Russia and China on Tuesday vetoed a UN Security Council resolution aimed at reopening the Strait of Hormuz that had been repeatedly watered down in hopes those two countries would abstain. The vote – 11-2, with two abstentions from Pakistan and Colombia – took place just hours after US President Donald Trump issued an unprecedented threat that a “whole civilisation will die tonight” if Iran does not open the strategic waterway and make a deal before his 8pm deadline. One-fifth of the world’s...

The Artemis II astronauts snapped a stunning shot of Earthset – the moment when the Earth dips below the moon’s horizon – on their long journey back home on Tuesday after wrapping up a historic lunar fly-by. Nasa released the photo of Earth dropping below the rugged lunar edge in a deliberate nod to the iconic Earthrise image taken by an Apollo 8 astronaut in 1968. That shot 57 years ago helped capture the public’s imagination when it was taken by US astronaut Bill Anders during the first space...

Hong Kong’s Hospital Authority has found a doctor breached its code of conduct after he posted a photo of a resuscitation procedure in a public hospital, with the case being passed to the Medical Council. The authority’s Kowloon West group of hospitals announced on Tuesday that it had terminated the doctor’s contract, one day after stating the man was “no longer an employee”. “The Kowloon West Cluster has completed its investigation into the incident. We confirm that the staff member breached...

A pet ostrich went for a speedy jaunt down a busy Thai highway on Tuesday, before being returned safe and sound to its enclosure at an animal-themed cafe. The six-month-old male ostrich raced along a three-lane highway in Thailand’s coastal Chonburi province as cars and trucks sped by the flightless bird, according to a video posted by a man who was driving directly behind it. “Who lost an ostrich on the road? Come get him. He runs so fast,” the motorist, Chairat Sompong, is heard saying in the...

Iran has allowed two French former detainees, Cecile Kohler and Jacques Paris, to leave the country, French President Emmanuel Macron said on Tuesday. They had been holed up in French diplomatic premises there since their release from prison. “Cecile Kohler and Jacques Paris are free and en route towards French territory, after three and a half years of detention in Iran,” Macron posted on social media. The green light for them to leave Iran, long sought by France, signalled how Iran is...

The United States and Iran appeared on the brink of a major escalation on Tuesday, with hours to go before a deadline set by US President Donald Trump for Tehran to accept a peace agreement, as Washington stepped up its threats and Pakistan renewed mediation efforts. Trump escalated his rhetoric against Iran, threatening on Tuesday morning to wipe out the country’s civilisation if Tehran fails to comply by 8pm EST. “A whole civilisation will die tonight, never to be brought back again,” said the...

US President Donald Trump’s renewed threat to take Greenland when America is bogged down in a war with Iran will only deepen the fracture with Washington’s European allies, according to analysts. Trump has repeatedly criticised Europe since returning to the White House. He has derided Nato as a “paper tiger” that Russian President Vladimir Putin is “not afraid of” and last week threatened to withdraw the US from the transatlantic security alliance. Europe, meanwhile, has pushed back and kept a...