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NASA used this town to train Moon astronauts: The German town built inside a meteor crater filled with diamonds

Nordlingen is no ordinary German town. With its red roofs, church towers, and ring of ancient walls, it wears its medieval charm beautifully. But beneath the picturesque streets and historic spires lies a story shaped by a meteor, a giant crater, and the wreckage of deep space. Hidden beneath its historic charm is evidence of a catastrophic cosmic event. The entire town sits inside the Nordlinger Ries, a massive meteor crater formed around 15 million years ago when an asteroid crashed into Earth. The impact created rocks filled with microscopic diamonds that were later used to build much of the town itself. Millions of years later, NASA recognised the site’s unusual geology and brought Apollo-era astronauts there to study terrain similar to the Moon’s surface. The diamond-filled meteor crater that built the German town of Nordlingen Scientists estimate the asteroid responsible for the Ries crater was roughly 1 to 1.5 km wide. Travelling at enormous speed, it struck southern Germany wit..

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NASA confirms School bus-sized asteroid 2026 JH2 to pass very close to Earth

A newly discovered near-Earth asteroid known as 2026 JH2 is set to make an unusually close flyby of Earth on May 18, according to orbital data tracked by NASA and astronomers monitoring near-Earth objects. The asteroid, estimated to be roughly the size of a school bus, was only detected days before its close approach, making it one of the more closely watched small-body encounters of the month. While the object poses no impact threat to Earth, its trajectory will bring it remarkably close in astronomical terms, giving astronomers and amateur skywatchers a rare opportunity to observe a newly discovered asteroid during a near-Earth pass.What is asteroid 2026 JH2?Asteroid 2026 JH2 is classified as an Apollo-type near-Earth asteroid, meaning its orbit crosses Earth’s orbital path around the Sun. The object was identified by observatories including the Mount Lemmon Survey in Arizona, part of the global network dedicated to detecting potentially hazardous objects in space.Preliminary observa..

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Israel’s Netanyahu made ‘secret’ visit to UAE during Iran war

Israeli Prime ⁠Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited the ⁠United Arab Emirates and met ⁠the Emirati president during the war with Iran, the Prime Minister’s Office said on Wednesday in what would be their first confirmed meeting.
According to the statement, the meeting resulted in a “historic breakthrough” in relations between ‌Israel and the UAE.
A source familiar with the meeting said Netanyahu and Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed (MBZ) met in Al-Ain, an oasis city by the Oman border, on March 26 and…

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Brigitte’s slap of Emmanuel ‘sparked when she saw text from actress’

Brigitte Macron shoved French president Emmanuel Macron in the face as they disembarked a plane in Vietnam last year after she allegedly discovered texts he had sent to an Iranian actress, according to a new book.
The incident went viral last year prompting speculation of a rift and subsequent denials by the couple who insisted that they were just “joking”.
However a new account suggests that the real reason behind the altercation is that the first lady was angry after she saw a text by Emmanuel to exiled Iranian-French actress Golshifteh Farahani, says Florian Tardif in Un Couple (Presque) Parfait — An (Almost) Perfect Couple.
Tardif, a political correspondent at Paris Match magazine, alleges that Mrs Macron, 73, was fearful that her husband, 48, may leave her for the actress after seeing the exchange.
open image in gallery(AFP/Getty)Farahani, 42, has denied rumours that the pair were having an affair when questioned by journalists and has said that their connection was “platonic”..

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Trump administration waives visa bonds of up to $15,000 for foreign fans with World Cup tickets

The Trump administration is suspending a requirement that foreign visitors from certain countries pay as much as $15,000 in bonds if they are confirmed World Cup ticket holders, the State Department confirmed on Wednesday.
The move offers a rare easing of immigration restrictions for fans traveling to the tournament co-hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico, which begins on June 11.
The bond requirement, implemented last year, targeted countries with high rates of visa overstays and other security concerns, forming part of the administration’s broader crackdown on immigration.
Travelers from 50 nations were subject to the new bond, with five of those countries – Algeria, Cabo Verde, Côte d’Ivoire, Senegal, and Tunisia – having qualified for the World Cup.
Assistant Secretary of State for Consular Affairs Mora Namdar stated: “The United States is excited to organize the biggest and best Fifa World Cup in history. We are waiving visa bonds for qualified fans who bought World Cu..

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Paediatrician in Germany charged with sex offences in 130 cases

AdvertisementGermanyWorldEuropePaediatrician in Germany charged with sex offences in 130 casesMost of the offences were committed while the accused was working at a hospital near Berlin, the prosecutor’s office says
2-MIN READ2-MIN ListendpaPublished: 1:39am, 14 May 2026A paediatrician at a hospital near Berlin has been charged with sex offences in 130 cases, many of which are said to have taken place at the hospital, prosecutors said on Wednesday.
The extent of the offences, which include serious sexual abuse of children and rape, had previously been unknown. The paediatrician has been in pre-trial custody since November, with prosecutors citing a risk of reoffending as a reason for the man’s continued detention.
In January, it became known that the doctor was alleged to have sexually abused a child while on duty at the hospital in Rathenow, west of Berlin. Following a complaint by the child’s mother, the police carried out searches, with investigators seizing numerous data storage de..

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Trade, Iran and Taiwan on the agenda as Trump arrives in China for high-stakes talks with Xi

Trade, Iran and Taiwan on the agenda as Trump arrives in China for high-stakes talks with Xi 2 hours agoShareSaveAdd as preferred on GoogleBrandon DrenonTrump vs Xi Jinping: Who has the upper hand?US President Donald Trump descended the steps of Air Force One in Beijing on Wednesday evening, greeted with pomp and pageantry ahead of a high-stakes summit with his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping.
During his two-day visit, the global superpowers are expected to discuss tariffs, competition over technology, the war in Iran, and America's relationship with Taiwan.
Trump returns to a more assertive China than the one he visited in 2017, as he faces mounting scrutiny over his military campaign in the Middle East.
The trip had originally been scheduled for March but was postponed because of the US and Israel's war in Iran, a conflict that continues to unsettle the global economy.
Trump was greeted on the red carpet by Chinese Vice-President Han Zheng, one of China's top leaders…

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Court overturns Alex Murdaugh’s murder convictions and orders new trial

Court overturns Alex Murdaugh's murder convictions and orders new trial3 hours agoShareSaveAdd as preferred on GoogleMadeline HalpertandBrandon DrenonGetty ImagesA South Carolina court has overturned the 2023 murder convictions of Alex Murdaugh, a disgraced lawyer who was convicted of killing his wife and son.
The state's supreme court on Wednesday ordered a new trial for Murdaugh over the June 2021 killings.
Murdaugh has been in prison serving two life sentences for the murders of Maggie and Paul Murdaugh. He is also serving two additional 27- and 40-year sentences for state and federal financial crimes.
Once a powerful lawyer, the 56-year-old and his legal troubles captivated a global audience and inspired documentaries, podcasts and book deals. The trial itself was also televised.
Watch: The moment Murdaugh sentenced to life in prisonIn a 5-0 ruling, the South Carolina Supreme Court said Murdaugh deserved a new trial because the local county clerk had unfairly biased a jur..

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Foreign student enrolment at US universities falls by 20% amid ‘restrictive gov. policies’

US universities are seeing a fall in foreign student enrolment, with experts warning the decline could deepen further as Donald Trump’s hardline immigration policies continue to reshape country’s higher education system.A new report released on Monday found that international student enrolment for the spring 2026 semester fell by 20% compared with the same period last year. The study was conducted by international education groups including NAFSA and surveyed 149 universities and colleges across US.More than 60% of the institutions said they had recorded lower numbers of foreign students in both undergraduate and postgraduate programmes. Graduate enrolment was hit even harder, with universities reporting an average decline of 24%.The figures have alarmed educators, who fear US is becoming a less welcoming destination for overseas students under Trump’s increasingly restrictive immigration agenda.Already, international student arrivals into US in August fell by 19% from the previous yea..

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Major ICE crackdown on 10,000 foreign students on OPT; ‘fake companies’ being operated from India

ICE announced a major crackdown on OPT program meant for foreign students who are F-1 visa holders.

The Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) announced a major crackdown on an immigration program that allows international students to work temporarily in the country. Calling the OPT program a 'magnet for fraud', ICE director Todd M Lyons said the agency uncovered irregularities involving nearly 10,000 foreign students participating in the federal government’s Optional Practical Training program. When the OPT was created under the Bush administration and expanded under the Obama administration, the Department of Homeland Security anticipated only a few thousand foreign students would receive training approval before returning home, Lyons said, giving a background of the program.But instead of what was expected, OPT ballooned into an uncontrolled guest worker pipeline with hundreds of thousands of foreign students working in the United States, the director said in a press ..