Author: News Desk

London: Skywatchers can seek out one of the sky’s more subtle phenomena: the zodiacal light. This faint, triangular glow is caused by sunlight scattering off interplanetary dust that lies in the plane of our solar system, known as the ecliptic. The dust originates from comets and collisions between asteroids. From an Earth-based perspective, the zodiacal light rises from the horizon as a soft wedge of light. Around the equinox, which occurred last week, the plane of the solar system tilts steeply into the sky, making the glow more visible above the western horizon in the northern hemisphere. To view it,…

Copenhagen: Denmark has imposed a nationwide ban on all civilian drone flights this week, ahead of the European Union summit in Copenhagen, citing security concerns. The country’s transport minister, Thomas Nolsøe Danielsen, confirmed the move, explaining that the measure was intended to ‘simplify security work’ for police and to prevent ‘foreign drones creating uncertainty and disruption.’ The temporary ban will remain in effect until October 3, with violations punishable by fines or prison terms of up to two years. The Ministry of Transport added that Danish police are on ‘significantly increased alert’ as the country, which currently holds the rotating…

Santa Barbara, California, USA: US pop star and actress Selena Gomez has tied the knot with music producer Benny Blanco in a private ceremony in Santa Barbara, California. Gomez shared pictures on Instagram showing herself in a white halter-neck wedding gown and Blanco in a dark tuxedo, captioning the post ‘9.27.25’ with love hearts on either side. The couple exchanged vows before about 170 guests, including singer-songwriter Taylor Swift, actor Paul Rudd, and Gomez’s Only Murders in the Building co-stars Steve Martin and Martin Short. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Selena Gomez (@selenagomez) The…

Hanoi, Vietnam: Vietnam has mobilised around 100,000 military personnel to assist in evacuating 250,000 residents as Typhoon Bualoi intensifies, prompting the government to shut down several airports. Bualoi, the 10th typhoon to affect Vietnam this year, is currently over the sea, generating winds of 130 km/h (80 mph) and is expected to make landfall later on September 28, according to the National Meteorology Agency. “This is a rapidly moving storm, nearly twice the average speed, with strong intensity and a broad area of impact. It is capable of triggering multiple natural disasters simultaneously, including powerful winds, heavy rainfall, flooding, flash…

London: King Charles and Queen Camilla will meet Pope Leo XIV during a state visit to Vatican City in late October, Buckingham Palace confirmed. The visit will coincide with the 2025 Jubilee Year, a celebration the Catholic Church marks every 25 years. The Jubilee theme, ‘Pilgrims of Hope,’ emphasizes ecumenical collaboration, and the royal couple’s visit is expected to celebrate the ongoing dialogue and cooperation between the Church of England and the Catholic Church. The King’s role as Supreme Governor of the Church of England, dating back to Henry VIII, who named himself Supreme Head after breaking from the Catholic…

London: Meta, the owner of Facebook and Instagram, has confirmed it will introduce an ad-free subscription option for UK users, costing up to £3.99 per month. The new service comes as a response to regulatory concerns about the company’s use of personal data for targeted advertising. Under the plan, web users will be charged £2.99 a month, while mobile users will pay £3.99. Users with linked Facebook and Instagram accounts will only need to pay one subscription fee. Meta said that the rollout will begin in the coming weeks, giving people the choice to continue accessing the platforms for free…

Manila: The Philippines is reeling once again from destructive weather as Severe Tropical Storm Bualoi swept across the central islands, killing at least four people, displacing hundreds of thousands, and triggering floods and mudslides, just days after Super Typhoon Ragasa left devastation in the region. The Philippine weather bureau, Pagasa, reported that Bualoi, the country’s 15th tropical cyclone this year, was lashing the central islands as of 05:30 GMT September 26. The storm carried maximum sustained winds with gusts of up to 135 kilometres per hour (84 miles per hour) while moving northwest. Authorities warned of dangerous heavy rainfall in…

Beijing: The Government of China has intensified efforts to curb online expressions of despondency, a sentiment that has grown increasingly visible on social media. This week, the Cyberspace Administration of China launched a two-month campaign targeting posts that ‘excessively exaggerate negative and pessimistic sentiments.’ Authorities say the initiative aims to ‘rectify negative emotions’ and ‘create a more civilised and rational online environment.’ The campaign specifically targets narratives such as ‘studying is useless,’ ‘hard work is useless,’ and content that promotes ‘world-weariness.’ These measures come amid an economic slowdown, a property crisis, high youth unemployment, and intense competition for college admissions…

Chile: Astronomers have reported that some supermassive black holes may not be as enormous as previously assumed. Following a breakthrough study of a distant quasar, an intensely bright, active core of a galaxy, researchers discovered that the black hole at its centre has a mass of roughly one billion times that of the Sun, which is only about one-tenth of prior estimates. A team from the University of Southampton, collaborating with European colleagues, observed the galaxy located more than 12 billion light-years away using advanced instruments at the European Southern Observatory (ESO) in Chile. “Despite the quasar’s extreme luminosity, the…

Brussels: Apple has urged the European Commission to repeal or significantly amend a range of technology legislation, warning that failure to do so could force the company to stop shipping certain products and services to the 27-country bloc. In the latest clash with Brussels, Apple criticised the Digital Markets Act (DMA), claiming it worsens the user experience, exposes users to security risks, and disrupts the seamless integration between Apple devices. The submission was made as part of the European Commission’s review of the three-year-old anti-monopoly law, which regulates the so-called gatekeeper power of major digital companies, including search engines, messaging…