
Scientists discover about 5,000 new species in planned mining zone of Pacific Ocean
CBSN
Researchers discovered about 5,000 entirely new species in a massive, mineral-rich swath of the Pacific Ocean poised to be mined by companies in the future.
Scientists found 5,578 different species in the Clarion-Clipperton Zone, a region spanning about 3,100 miles in the area between Hawaii and Mexico, according to a study published Thursday in the scientific journal Current Biology. Around 88-92% of the species had never been seen before.
The zone, which receives little sunlight and has low-food availability, is also home to potato-sized polymetallic nodules, which are a potential mineral resource for copper, nickel, cobalt, iron, manganese and other rare earth elements.

Berlin — Two Austrian citizens and a Danish national who were held in Iran were being released and allowed to return home, officials in Austria and Belgium said Friday. Austrian Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg said he was "very relieved" that Kamran Ghaderi and Massud Mossaheb were being brought back to their home country after "years of arduous detention in Iran."

A short-term ceasefire between two warring factions in Sudan has been suspended, the United States and Saudi Arabia announced in a joint statement Thursday. The announcement came hours after the U.S. announced new sanctions against companies and individuals affiliated with both the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) paramilitary group.

Moscow — Moscow said Thursday it thwarted a Ukrainian attempt to "invade" its southwestern border as Russia pounded Kyiv with missiles, killing three people including a woman and child. The Ukrainian capital faced nearly nightly air raids in May, including an unusual daytime attack on Monday that sent residents running for shelter.

Berlin — Investigators found objects in Portugal for clues on the disappearance of British toddler Madeleine McCann, but it is unclear for now if they are linked to the case, German prosecutors said Thursday. McCann was three when she went missing from her family's holiday apartment in Praia da Luz in 2007 while her parents dined at a nearby tapas bar.