LONDON — A worker digging up clay in a southern England limestone quarry noticed unusual bumps that led to the discovery of a “dinosaur highway” and nearly 200 tracks that date back 166 million years, researchers said Thursday. 

The extraordinary find made after a team of more than 100 people excavated the Dewars Farm Quarry, in Oxfordshire, in June expands upon previous paleontology work in the area and offers greater insights into the Middle Jurassic period, researchers at the universities of Oxford and Birmingham said. 

“These footprints offer an extraordinary window into the lives of dinosaurs, revealing details about their movements, interactions, and the tropical environment they inhabited,” said Kirsty Edgar, a micropaleontology professor at the University of Birmingham. 

Four of the sets of tracks that make up the so-called highway show paths taken by gigantic, long-necked, herbivores called sauropods, thought to be Cetiosaurus, a dinosaur that grew to nearly 18 meters in length. A fifth set belonged to the Megalosaurus, a ferocious 9-meter predator that left a distinctive triple-claw print and was the first dinosaur to be scientifically named two centuries ago. 

An area where the tracks cross raises questions about possible interactions between the carnivores and herbivores. 

“Scientists have known about and been studying Megalosaurus for longer than any other dinosaur on Earth, and yet these recent discoveries prove there is still new evidence of these animals out there, waiting to be found,” said Emma Nicholls, a vertebrate paleontologist at the Oxford University Museum of Natural History. 

Nearly 30 years ago, 40 sets of footprints discovered in a limestone quarry in the area were considered one of the world’s most scientifically important dinosaur track sites. But that area is mostly inaccessible now and there’s limited photographic evidence because it predated the use of digital cameras and drones to record the findings. 

The group that worked at the site this summer took more than 20,000 digital images and used drones to create 3-D models of the prints. The trove of documentation will aid future studies and could shed light on the size of the dinosaurs, how they walked and the speed at which they moved. 

“The preservation is so detailed that we can see how the mud was deformed as the dinosaur’s feet squelched in and out,” said Duncan Murdock, an earth scientist at the Oxford museum. “Along with other fossils like burrows, shells and plants we can bring to life the muddy lagoon environment the dinosaurs walked through.” 

The findings will be shown at a new exhibit at the museum and also broadcast on the BBC’s Digging for Britain program next week.
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The Kremlin is using uncertainty following the ouster of Syrian ruler Bashar al-Assad, and the potential loss of Russia’s military toehold in Syria, to accuse the United States of sowing instability in the country. 

On Dec. 29, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov signaled that the end of the Assad regime would push Russia to “make certain adjustments to Russia’s military presence in Syria.” 

Lavrov said the continued deployment of Russian forces and the future of its bases “could be the subject of negotiations with the new Syrian leadership.” 

Particularly of concern to Moscow are the fates of its Tartus naval base and the Hmeimim air base located on Syria’s Mediterranean coast. The naval base established by the Soviet Union during the cold war, and the air base in 2015 as a strategic command post, both served as Russia’s military hubs in the Middle East.  

Amid this backdrop, Russian intelligence is pushing conspiracy theories that the U.S. and allies are planning attacks on those facilities and otherwise seeking to destabilize the country. 

On Dec. 28, Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service, or SVR, accused U.S. and British intelligence agencies of “working out plans to stage a series of terrorist attacks on the Russian military facilities in Syria.” 

Those plans, the SVR claimed, without evidence, would involve the use of Islamic State, or IS, militants.  

Russia has long propagated the false narrative that the U.S. sought the ouster of Assad to destabilize the Middle East and control its oil resources. 

Despite Russia’s claim, the U.S. has worked for years to eradicate the IS threat, including with Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, or SDF, in Syria’s northeast.  

The U.S. and SDF defeated IS in its final holdout, Baghuz, near Syria’s Iraqi border, in March 2019. That year, U.S. forces killed IS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi during a raid in northwestern Syria.  

The Kurds oversee prisons housing thousands of IS fighters and their families. 

Russian forces, by contrast, regularly targeted armed groups who were fighting IS, and did not prioritize fighting IS terrorists during Moscow’s intervention in Syria. 

On Dec. 19, the U.S. Defense Department announced an additional 1,100 U.S. personnel had been deployed to Syria, bringing the total to 2,000 U.S. troops, to help stabilize the situation in the post-Assad era.  

At the same time, the United States Central Command, CENTCOM, has announced multiple airstrikes against IS targets to prevent the terrorist group from reestablishing foothold in the country.  

One U.S. airstrike on Dec. 19 killed IS leader Abu Yusif and other IS operatives “in an area formerly controlled by the Syrian regime and Russians.” 

“As stated before, the United States — working with allies and partners in the region — will not allow ISIS to take advantage of the current situation in Syria and reconstitute,” CENTCOM Commander, General Michael Erik Kurilla said in a Dec. 20 statement.  

“ISIS has the intent to break out of detention the over 8,000 ISIS operatives currently being held in facilities in Syria. We will aggressively target these leaders and operatives, including those trying to conduct operations external to Syria,” Kurilla said. 

With Assad gone, there are signs Russia is doubtful about its ability to maintain military presence in Syria.  

In recent weeks, Russian cargo planes reportedly carrying military equipment have flown from Syria to eastern Libya, much of which is under the control of Khalifa Haftar, described by France 24 as “Russia’s man” in the country.  

Russia also has reportedly shifted military assets to bases in Mali and Sudan, where Moscow maintains a presence of its African Corps — formerly Wagner — troops.  

Despite efforts to find alternatives, experts say Russia’s potential loss of its bases in Syria could seriously dampen Russia’s ability to project power in the Middle East and throughout Africa. 

On Dec. 30, Al Jazeera reported that Syria’s new government had set up checkpoints around Hmeimim air base. Syrian security forces alleged Russia was harboring Assad loyalists at the facility.  

The rebel fighters who ousted Assad and many locals view Russian troops as occupiers, and they want Moscow to withdraw its military presence, Al Jazeera reported. 

That report described Hmeimim as a “thorn” in the hearts of the Syrian rebels who had recaptured the country earlier that month, citing the destruction Russian airstrikes had subjected them to up until Assad’s last days in power.  

As in Syria, Russia previously accused the U.S. and U.K. of supporting Islamic State – Khorasan Province, or ISIS-K, in Afghanistan, despite longtime U.S. efforts to eradicate ISIS-K and its leadership there.  

That allegation fits into the broader conspiracy theory repeatedly spread by Russia and Iran that the U.S. created Islamic State to destabilize the Middle East and serve the foreign policy goals of the U.S. and Israel. 

Throughout the decade of the civil war, Russia framed its support for Assad and military presence in Syria, including the deployment of long-range bombers to Hmeimim air base, as a stabilizing force in the country.  

Contrary to that narrative, Russia indiscriminately attacked civilian targets, particularly hospitals, and allegedly killed tens of thousands of people throughout the course of the Syrian civil war. 
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Rome — Italy’s foreign ministry summoned the Iranian ambassador on Thursday to demand the immediate release of reporter Cecilia Sala, who was detained in Tehran on Dec. 19 while working under a regular journalistic visa.

The ministry said in a statement it had relayed “serious concern” over Sala’s detention and stressed the need for humane treatment and respect for her human rights.  

Italian media have reported that Sala is in solitary confinement in a freezing cold cell with a neon light left on night and day. Her glasses have been confiscated and she has had hardly any contact with the outside world.

The secretary general of the Italian foreign ministry, Riccardo Guariglia, demanded that embassy staff in Tehran should be allowed to visit Sala and provide her with “the comfort items that she has been denied so far”, the ministry said.

Iran’s official IRNA news agency reported on Monday that Sala had been arrested for “violating the laws of the Islamic Republic”. It gave no further information.

Sala was detained three days after an Iranian businessman, Mohammad Abedini, was arrested at Milan’s Malpensa Airport on a U.S. warrant for allegedly supplying drone parts that Washington says were used in a 2023 attack that killed three U.S. service members in Jordan.

Iran has denied involvement in the attack, and its foreign ministry was quoted in Iranian media as saying Abedini’s arrest violated international law.

In recent years, Iran’s security forces have arrested dozens of foreigners and dual nationals, mostly on charges related to espionage and security. Rights groups have accused Iran of trying to extract concessions from other countries through such arrests. Iran denies this.  

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni is due to discuss Sala’s case with her foreign and justice ministers later on Thursday, her office said.
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Ukraine’s military said Thursday it shot down 47 drones Russian forces launched overnight at areas in central and eastern Ukraine.

Russia used a total of 72 drones in its attacks, the military said.

Ukrainian air defenses shot down drones over the Cherkasy, Chernihiv, Dnipropetrovsk, Kharkiv, Kherson, Kirovohrad, Kyiv, Mykolaiv, Poltava, Odessa and Sumy regions.

Officials in those areas did not immediately report any major damage.

Russia’s Defense Ministry said Thursday it destroyed 13 Ukrainian drones, mostly along the Russia-Ukraine border. Intercepts took place in Bryansk, Belgorod, Kursk, Kaluga and Voronezh.

The governors of Bryansk and Kaluga said there were no reports of casualties or damage in their regions.

Thursday’s attacks came a day after Russian forces killed at least two people in Kyiv.

Some information for this story came from Reuters.
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LONDON — Parts of the United Kingdom were flooded Wednesday as heavy rains and powerful winds continued to disrupt New Year’s celebrations.

Several communities in the Manchester area were flooded, with several homes evacuated and cars submerged up to their roofs on roads and in parking lots after nearly a month’s worth of rain fell in two days.

A major incident was declared and mountain rescue teams were called in to help firefighters respond to swamped properties and stranded vehicles, Greater Manchester Police said.

“There’s still probably likely to be further flooding across the course of the day,” Met Office meteorologist Tom Morgan said. “We are potentially expecting the flood situation to get worse before it gets better.”

Tom Coulthard said the rain started late Tuesday afternoon and poured all night where he lives in Didsbury, south of Manchester, topping river banks and forcing a hotel to be evacuated before dawn. Roads and highways were closed in the area.

“All the local rivers and water courses have sort of filled up and flooded around the area,” said Coulthard, a geography professor at the University of Hull. “That’s really probably a sign of just how our weather is changing, how climate is shifting.”

The deluge and gusts derailed New Year’s Eve fireworks celebrations, leading to cancelations in Edinburgh and several other cities. Events planned for New Year’s Day, including nippy outdoor swims and a bathtub boat race, were scrapped.

London, which was able to launch its massive fireworks display on the River Thames in front of Big Ben, had to postpone the start of its New Year’s Day parade and grounded inflatable floats due to the blustery and soggy conditions.

Cheerleaders and members of bands that marched through central London pulled transparent coverings over their bright costumes to take shelter from rain.

Warnings that indicate flooding is expected were issued at one point to more than 150 communities across the U.K., with most being in northern England. Later in the day, dozens of those warnings had been lifted.

Several trains were canceled because of high water around the tracks and some highways were closed.

With temperatures dropping, there were ice warnings until late Thursday morning for Northern Ireland, parts of north Wales, England and Scotland. And a three-day snow warning was issued for the coming weekend for much of England and Scotland.
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PODGORICA, MONTENEGRO — At least 10 people, including two children, were killed and four others were wounded in a shooting on Wednesday that followed a bar brawl in a western Montenegrin city, officials said. The shooter was on the run.

Police identified the attacker as Aco Martinovic, 45. He killed the owner of the bar in the city of Cetinje, the bar owner’s children and his own family members, said Interior Minister Danilo Saranovic at a news conference.

“At this moment, we are focused on arresting him,” Saranovic said.

Police dispatched special troops to search for the attacker in Cetinje, located about 30 kilometers northwest of the capital, Podgorica.

A statement said the man fled the scene armed after opening fire at the bar.

President Jakov Milatovic said he was “shocked and stunned” by the tragedy. “Instead of holiday joy … we have been gripped by sadness over the loss of innocent lives,” Milatovic said on the social media platform X.

Prime Minister Milojko Spajic went to the hospital where the wounded were being treated and announced three days of mourning.

“This is a terrible tragedy that has affected us all,” Spajic said. “All police teams are out.”

Montenegro, which has about 620,000 people, is known for gun culture, and many people traditionally have weapons.

Wednesday’s attack was the second shooting rampage over the past three years in Cetinje, Montenegro’s historic capital. In August 2022, an attacker also killed 10 people, including two children, before he was shot and killed by a passerby in Cetinje.

A report by Radio and Television of Montenegro, the country’s public service broadcaster, which published Martinovic’s photo on its website, said he was known for erratic behavior and had been detained in the past for illegal possession of weapons.

The report said he had gone home to get his gun and returned to the bar, where he had opened fire and killed and wounded several people. He then went to another site where he killed the bar owner’s children and a woman, the report added.

Police appealed to residents to remain calm and stay indoors, ruling out a clash between criminal gangs.
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WASHINGTON — Press freedom groups and media organizations are calling for Iran to release an Italian journalist who was arrested last month.  

Cecilia Sala, who works for the daily Italian newspaper Il Foglio, was arrested on Dec. 19 and is being held in Iran’s notorious Evin prison. The 29-year-old was reporting in Iran on a journalist visa and was due to return to Italy on Dec. 20.  

The New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists, or CPJ, said Sala’s jailing underscores Tehran’s harsh suppression of independent journalism in the country.  

“Sala’s arrest is a powerful reminder of the daily threats faced by those reporting in and about Iran, and she and all those wrongfully detained by Iran should be released immediately,” CPJ CEO Jodie Ginsberg said Tuesday in a statement.  

Iran ranks seventh among the world’s top jailers of journalists. As of Dec. 1, 2024, 16 journalists were jailed in the country, according to CPJ data.  

Iran confirmed Sala’s detention on Monday when the state news outlet IRNA reported that she was being held after “violating the laws of the Islamic Republic of Iran.” Sala, who also works for the podcast company Chora Media, is being held in solitary confinement, according to media reports.  

The office of Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said Meloni was “following the complex affair” closely and pursuing “all possible avenues of dialogue” to release Sala. Italy’s foreign minister said Sala was in good health and that negotiations were under way to bring her home.  

Paris-based Reporters Without Borders, or RSF, said Sala appeared to have been arbitrarily detained.  

“We are also concerned about her conditions of detention as she is held in solitary confinement in Evin prison — infamous for being the cruel place where free voices critical of the regime are detained,” RSF Director General Thibaut Bruttin said Tuesday in a statement.  

The National Press Club in Washington condemned Sala’s solitary confinement. 

“Sala’s imprisonment is a chilling reminder of the risks journalists face in pursuit of the truth,” President Emily Wilkins said in a statement last week. “Her detention is an affront to press freedom and a violation of international norms.” 

Sala’s arrest came just a few days after Italy arrested Swiss Iranian businessman Mohammad Abedini Najafabadi, known as Abedini, in Milan at the request of the United States. 

The businessman is accused of breaking U.S. sanctions laws and providing support to a foreign terrorist organization, which ultimately led to the deaths of three U.S. service members in a drone attack in Jordan, according to the U.S. Justice Department.  

A U.S. State Department spokesperson told the Italian newspaper La Repubblica that they believe Sala’s arrest is likely a response to Najafabadi’s arrest.  

Iran’s Foreign Ministry did not immediately reply to VOA’s email requesting comment.
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ROME — Pope Francis ushered in the New Year with a renewed appeal for the faithful to reject abortion, calling for a “firm commitment” to protect and respect life from conception to natural death. 

Francis, 88, celebrated a New Year’s Day Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica on Wednesday that was dedicated to Mary, the mother of Jesus. 

In his homily, he prayed that everyone learns to care for “every child born of a woman” and to protect “the precious gift of life: life in the womb, the lives of children, the lives of the suffering, the poor, the elderly, the lonely and the dying.” 

“I ask for a firm commitment to respect the dignity of human life from conception to natural death, so that each person may cherish his or her own life and all may look with hope to the future,” he said, using the terminology of the church’s opposition to abortion and euthanasia. 

In recent years, the Argentine Jesuit has been speaking out more emphatically about abortion than he did at the start of his pontificate. After two doctrinaire popes, Francis complained in the first months of his papacy in 2013 that the church had become obsessed by “small-minded rules” about hot-button issues such as abortion. 

Francis now regularly refers to procuring an abortion as “hiring a hitman to solve a problem.” 

He recently sparked outrage in Belgium when he criticized its abortion law as “homicidal” and announced he wanted to beatify Belgium’s late king who abdicated for a day rather than approve legislation legalizing the procedure. The Vatican recently announced that the beatification process is under way for King Baudouin, who died in 1993. 

The morning Mass marked the final big event of Francis’ busy Christmas schedule. For the pope, who suffers from recurrent respiratory problems, this year’s season was even more challenging with the start of the Vatican’s big Holy Year, a once-every-quarter-century celebration of the faith that is expected to bring 32 million pilgrims to Rome during 2025. 

Speaking to pilgrims who gathered in a sun-filled St. Peter’s Square, Francis recalled the Jubilee’s central message of the need to forgive debts. He again called for world leaders from wealthy countries to eliminate or reduce the debts owed by poorer countries. 

Francis urged Christian leaders, in particular, “to provide a good example” by taking the lead to forgive debts.
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Officials in Ukraine’s capital Wednesday said a Russian drone attack killed at least one person and injured at least six others.

Serhii Popko, head of Kyiv’s City Military Administration, said on Telegram that a woman was found dead in the rubble of a residential building that had been hit during the attack.

In Ukraine’s Dnipropetrovsk region, Governor Serhiy Lysak said Russia attacked with artillery, rockets and drones, damaging seven houses and a medical center.

Ukraine’s military said it shot down 63 of the 111 drones that Russian forces launched.

The intercepts took place in the Cherkasy, Chernihiv, Khmelnytskyi, Kirovohrad, Kyiv, Mykolaiv, Poltava, Sumy, Zaporizhzhia and Zhytomyr regions, the military said.

Russia’s defense ministry said Wednesday it destroyed a Ukrainian drone over the Kursk region.

In neighboring Bryansk, the regional governor said Russian air defenses destroyed two drones, and that there were no casualties or damage.

In a New Year’s Eve address to his nation Tuesday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said his country would do everything it could in the new year to end the war with Russia.

“And every day in the coming year, I, and all of us, must fight for a Ukraine that is strong enough. Because only such a Ukraine is respected and heard, both on the battlefield and at the negotiating table,” Zelenskyy said.

“May 2025 be our year. The year of Ukraine. We know that peace will not be given to us as a gift, but we will do everything to stop Russia and end the war. This is what each of us wishes for,” he added.

In 2024, Ukraine gave up seven times more ground than it did in 2023: about 4,000 square kilometers, mostly in the east, according to data from the Washington-based Institute for the Study of War. At the same time, Ukraine took several hundred square kilometers of Russian territory in Kursk. Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022.

Some information for this story was provided by Agence France-Presse and Reuters.
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