Light News (LN)

  Russian leader says the nuclear-capable Sarmat missile will enter combat service at the end of the year. Russia has test-fired a new intercontinental ballistic missile, with President Vladimir Putin describing the nuclear-capable Sarmat weapon as the world’s “most powerful” missile. State television broadcast footage of Sergei Karakayev, commander of Russia’s strategic missile forces, reporting to Putin on what Moscow described as a successful launch on Tuesday. Putin said that the  Sarmat missile  would enter combat service at the end of the year. “This is the most powerful missile in the world,” he said in televised remarks, adding that its warhead yield was more than four times greater than any Western equivalent. Putin said the Sarmat was capable of suborbital flight, giving it a range exceeding 35,000km (21,750 miles), and claimed it could “penetrate all existing and future anti-missile defence systems”. The test comes after years of setbacks. Development of the Sa...

  Neither the Grizzlies nor Clarke’s agency, Priority Sports, immediately released details surrounding his death. Brandon Clarke, an athlete for the National Basketball Association (NBA) in the United States, has died at the age of 29, according to his team, the Memphis Grizzlies. No cause of death was immediately announced. Local media reports indicate he was pronounced dead at a home in California’s San Fernando Valley after emergency workers responded to a call for help. “We are heartbroken by the tragic loss of Brandon Clarke,” the Grizzlies said in a statement on Tuesday. “Brandon was an outstanding teammate and an even better person whose impact on the organization and the greater Memphis community will not be forgotten.” Born in Vancouver, Canada, Clarke was selected as the 21st pick overall in the 2019 NBA draft by the Oklahoma City Thunder, before his rights were traded to Memphis on draft night. He spent his entire NBA career with the Grizzlies and was named to the NBA Al...

  Consumer prices spiked in April, driven by soaring energy costs, with petrol prices up nearly 30 percent since last year. United States consumer prices have risen for the second consecutive month, marking the biggest annual increase in almost three years,  as energy prices surged  on the back of the US-Israel war on Iran. US consumer prices rose by 0.6 percent in April after a 0.9 percent increase in March, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics consumer price index (CPI) report published on Tuesday. Prices ticked up by 3.8 percent on an annual basis, which is the largest jump since May 2023. Prices rose by 3.3 percent in March. The increase was driven by a surge in energy prices, including prices for petrol or gasoline, which rose by 5.4 percent. On an annual basis, the increase is stark. Energy prices surged by 17.9 percent over the last 12 months, with petrol prices up 28.4 percent compared to this time last year. The average price for a gallon (3.78 litres) of ...

  Dangote’s planned East Africa refinery will model his recent mega project in Nigeria’s Lagos. After successfully launching Nigeria’s only operational oil refinery in 2024, billionaire businessman Aliko Dangote has set his sights on East Africa as the next location for another mega refinery project, according to recent reports. It comes as African countries are actively seeking ways to make energy more secure, following huge global disruptions amid the US and Israel’s war on Iran and Tehran’s subsequent closure of the Strait of Hormuz, through which about 20 percent of the world’s oil and natural gas is shipped. Dangote, Africa’s richest man, appeared to be one of the winners from this fallout when his newly operational refinery, located in Nigeria’s commercial Lagos State, began selling large volumes of crude oil across the continent as the war on Iran escalated in March and global oil prices soared. At present, West, South and East Africa rely primarily on importing refined petr...

  The infected man is one of more than 120 passengers and crew members evacuated from MV Hondius, the ministry says. A Spanish passenger evacuated from the cruise ship at the centre of a hantavirus outbreak has tested positive for the virus, Spain’s Ministry of Health has announced, with the World Health Organization (WHO) confirming 11 cases,  including  three people from the cruise who have died. The man who was confirmed infected on Tuesday is one of more than 120 passengers and crew members  evacuated  from the Dutch-flagged MV Hondius, whose fate has caused international alarm after the passengers’ deaths. A military hospital in Madrid is quarantining 14 Spaniards who were removed from the ship on Sunday, with all but one testing negative for the hantavirus. “The patient who provisionally tested positive for hantavirus yesterday has been confirmed as positive,” the Health Ministry said. “Yesterday the patient had a slight fever and minor respiratory symptom...

  Israeli troops reportedly used this base to launch attacks against Iran during the war. Israel built a secretly operated military outpost deep inside the Iraqi desert to support its air campaign in the run-up to the start of the US-Israel war on Iran, reports in US media have claimed. On Saturday, The Wall Street Journal reported that Israel built the installation, which housed special forces and served as a logistical hub for its air force, with the ⁠knowledge of the United States just before the start of the war on Iran. The military post also included capacity for search-and-rescue teams to assist downed Israeli pilots. The report added that Israeli troops launched air attacks from this base against Iraqi forces who nearly discovered it in early March. What is known so far about this base, and how significant is it? Here’s what we know: How was the Israeli base in Iraq discovered? Open-source analysts identified the suspected location close to Iraq’s border with Saudi Arabia, ...

  Argentina captain is named in preliminary squad for the FIFA World Cup 2026 but has not confirmed his participation. Lionel Messi’s participation in the FIFA World Cup has been the subject of fan queries for the past few months, but his inclusion in Argentina’s preliminary squad for the tournament may have put those concerns to rest. The global football superstar was among the 55 players named by Lionel Scaloni in his initial World Cup roster on Monday, but the 38-year-old has yet to fully confirm his availability as Argentina look to defend their title. Messi was among the 16 forwards listed by the Argentinian head coach, who also named  Gianluca Prestianni despite a six-match ban  imposed on the player that could see him miss his team’s first two group games. The Inter Miami and Argentina captain has  repeatedly hinted  that his time on the global stage may be coming to an end. “I’m conscious that I’m playing my final matches, and I’m enjoying them to the ma...

  A Dutch ornithologist is suspected of being the “patient zero” in the hantavirus outbreak that has spread among passengers aboard a cruise ship. But how and where did he come into contact with the virus? Referred to as “case 1” in the  World Health Organization (WHO) disease outbreak news , the first person who died after an infection with Hantavirus on the cruise ship MV Hondius. He is officially considered a “probable case”, as no microbiological tests were performed to confirm the reason for his illness. He and his wife had boarded the cruise ship in Ushuaia, Argentina, on 1 April, after more than three months of travel in Argentina, Chile, and Uruguay. According to WHO, he developed symptoms on 6 April and died on board on 11 April. On 4 May, almost a month after his death, the WHO said it was reacting to a suspected hantavirus outbreak on the ship, which by that time was off the West African island nation of Cape Verde. Case 2, “an adult female, who was a close contact ...