BBC

Ukraine flag

Ukraine allies pledge €21 billion in fresh military aid

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The announcement came as members of the Ukraine Defence Contact Group met at Nato’s headquarters in Brussels to pledge air defences, missiles, and other gear as Europe sought to fill the gap left by the changed priorities of the U.S. under Donald Trump. More than half of the aid – €11 billion over four years – is coming from Germany. Support also includes a $590m package from the U.K. and Norway to fund radar systems, anti-tank mines, vehicle repairs, and hundreds of thousands of drones as the nation faces a brutal, unlawful invasion from Russia.

Good news for public health

Annual jab for HIV protection passes trial hurdle

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An annual injection designed by California’s Gilead Sciences to guard against HIV has completed an important early safety trial, researchers report in The Lancet medical journal. Lenacapavir stops the virus from replicating inside cells. For the trial, 40 people without HIV were injected into the muscle with lenacapavir, with no major side effects or safety concerns. And after 56 weeks, the medicine was still detectable in their bodies. If future trials go well, it could become the longest-acting form of HIV prevention available.

Prison cell

Zimbabwe abolishes the death penalty

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Zimbabwe’s President Emmerson Mnangagwa has approved a law that abolishes the death penalty in the southern African state with immediate effect. Mnangagwa’s move comes after Zimbabwe’s parliament voted earlier in December to scrap the death penalty. Zimbabwe last carried out an execution by hanging in 2005, but its courts continued to hand down the death sentence for serious crimes like murder.

Baby crocodile

Near-extinct Siamese crocodiles make comeback in Cambodia

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Cambodia has welcomed 60 baby Siamese crocodiles – a hatching record for the endangered species in this century, conservationists say. They have called it a “real sign of hope”, after more than 20 years of efforts to revive the reptile’s numbers in the remote Cardamom Mountains. The olive green freshwater reptile has a distinct bony crest at the back of its head – by some estimates, it can grow up to 3m or nearly 10ft.

Sierra Leone woman

Sierra Leone bans child marriage

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Anybody in the West African nation now involved in the marriage of a girl under the age of 18 will be jailed for at least 15 years or fined around $4,000, or both. The Ministry of Health estimates that a third of girls are married off before they turn 18, accounting for the country’s high number of maternal deaths – among the highest in the world.

Claudia Sheinbaum

Mexico elects Claudia Sheinbaum as first female president

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Mexico’s official electoral authority said preliminary results showed the 61-year-old former mayor of Mexico City winning between 58% and 60% of the vote in the recent election. That gives her a lead of about 30 percentage points over her main rival, businesswoman Xóchitl Gálvez. Ms. Sheinbaum will replace her mentor, outgoing President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, on 1 October.

Holding breast cancer ribbon

New blood test can predict breast cancer return

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An “ultra-sensitive” new blood test developed and tested by Institute of Cancer Research (ICR) London can predict if breast cancer will return years before the disease shows up on scans, researchers say. It picks up traces of a tumor’s DNA before a full relapse and was found to be 100% accurate at predicting which patients would see their cancer return. It is hoped that the test can allow treatment to start earlier and improve survival rates.

Plastic pollution in the water

Plastic-choked rivers in Ecuador are being cleared with conveyor belts

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Created by the tech start-up Ichthion, the Azure system’s simple design has the capacity to stop and collect around 80 tonnes of plastic per day. The Azure system is a boom device that stretches across the river to stop objects floating on the surface. It extends two feet down into the water, allowing fish and other organisms to move freely below and is placed at an angle allowing the natural water flow to direct all debris into one corner of the riverbank.

Good news for LGBTQ rights

Greece legalizes same-sex marriage

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Greece has become the first Christian Orthodox-majority country to legalize same-sex marriage. Same-sex couples will now also be legally allowed to adopt children after the 176-76 vote in parliament. Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis proclaimed “People who have been invisible will finally be made visible around us, and with them, many children will finally find their rightful place.”

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