A leaker has activated Apple's upcoming three-item Dynamic Island mode inside the iOS 27 simulator, offering the first video demonstration of the new iPhone 18 Pro feature.


The leaker, known as pdfu, posted a video showing the ‌Dynamic Island‌ toggling between three simultaneous Live Activities, matching what Bloomberg's Mark Gurman described in his report earlier today. "The new ‌Dynamic Island‌ with 3 items is already supported in ‌iOS 27‌," pdfu wrote.



According to pdfu, the underlying code requires a sensor region less than 100 layout points wide to enable the new mode, or below 16.57mm. Layout points are Apple's device-independent unit for describing on-screen dimensions, and they scale differently depending on a display's resolution. By comparison, pdfu notes that the sensor region on the current iPhone 17 Pro measures 20.76mm, meaning Apple would need to shrink the hardware by roughly 20% to unlock the new software behavior.

The ‌iPhone 18 Pro‌ and ‌iPhone 18 Pro‌ Max have been rumored to feature a smaller ‌Dynamic Island‌ for months, but reports about support for a third, additional ‌Dynamic Island‌ Live Activity is new. Since the iPhone 14 Pro launched in 2022, the ‌Dynamic Island‌ has only supported two Live Activities, so adding a third seems like a worthwhile way to demonstrate the utility of shrinking the region.
This article, "Leaked Video Shows iPhone 18 Pro's 3-in-1 Dynamic Island in Action" first appeared on MacRumors.com

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A proposed ban on 'conversion therapy' in Northern Ireland could criminalise parenting, restrict religious freedom and "leave teachers fearful of expressing honestly held views", a DUP Minister has said.

The post Northern Ireland ‘Conversion Therapy’ Ban “Could Criminalise Parents, Preachers and Teachers” appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.

The just-published 2025 PISA data about the UK’s schools, showing England racing ahead of Scotland and Wales, completely vindicates Michael Gove’s education reforms. So why is Labour so determined to dismantle them?

The post What More Evidence Does the Blob Need That Michael Gove Was Right? appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.

Experimente a atualização KDE Plasma 6.7.5 com correções chave para KWin, Wayland e mais, melhorando desempenho e estabilidade.

O post KDE Plasma 6.7.5 traz correções importantes para KWin e Wayland apareceu primeiro em Blog do Edivaldo - Informações e Notícias sobre Linux.

Ancient Irish cave art may reveal a lost Ice Age route from Wales.

Unlike Darwin, Wallace grew up among the middle class and had to work for a living. This dictated the contours of his life and research.

Source

Prehistoric art hidden in caves throughout southwestern Ireland for thousands of years could push back the timeline on the earliest human presence on the Emerald Isle by as much as 5,000 years, archaeologists say.

The remarkable discoveries may reveal a previously unknown chapter in the ancient history of human migrations across the British Isles during the Ice Age, and how they once traversed a portion of the landscape that is now sunken beneath the Irish Sea.

Reported by a team of researchers with the international Lost Land Bridge Project, the discoveries involve prehistoric markings located in eight caves in Ireland that could potentially date as far back as 15,000 years ago.

Some are engravings into the cave’s stone walls, while others are markings made with ochre and charcoal, and include lines traced along cave surfaces that appear to depict ancient animals that include deer, and extinct species such as mammoths.

If confirmed, Ireland’s long-hidden ancient artwork could dramatically shift past thinking about the earliest evidence of human arrivals on the island, which was previously believed to have occurred around 10,500 years ago.

Early Humans Crossing an Ice Age Landscape

If humans arrived in Ireland this early, it also raises an intriguing possibility: that they might have done so by traversing terrain that would only have been exposed amid the lower sea levels that prevailed toward the end of the last Ice Age.

This effect was due to the amount of water that was held within the vast glaciers near Earth’s poles, which, in addition to lowering sea levels, helped to reshape the geography of northwestern Europe during the Pleistocene.

Because of this, certain portions of the ancient landscape that are now submerged beneath ocean waters would have been exposed. Among these, one that stretched from modern Pembrokeshire in Wales and southeastern Ireland near Rosslare might have been used by ancient travelers who could have made their way to Ireland, leaving a record of their Ice Age journey on the walls of caves they used as shelter, according to Dr. George Nash of the University of Liverpool, who coordinated the project.

Nash believes this ancient crossing could have comprised a 46-mile-long area, where ancient nomadic people following natural subsistence patterns would have encountered vast expanses of grassland and vegetation, along with ample resources that included horses, bison, reindeer, mammoths, and other animals that these ancient hunter-gatherers were skilled at hunting.

Evidence from throughout Europe and other parts of the ancient world already shows that ancient hunter-gatherers were well-accustomed to following migrating animals and seasonal resources, and that the landscape could have provided a natural route westward.

Nash recently said that until now, archaeologists had relied mainly on accidental discoveries that suggested a human presence in Ireland by around 10,500 years ago. However, a growing number of archaeologists had begun to doubt that this was the period when humans initially arrived.

“We just weren’t looking hard enough, and not in the right places,” Nash said.

Technology Unveils Evidence of Ancient Art

To determine locations where reliable evidence of an earlier human presence might be found, the researchers examined several features associated with prehistoric caves in southern Wales, where documented discoveries linked them to an early human presence.

Based on these characteristics, the team then relied on computer modeling to help them identify Irish locations that had similar features.

The team was assisted by Shane Diffily, an expert in caving, and digital mapping consultant Darren Lee, which allowed them to quickly narrow their search to just under 30 potentially promising caves throughout southwestern Ireland, according to Heritage Daily.

Of those locations, eight were found to contain what appeared to be various kinds of prehistoric rock art. The exact locations of those caves have not been released by the team, to protect the sites from vandalism, or potential looting—a major issue that has long complicated archaeological investigations.

Striking Discoveries

Along with direct engravings into limestone surfaces and markings made with ochre and charcoal, researchers also discovered a few instances of what appear to be “finger flutings,” where soft surfaces such as clay or sediment were marked by ancient artists who dragged their fingers along such surfaces.

One of the most significant discoveries uncovered by Nash and the team appears to be a portion of a deer, and an image within one of the caves that appears to represent a mammoth. Examples like these could potentially help provide connections to similar examples known from prehistoric rock art that has been documented in Wales.

From those sites, some of the same prehistoric artists may have made their way across the ancient land bridge that was once available, leaving their markings at similar sites that once offered shelter as they arrived in Ireland.

Unveiling a Lost Chapter of Ireland’s Past

The initial discoveries at the newly identified eight cave locations may represent only a small portion of the long-overlooked archaeological evidence throughout Ireland, which may document its earliest arrivals. Future investigations will likely focus on sites located near Wexford, Waterford, Cork, and other areas along routes that people may have followed as they made their way to southwestern Ireland.

As investigations continue, Nash and the research team say that reliable dating of the art will be an important next step toward determining how early these prehistoric artists might have arrived.

Once that testing is completed, it will help determine whether the timescales on the arrival of Ireland’s earliest human inhabitants will indeed be pushed back by thousands of years. If so, the newly uncovered cave art could offer an unprecedented look at the lives of those ancient hunter-gatherers who once traversed a landscape before it sank beneath rising ocean waters as Ice Age glaciers retreated.

Micah Hanks is the Editor-in-Chief and Co-Founder of The Debrief. A longtime reporter on science, defense, and technology with a focus on space and astronomy, he can be reached at micah@thedebrief.org. Follow him on X @MicahHanks, and at micahhanks.com.

Apple is preparing a practical multi-device feature for iOS 27 that lets users keep a single phone number while moving between two iPhones. The capability, called iPhone Handoff, was first spotted in detail by MacRumors after appearing only as a brief line on a WWDC 2026 feature slide.

The idea is straightforward. One iPhone is set as the main device and keeps the user’s primary eSIM. The second phone is designated a companion and receives a companion eSIM tied to the same number and carrier account. The number then follows whichever iPhone is unlocked and in active use, rather than ringing on both devices at once. A Dynamic Island notification can appear when the number transfers. Cellular settings stay on the main iPhone, while location sharing updates to the device currently using the number.

Setup lives in Settings under Cellular. Both phones need iOS 27, and the feature depends on carrier support. Early reports point to T-Mobile in the United States and Deutsche Telekom in Germany as possible first partners, though availability will vary by network. The approach builds on how an iPhone already shares a number with a cellular Apple Watch, using eSIM provisioning instead of cloning a line or swapping physical SIMs.

MacDailyNews Take: The use case is niche, but useful for people who keep a smaller iPhone and a larger one, a personal device and a work device, or a future foldable alongside a standard iPhone. iOS 27 is expected later this month, so more official details and carrier confirmations should arrive soon.

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Eliminative materialism is best seen as a nice try at cementing materialism in a world where it faces mounting serious challenges.

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Following an outpouring of support for Jackie, a famous bald eagle mother watched by millions, the California State Senate passed Senate Resolution 140. The bipartisan measure honors Jackie and proclaims that Friday September 4, 2026 is California Wildlife Day to honor her memory and celebrate the Golden State’s biodiversity.

The resolution was introduced by State Senator Tony Strickland (R-Huntington Beach) and is sponsored by KFI AM 640 in Los Angeles. It recognizes the eagle’s role in connecting people with wildlife conservation, while highlighting the state’s biodiversity. 

“Jackie captured the hearts of people in California and around the world, giving so many of us a front-row seat to the beauty, strength, and resilience of wildlife,” Senator Strickland said in a press release. “Her story reminds us that wildfire conservation brings people together. As we celebrate America’s 250th birthday this year and reflect on the values that unite us, it is especially meaningful to honor the Bald Eagle and Jackie’s incredible legacy here in California.”

Amy King, the host of “Wake Up Call” on KFI AM640 in Los Angeles, said it was clear how many humans connected with these eagles and their story. 

“Over the past decade, many of our listeners watched the webcam and witnessed the beautiful life Jackie, her mate Shadow, and their eaglets created together,” King added. “Jackie’s story brought people together across generations and communities. As storytellers, we believe stories can connect people, inspire compassion, and create a shared sense of community. It has been an honor to share Jackie’s story with our listeners and to be part of the community that followed her remarkable journey.”

Friends of Big Bear Valley (FOBBV), the nonprofit organization that runs the nest cameras that brought Jackie and Shadow to the world, are also planning a memorial service for October 3. 

Jackie’s story

Jackie was born, raised, and lived in Big Bear Valley in southern California. Prior to the 2011-2012 nesting season, no bald eagle chicks were known to have ever hatched in Big Bear Valley. Then came Jackie, named after a forest ranger and born to parents Ricky and Lucy in 2012. 

During the 2016-2017 nesting season, Jackie took over a nest where Friends of Big Bear Valley (FOBBV) had a camera stationed. In 2018, she had two chicks named Stormy and Big Bear Baby (or BBB) with her first mate, Mr. B. 

Her long-time partner Shadow entered the picture in summer 2018. He showed up at the nest and would not leave. FOBBV called the new male Shadow because he appeared so determined to stay in the nest, and the team initially believed he was one of Jackie’s siblings, also named Shadow. The eagle’s plumage indicated he was one year older than the other Shadow and not Jackie’s sibling, but the name stuck. 

Shadow continued to hold his ground and Mr. B gave up and eventually left. Jackie then accepted Shadow as her new mate.

Wildlife cameras documented Jackie and Shadow’s life together, offering viewers a direct look into the brutality and beauty of nature. The pair successfully raised chicks in 2019 (Cookie and Simba) and 2022 (Spirit). The pair’s eggs failed to hatch in 2023 and 2024. In 2025, Jackie laid three eggs that all hatched in early March. However, a strong snowstorm dumped up to two feet of snow and battered the nest with strong wind and only two of the chicks (Sunny and Gizmo) survived.  

In January, Jackie laid two eggs in the nest, but ravens destroyed them. She later laid two more eggs that hatched in April and named Luna and Sandy. The name Sandy is in honor of FOBBV’s former executive director Sandy Steers who died from cancer in February. 

Jackie’s injury

On July 17, Jackie was found injured on the ground near Dana Point Park, California. Cell phone video from a witness confirmed that she had an altercation with two other subadult eagles. She successfully fended off the other eagles by turning over and using her talons, but could not fly far away. 

She was transferred to the Ojai Raptor Center for care, where she was diagnosed with severe anemia. Her anemia worsened during the first week of August, the Ojai Raptor Center said that she was in unstable condition on August 9. Her packed cell volume (PCV) fell below percent, before rising to nine percent. She died early in the morning on August 10 and a full necropsy report is still forthcoming. 

Jackie’s resilience inspired millions of people around the world. 

The post California Wildlife Day to honor beloved bald eagle Jackie appeared first on Popular Science.

In a study of 2,266 workers in Finland, evening-type people, or night owls, were up to three times more likely to be treated for depression or anxiety than morning types, with poor work-life balance identified as a key contributing factor.

The post Study: Night Owls Face Higher Mental Health Risks Tied to Work-Life Balance appeared first on Sci.News: Breaking Science News.

Archaeologists have made a baffling Iron Age discovery near Dornoch in northern Scotland.

An unusual stone-lined structure containing human remains was unearthed during work by Highland Archaeological Services, a commercial archaeology company, in preparation for expansion at a local quarry in the area.

The structure has left experts with a 2,000-year-old mystery on their hands, as they work to understand the purpose behind the unusual feature, which they say is unlike anything previously uncovered in the country.

A Ring of Stones Emerges

The discovery was made as topsoil was removed by the team, initially revealing a circle of stones below the surface.

Further excavation revealed the feature to be something more elaborate, as an oval depression roughly 10 feet long and 6.5 feet wide began to appear as additional soil was removed. The feature, which includes carefully built stone walls and a floor made of rock slabs, also includes a descending stairway with narrow steps.

At the lowest portion of the structure, the remains of a human, along with animal bones, burned wood and charcoal, and a bowl hewn from soapstone were found, along with an artifact which appears to be a bangle crafted from shale.

Additional excavation nearby revealed evidence of postholes that may represent where ancient houses may have stood. Altogether, the site’s features are believed to be linked to Scotland’s Iron Age.

Purpose Remains Unknown

Right now, the archaeologists say they aren’t sure what the exact purpose of the site was, although they say it is certainly unique among suspected Iron Age burial sites known in Scotland.

Lachlan McKeggie, co-director of Highland Archaeology Services, says the group has reached out to experts in the region to get their opinions about the curious site, but none so far have an idea as to what it was.

“It is a bit of a mystery,” McKeggie recently told Northern Times, adding that “No one has seen anything like it before.”

While the site’s purpose remains unexplained, there are several possibilities that the team says are being considered. According to McKeggie, the structure does bear some resemblance to a souterrain, a type of underground chamber associated with Iron Age settlements that may have been used for storage and, potentially, as a refuge in ancient times.

Experts have also suggested that the unusual stone structure could have been incorporated into a larger aboveground building, perhaps a roundhouse similar to those suspected of having once stood nearby.

A Ritual Site?

Another idea involves the possibility that the structure might have served a ritual purpose—a theory that is often advanced in the absence of other possible explanations for archaeological features and artifacts.

There is some evidence that could support the structure’s ritual use, however, which includes the careful fitting of the stones and inclusion of a viscous clay-like substance used to bond portions of the lower structure, which could mean that it was designed to hold water or another liquid.

While this might all point to the site’s use for the simple storage of water, the steep staircase, narrow entrance, and small capacity all seem to suggest otherwise.

However, McKeggie advanced one other possibility about the site.

“I like to imagine that it’s an Iron Age hot tub, but that is speculative,” McKeggie joked.

“It will have been built with a purpose, but we just don’t know what that was yet.”

Ultimately, further analysis will be required before any final determination can be made. Another clue may be offered by the individual whose remains were found within the structure, which McKeggie and colleagues believe to have been a female adult, whose remains may have been placed within the structure as it was being deliberately filled in.

Ongoing Investigations and Possible Clues

Despite the structure’s uniqueness, similar practices have been documented in other parts of ancient Scotland. One example exists at High Pasture Cave on the Isle of Skye, where human and animal remains were found near a filled stairwell, which archaeologists believe to have been part of the site’s closure sometime between 25 and 90 CE.

Whatever the site’s purpose may prove to have been, Iron Age burials are relatively uncommon in northern Scotland, mainly due to acidic conditions in the soil that prevent the preservation of human remains over such long periods.

As investigations continue, the site has been documented and excavated, and researchers plan to conduct further analysis of the woman’s remains found within the structure, which may help to provide additional details about their life and possibly even clues about the purpose of the structure that became her final resting place.

Micah Hanks is the Editor-in-Chief and Co-Founder of The Debrief. A longtime reporter on science, defense, and technology with a focus on space and astronomy, he can be reached at micah@thedebrief.org. Follow him on X @MicahHanks, and at micahhanks.com.

This week in stories we’re tracking at The Debrief… Commercial space company Rocket Lab just unveiled GHOST, a game-changing new launch capability that could enable payloads to be carried to orbit from virtually anywhere on Earth. Meanwhile, in a stunning event that unfolded in Greenland, European satellites managed to capture the dramatic moment an “ice island” the size of Manhattan was formed. Elsewhere, archaeologists have uncovered a mysterious inscription that could link recent excavations to a “lost city” known only from ancient Egyptian texts. Finally, in a Debrief exclusive, an Afghan woman provides personal on-the-ground commentary about life in Afghanistan in a poignant reflection written on the day of her country’s independence.

Meanwhile, here’s a look at other stories we’re covering right now at The Debrief:

• Scientists Just Found a New Way to Investigate How Extinct Giants Ended Up in Australia’s Underwater Caves
• Immune Cells Revealed to Have a Unique Sense of Touch in New Research That Could Rewrite How We Understand Autoimmune Problems
• Scientists Grew Human Brain Organoids for Years and Discovered They Keep Track of Time
• British Security Coordination and the Limits of Allied Persuasion: How Foreign Partners Can Shape Strategy Through Clandestine Action
• MIT Team Reverse-Engineers a Curious 2000-Year-Old Roman Technology to Create Modern Material That Heals Its Own Cracks
• Lost for 1800 Years, a Mysterious Altar Linked to an Ancient Roman Cult Resurfaces as Drought Drains Europe’s Rivers
• A New Discovery at Göbekli Tepe Could Reshape Our Understanding of One of the Ancient World’s Most Perplexing Sites
• The Massive Asteroid Apophis Will Pass Closer to Earth Than Some Satellites in 2029—Planetary Defense Researchers are Getting Ready
• Scientists Used Lasers and Citizen Scientists to Find a “Lost World” of Giant Trees
• Bumblebees Are Turning Up Dead on Sidewalks This Summer, and Heat Isn’t the Only Culprit
• Your Brain Has an Air Traffic Controller—Here’s How It Keeps Information Moving
• James Webb Space Telescope Discovery Reveals Hidden Stars Massively Expanding Early Galaxies
• Experiments Show Color-Enriched White Light Can Affect Whether a Room Feels Hot or Cold

A massive chunk of Greenland’s Petermann Glacier has broken away, forming an iceberg the size of Manhattan in what scientists say is the most significant Arctic calving event recorded in years.

As the dramatic event unfolded, the European Space Agency’s (ESA) Copernicus Sentinel-1 mission captured the breakup on August 4, as the 29-square-mile ice tongue detached from the eastern edge of Petermann Glacier.

The new “ice island,” also known as a tabular iceberg, is estimated to be close to 500 feet thick and was produced by an event that experts believe to represent the single largest loss of floating ice since 2012, and the most massive calving event anywhere in the Arctic since 2020.

Satellites Reveal a Rapid Iceberg Breakup

Evidence of an imminent calving event had begun showing months ago in the form of cracks in the glacier. On August 3, Sentinel-1 radar imagery revealed significant deterioration that was showing along the center of the glacier’s ice tongue.

Within hours, the massive section had separated, all as scientists and crew aboard the RRS Sir David Attenborough watched as cameras captured the remarkable display unfolding.

The crewmembers aboard the nearby vessel weren’t the only ones armed with cameras who were observing the massive breakup. For many years, an international team of researchers has been monitoring conditions on Petermann Glacier using Sentinel-1 imagery. Since 2019, a series of tracking and expanding fractures and other clear signs of instability have gradually worsened.

Additionally, interferometric measurements collected earlier in 2026 showed signs that deformation and fractures were spreading through the ice tongue in advance of a likely break, allowing scientists both on-site and observing via satellites in orbit to plan for the event.

Iceberg Break Antipated for Years

“Petermann Glacier has long been one of Greenland’s largest remaining ice tongues,” said University of Ottawa PhD student Adam Garbo, one of the many researchers involved in monitoring the glacier prior to the calving event.

“We’ve anticipated this break for years, and seeing it finally happen is remarkable,” Garbo said in a statement. “It’s a powerful reminder of how quickly these systems can change.”

This event was by no means the first time that the Petermann Glacier has undergone a major calving event. In 2008, 2010, and in 2012, similar significant ice losses were logged, although its floating ice tongue had remained mostly stable since that time.

The recent event signals the end of that period of relative stability. Additionally, researchers say two more sections—measuring around 97 and 87 square kilometers—are likely to detach as existing rifts continue to appear and gradually separate.

Sentinel-1 Spots a Massive Break Up Event

With the help of the ESA’s Sentinel-1C and the recently launched Sentinel-1D satellites, a remarkably detailed view of the calving event was made possible. During its commissioning period, Sentinel-1D and its predecessor satellite achieved one-day repeat synthetic aperture radar observations.

The resulting interferograms allowed scientists to examine how fractures propagated, and aalso how the floating ice responded to factors that include ocean water movement in the vicinity prior to the separation.

“The changes we observed on Petermann Glacier were occurring very rapidly in the lead-up to the iceberg calving event, so it was incredibly exciting to monitor the crack propagation with interferometry in near-real time,” said University of Leeds PhD student Molly Hammond in a statement.

Satellites like those with the Sentinel mission are especially useful for observations in polar regions since their radar systems allow researchers to observe the Earth’s surface even when cloud coverage or darkness would normally obscure visibility. This allows the ability to continuously monitor activity around these remote glaciers, and a chance to trek the new ice island as it continues to drift.

Ongoing Monitoring After a Rare Event

“This type of large tabular iceberg is relatively rare in the Arctic, making this calving event a unique opportunity to study how such a vast ice mass drifts, evolves and eventually breaks apart,” ESA researcher Martin Wearing said in a statement.

Although the iceberg currently poses no practical concerns, Environment and Climate Change Canada is currently monitoring the iceberg’s movement, and will provide assessments about whether it could pose any risk to Arctic shipping and offshore infrastructure in the months ahead.

Those monitoring efforts will likely continue into the foreseeable future, since massive ice islands as large as the newly formed iceberg can survive for many years before they eventually undergo fragmenting of their own, dispersing smaller pieces into the surrounding ocean. These smaller pieces can be much more difficult to track, and thereby could pose greater risks.

For now, scientists plan to continue watching the new ice island, which will offer new insights into Arctic glacier dynamics, as well as the changes that are impacting one of Greenland’s most closely watched glaciers.

Micah Hanks is the Editor-in-Chief and Co-Founder of The Debrief. A longtime reporter on science, defense, and technology with a focus on space and astronomy, he can be reached at micah@thedebrief.org. Follow him on X @MicahHanks, and at micahhanks.com.

Welcome to this edition of The Intelligence Brief… This week, a U.S. Air Force C-17 Globemaster bound for Antarctica was forced to return to New Zealand after its crew received a warning of a “potentially hazardous” space-related activity reportedly involving a planned Russian missile launch. In our analysis, we’ll be looking at 1) how a Russian air traffic management warning prompted New Zealand authorities to issue a NOTAM affecting international airspace, 2) why the alert caused the Antarctic-bound U.S. military flight to reverse course, 3) the lingering uncertainty over whether the reported Russian missile launch ever actually occurred, and 4) why some analysts suspect the mysterious warning may represent another example of Russia’s broader campaign of information operations and “hybrid warfare” against the West.

Quote of the Week

“The plane turned around on the advice of New Zealand authorities who indicated that there was a space-related hazard enroute.”

– U.S. Pacific Command Statement

If you enjoy the news and perspectives offered by The Debrief, make sure that you aren’t missing our stories by making us one of your “preferred sources” on Google News. You can simply follow this link to add The Debrief to your list of favorites, and you can read more about Google’s preferred sources in our article here.

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RECENT NEWS from The Debrief

• An analysis of 112 recently-released Pentagon UAP videos reveals a new problem for scientists.
• The DoD wants these researchers to build a tool for battlefield readiness that can predict the future.
• What sparked a mysterious technological revolution in China 146,000 years ago?
• New scans may offer clues to what lies beneath the controversial ‘Durupınar site,’ long linked to “Noah’s Ark” claims.
• Get all the latest stories from The Debrief, with more breaking stories at the end of this week’s newsletter.

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“Space Hazard” Near Antarctica Forces U.S. Military Flight to Turn Back

This week, an alarming story from the southernmost continent made headlines, as it was reported that a United States Air Force C-17 Globemaster aircraft on its way to Antarctica required an unexpected change of course after its crew was warned of a “potentially hazardous” space activity occurring in the area.

Within just hours of departing from Christchurch, New Zealand, at approximately 9 a.m. on Tuesday, the American military aircraft was forced to turn around following the release of a Notice to Airmen (NOTAM) issued by New Zealand’s Civil Aviation Authority (CAA).

Early reports offered few details, indicating only that an unspecified “space hazard” had been what prompted the NOTAM, inevitably prompting speculation about what might have caused the unusual turn events.

So what do we currently know about the space-related mystery near Antarctica this week that caused a U.S. military aircraft to change its course?

Incident En Route to Antarctica

Departing Christchurch under the call sign ICE28, the American C-17 Globemaster was on its way to Antarctica’s famous McMurdo Station. A logistics hub operated by the U.S. via the National Science Foundation, the station supports as many as 1,200 residents at the height of Antarctica’s busy summer science season—a number that shrinks back to around 200 workers who weather the colder Antarctic months.

The aircraft had only been traveling for three hours when a NOTAM came to its crew’s attention, prompting the Antarctic-bound aircraft to return to New Zealand. Early reports indicated that some kind of potential “hazard” had been identified; it was soon revealed that knowledge of this had reportedly been conveyed to CAA officials by the Russian State Air Traffic Management (ATM) Corporation.

A Russian Missile Launch?

Little else was known at that time, and on Wednesday, the New Zealand Herald reported that the country’s Foreign Minister, Winston Peters, had reached out to Moscow for more information after it was learned that Russian officials had reportedly planned to launch a missile in the area.

Officials with New Zealand’s CAA later confirmed that the Russian State ATM Corporation had alerted them about a “planned missile launch and associated potential hazard to international airspace,” specifically impacting New Zealand’s Oceanic Flight Information Region, an area of international waters over the South Pacific Ocean, Southern Ocean, and Tasman Sea covering as much as 29 million square kilometers, which is managed by Airways New Zealand.

Responding to the alert, the CAA issued a NOTAM for the area, which did not restrict all flights through the area, but which reportedly advised pilots to “make their decisions based on the information available,” according to a CAA statement issued this week.

Russian Weapon, or “Hybrid Warfare”?

To date, there is little evidence that any real weapons test ever even occurred. According to The Diplomat, there were reportedly never any Russian ships or aircraft confirmed around the time of the alleged launch. By contrast, a significant Russian presence was visible in the region earlier this year during a long-range ballistic missile launch conducted by China.

“So it appears that Russia’s warning is a dummy warning of a dummy missile,” Anne-Marie Brady wrote of the incident at The Diplomat, further characterizing the situation as a likely “information operation” evincing Moscow’s ongoing hybrid warfare efforts.

Similar incidents have been occurring for several years now. In December 2024, Andrea Kendall-Taylor with the Center for a New American Security characterized such events as part of a broader “hybrid war” Moscow has been continually waging against the West.

“While individually all these acts seem not to be important, when you bring them all together, they’re part of Russia’s hybrid war against the West,” Kendall-Taylor said.

As of Thursday, it remains unclear whether the alleged Russian missile launch ever really occurred, or if the incident that interrupted a U.S. Air Force aircraft’s annual flight to Antarctica was simply a false alarm prompted by a Russian “warning”—one that may yet prove to have been part of a broader issue the West has encountered with Moscow in recent years.

That concludes this week’s installment of The Intelligence Brief. You can read past editions of our newsletter at our website, or if you found this installment online, don’t forget to subscribe and get future email editions from us here. Also, if you have a tip or other information you’d like to send along directly to me, you can email me at micah [@] thedebrief [dot] org, or reach me on X: @MicahHanks.

Here are the top stories we’re covering right now…

At MacPaw’s Flip the Script event in San Francisco, Junior iOS Engineer Tymofii Bezverkhyi shares how his path from Ukraine’s Kyiv School of Economics to studying in Ireland, winning Apple’s Swift Student Challenge, and attending WWDC led to a role at MacPaw. Tim discusses his passion for Apple development, his work on MacPaw’s AI Eney, and why he appreciate’s the company’s responsibility and growth objectives. 

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Un froid polaire, des vents dignes de ceux d’un ouragan, un isolement total en hiver… Bienvenue au Groenland ! Comment vit-on sur l'île la plus extrême du monde au niveau climatique ? Découvrez le quatrième épisode de ma série de cinq reportages inédits Un été au Groenland.

Finnish MP Päivi Räsänen has been barred from entering the UK after she was convicted in Finland of ‘hate speech’ for sharing her Christian views about gay marriage. Shabana Mahmood should overturn that decision now.

The post Shabana Mahmood Should Overturn the Decision to Deny Entry to the UK to Finnish Parliamentarian Päivi Räsänen appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.

Le Groenland suscite les convoitises, les tensions, mais aussi, l’admiration. À première vue, cette île glacée du pôle nord semble sans aucun intérêt et pourtant tout le monde veut s’en emparer : les grands dirigeants de la Planète, les scientifiques et, plus récemment, les touristes du monde...

In 2006, geneticist Bryan Sykes, Professor of Human Genetics at the University of Oxford, published the results of a study that had taken him a decade to complete. His team had collected and analyzed the mitochondrial DNA and Y chromosome of 10,000 volunteers from England, Scotland, Wales, and Ireland, with the aim of reconstructing the […]