Over 1,200 people died in Türkiye and Syria as hundreds of buildings collapsed in the areas hit by an earthquake of 7.8-degree magnitude with its epicenter in the border city of Gaziantep. Rescue teams were searching for people trapped under the rubble. Humanitarian aid was reported on its way from various parts of the world. There were a total of 22 aftershocks, some of them strong.
The United States Air Force Saturday shot down a spying balloon belonging to China while it was flying over territorial waters in the Atlantic Ocean, Washington confirmed. At the time it was shot down, it was reported to be about 18 km above sea level and 11 km off the coast.
By Katy Ross (*) – The haunting calls of black-throated divers rise to join the bubbling of Curlews. Hen harriers, perhaps more enchantingly known as sky dancers glide across a landscape filled with lochs and pools, whilst far below cotton grasses bob in the wind. All this life is supported by a tiny plant and one you are probably already familiar with - Sphagnum moss.
US authorities said they detected a Chinese spy balloon flying over Latin America in addition to the one already spotted over US airspace which has triggered further diplomatic discrepancies between Washington and Beijing.
UK's Home Office is resuming operational responsibility for tackling boats carrying migrants across the English Channel, after eight months under the leadership of the Royal Navy.
The Falkland Islands Government has twitted that last Thursday David Rutley MP, Foreign, Commonwealth, and Development Office Minister for the Americas and the Caribbean met with an elected member of the Falklands' Legislative Assembly.
Foreign Ministers Santiago Cafiero of Argentina and Mevlüt Çavusoglu of Türkiye held a meeting Friday in Istanbul to discuss bilateral ties, with a focus on science and trade, it was reported.
The European Central Bank increased its basic interest rate 50 basis point to 2,5% and anticipated it intended to hike by another 50 basis points in March. The move follows four hikes in 2022 which brought euro zone rates out of negative territory for the first time since 2014.
The Bank of England Monetary Policy Committee on Thursday voted 7-2 in favor of hiking interest rates by 50 basis points with the main rate now at 4%. However the MCP indicated in its statement that smaller hikes and an eventual end to the hiking cycle may be in the cards in coming meetings. The two dissenting members voted to leave rates unchanged at this meeting.
On 30 August 2021, the UN General Assembly proclaimed 2 February as World Wetlands Day to raise awareness of the urgency of reversing the accelerating loss of wetlands and to promote their conservation and restoration. The day marks the date of the adoption of the Convention on Wetlands of International Importance held in 1971 in the Iranian city of Ramsar on the shores of the Caspian Sea.