Forecasting models and warning systems, designed primarily to assess earthquake-triggered waves, did not account for the boosting effects of the shockwave. It was a critical flaw in these systems, scientists said, leaving them unable to predict exactly when the waves would hit land.Satellite images from the University of Massachusetts Lowell showed the scale of the massive shockwave from the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai volcano eruption, which triggered a tsunami that destroyed villages and resorts and knocked out communications for the South Pacific nation of about 105,000 people. Three people have been reported killed.
Wall Street ended a tumultuous week Friday, rebounding sharply from a morning sell-off in a volatile session. Tech stocks were the standout in a broad rally led by Apple. The Dow added over 500 points, gaining nearly 1.7%. The S&P 500 shot up nearly two-and-a-half percent. And the Nasdaq catapulted over 3%. The major indexes gained on the week, and the S&P snapped its three-week losing streak. Investors looked past data out Friday showing consumer spending falling in December as inflation climbed at its fastest pace in four decades.But Gerber Kawasaki CEO Ross Gerber isn’t worried about inflation or the Omicron variant. “So we see both of those trends now reversing as Omicron is now fading in the United States, and we're gonna see costs start to come down and people get back to jobs and work and back to the offices again. So we're very bullish on the spring.” Springing higher: Apple, up 7%, one day after the company posted record sales of iPhones in the holiday quarter. Visa charged up nearly 11%. It was the top gainer on the Dow and S&P. Higher spending on international travel and commerce helped push earnings past Wall Street’s targets.
"We've been waiting for an opportunity to add to Tesla because their prospects are better than any company in the world and the fact that investors are getting another swing at Tesla down here at 800 bucks is a gift," said Gerber.
"We see both of those trends now reversing as Omicron is now. Waiting in the United States and we're gonna see costs start to come down and people get back to jobs and and work and back to the offices again," said Gerber.
Pen Farthing, founder of animal charity Nowzad, has denied Boris Johnson stepped in to help him fly animals out of Kabul after the Taliban took over Afghanistan last year. He told Channel 4 News: "I have never, ever had any direct contact with the prime minister or with his wife … if he had prioritised me, he didn't do a very good job because I almost never made it out of Kabul.".
Belgian passports have a new lookfeaturing the country’s most famous comic charactersLocation: Brussels, BelgiumThe new passport will be launched on Feb. 7with familiar images from ‘The Adventures of Tintin’, such as:the red checkered rocket from ‘Destination Moon’ Captain Haddock’s mansion, Marlinspike Hall(SOUNDBITE) (English) BELGIAN FOREIGN MINISTER, SOPHIE WILMES, SAYING:"You know, your passport brings you everywhere in the world and certainly the Belgian passport. And it is true that we are very proud of the comics and the Belgian comics that our country has managed to develop. And I don't know if it's soft power, but it's very powerful, I have to say. Therefore, we also chose it because we are not only very proud of what we are doing in Belgium, but it also gives us the opportunity to use the drawing as an element of security for our passports."Characters from the ‘Smurfs’and Gaston Lagaffe and Lucky Luke will also decorate the country’s official documents(SOUNDBITE) (English) BELGIAN-CANADIAN STUDENT IN OTTAWA, SARAH MURAWSKY, SAYING:"I think it's a great idea. I think a lot of people internationally, especially me living in Canada as well, a lot of people associate cartoons with Belgian culture, so I think it's really cool to be able to identify with that through the passport, which is something you use so often. I really like it, it's creative, it's different, it's unique."
Barnard Castle - the location of former Downing Street aide Dominic Cummings' infamous eye-testing trip during lockdown -recorded its best year for visitor numbers in 2021, according to English Heritage.
Winnipeg residents made the most of the Canadian winter as they skated along a frozen river on January 26.Footage tweeted by Erin Riediger shows a line of people gliding along the river’s solid surface.“Ugh, the commute is such a slog,” she joked alongside the clip.Riediger told Storyful that every year the rivers in Winnipeg become outdoor skating trails.She added that she saw a rowing team practicing on the river, moving a boat outfitted with blades along at a brisk pace. Credit: Erin Riediger via Storyful
Finnish origami artist Juho Konkkola has completed a two and a half year project which used just one sheet of paper and took 109 hours. He began planning his latest and most daunting creation – ‘Duelling Knights’ – in the summer of 2019.
Protesters and schoolchildren gathered in Parliament Square on Friday to call for British Sign Language (BLS) to become a recognised language in the UK. It came as the British Sign Language Bill was given an unopposed second reading just a few hundred metres away in the Commons after it secured Government support.
Ten people suffered minor injuries and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania’s Frick Park was closed until further notice after a bridge collapsed on January 28.Images posted by Instagram user R.o.b.4 show the collapsed Ford Avenue Bridge, with vehicles atop the wreckage.Pittsburgh Public Safety alerted the public to the collapse just before 7 am on January 28.Local media reported that 10 people were injured – three of whom were taken to a hospital. Several vehicles and a Pittsburgh Port Authority bus were involved in the collapse. The three people hospitalized were passengers on the bus, according to local reports.The collapse came hours before President Joe Biden was due to visit the city to discuss infrastructure. White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said on Twitter that the President had been told about the collapse and that his team was in touch with state and local officials. Credit: R.o.b.4 via Storyful
The Bidens have welcomed a catinto the White HouseLocation: Washington, D.C.Meet WillowThe two-year-old felineis named after first lady Jill Biden’s hometown Willow GroveWillow joins Commander the German Shepherdwho moved in with U.S. President Joe Biden last year
Americans crimped their wallets last month as inflation heated up to historic levels. The Commerce Department reported Friday that consumer spending, which accounts for more than two-thirds of economic activity - dropped 0.6% after gaining in November. Behind that decline: Surging Omicron infections reduced traffic to restaurants and bars and other venues, and fear of shortages of goods at stores likely drove Americans to get a head-start to their holiday shopping instead of waiting until December. Those shortages caused by snarled supply chains drove inflation higher last month. The personal consumption expenditures price index, which the Federal Reserve watches closely, climbed at a 5.8% annual clip --- the largest advance in four decades. With inflation running way above the Fed’s target, the central bank signaled Wednesday it’s likely to raise interest rates in March.
In this Global Conversation, Euronews' Gregoire Lory speaks to EU Commissioner Thierry Breton about the vital role of Europe's space and digital sectors. View on euronews
The UK has reported 89,176 Covid-19 cases and 277 deaths on Friday, latest daily figures show.
A Metropolitan Police officer who died of Covid-19 would be “horrified” at how the force appears “complicit in covering up” the behaviour of politicians, his bereaved wife has said. Fran Hall, a spokeswoman for the Covid-19 Bereaved Families for Justice campaign group, said on Friday that the scandal has been “reopening the wounds we are trying to live with” and has left her “furious”.
The parents of eight-week-old Amina-Faye, who died with more than 60 broken bones, have been jailed for their "monstrous crimes" after a hearing at Inner London Crown Court. Following the sentencing, Detective Inspector Melanie Pressley, who led the case, said: "In eight weeks of life, Amina suffered an unimaginable number of injuries. The trauma she endured in her short life is impossible to comprehend. Her injuries are a catalogue of the most despicable abuse.".
A thermal waterfall in Transylvania, in northern Romania, froze over, creating a spectacular display of icy daggers.This video, taken by Apollo Apy on January 27, shows the Toplita waterfall turned to ice.The transformation is seldom seen, as the waterfall sits below a hot spring and rarely freezes over. Credit: Apollo Apy via Storyful
Some rowing enthusiasts in Winnipeg, Manitoba, did not let the small matter of a frozen river stand in the way of their practice, deciding to take their boat out for a “paddle” despite the solid surface.Footage taken by Erin Riediger on January 26 shows the rowers cruising down the icy river.“The river is frozen in Winnipeg, Manitoba, but these paddlers still found a way to practice,” Riediger told Storyful.She said that every year the rivers in Winnipeg become outdoor skating trails.“Despite the frozen water, I still saw a boat out on the river,” she added. Credit: Erin Riediger via Storyful
This rare Botticelli painting sold for $45 millionLocation: New York'The Man of Sorrows' is a portrait of Jesus ChristArt experts say the painting dates back to the early 1500sIt has remained in private handsand out of the public eye for much of the 20th century(SOUNDBITE) (English) CHRISTOPHER APOSTLE, DIRECTOR OF THE OLD MASTER PAINTINGS DEPARTMENT AT SOTHEBY'S IN NEW YORK, SAYING:"Botticelli is one of those artists I think that everybody knows. He's really, you know, the first or second chapter of any art history book. And even people who, you know, don't frequent museums or maybe have taken a formal course in art history, know the name and certainly know the images, the Primavera, the Birth of Venus. They're absolutely iconic. And so, he probably more than any artist represents that great flowering of the Renaissance in Florence in the late 1400s. So to have a work by him is extremely exciting and rare, and to have a work from like this painting of the Man of Sorrows from his late period is even more rare.
Liverpool has updated Anfield’s Hillsborough memorial with the name of Andrew Devine. A coroner ruled in July that the 55-year-old was the 97th fan to lose his life as a result of the 1989 disaster when he died last summer.
Lithuania's president has told Sky News that NATO must stand united in response to Russian threats against Ukraine but that diplomacy should not yet be abandoned.
A convoy of truck drivers crossing Canada to protest a COVID-19 vaccine mandate for cross-border travel was in New Brunswick on Thursday, January 27, as it drove toward Ottawa.As of January 15, Canada has required truck drivers to be fully vaccinated or face a two-week quarantine period when crossing back into Canada from the US.From January 22, the US Department of Homeland Security has required “non-US individuals” to be fully vaccinated and provide proof of vaccination when entering the country through land ports and ferry terminals at both the US-Mexico and US-Canada borders.Emily Ternoey says this footage shows supporters of the truckers gathered along a highway in Moncton, New Brunswick.The convoy was expected to reach Ottawa on January 29, local media reported.The Canadian Trucking Alliance trade group said in a statement that “the vast majority” of Canadian truckers are vaccinated and that it “strongly disapproves” of the convoy protest. Credit: Emily Ternoey via Storyful
Authorities say the ban is necessary because dwindling numbers threaten "near extinction" of the creatures, which they blame on over-fishing.But the fishermen, known as "ricciari" in Italian, are adamant there are plenty of sea urchins and that their work does not harm the environment. They are determined to fight the ban to save their livelihoods.On a recent cold winter morning just before the ban took effect, three fishermen went out on a speedboat named Silvia to pluck some of their last urchins from the rocky seabed."They want to take our jobs away. Look what we have to do in the morning, it's not a game to wake up and jump straight into the water," said fisherman Massimo Sarritzu from his boat.The fishing community of Cagliari have for decades been harvesting sea urchins from rocky waters in the south of the island before they are sold to restaurants to be used in popular Sardinian recipes.The island's environment minister, Gabriella Murgia, imposed the ban, which started on January 22, saying research showed that the urchin population had fallen to nearly zero in some areas.
In this episode of Witness, Julian Lopez travels to Athens to meet several Afghan women who were forced to flee Afghanistan following the return to power of the Taliban. Sharing their stories, they explain the daily challenges they face and their plans for the future. View on euronews