain pentathlon championship, which takes place in the Southern Military District. Military climbers from the Rostov Region, Krasnodar and Stavropol Territories, Chechnya, Dagestan, Abkhazia and South Ossetia take part in the competition. In the first stage of the competition, about 100 military personnel were involved.

In a statement, the Ministry of Defence said: "The high-altitude units of the Southern Military District in Karachay-Cherkessia made a high-speed ascent to the top of Mount Chapal in extreme weather conditions."

The head of mountain training of the Southern Military District Mikhail Petrov called the first stage of the championship one of the most difficult. According to him, military climbers made a high-speed ascent in full gear. At the same time, the length of the route was about 10 kilometres.

It is worth noting that on November 8, near Kazan , a large-scale peacekeeping exercise "Indestructible Brotherhood - 2021" with the participation of the CSTO forces started. Servicemen from Belarus, Russia, Kyrgyzstan, Armenia, Tajikistan and Kazakhstan are involved in the manoeuvres.

This is the moment Italian firefighters use heavy machinery to clear a road that became completely impassable following a mudslide that was brought on by torrential rains in the region.

The operation was one of 250 interventions carried out following bad weather in Sicily, with the provinces of Palermo, Agrigento, Ragusa, Catania and Trapani particularly badly hit.

This footage shows the United States Navy and the Royal Navy taking part in a joint training exercise in the Gulf of Oman on 8th November.

The montage shows Marine Fighter Attack Squadron (VMFA) 211 cross-decking F-35B Lightning IIs from the aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth to the amphibious assault ship USS Essex.

Captain DeWayne Sanders, commodore of Amphibious Squadron One, said the training had "helped demonstrate our efficacy in the region and our commitment to maritime security and stability world-wide."

This is the moment a Russian Navy vessel returns to base in the Black Sea after spending six months in the Mediterranean. The footage was shared online by the Russian Ministry of Defence who said: "The modern patrol ship 'Vasily Bykov' of the Black Sea Fleet arrived at the permanent basing point of Novorossiysk after completing missions in the Mediterranean Sea. The crew welcoming ceremony took place at the pier of the Novorossiysk naval port. The crew spent about six months on a long voyage, where they performed tasks as part of a permanent inter-fleet grouping of the Russian Navy in the Mediterranean Sea."

This footage shhows the USS Essex underway the Gulf of Oman. The footage was shared online by the US Navy who said: "The amphibious assault ship USS Essex (LHD 2) transits the Gulf of Oman, Nov. 9. Essex and the 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit are deployed to the U.S. 5th Fleet area of operations in support of naval operations to ensure maritime stability and security in the Central Region, connecting the Mediterranean and the Pacific through the western Indian Ocean and three strategic choke points."

This is the moment the Russian Knights, the aerobatic demonstration team of the Russian Air Force, travel to the United Arab Emirates in their Su-30 fighter jets to take part in the Dubai Airshow 2021.

The flight from Kubinka near Moscow took place with two intermediate landings.

Specialists of the engineering and aviation service and engineering and technical property were delivered by the Il-76 military transport aircraft.

Before the demonstration, which will be held at the Al-Maktoum airfield, the crews of Russian combat fighters will conduct two qualifying flights and air training.

During the air show, the crews of the Aerospace Forces will demonstrate the super-maneuverable capabilities of the latest Su-30SM fighters.

Pilots from the Russian Knights aerobatic team will demonstrate group aerobatic figures at set intervals and distances, as well as paired, single and counter aerobatics.

The international air show "Dubai Airshow - 2021" will be held in Dubai from 14th to 18th November.

This is the moment a motorised rifleman division from the Russian Western Military District carries out a training exercise with BMP-2 amphibious infantry fighting vehicles.

The exercise saw them cross a lake while under fire from a simulated enemy at the Alabino training ground west of Moscow.

This is the moment Russian peacekeeping forces from the Central Military District hone their tech skills with various training exercises some of which focused on anti-drone warfare and the modern security system known as 'Strelets SV'.