South America
Baby spider monkeys rescued in Texas
Animal traffickers face up to 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Breakthroughs, discoveries, and DIY tips sent every weekday. It should go without saying, but please don't smuggle spider monkeys. While responding to a human trafficking case earlier this year, United States Border Patrol agents in Laredo, Texas, found two of these tiny primates . The driver failed to yield and fled the scene, leading officers to respond.
Ukraine denies drone attack on Putin's residence
Ukraine denies drone attack on Putin's residence President Volodymyr Zelensky has denied allegations by Russia that Ukraine launched a drone attack on one of President Vladimir Putin's residences. Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov claimed Kyiv had launched an attack overnight using 91 long-range unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) on Putin's state residence in Russia's northwestern Novgorod region. Russia said it would now review its position in peace negotiations. Zelensky dismissed the claim as typical Russian lies, intended to give the Kremlin an excuse to continue attacks on Ukraine. He said that Russia had previously targeted government buildings in Kyiv.
Ukrainian soldiers target Russian drones with rifles
Could Ukraine hold a presidential election right now? Will Europe use frozen Russian assets to fund war? How can Ukraine rebuild China ties? 'Ukraine is running out of men, money and time' Video released by the Ukrainian military showed soldiers shooting down small Russian drones with their rifles near the small Donetsk village of Kostiantynivka. Russian forces have made steady yet costly gains in the region, claiming on Monday to have captured nearby Dibrova.
Thailand, Cambodia agree to build on ceasefire in talks in China's Yunnan
Thailand, Cambodia agree to build on ceasefire in talks in China's Yunnan Thailand and Cambodia plan to rebuild mutual trust and consolidate a ceasefire, Beijing says at the end of two days of talks in southwestern China, despite new accusations from the Thai military that its Cambodian counterparts are violating the truce with drone flights. The foreign ministers of Thailand and Cambodia met with the Chinese foreign minister in Yunnan province on Monday for the scheduled two days of talks aimed at ending weeks of fierce fighting along their border that has killed more than 100 people and displaced more than half a million civilians in both countries. As part of the deal, Thailand has agreed to return 18 captured Cambodian soldiers on Tuesday if the ceasefire, which took effect at noon (05:00 GMT) on Saturday, is fully observed. Speaking to reporters after the meeting, Thai Foreign Minister Sihasak Phuangketkeow said he believed the parties were "moving in a positive direction". "We haven't resolved everything, but I think we are making progress in the right direction, and we have to keep up the momentum," he said.
Rainbow Six servers back online after apparent hack
Ubisoft, one of the world's largest games developers, says it's working to fix an apparent hack on popular online shooter Rainbow Six Siege. Servers for the tactical multiplayer game were taken offline on Saturday and Sunday after in-game currency thought to be worth millions of pounds was distributed to players. The company has since restored service, but suspended the game's marketplace until further notice and warned players they may face queues when trying to log on. In a statement on X, Ubisoft said it would continue to make investigations and corrections over the next two weeks. Rainbow Six Siege, commonly referred to as R6, has been a success story for Ubisoft, which is also behind the Assassin's Creed and Far Cry series.
Robohub highlights 2025
Over the course of the year, we've had the pleasure of working with many talented researchers from across the globe. As 2025 draws to a close, we take a look back at some of the excellent blog posts, interviews and podcasts from our contributors. Jiahui Zhang and Jesse Zhang to tell us about their framework for learning robot manipulation tasks solely from language instructions without per-task demonstrations. Hui Zhang writes about work presented at CoRL2025 on RobustDexGrasp, a novel framework that tackles different grasping challenges with targeted solutions. In this podcast from AAAI, host Ella Lan asked Professor Marynel Vázquez about what inspired her research direction, how her perspective on human-robot interactions has changed over time, robots navigating the social world, and more.
Thailand accuses Cambodia of breaking newly signed ceasefire deal
Thailand's army has accused Cambodia of breaching a newly-signed ceasefire deal reached after weeks of deadly clashes that forced nearly one million people from their homes. In a statement, the Thai army said than more than 250 unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) were detected flying from the Cambodian side on Sunday night. The ceasefire took effect at noon local time (05:00 GMT) on Saturday. Both sides agreed to freeze the front lines where they are now, ban reinforcements and allow civilians living in border areas to return as soon as possible. It had been seen as a breakthrough, which came after days of talks between both countries, with diplomatic encouragement from China and the US.
James Bond game 007 First Light delayed to May 2026
The upcoming James Bond game 007 First Light has been delayed until 27 May 2026. The much-anticipated title was due to be released on 27 March, but will now come out two months later. It will be the first video game featuring the British spy since 2012's 007 Legends. In a statement developer IO Interactive, which also makes the Hitman series, said the game was fully playable from beginning to end - but extra time was needed to further polish it. It is being developed in association with Delphi Interactive, which is also behind the upcoming Fifa game due to be released on Netflix ahead of the 2026 World Cup.
2025 in pictures: Shaking up the world order
By the end of 2025, the world felt newly unsettled. Donald Trump's return to the White House reshaped the context for nearly every major story, sending tremors through conflict zones and alliances alike. Added to that was the rapid advance of artificial intelligence, inspiring both optimism and anxiety about where humanity was headed next. It was as if the global chessboard were being reset, with the post-World War II order giving way to something new. President Donald Trump pumps his fist as he delivers his inaugural address at his inauguration as the 47th president in the Rotunda at the Capitol in Washington on Jan. 20.