The world’s tallest woman and the world’s shortest woman have met for afternoon tea in London to celebrate Guinness World Records Day.

Rumeysa Gelgi, who stands 215.16 centimeters (7 feet 0.7 inches) tall, and Jyoti Amge, who measures just 62.8 centimeters (2 feet 0.7 inches), met at the Savoy Hotel, according to a statement from Guinness World Records (GWR) on Wednesday.

The height difference between the two women might be a massive 152.36 centimeters (5 feet), but the pair reportedly got on famously.

“We do have things in common. We both love make-up, self-care, jewellery and doing our nails,” said Gelgi in the statement.

“It was difficult for us to make eye contact at times due to our height difference, but it was great,” she added.

Amge added that she was “so happy” to meet her fellow record holder.

Gelgi, a web designer from Turkey, was confirmed as the tallest woman living in 2021.

Her height is due to an extremely rare condition called Weaver syndrome. She was only the 27th person in the world to be diagnosed with the syndrome, according to GWR.

Gelgi, 27, also holds the records for largest hands on a woman at 24.93 centimeters (9.81 inches); the longest back on a living person (female) at 59.90 centimeters (23.58 inches); and the longest ears on a person (female) at an average size of 9.58 centimeters (3.77 inches).

Gelgi has also featured in a GWR documentary named “Rumeysa: Walking Tall,” which follows her on a journey across the US meeting fellow record holders.

Amge, an actress and media personality born in India, has a bone growth disorder named achondroplasia that affects the arms and legs.

The disorder occurs early in a foetus’ development in the womb and affects the cartilage tissue that should become a child’s arms and legs.

Despite her small stature, she is a big presence on social media, and has also appeared on US television series “American Horror Story: Freak Show” in the role of Ma Petite. This means she is officially the shortest actress ever, GWR said.

Amge has also appeared on Italian TV show “Lo Show Dei Record” on various occasions.

GWR editor-in-chief Craig Glenday met with the pair in London and said that the records are about “celebrating differences.”

“By bringing together these two amazing, iconic women, they can share their perspectives on life with each other and, also, with us,” said Glenday in the statement.

Both Gelgi and Amge have been named GWR ICONS, a new category introduced for the book’s 2025 edition.

A volcano near Iceland’s capital erupted on Wednesday night, becoming the seventh such event in the area since December.

The length of the fissure on the volcano, located in Iceland’s Reykjanes Peninsula in the southwest of the country, is estimated to be approximately 3 kilometers (1.9 miles), according to the Icelandic Met Office.

The eruption began shortly after 11 p.m local time Wednesday, with a Met Office update three hours later saying the fissure seemed to have stopped expanding.

Air traffic to and from Iceland was operating normally on Thursday, according to Iceland’s official tourism website, which said the eruption was significantly smaller than the last one, which occurred in the area on August 22, when a 4-kilometer (2.5-mile) fissure opened.

A geothermal power plant and the two hotels at the world-famous Blue Lagoon were evacuated. The Blue Lagoon has been repeatedly forced to close due to volcanic activity over the past year.

“This was expected. The few people… 60 people… in town have been evacuated, as well as the Svartsengi Power Plant and the two hotels at the Blue Lagoon – the Blue Lagoon itself was empty at the time, as it started after closing hours.”

Since January 2020, there have been 10 eruptions on Iceland’s Reykjanes Peninsula.

Iceland has a population of nearly 400,000 and is one of the world’s most active volcanic areas. It lies on the constantly active geologic border between North America and Europe. Last year, Iceland experienced more than 1,000 earthquakes in a 24-hour period.

The International Criminal Court has issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, and a senior Hamas official, accusing them of war crimes during and after the October 7 attacks on Israel last year.

In a statement on Thursday, the Netherlands-based court said it found “reasonable grounds” to believe that Netanyahu bears criminal responsibility for war crimes including “starvation as a method of warfare” and “the crimes against humanity of murder, persecution, and other inhumane acts.”

The warrants mark a historic first, making Netanyahu the first Israeli leader summoned by an international court for alleged actions against Palestinians in the 75-year conflict. While ICC warrants don’t guarantee arrests, they could significantly restrict Netanyahu’s ability to travel to ICC member states.

The prime minister’s office dismissed the warrants as “absurd and antisemitic.”

“Israel utterly rejects the absurd and false actions and accusations against it by the International Criminal Court, which is a politically biased and discriminatory body,” his office said, adding that there is “no war more just… after the Hamas terrorist organization launched a murderous attack against it, carrying out the largest massacre against the Jewish people since the Holocaust.”

Netanyahu “will not yield to pressure, will not back down, and will not retreat until all the goals of the war set by Israel at the start of the campaign are achieved,” it said.

Israel, like the United States, is not a member of the ICC and has challenged the court’s jurisdiction over its actions in the conflict – a challenge the court rejected on Thursday. The ICC claims jurisdiction over territories Israel occupies, including Gaza, East Jerusalem, and the West Bank, following the Palestinian leadership’s formal agreement to be bound by the court’s founding principles in 2015.

The court on Thrusday also issued a warrant for Hamas official Mohammed Diab Ibrahim Al-Masri, also known as Mohammed Deif, who Israel says was one of the masterminds of the October 7 attack, Israel said it killed him in an airstrike in September but Hamas hasn’t confirmed his death.

The ICC said it found “reasonable grounds” to believe that Deif was responsible for “crimes against humanity, including murder, extermination, torture, and rape and other form of sexual violence, as well as the war crimes of murder, cruel treatment, torture, taking hostages, outrages upon personal dignity, and rape and other form of sexual violence.”

Deif bears “criminal responsibility” for these crimes, the court said, having “committed the acts jointly and through others… having ordered or induced the commission of the crimes,” and for failing to “exercise proper control over forces under his effective command and control.”

The court added that there are “reasonable grounds to believe that the crimes against humanity were part of a widespread and systematic attack directed by Hamas and other armed groups against the civilian population of Israel.”

Israeli condemnation

A number of Israeli politicians condemned the court’s decision to issue arrest warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant.

President Isaac Herzog described the warrants as “a dark day for justice. A dark day for humanity.”

He said in a statement on X that “the outrageous decision at the ICC has turned universal justice into a universal laughing stock. It makes a mockery of the sacrifice of all those who fight for justice.”

He added that the decision “ignores the basic fact that Israel was barbarically attacked and has the duty and right to defend its people. It ignores the fact that Israel is a vibrant democracy, acting under international humanitarian law, and going to great lengths to provide for the humanitarian needs of the civilian population.”

Recently appointed Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar said the ICC acted as a political tool serving the most extreme elements working to undermine peace, security, and stability in the Middle East.”

“From an ethical perspective, this is a moral aberration that turns good into evil and serves the forces of evil,” he said. “From a diplomatic perspective, issuing orders against a country acting according to international law is a reward and encouragement for the axis of evil (of Iran-led groups), which flagrantly and consistently violates it.”

Far-right Minister of National Security Itamar Ben Gvir condemned the ICC as “antisemitic from start to finish,” adding that Israel should respond by “applying sovereignty” to the occupied West Bank and building Jewish settlements in all the territories under Israel’s control.

Gallant served as defense minister until this month, when Netanyahu fired him after months of clashes over domestic politics and Israel’s war effort. The prime minister said at the time that “trust between me and the minister of defense has cracked.” Katz, who served as foreign minister until then, became defense minister.

What happens next?

Eliav Lieblich, a professor of international law at Tel Aviv University, described the ICC’s decision as “the most dramatic legal development in Israel’s history.”

There may also be wider implications, he added, which “could limit the ability of third parties to cooperate with” the Israeli military.

After an arrest warrant has been issued, the ICC sends requests for cooperation to member states. The court does not have a police force of its own to make the arrests, but relies on member states to execute them, which state parties are legally obliged to do.

Previous leaders who have been faced with ICC arrest warrants have experienced limitations on their ability to travel, unable to pass through countries legally obliged to arrest them.

This is a developing story and will be updated.

Gunmen opened fire on vehicles carrying Shiite Muslims in Pakistan’s restive northwest on Thursday, killing at least 42 people, including six women, and wounding 20 others in one of the region’s deadliest such attacks in recent years, police said.

The attack happened in Kurram, a district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province where sectarian clashes between majority Sunni Muslims and minority Shiites have killed dozens of people in recent months.

No one immediately claimed responsibility for the latest attack. It came a week after authorities reopened a key highway in the region that had been closed for weeks following deadly clashes.

Local police official Azmat Ali said several vehicles were traveling in a convoy from the city of Parachinar to Peshawar, the capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, when gunmen opened fire. He said at least 10 passengers were in critical condition at a hospital.

Aftab Alam, a provincial minister, said 42 people were killed in the attack, and that officers were investigating to determine who was behind it.

Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi called the shootings a “terrorist attack.” Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and President Asif Ali Zardari condemned the attack, and Sharif said those behind the killing of innocent civilians will not go unpunished.

Kurram resident Mir Hussain, 35, said he saw four gunmen emerge from a vehicle and open fire on buses and cars.

“I think other people were also firing at the convoy of vehicles from nearby open farm field,” he said. “The firing continued for about 40 minutes.” He said he hid until the attackers fled.

“I heard cries of women, and people were shouting for the help,” he said.

Ibne Ali Bangash, a relative of one of the victims, described the convoy attack as the saddest day in Kurram’s history.

“More than 40 people from our community have been martyred,” he said. “It’s a shameful matter for the government.”

Baqir Haideri, a local Shiite leader, denounced the assault and said the death toll was likely to rise. He accused local authorities of not providing adequate security for the convoy of more than 100 vehicles despite fears of possible attacks by militants who had recently threatened to target Shiites in Kurram.

Shop owners in Parachinar announced a strike on Friday to protest the attack.

Shiite Muslims make up about 15% of the 240 million population of Sunni-majority Pakistan, which has a history of sectarian animosity between the communities.

Although the two groups generally live together peacefully, tensions have existed for decades in some areas, especially in parts of Kurram, where Shiites are the majority.

Dozens of people from both sides have been killed since July when a land dispute erupted in Kurram that later turned into general sectarian violence.

Pakistan is tackling violence in the northwest and southwest, where militants and separatists often target police, troops and civilians. Violence in the northwest has been blamed on the Pakistani Taliban, a militant group that is separate from Afghanistan’s Taliban but linked to them. Violence in southwestern Balochistan province has been blamed on members of the outlawed Baloch Liberation Army.

Russia launched a new non-nuclear ballistic missile with medium range on Ukraine’s Dnipro region on Thursday, Russia’s President Vladimir Putin said in a televised statement, marking another significant escalation in the 1,000-day-old war.

According to US and Western officials, the ballistic missile carried multiple warheads, which may be the first time such a weapon has been used in war.

At least three people were injured in the attack, the head of the Dnipro’s military administration had said earlier. A number of buildings were also damaged.

Here’s what we know.

What is Russia saying?

Russian President Vladimir Putin said a Russian strike in Ukraine was carried out by a new non-nuclear ballistic missile, which has a medium range.

“In response to the use of American and British long-range weapons, on November 21 of this year the Russian armed forces launched a combined strike on one of the facilities of the Ukrainian defense industry,” Putin said in a televised statement on Thursday.

“In combat conditions, one of the newest Russian medium-range missile systems was also tested,” Putin said, apparently referring to the strike on Dnipro. “In this case, with a ballistic missile in non-nuclear hypersonic equipment. Our missilemen called it ‘Oreshnik.’ The tests were successful. The launch goal was achieved.”

A medium-range missile can travel between 1,000 kilometers and 3,000 kilometers (620 miles to 1,860 miles), according to the Center for Arms Control and Anti-Proliferation.

Putin also said that Moscow considers itself entitled to use weapons against military targets belonging to countries that allow their weapons to be used against Russia. He said that Ukrainian Armed Forces attacked targets in Russia’s Bryansk region with six US-made ATACMS missiles on Tuesday and later fired British/French Storm Shadow systems on the Kursk region.

“From that moment, as we have repeatedly emphasized earlier, the regionally provoked conflict in Ukraine took on elements of a global nature,” Putin said, adding that “using such weapons without the direct involvement of military specialists from the countries that produce these weapons is impossible.”

“We consider ourselves entitled to use our weapons against the military objects of those countries that allow their weapons to be used against our objects, and in the event of an escalation of aggressive actions, we will respond just as decisively and in kind,” he added.

What is Ukraine saying?

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Russia’s use of the new missile is “a clear and severe escalation in the scale and brutality of this war.”

In a post on X on Thursday, Zelensky accused Russia of “a cynical violation of the UN Charter” and taking a “second step toward escalation” of the conflict, adding that the first escalatory step was involving North Korean troops in the war.

The Ukrainian leader also emphasized Kyiv’s right to strike Russia with long-range weapons “under international law,” adding that Putin is “testing” Kyiv’s partners with his actions and called on world leaders to put pressure on Moscow.

“A lack of tough reactions to Russia’s actions sends a message that such behavior is acceptable,” he said. “Russia must be forced into real peace, which can only be achieved through strength.”

Ukraine’s foreign ministry echoed Zelensky’s comments, emphasizing Kyiv’s right to strike Russia with long-range weapons.

“Ukraine has used long-range capabilities against targets in its occupied territories many times, but Putin started to fuss only when targets in Russia were hit. So Putin knows the difference between the actual Russian territory and the territory he tries to steal from Ukraine,” Ukraine’s foreign ministry spokesperson Heorhii Tykhyi said in a Thursday post on ‘X.’

Ukraine’s air force earlier accused Russia of launching an intercontinental ballistic missile at Dnipro at around 5 a.m. local time, from the Astrakhan region of southern Russia, without offering further detail. However, two Western officials disputed Ukraine’s assessment, saying that although the missile launched by Russia was likely a ballistic missile, it was not an intercontinental one.

Ukraine’s military also said that an X-47M2 Kinzhal ballistic missile was launched alongside seven cruise missiles in the attack, adding that all but one of the cruise missiles were shot down. “The other missiles didn’t cause significant consequences,” the military said.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky framed the strike was evidence that Putin is “so afraid, he is already using new missiles.”

“Today, our crazy neighbor has once again shown who he really is and how he despises dignity, freedom, and human life in general,” Zelensky said in a video posted to Telegram before Putin’s televised address.

What is an MIRV?

The missile fired at Dnipro carried multiple warheads, according to two US officials and one Western official, in what may be the first time such a weapon has been used in war.

The weapon, known as a Multiple Independently-targetable Reentry Vehicle (MIRV), carries a series of warheads that can each target a specific location, allowing one ballistic missile to launch a larger attack.

MIRVs were developed during the Cold War to permit the delivery of multiple nuclear warheads with a single launch. The Minuteman III, which is the US intercontinental ballistic missile, is armed with MIRVs. The Russian missile attack on Dnipro was not armed with nuclear warheads, but it used a weapon designed for nuclear delivery to instead launch conventional weapons.

Deputy Pentagon press secretary Sabrina Singh said this was the first use of the experimental intermediate-range ballistic missile “based on” Russia’s RS-26 Rubezh missile model, though Singh declined to identify the specific type of missile or its capabilities.

Tom Karako, the director of the Missile Defense Project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), says it’s likely the first time a MIRV has been used in combat.

The use of this type of missile armed with conventional warheads is an escalation of Russia’s nuclear saber-rattling, Karako said, which includes the recent update of its nuclear doctrine.

“This is a big rocket with payload capability – presumably MIRVs – and has the baggage associated with it of nuclear delivery vehicles,” he said.

Hans Kristensen, the director of the Nuclear Information Project at the Federation of American Scientists, said the launch was significant. “To my knowledge, yes, it’s the first time MIRV has been used in combat,” Kristensen said.

The United Nations Secretary General’s spokesperson warned on Thursday that Russia’s use of a new, medium-range ballistic missile is “yet another concerning and worrying development.”

“All of this [is] going in the wrong direction. What we want to see is for all parties to take urgent steps to de-escalate the situation,” Stephane Dujarric said in a regular briefing on Thursday, adding that “what we want to see is an end to this conflict in line with General Assembly resolutions, international law, and territorial integrity.”

Why is this significant?

Putin’s announcement comes during a tense week in the conflict, which is now more than 1,000 days old.

This week, both US and British/French-made missiles have been fired into Russia by Ukraine, after US President Joe Biden gave Ukraine permission to use longer-range American missiles across the border.

On Tuesday, Russia’s Defense Ministry and two US officials said Ukraine had fired the US-made ATACMS into Russia for the first time.

Russia’s Defense Ministry also said its air defenses shot down two British/French-made Storm Shadow missiles, acknowledging Ukraine’s use of the longer-range weapons.

In turn, Putin updated Russia’s nuclear doctrine, with the Kremlin saying the revised military doctrine would in theory lower the bar for first use of nuclear weapons.

How does Ukraine defend itself?

Ukraine uses a Patriot missile defense system supplied by the US and Germany to intercept incoming ballistic missile warheads, according to the Missile Threat Project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

The Patriot system is designed to engage incoming warheads, either with an exploding warhead of its own, or with kinetic interceptors – so-called “hit-to-kill” technology, which destroys the incoming warhead by striking it directly.

Patriot interceptors have a vertical range of about 20 kilometers (12 miles) and defend an area of about 15 to 20 kilometers around the battery, according to the Congressional Research Service.

But Ukraine has only a limited number of Patriots and batteries. Some cities, like the capital Kyiv, enjoy greater protection than others.

Why was Dnipro targeted?

The Dnipropetrovsk region has been a frequent target of Russian bombardment in recent months.

It borders the partially occupied Donetsk and Zaporizhzhia regions and has become a hub for people who have fled areas that are now under Russian control.

The region is now home to more than 400,000 internally displaced people. Dnipro, the fourth-largest city in Ukraine, is an important center of life in the eastern part of the country.

It is relatively close to the front lines, yet still fairly well protected by air defenses. That, plus its transportation infrastructure links to the rest of the country, makes the city a key hub in Ukraine’s war effort.

How much damage did the attack cause?

The head of Ukraine’s Dnipropetrovsk military administration said Russia was “massively attacking” the region on Thursday morning.

Three people were injured after houses were damaged, and a rehabilitation center for people with disabilities was also impacted in the attack, Serhiy Lysak said on Telegram.

There were two fires in Dnipro and “damage to an industrial enterprise,” he added.

This story has been updated with additional developments.

Brazilian authorities have indicted ex-president Jair Bolsonaro, accusing him of “full knowledge” of a 2022 plot to kill his successor, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, and overturn the results of the presidential election.

Earlier this week, Brazilian police arrested five people, including a former adviser to Bolsonaro, over the alleged plots. The coup plotters also envisaged the assassination of Lula’s Vice President Geraldo Alckmin and Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes, the Supreme Court said in its arrest order.

In October 2022, Lula narrowly beat Bolsonaro in the presidential election. Bolsonaro’s supporters rejected the results and rioted in the capital Brasilia, storming government buildings on January 8, 2023.

According to the police warrant carried out on Tuesday, Bolsonaro allegedly met with officials from the army and navy as well as the minister of defense in December 2022 to present a document detailing the legal framework that would keep him in power.

The former president has repeatedly denied allegations of attempting a coup. His son, Flavio Bolsonaro, who is a senator in the Brazilian Congress, suggested in a post on X that the five suspects arrested this week had not committed a crime.

“As disgusting as it may be to think about killing someone, it is not a crime. And for there to be an attempt, the execution must be interrupted by some situation beyond the control of the perpetrators. Which does not appear to have happened,” he wrote.

This is a developing story and will be updated.