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Facebook Tweet Email Link An 88-year-old Russian man, who gained local fame for building his own aircraft, has died after attempting to take off in a homemade helicopter. The man, a resident of the Omutninsky district of western Russia’s Kirov Region, attempted the flight in the self-built aircraft on Thursday, the Volga Region Transport Prosecutor’s Office said in a news release Friday. However, the helicopter self-destructed during take-off, it added. The aircraft failed to lift off and, instead, “during engine startup, while still on the ground and as the engine power was building, the main rotor blades detached. This caused…

Facebook Tweet Email Link Sydney Reuters  —  In a remote rainforest in Australia, home to deadly snakes, spiders and creepy-crawlies, scientists have discovered a new species of stick insect they believe is the heaviest ever found in the country. The new species weighs 44 grams (1.55 oz), about the same as a golf ball, and is 40 cm (15.75 inches) long. James Cook University’s Angus Emmott, who helped identify the new Acrophylla alta species, said the creature’s large size could be an evolutionary response to its cool, wet habitat. “Their body mass likely helps them survive the colder conditions, and…

The Middle East Race & ethnicity Student life Israel-Hamas war See all topics Facebook Tweet Email Link The French government will deport a Gaza student accused of reposting alleged antisemitic content on her social media and halt all evacuations from the territory, the country’s foreign minister said Friday as outrage grows over her reposts. “She must leave the country. She does not have a place in France,” Jean-Noël Barrot said in an interview with radio station France Info, without saying if authorities would return the student back to Gaza. The foreign minister did not name the woman, who has also…

Facebook Tweet Email Link China’s Yu Zidi has already burst onto the swimming scene, but the 12-year-old made more history at the 2025 World Aquatics Championships on Thursday. Yu became the youngest ever medalist at the competition after being part of China’s bronze medal winning team in the 4×200-meter freestyle relay in Singapore. Although she did not compete in Thursday’s final, Yu was eligible for a medal as she swam in the preliminary race to qualify her country for the final. Australia’s team of Lani Pallister, Jamie Perkins, Brittany Castelluzzo and Mollie O’Callaghan won gold in a time of 7:39.35,…

Facebook Tweet Email Link SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korea’s jailed ex-President Yoon Suk Yeol again refused to attend questioning by investigators Friday, using a new method to resist: He took off his prison uniform and lay down on the floor at his detention room. Yoon, removed from office in April over his ill-fated imposition of martial law, was sent back to prison last month as he stands a high-stakes trial over rebellion and other charges. Yoon, a conservative, faces investigations into other criminal allegations that are not related to his Dec. 3 martial law decree but target him,…

Facebook Tweet Email Link The humble modern-day potato, first domesticated about 10,000 years ago, got its start in the Andes mountains before becoming a key crop the world depends on. But because plants don’t preserve well in the fossil record, its lineage has remained largely a mystery. Now, a team of evolutionary biologists and genomic scientists has traced the origins of this starchy staple to a chance encounter millions of years ago involving an unlikely plant relative: the tomato. The researchers analyzed 450 genomes from cultivated and wild potato species, and the genes revealed that an ancient wild tomato plant…

Facebook Tweet Email Link Peter Phillips, the son of Britain’s Princess Anne and eldest grandchild of the late Queen Elizabeth II, announced his engagement to nurse Harriet Sperling on Friday. “Mr Peter Phillips, the son of HRH The Princess Royal and Captain Mark Phillips and Ms Harriet Sperling, daughter of the late Mr Rupert Sanders and Mrs Mary Sanders of Gloucestershire, have today confirmed their official engagement,” the couple’s spokesperson told CNN in a statement. “Both families were informed jointly of the announcement and were delighted with the wonderful news of their engagement. Their Majesties The King and Queen, The…

Facebook Tweet Email Link Former Colombian President Álvaro Uribe was sentenced Friday to 12 years of house arrest after being found guilty of procedural fraud and witness bribery. Uribe had pleaded not guilty. His defense attorney previously announced that they would file an appeal. Judge Sandra Heredia of Bogotá’s 44th Criminal Court announced the sentence four days after she found the former president guilty of the crimes. Heredia had acquitted Uribe of another charge for alleged bribery of a prosecutor. Uribe, 73, who governed Colombia from 2002 to 2010, is the country’s first former president to be criminally convicted. The…

Facebook Tweet Email Link Welcome to Trendlines, your weekly installment of what’s trending up and what’s trending down in the world of sports. This week, millions of Americans breathed a sigh of relief. No longer will they (and in this case me) be worried about whether their weekends would continue to be filled with boredom. No, the NFL’s Hall of Fame game marked the beginning of the preseason. It’s the first sign that autumn is near and football is back. Every new season means hope for teams that have never won a Super Bowl (like the Detroit Lions and Los…

Facebook Tweet Email Link A baby boy born last week to an Ohio couple developed from an embryo that had been frozen for more than 30 years in what is believed to be a record length of storage time before a birth. In what’s known as embryo adoption, Lindsey and Tim Pierce used a handful of embryos donated in 1994 in their pursuit of having a child after fighting infertility for years. Their son was born Saturday from an embryo that had been in storage for 11,148 days, which the Pierces’ doctor says sets a record. It’s a concept that…