University of Warwick scientists discover “hot spots” around atomic defects in diamonds – challenging assumptions about the world’s Source link
Sudan: After 1,000 days of war, millions of civilians still bearing brunt
Latest UN data indicates that 9.3 million people have been uprooted by conflict across the country and more than 4.3 million have fled across borders, placing immense strain on neighbouring countries. More than 21 million people are also believed to be acutely food insecure across the country.
Although many of those displaced have returned to the capital, Khartoum, massive challenges and dangers for civilians remain there, including from unexploded weapons. Elsewhere, fighting is continuing “across multiple fronts in Kordofan” further west, OCHA spokesperson Jens Laerke said.
Speaking to journalists in Geneva, he noted that sieges have cut off the towns of Kadugli – capital of South Kordofan state – and Dilling – a town to the north of Kadugli – restricting food, healthcare and access to farms and markets.
Daily drone, missile strikes
In Darfur, meanwhile, “fighting on the ground and drone attacks from the sky continue”, while long-range strikes on civilian infrastructure have also been recorded far beyond the front lines, Mr. Laerke added.
Children continue to be killed and injured amid ongoing clashes between the Sudanese Armed Forces and paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, with eight children reportedly killed in an attack in Al Obeid, North Kordofan, earlier this week.
According to the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF), a staggering 5,000 youngsters have been displaced every day since the conflict began in April 2023. “Many have been displaced not once but repeatedly, with violence following them wherever they flee,” said UNICEF spokesperson Ricardo Pires.
He warned that millions of children are also at risk of rape with survivors including babies. “Behind every one of these numbers is a child, frightened, hungry, sick and wondering why the world has not come to help,” Mr. Pires added.
Sexual attacks scourge
Women are also victims of “rampant” sexual violence and abuse, with some 12 million people – mostly women and girls – at risk of gender-based violence, according to OCHA. “Female-headed households are now three times more likely to be food insecure and three-quarters of these households report not having enough to eat,” said Mr. Laerke.
The global crisis in humanitarian funding has impacted the UN’s work and that of its partners in Sudan, with only 36 per cent of the $4.2 billion requested last year finally funded by donors.
In light of this reduced financial support, for 2026, OCHA aims to assist 20 million people out of the nearly 34 million people believed to be in need of humanitarian support in Sudan. The plan has been costed at $2.9 billion.
“Today our call is urgent: first, an immediate cessation of hostilities and real steps towards a lasting peace,” Mr. Laerke said. “Second, adherence to international humanitarian law with access facilitated across conflict lines and protection of civilians including aid workers and civilian infrastructure.”
Ukraine: Massive overnight attack leaves millions in the dark
Russian forces launched hundreds of drones and several missiles in the capital Kyiv and other cities, including one that can carry nuclear warheads, according to media reports.
At least four people were killed in Kyiv, and roughly 25 others injured, while thousands of apartment buildings in the city were left without heat in the cold weather.
The victims included a medic who was saving others as part of an emergency services team, the UN World Health Organization (WHO) said in a tweet. Four healthcare workers were injured, and three ambulances were damaged.
Attacks ‘must stop immediately’: Guterres
UN Secretary-General António Guterres said in a statement issued by his Spokesperson that he strongly condemned the ongoing targeted missile and drone attacks.
“These attacks have resulted in significant civilian casualties and deprived millions of Ukrainians of essential services, including electricity, heating and water at a time of acute humanitarian need,” the statement added.
“Attacks against civilians and civilian infrastructure violate international humanitarian law. No matter where they occur, they are unacceptable, unjustifiable, and must stop immediately.”
Millions without heat
In a social media post, UNICEF said that three children were reportedly injured in the massive attack across Ukraine which “left millions without heating, water and power.”
The agency “is further bolstering energy systems to also enable repairs and is working around the clock with local authorities to help keep critical services for children and families running.”
In the city of Kryyvi Rih in central Ukraine, aid workers distributed hot meals to affected residents and first responders, in addition to providing construction materials to cover damaged apartments, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) tweeted.
A continuing ‘trend’
The attack occurred in a week when massive airstrikes were carried out on Kharkiv in the northeast, Dnipro in the east, and the Kherson region in the southeast, said Elisabeth Haslund, spokesperson for the UN refugee agency, UNHCR.
“It’s really emphasising the continuation of this trend with intensified Russian attacks on Ukraine that we have witnessed on the ground for several months. And this is clearly continuing now into 2026,” she told UN News.
The ongoing war together with severe attacks, winter weather conditions and targeting of the energy infrastructure are making the humanitarian situation in Ukraine “extremely serious,” she added.
UNHCR and local partners have been responding with critical and life-saving emergency aid, which includes providing emergency shelter materials to families, psychosocial support, counselling and legal aid for people who have lost documents or need assistance in accessing compensation.
Support for families
The UN continues to call for an end to the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine, which began on 24 February 2022. Since then, more than 50,000 civilians have been killed or injured, although the actual number is likely higher.
WHO said that so far this year, it has documented nine attacks on healthcare, two deaths and 11 injuries.
UNICEF has been in the country since before the conflict began.
It supports families in numerous ways, including working to ensure the functionality of heating infrastructure, providing solid fuel as well as winter clothing and blankets for children, rehabilitating school shelters, and enabling access to safe water in areas where supply networks have been damaged or destroyed.
Last month, UNICEF launched a $350 million appeal to provide humanitarian assistance in Ukraine this year with the goal of supporting 4.3 million people, including 725,000 children.
NSF NCAR mini-satellite will give scientists a detailed view of the Sun’s chromosphere
DISCLAIMER: Information and opinions reproduced in the articles are the ones of those stating them and it is their own responsibility. Publication in The European Times does not automatically means endorsement of the view, but the right to express it.
DISCLAIMER TRANSLATIONS: All articles in this site are published in English. The translated versions are done through an automated process known as neural translations. If in doubt, always refer to the original article. Thank you for understanding.
NSF NCAR mini-satellite will give scientists a detailed view of the Sun’s chromosphere
The U.S. National Science Foundation National Center for Atmospheric Research (NSF NCAR) was selected by NASA to construct
World News in Brief: Fighting intensifies in Syria’s Aleppo and South Sudan’s Jonglei state, acute hunger in Niger
Clashes between government troops and Kurdish forces have intensified in recent days and tens of thousands of people have been displaced.
Representatives of the Office of the Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for Syria continue to be in contact with all concerned parties, UN Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric told journalists in New York.
Civilians killed, health facilities shuttered
The UN aid coordination office (OCHA) reported that as of Wednesday, at least five civilians – including two women and a child – were reportedly killed and dozens more injured, according to local authorities.
Several health facilities have also been impacted, including three hospitals, with some reportedly ceasing operations due to damage and attacks. Movement restrictions have also been imposed on key roads.
“Since yesterday morning, thousands of families have fled their homes, with many seeking shelter with host communities in Aleppo city and the various districts of Afrin,” said Mr. Dujarric.
Authorities have announced the opening of two humanitarian corridors for civilians to evacuate.
Humanitarians are mobilizing resources to respond to the growing displacement, he said. A UN team in Aleppo has carried out an assessment mission to Yad Al Aoun camp in Afrin to evaluate immediate needs and the capacity to respond.
South Sudan: Violence in Jonglei state sparks displacement, disrupts aid operations
A surge in conflict and airstrikes in Jonglei state, South Sudan, has forced people to flee their homes and disrupted humanitarian operations, OCHA said in its latest update.
Since 29 December, renewed fighting between the army and opposition has displaced some 100,000 people, mainly women, children and older persons, local authorities report.
Most are now sheltering in remote areas, while others have fled to neighbouring states, with authorities in Lakes state registering more than 11,000 arrivals.
Aid efforts affected
Meanwhile, several humanitarian organizations in northern Jonglei state have relocated their staff due to the insecurity and instructions by parties to evacuate the area.
Those organizations that continue to operate with local staff, report growing challenges including in restocking health facilities and sustaining other essential activities.
“The situation is further compounded by reports from several humanitarian organizations that their facilities and assets have been looted or confiscated by both parties,” OCHA said.
This is disrupting provision of essential health services for thousands at a time when South Sudan continues to grapple with food insecurity, disease outbreaks and the impact of flooding last year.
OCHA continues to engage with all parties to ensure that aid can reach people safely.
Food security experts warn of acute hunger and disease in Niger
More than 1.6 million young children in Niger are suffering from acute malnutrition – with many more at risk, UN-backed food insecurity experts said on Thursday.
The warning comes in an assessment from the international food security monitoring platform, or IPC, which noted that at least 306,000 pregnant and breastfeeding women are also in danger.
The security situation in Niger remains volatile following a military coup in July 2023, with jihadist insurgents still active.
Although nutrition levels have improved since the last UN-backed assessment, there are still concerns for refugees living in Agadez, Diffa and Maradi regions.
The worst conditions were reported in Diffa region that borders Chad and in Maradi region close to Nigeria, between August and November last year.
While the situation is expected to improve between now and April – marked by fewer cases of diarrhoea, malaria and better food availability – conditions are expected to deteriorate again with the onset of the lean and rainy season in May.
Aid continues despite winter hardship in Gaza and West Bank, UN says
That’s according to UN Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric, briefing journalists in New York on Thursday.
Citing the UN aid coordination office, OCHA, Mr. Dujarric said humanitarian teams are continuing to support the most vulnerable families in Gaza “despite impediments” and the cumulative impact of two years of conflict between Israeli forces and Hamas militants.
“Over the past days, one of our partners distributed 7,000 dignity kits, more than 5,600 dignified family hygiene kits and 1.3 million bars of soap to some 200,000 people,” he said, stressing that assistance is reaching communities in both the north and south of the devastated Strip.
Just trying to survive
Emergency shelter support remains a priority as temperatures drop.
Humanitarian partners have reached more than 16,000 households across Gaza with tents, tarpaulins and other essential materials, including kits to weatherproof and reinforce makeshift shelters. “These are people trying to survive winter in extremely fragile conditions,” Mr. Dujarric noted.
Winterisation assistance has also included the distribution of thousands of blankets, mattresses and bedding kits to improve sleeping conditions, alongside kitchen sets and clothing assistance for hundreds of households.
At the same time, water trucking operations are continuing across the territory. “Thirty-six partners are distributing more than 21,500 cubic metres of fresh water every day to over 2,300 collection points,” he said.
Education efforts, while constrained, are also progressing. More than 420 temporary learning spaces are now operating across Gaza, serving over 230,000 students with the support of some 5,500 teachers.
Critical to scale up
Mr. Dujarric underscored that scaling up remains “a critical priority” but depends on the entry of essential supplies that are still being denied. Even so, renovation work in public schools continues, with new classrooms in Gaza City now allowing more than 1,800 children to return to learning.
On health, Mr. Dujarric said the World Health Organization (WHO) recently facilitated the evacuation of 18 patients and 36 companions for medical treatment outside Gaza. “These medical evacuations remain absolutely essential,” he added.
West Bank demolitions continue
Turning to the West Bank, OCHA reports that severe winter weather has damaged or destroyed dozens of tents and makeshift shelters in Bedouin and herding communities.
The UN is also warning of continued demolitions of Palestinian-owned structures by Israeli authorities for lack of permits, with 50 structures demolished over the past two weeks.
“Our message is simple,” Mr. Dujarric said. “Across Gaza and the West Bank, the UN and its partners are doing everything possible to keep assistance going for people in need, despite extremely difficult conditions.”
LZ experiment sets new record in the hunt for dark matter, glimpses neutrinos from the sun’s core
With contributions from Brown faculty and students, the LUX-ZEPLIN experiment analyzed the largest dataset ever collected by a
Drones, fear and exhaustion: The daily reality of providing aid to Ukraine
For frontline workers like Oleg Kemin from the UN World Food Programme (WFP), this involves travelling deep into disputed territory along the 1,000-kilometre contact line separating Ukraine from Russia, where attack drones are a deadly menace.
In an exclusive interview with UN News, Oleg describes his work as a security officer and the challenges he faces, trying to deliver food aid to vulnerable communities.
There’s little respite even away from the front, he notes, with cities including the capital Kyiv shelled repeatedly and pitched into darkness – as was the case just before we spoke to him.
His conversation with Daniel Johnson has been edited for length and clarity:
Oleg Kemin: “Every night like this, with the shelling attacks, it’s quite difficult for us; the energy infrastructure of Ukraine is under fire, so each such attack can mean new blackouts all across the country. Also, there are new victims which creates additional tensions.
Let’s say that people who are spending sleepless nights in the shelters cannot be as productive as usual. As a Security Operations Officer for the UN, my job is to track those constant air raid alerts, trying to keep our staff safe and warning them about the alerts.
UN News: How do you cope with the constant threat of attack?
Oleg Kemin: Next month it will be four years since the war started. I still remember the first attacks, I still remember the first air raid alert and it was very scary. It’s impossible to get used to it, especially when you can see the damage and destruction, but people are somehow getting used to everything.
But from time to time, when you’ve been at work and you are tired, you do not hear the air raid alert on your phone app, or the air raid siren in the street. Other times you’re waking up with the first explosion and it’s impossible to move to the shelter, because there is already an attack happening.
You create mechanisms – not to cope – but to understand the situation more clearly, and you follow emergency procedures. For example, if the attack is over, should we start the headcount and assess needs?
All across the country, people who are working in the energy companies and the water companies are doing their best to maintain normal life as much as possible, to restore electricity. In the capital, we have more opportunities to make repairs very quickly, but in some cities – even the left bank of Kyiv – was without electricity for quite a long time.
UN News: Where are needs greatest in Ukraine today?
Oleg Kemin: Some of the most vulnerable communities are in Pokrovsk, Kupyansk, Konstantynivka and Dobropillya – they’re all in the news today. We used to send aid convoys to these locations. It’s really sad to see with the gradual moving of the frontline, how life starts to escape from these cities.
On your first trip it’s a normal city, but then the shops start to close, more building become damaged and there are fewer people on the streets. On the final mission, you see only an empty and closed city and people who have no place else to go.
UN News: How are aid teams protecting themselves from drone attacks?
Oleg Kemin: At the moment in frontline areas, there is a high presence of first-person view (remote-controlled) drones. They are relatively small and usually each of them is directed by an operator. When any of our humanitarian convoys are moving toward such a zone, we inform both sides to the conflict of their GPS coordinates using the standard Humanitarian Notification Systems (HNS), so they can safely reach their destination.
Here is the tomb of my husband, of my kids, I have nowhere else to go; the only thing I can do is to look after their tombs
But that only applies to UN vehicles; the rest of the civilian and military vehicles in the convoy can be vulnerable, so to deter drones, the Ukrainian armed forces build corridors of nets mounted on pylons either side of the road for 10 to 15 kilometres.
The small drones don’t have enough velocity to penetrate through the netting, so they get stuck in it, and that can offer some protection. Let’s say it’s the very, very last hope, but at least it exists. In such a corridor, you feel safer, because there is at least some layer of protection around your vehicle.
Of course, wars are constantly developing and there are already ways of penetrating these nets, or drones look for gaps in the netting, especially in the autumn and winter when strong winds can rip the canopy. This is a double risk because if the net wraps around a wheel, it will stop the vehicle and incapacitate it.
A WFP vehicle passes under drone-protection nets in Kherson, Ukraine
UN News: What can you tell us about the people who need WFP’s help?
Oleg Kemin: Last summer, we went on missions to remote communities in Kharkiv region (in northeast Ukraine, close to the Russian border). There are villages we assessed which are impossible to reach now, because it’s a very active combat zone, but people are still living there.
In one of those villages, when I had the opportunity to ask one of inhabitants, an elderly woman, why she was not leaving the village and she said, ‘Here is the tomb of my husband, of my kids, I have nowhere else to go; the only thing I can do is to look after their tombs.’
It’s our land, it’s the house in which I grew up, it’s a house which was built by my great-grandparents, it’s my land and I don’t want to leave
People are still living in these communities, and to get to them it was impossible by truck, so we removed the back seats from our armoured vehicles, filled them to the very top with food kits, and we literally drove through the mud.
Our partners’ vehicles got stuck, so we had to pull them out. People were living so close to the fighting – they were just 4.5 kilometres from the Russian border and drone activity from both sides was very high over there – so, sometimes with such communities, we bring them double the amount of food kits, because we never know if we will be able to reach them in the coming months.
UN News: What more can you tell us about the Ukrainian communities you’ve reached?
Oleg Kemin: It’s elderly people, pensioners especially. A few times people who are living there have been telling us, ‘It’s our land, it’s the house in which I grew up, it’s a house which was built by my great-grandparents, it’s my land and I don’t want to leave!’
Other times, we’ve met people who’ve been telling us that they had tried to go to European countries or western Ukraine, but because of their age, they were not able to find a job to make enough income to rent a house, so they had to return home to their war-contested communities. Also, for people with disabilities and their relatives, it’s not so easy for them to move from those communities.
The State offers evacuation and assistance, but still a lot of people are planning to stay there. And they’re among those we are helping in the communities closest to the frontline where shops are closed and no one is bringing food. Further away, if markets are open, our donors provide a little cash-based help so people can choose what to add to their food basket.
A UN vehicle passes through a destroyed town in Ukraine.
UN News: Another key part of WFP’s mission is making farmland safe again so that Ukrainians can work their land. What more can you tell us?
Oleg Kemin: Yes, we are involved in mine-clearing work. Ukraine is a huge agricultural country and a huge amount of land – up to 25 to 30 per cent – is polluted with the unexploded ordnance and explosive remnants of war.
So, WFP works in demining to make land available for agricultural works again. As you know, grain from Ukraine helps to feed countries in Africa and almost all over the world, so one of the goals for us is to participate in that activity to make it possible to fight hunger, not only in Ukraine, but using, let’s say, Ukrainian grain also all around the globe.”
Scientology’s New Year 2026 Celebration Reviews Global Expansion and Social Programmes at Los Angeles’ Shrine Auditorium
KINGNEWSWIRE // PRESS RELEASE // More than 6,500 guests attended the year-end event, which highlighted organisational developments, heritage restorations and the reach of education, prevention and volunteer programmes followed internationally—including by Scientology communities across Europe.
LOS ANGELES / BRUSSELS — 31 December 2025 — The Church of Scientology held its New Year’s Celebration 2026 at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, bringing together more than 6,500 attendees for an evening that combined a concert programme with a year-in-review presentation on developments across the Church’s international network during 2025.
The programme opened with live performances by international artists, then shifted to a review led by Scientology’s ecclesiastical leader Mr David Miscavige. In remarks quoted from the stage, Mr Miscavige framed the evening as a moment to measure results before turning the calendar, stating: “So while the rest of the planet may still be winding down its clocks—we’re here for something else entirely: to see what happens when a full year of Scientology accomplishments is unleashed all at once.”
The year-end review focused on several themes that the Church presented as defining the past year: growth in digital access and online learning; expansion and planning of new facilities; preservation of sites associated with Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard; and a selection of social programmes applying Mr Hubbard’s methodologies to issues such as drug prevention, literacy and values education.
Digital access and online learning
A significant portion of the presentation centred on the Church’s digital platforms and learning tools. The event highlighted Scientology Network, stating that viewership has grown to 11 times its level since the network’s launch and noting more than 170 awards for creative and technical excellence. The presentation showed that over one million students have enrolled in online courses, presenting those figures as part of a wider effort to make introductory materials available across languages and time zones.
For European audiences, these digital metrics are often viewed as a practical indicator of how international religious movements are adapting to changing media habits—expanding beyond in-person events to formats that can be accessed from any location, including across the continent.
Facilities and heritage: “Ideal Org” development and landmark restorations
The review also returned to the Church’s ongoing programme of facility development—often referred to as “Ideal Orgs”—highlighting openings and planned projects presented as strengthening local capacity for religious services and community engagement. One of the featured openings was the Grand Opening of the Church of Scientology in South Africa’s Eastern Cape, a 10-storey church serving Nelson Mandela Bay.
The programme also included an announcement regarding a forthcoming Ideal Church in San Juan, Puerto Rico, the first of its kind in the Caribbean and expected to open in the coming months.
Alongside these developments, the International Hubbard Ecclesiastical League of Pastors (I HELP) and Scientology Missions International (SMI) continued to expand Dianetics and Scientology introductory services through a growing network of Missions. In Valencia, Spain, the city’s Ideal Scientology Mission sustained delivery of religious services while supporting community initiatives through nearly 200 volunteers involved in United for Human Rights, The Way to Happiness and Drug-Free World. The Mission’s Volunteer Minister response was also highlighted for its role during Spain’s deadliest floods of the century, with Valencia’s Civil Guard recognising the Mission for strengthening the city’s social foundation.
The year also included a sequence of ribbon-cutting ceremonies reflecting broader Mission growth, with new European Ideal Missions opening in Plzeň (Czech Republic) and Budapest (Hungary), as well as additional openings in the United States, including Montrose (north of Los Angeles), San Jose and Riverpark near Sacramento—followed by Lakeway, Texas, which closed out the year’s schedule of openings.
Alongside new facilities, the presentation underscored a parallel emphasis on preservation—particularly sites tied to key moments in the development of Dianetics and Scientology. The Church highlighted the opening of three new L. Ron Hubbard Landmark Sites during 2025, presented as restored locations with historical significance to the movement:
These restorations are more than symbolic markers they are public-facing heritage sites—part of a broader effort to preserve buildings associated with major milestones, while making them accessible to visitors and members.
Social programmes featured in the year-in-review
Beyond organisational and heritage developments, the year-end review placed substantial emphasis on social initiatives associated with the Association for Better Living and Education (ABLE) and on professional networks described as applying Hubbard’s administrative methods in civic and commercial contexts.
Among the examples highlighted was a youth-focused Narconon facility in Sonora, Mexico, referred to as “Narconon Jóvenes”, presented as addressing addiction among teenagers. The programme also cited an example from Kenya connected to The Way to Happiness, with reductions in school drug use and lower reoffending rates in a community initiative led by former inmates.
Another case study spotlighted a Sri Lankan educator adopting Applied Scholastics study methods, with classroom gains, teacher training and subsequent discussions aimed at broader adoption across the country’s schools, as presented in the Church’s New Year 2026 year-end event.
The review additionally referenced examples linked to the World Institute of Scientology Enterprises (WISE), including European-based business and professional training stories presented as applications of administrative and organisational methods in everyday settings.
European context: visibility in Brussels and across the continent
Although the New Year event took place in the United States, the Church’s year-end review is followed by Scientology communities internationally, including across Europe. Scientology’s footprint in the continent scores more than 140 churches and missions (plus thousands of local communities and social betterment groups in at least 27 European nations. Worldwide, Scientology operates through more than 11,000 churches, missions, related organisations and affiliated groups in over 165 countries.
In Brussels, the Churches of Scientology for Europe place of worship and community building sits at Boulevard de Waterloo 103, 1000 Brussels, a European hub for religious services, information and engagement with visitors from across the continent.
Commenting on the value of year-end reflection in a European civic context, Ivan Arjona-Pelado—Representative of the Church of Scientology to the EU, OSCE, Council of Europe and the UN—said:
“At the start of a new year, Europeans traditionally look to what strengthens social cohesion—education, prevention and respect for human dignity. What matters most is sustained civic responsibility: people choosing, day after day, to help their neighbours and uphold fundamental rights in everyday life without having to ask the other if he/she is from a religion or another or from none.”
As presented during the evening, the New Year 2026 celebration was framed as both a cultural event and a structured review of priorities for 2026, with the Church pointing to continued development in digital access, facilities, heritage preservation and the community programmes highlighted in the year-in-review.
The Church of Scientology is a contemporary world religion founded by L. Ron Hubbard in the early 1950s. In Europe, Scientology churches, missions, groups and members are present across the continent and support community initiatives focused on education, prevention and community betterment, alongside religious services for Scientologists. The Church recognition as a charitable and bona fide religion continues to grow in a number of jurisdictions, reflecting ongoing engagement with civic life, humanitarian programmes and education initiatives.
