DNA reveals when modern humans began ‘mixing’ with Neanderthals
Marek Jantač/National Museum in Prague
(LONDON) — Scientists have pinpointed a time frame in which Neanderthals began “mixing” with modern humans, based on the DNA of early inhabitants of Europe.
Analysis of the oldest-known genomes from early modern humans who lived in Europe indicates that the mixing occurred more recently than previous estimates, according to a paper published in Nature on Thursday.
The mixing likely occurred between 45,000 and 49,000 years ago — meaning the two genetically distinct groups overlapped on the European continent for at least 5,000 years, according to the paper.
Radiocarbon dating of bone fragments from Ranis, Germany, were shown to have 2.9% Neanderthal ancestry, which the authors believe occurred from a single mixing event common among all non-African individuals.
The mixing event likely occurred about 80 generations before those individuals lived, the researchers said.
The group from Ranis also represents the oldest-known family units, Arev Sumer, a researcher at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig, Germany, and co-author of the paper, said during a news conference on Wednesday. Six individuals from the group were found to have a close kinship, including a mother and daughter.
The findings imply that the ancestors of all currently sequenced non-African early humans lived in a common population during this time, stretching from modern Great Britain to Poland, Johannes Krause, a biochemist at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology and co-author of the study, said during the news conference.
“This was rather surprising, because modern humans had just left Africa a few thousand years earlier and had reached this northern part of Europe where climatic conditions were rather cold — much colder than today,” Krause said. “It was the middle of the Ice Age.”
Groups of early humans previously studied in Europe showed very few cases of mixing between Neanderthals and Homo sapiens, according to the paper.
The groups were represented by individuals from the Bacho Kiro region in Bulgaria and a woman named Zlaty kun from Czechia — believed to be part of the earliest population to diverge from the “Out-of-Africa” lineage, a small group of Homo sapiens that left the African continent about 80,000 years ago.
Within those two groups, the individuals from Bulgaria only suggest two mixing events with Neanderthals, while Zlaty kun’s lineage only suggests one mixing event, according to the paper.
Zlaty kun was found to have a fifth- or sixth-degree genetic relationship with two Ranis individuals, Sumer said, adding that the Ranis group was part of a small population that left no descendants among present-day people.
Neanderthals are believed to have become extinct about 40,000 years ago, Krause said.
The findings offer researchers a much more precise window of time in which the mixing occurred, as well as more insights into the demographics of early modern humans and the earliest Out-of-Africa migrations, according to the paper.
More research is needed to explore the events following the Out-of-Africa migration and the earliest movements of modern humans across Europe and Asia, Sumer said.
(NEW YORK) — A once long-dormant volcano in Iceland is erupting again and impacting activity in a populated region nearby.
The volcano, on the Reykjanes peninsula in southwestern Iceland, began erupting at Sundhnukar on Wednesday night and peaked at about 2 a.m. local time Thursday, according to the Icelandic Meteorological Office. It has prompted evacuations at the Blue Lagoon, an iconic tourist destination, and the nearby town of Grindavik.
West Iceland’s volcano is a rift activity volcano, which involves the earth being pulled apart in two different directions through the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, rather than a cone erupting magma through a central pipe, Thomas Algeo, a professor of earth sciences at the University of Cincinnati, told ABC News. The style of eruption is “much less dangerous, because most of the activity involves slow moving basaltic lava flows,” he added.
“It’s a style of volcanic activity that is effusive, slow flowing, not violently eruptive, like would be the case with a subduction zone volcanic system” Algeo said.
The fissure that was created on Wednesday night stretched about 1.8 miles long, according to the country’s meteorological office. This is the volcano’s seventh eruption this year, according to Iceland’s Department of Civil Protection and Emergency Management.
These types of eruptions are “spectacular” sights, because once a fissure opens up, a large supply of magma oozes out, Tobias Fischer, director of the Volatiles Laboratory at the University of New Mexico, told ABC News.
The eruption activity is “typical” for these types of systems, said Shawn Willsey, a geology professor College of Southern Idaho who has been conducting livestream tours using drones above the lava flows on YouTube. Once the lava erupts, the pressure is relieved and magma starts to fill into the shallow storage zone below — repressurizing the system and setting the stage for the next eruption, Willsey said.
“It’s known that this region goes through these episodes where there are a lot of these eruptions,” said Fischer, who has flown drones into eruption gas clouds to collect samples and analyze the composition of the carbon for his research.
By Thursday afternoon, the lava had reached the parking lot of the Blue Lagoon and consumed a service building, The Associated Press reported. There is no danger to the area, and the flights out of the Keflavik International Airport have not been affected, according to the civil protection agency.
Gas emitted from the eruption is expected to move south and out to sea, according to emergency officials.
Video taken from Grindavik show rivers of fast-moving lava flowing from the rift zones, where the lava can be seen spewing from the ground.
The ongoing eruption is “significantly smaller” than the eruption that took place in August, according to the meteorological agency.
Iceland is known as a “hot spot” for volcanic activity, Algeo said.
There are 32 active volcano systems in the region spread across three rift zones spread to the north, south and west — all part of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, a mountain range that mostly runs down the middle of the Atlantic Ocean.
But in Iceland, the mountain range comes above the ocean certain due to “an excessively high production of magma in that area,” Algeo said.
Iceland’s western rift zone, also known as the Reykjanes-Langjökull rift zone, was active prior to the 13th century. These types of eruptions tend to have every 1,000 or so years, Fischer said,
“The big question is, is this going to continue on for centuries?” Willsey said.
In 2021, the volcano in western Iceland became active again. There have been 10 eruptions since there, seven of which have occurred in 2024, according to Icelandic officials said.
During the last 800 years, the majority of volcanic activity were in the north and east volcanic zones — both lightly populated regions, Algeo said. But western Iceland, which includes the capital of Reykjavik, is highly populated.
“They were in a nice little valley up in the mountains, and so that lava was pretty well contained,” Willsey said, adding that lava in those regions are “tourist-friendly” eruptions that can be enjoyed with little threat.
The recent eruptions in western Iceland have damaged infrastructure and property and forced residents to relocate, according to AP.
Previous eruptions throughout history have caused destruction in Iceland, Algeo said.
A large eruption that took place in 1783, known as the Laki eruption, is one of the worst in recorded history. It spewed so much toxic volcanic gasses across the landscape that it killed off most of the local farm animals and reduced the harvest, leading to starvation for about 25% of the population, Algeo said.
Eruptions on the Reykjanes peninsula in December 2023 triggered toxic gas warnings, causing emergency managers to fear that the pollution would spread to the capital.
A disruptive eruption at the Eyjafjallajokull volcano in 2010 disrupted trans-Atlantic air travel for months due to ash being spewed into the air.
(LONDON) — The Israel Defense Forces continued its intense airstrike and ground campaigns in Gaza — particularly in the north of the strip — and in Lebanon, with Israeli attacks on targets nationwide including in the capital Beirut. The strikes form the backdrop for a fresh diplomatic push by the White House ahead of President-elect Donald Trump’s return to the Oval Office in January.
Tensions also remain high between Israel and Iran after the former launched what it called “precise strikes on military targets” in several locations in Iran following Tehran’s Oct. 1 missile barrage.
Experts tell UN north Gaza famine is ‘occurring or imminent’
Experts warned the United Nations Security Council on Tuesday that famine is “occurring or imminent” in parts of northern Gaza.
Israel’s U.N. Ambassador Danny Danon rejected the famine warning as “simply false” and said Israel is making additional efforts to improve the humanitarian situation in the Palestinian territory.
During the session, the U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Linda Thomas-Greenfield said there must be “no forcible displacement, nor policy of starvation in Gaza” by Israel, warning such policies would have implications under U.S. and international law.
The session was held shortly after the U.S. said it would not restrict military aid to Israel despite concerns about the deteriorating humanitarian situation in Gaza after more than a year of war.
-ABC News’ Will Gretsky and Joe Simonetti
Palestinian militants release video of Russian-Israeli hostage
The Hostages and Missing Families Forum authorized the publication Wednesday of a video released by Palestinian Islamic Jihad of hostage Alexander “Sasha” Troufanov — the first video of a living captive for several months.
Troufanov, 29, was kidnapped from his parents’ home in the border kibbutz of Nir Oz on Oct. 7, 2023. His mother Yelena, grandmother Irena and partner Sapir were also kidnapped, but released in a November 2023 prisoner swap deal. His father, Vitaly, was killed in the attack.
In the video released Wednesday, Troufanov said he and other surviving hostages were running out of food and basic hygiene products. Troufanov urged the Israeli public to continue pressing for a hostage release deal and said he feared being accidentally killed by the Israel Defence Forces.
PIJ released two videos of Troufanov in May.
The Hostages and Missing Families Forum said in a statement posted to social media, “It’s inconceivable and incomprehensible that almost a year has passed since the last hostage release deal.”
“The hostages have no time left — a deal for their release is the only way to bring them all back to us: the living for rehabilitation and those who were murdered for proper burial.”
-ABC News’ Joe Simonetti
New Israeli airstrikes, evacuation orders in Beirut
The Israel Defense Forces ordered residents of several areas in the southern Beirut suburbs to flee their homes on Wednesday morning ahead of an imminent resumption of airstrikes
The target locations were in the Hezbollah stronghold suburb of Dahiya, which has been the focus of Israeli airstrikes since September.
The Wednesday morning evacuation orders came after a night of heavy bombardment in the area, which the IDF claimed targeted “Hezbollah weapons storage facilities and command centers.”
Lebanese authorities say Israeli strikes have killed more than 3,200 people since Oct. 8, 2023. Around a quarter of Lebanon’s population — some 1.2 million people — have been forced from their homes by Israel’s operation, per United Nations figures.
State Department denies giving Israel ‘a pass’ on Gaza
Vedant Patel, the State Department’s principal deputy spokesperson, denied at a Tuesday briefing that the U.S. is giving Israel “a pass” after President Joe Biden’s administration said it would not withhold weapons earmarked for the country over dire humanitarian conditions inside Gaza.
Tuesday saw the expiry of a 30-day deadline set by the U.S. for Israel to “surge” aid into the devastated Palestinian territory, or risk restrictions on military aid. Patel said Israel met some — but not all — U.S. demands set out in an Oct. 13 letter signed by Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin.
“Certainly I would not view it as giving them a pass, because one, no one is up here — certainly I’m not — saying that the situation in Gaza or the humanitarian circumstances are rosy,” Patel told journalists at a Tuesday briefing.
“It is a very dire circumstance,” he added. “And what we need to see is we need to see these steps acted on. We need to see them implemented.”
-ABC News’ Shannon K. Kingston
White House says Israel has ‘taken steps’ to improve aid in Gaza
Following a State Department press briefing with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, the White House released a statement saying they’ve seen Israel has “taken steps” to improve humanitarian aid in Gaza but “there’s more work to be done.”
“We have seen, certainly some improvement. And again, we are going to do everything that we can,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told ABC News.
“The United States, we are indeed, the largest provider of humanitarian aid, humanitarian assistance into Gaza to relieve the pain of the Palestinian people. And what we’re seeing and you’re right, it is dire. But those discussions continue, and we’re going to be laser-focused on that,” Jean-Pierre added.
-ABC News’ Justin Gomez
Tens of people killed in Gaza, Lebanon after Israeli strikes
At least 62 Palestinians were killed and 147 were wounded in five IDF attacks across the Gaza Strip within the last 48 hours as the situation in the north remains dire, according to the Hamas-run Gaza Ministry of Health.
The IDF launched strikes on Beit Hanoun in the north, Deir Al Balah and the Al-Mawasi area Tuesday morning, where displaced people were sheltering in west of Khan Yunis.
Several strikes on southern Beirut were reported as well. In Lebanon, at least 3,287 people have been killed and 14,222 wounded since October 2023.
-ABC News’ Somayeh Malekian, Sami Zyara, Diaa Ostaz and Ghazi Balkiz
Airstrikes hit Beirut suburbs
Several large airstrikes rocked the Lebanese capital Beirut on Tuesday morning, shortly after the Israel Defense Forces issued new evacuation orders for people living in the southern suburbs of Dahiya.
Dahiya — known as a Hezbollah stronghold — has borne the brunt of Israeli airstrikes on the capital. It was here that Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah was killed by a massive Israeli attack in September.
The IDF has said it is targeting Hezbollah operatives, weapons manufacturing facilities and arms storage sites in the area.
Lebanese authorities say 3,200 people have been killed by Israeli strikes since cross-border fighting with Hezbollah flared again on Oct. 8, 2023.
-ABC News’ Joe Simonetti
New Gaza aid crossing opens, Israel says
The Israel Defense Forces and the Coordination of Government Activities in the Territories agency announced Tuesday the opening of a new humanitarian aid crossing into the Gaza Strip, on the same day a U.S. deadline to improve the flow of aid expired.
“In accordance with directives from the political echelon, and as part of the effort and commitment to increase the volume and routes of aid to the Gaza Strip, the ‘Kisufim’ crossing was opened” for “the transfer of humanitarian aid trucks,” the statement said.
The deliveries will include “food, water, medical supplies and shelter equipment to central and southern Gaza,” the statement said. The supplies underwent “strict security checks at the Kerem Shalom crossing” before being sent into the strip, the IDF and COGAT said.
An Oct. 13 letter signed by Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin warned that continued failure to allow adequate aid into Gaza may trigger U.S. laws restricting military support for Israel.
Among the letter’s demands were that Israel allow a minimum of 350 truckloads of goods to enter Gaza each day, that it open a fifth crossing into the besieged territory, that it allow people in Israeli-imposed coastal tent camps to move inland before the winter and that it ensure access for aid groups to hard-hit northern Gaza.
The letter also called on Israel to halt legislation — since passed — that would hinder the operations of the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees, known as UNRWA.
-ABC News’ Jordana Miller and Joe Simonetti
Israel fails to meet US aid demands in Gaza, NGOs say
A group of eight aid agencies published a joint statement Tuesday alleging that Israel has failed to improve the humanitarian situation in Gaza in the 30-day window set by the U.S.
The U.S. deadline for Israel to “surge” food and other humanitarian aid into the devastated territory expires Tuesday.
Officials including Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin warned last month that Israel’s failure to deliver may trigger laws requiring the U.S. to restrict military aid to Israel.
The eight NGOs — among them Oxfam America, the Norwegian Refugee Council and Save the Children — awarded Israel a “failing grade” in meeting U.S. demands.
“The facts are clear: the humanitarian situation in Gaza is now at its worst point since the war began in October 2023,” the statement said.
“This new analysis clearly demonstrates that the Israeli government is violating its obligations under U.S. and international law to facilitate humanitarian relief for suffering Palestinians in Gaza,” Refugees International President — and former senior USAID official — Jeremy Konyndyk said.
“With experts again projecting imminent famine in north Gaza, there is no time to lose. The United States must impose immediate restrictions on security cooperation with Israel,” he added.
-ABC News’ Guy Davies
US strikes Iran-backed groups in Syria
U.S. Central Command announced late Monday that American forces struck nine targets in two locations “associated with Iranian groups in Syria” in response to attacks on U.S. personnel in the country.
“These strikes will degrade the Iranian backed groups’ ability to plan and launch future attacks on U.S. and coalition forces” deployed to the region for operations against Islamic State militants, CENTCOM said.
“Attacks against U.S. and coalition partners in the region will not be tolerated,” CENTCOM Commander Gen. Michael Erik Kurilla said in a statement.
“We will continue to take every step necessary to protect our personnel and coalition partners and respond to reckless attacks,” he added.
‘No cease-fire’ in Lebanon, Israeli defense minister says
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said Tuesday there would be “no cease-fire” and “no respite” in Lebanon despite an ongoing diplomatic push to end Israel’s campaign against Hezbollah in the country.
Katz said the offensive against Hezbollah — and the killing of its former leader Hassan Nasrallah in Beirut in September — “are a picture of victory and the offensive activity should be continued” to further erode Hezbollah capabilities “and realize the fruits of victory.”
“We will continue to hit Hezbollah with full force until the goals of the war are achieved,” Katz said in a post to X.
“Israel will not agree to any arrangement that does not guarantee Israel’s right” to “prevent terrorism on its own,” Katz continued, demanding the disarming of Hezbollah, the group’s withdrawal north of the Litani River and the return of Israeli communities to their homes in the north of the country.
Katz was appointed to head the Defense Ministry earlier this month. He replaced Yoav Gallant, who had emerged as a top critic of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s prosecution of the wars in Gaza and Lebanon. Katz was previously Israel’s foreign minister.
7 killed in strike in southern Lebanon: Health ministry
Seven people were killed and another seven injured after an Israeli strike on Al-Saksakieh in southern Lebanon Monday evening local time, the Lebanese Ministry of Public Health said.
Search and rescue teams are working to find missing people under the rubble, Lebanese national media reported.
The Israeli Defense Forces issued a warning to residents of 21 villages in southern Lebanon telling them to evacuate their homes immediately Monday evening local time.
-ABC News Ghazi Balkiz
Israeli finance minister wants Israel to extend sovereignty to West Bank in 2025
Israel’s far-right finance minister said he wants Israel to extend sovereignty to the West Bank in 2025 and believes U.S. President-elect Donald Trump will “support the State of Israel in this move.”
“In the first term, President Trump led dramatic moves, including the transfer of the American embassy to Jerusalem and the recognition of Jerusalem as the capital city of Israel, recognition of the Golan Heights, and the decision on the legality and legitimacy of the settlements in Judea and Samaria, along with the Abraham agreements of peace for peace,” Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said in remarks on Monday.
Smotrich, who has called for Israeli sovereignty in the Israeli-occupied West Bank for years, also said he has directed staff to begin “work to prepare the necessary infrastructure for the application of sovereignty” to the West Bank.
-ABC News’ Dana Savir
Hezbollah fires 75 projectiles into Israel, IDF says
The Israel Defense Forces said Hezbollah fired at least 75 projectiles into Israel on Monday.
Israel’s Magen David Adom emergency service said it treated three people with shrapnel injuries in the area of Karmiel in northern Israel. Two other people were treated for shrapnel injuries in the Krayot area, the MDA said.
Hezbollah claimed several rocket and drone attacks on Monday.
Among the strikes was a “large rocket salvo” targeting a paratrooper training base in Karmiel settlement, Hezbollah said in a statement.
-ABC News’ Dana Savir and Ghazi Balkiz
IDF orders residents of 21 south Lebanon villages to evacuate
Israel Defense Forces spokesperson Avichay Adraee issued a warning to residents of 21 south Lebanon villages to evacuate their homes until further notice, warning of imminent Israeli strikes there.
Adraee said in a post on X that the villages were the site of Hezbollah military activity and warned that the IDF would “act forcefully” against targets there.
“For your safety, you must evacuate your homes immediately and move to the north of the Awali River,” Adraee wrote. “For your safety, you must evacuate without delay.”
“You are prohibited from heading south,” he added. “Any movement south could be dangerous to your life.”
Around a quarter of Lebanese territory and a quarter of all residents — some 1.2 million people — are under IDF evacuation orders, per United Nations analysis.
Israel has killed more than 3,000 people in southern Lebanon since Oct. 8, 2023, Lebanese authorities have said.
IDF says deadly north Lebanon strike targeted Hezbollah weapons
The Israel Defense Forces said the strike in northern Lebanon that killed dozens of people on Sunday targeted “a Hezbollah terrorist site” which was storing weapons.
Lebanese health officials said the airstrike on the village of Aalmat — in a mainly Christian area in the north of the country — killed 23 and injured at least six others. Seven children were among the dead, officials said. Search and rescue work was ongoing as of Sunday.
The IDF said that Hezbollah fighters “responsible for firing rockets and missiles toward Israeli territory” were “operating from the site,” adding that the details of the incident “are under review.”
Lebanese authorities say that Israeli strikes have killed more than 3,000 people since Oct. 8, 2023. Some 1.2 million people — around a quarter of Lebanon’s population — have also been displaced by Israel’s military campaign.
-ABC News’ Dana Savir
IDF intercepts launch from Yemen
The Israel Defense Forces said Monday it intercepted one projectile “that approached Israel from the direction of Yemen.”
“The projectile did not cross into Israeli territory,” the IDF said in a statement posted to X, noting that the projectile caused sirens to sound in several areas of central Israel.
Overnight, the IDF also said it intercepted four uncrewed aerial vehicles that approached Israel from the east.
-ABC News’ Bruno Nota
New Defense Minister says Israel has defeated Hezbollah
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz declared on Sunday that his country has defeated Hezbollah after killing the group’s leader, Hassan Nasrallah.
“We defeated Hezbollah, and the elimination of Nasrallah was the crowning achievement,” Katz said during a handover ceremony at Israel’s foreign ministry on Sunday.
The ceremony comes after Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu fired the previous defense minister, Yoav Gallant.
There is no word on how this will affect Israel’s operations in Lebanon, which shows no sign of slowing.
“Now it is our job to continue the pressure,” Katz said. “We will work together to materialize the fruits of this victory by ensuring that the security situation in Lebanon has changed.”
Israeli president to meet Biden
Israeli President Isaac Herzog will meet President Joe Biden on Tuesday during his visit to the U.S., according to Herzog’s office.
-ABC News’ Bruno Nota
Netanyahu says he’s spoken to Trump 3 times, ‘we see eye to eye’ on Iran
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu released a statement Sunday to mark the anniversary of Kristallnacht, highlighting the violence Thursday on the streets of Amsterdam that authorities said targeted Israeli soccer fans there, saying in a statement translated from Hebrew: “We will do what is necessary to defend ourselves and our citizens. We will never allow the atrocities of history to recur.”
Netanyahu also said he has spoken to President-elect Donald Trump three times since the election.
“These were very good and important talks designed to further enhance the steadfast bond between Israel and the U.S.,” Netanyahu said. “We see eye to eye on the Iranian threat in all its aspects, and on the dangers they reflect. We also see the great opportunities facing Israel, in the area of peace and its expansion, and in other areas.”
Yauhen Yerchak/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images
(LONDON and BELGRADE) — A team of Lithuanian investigators were beginning their probe into Monday’s deadly cargo plane crash near the country’s capital, with aid expected from transportation investigators from the United States.
The jet crashed on Monday morning less than a mile from the runway at Vilnius International Airport, officials said. One of the four people onboard was killed in the crash, local officials said.
Lithuanian police and prosecutors have opened a “pre-trial” investigation into the crash, according to Prime Minister Ingrida Šimonytė, whose office held a meeting late Monday on the government response.
The government has ordered an investigation under the country’s criminal code, which calls for probes into “‘Improper maintenance or repair of vehicles or roads, or of equipment thereon,’ which provides for liability in the event of loss of life, serious injury to persons or very serious damage to property,” the prime minister’s office said.
“I urge everyone to have confidence in the investigating authorities’ ability to conduct a thorough and professional investigation within an optimal timeframe,” Šimonytė said in a statement. “Only these investigations will uncover the true causes of the incident—speculation and guesswork will not help establish the truth.”
The investigation will be led by the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Lithuania Transport Accident and Incident Investigation Division, with aid from the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board, the board said on Monday.
The results of that investigation are expected to be made public, the NTSB said.
The DHL cargo plane — a Boeing 737-476 operated by Swiftair — had flown into Lithuania from Germany. it crashed in a residential area in Liepkalnis, on the outskirts of the capital, Vilnius, the Lithuanian airport authority said in a statement posted on social media on Monday.
One of the pilots was pronounced dead at the scene and the other was transferred to a local hospital in critical condition, Bozena Jerenkovic, a medical doctor who was part of the emergency team on site, told ABC News on Monday. It appeared that the cockpit had been separated from the plane’s fuselage, she added.
The Lithuanian National Crisis Management Center confirmed to ABC News that the pilot is in critical condition. The other two people who were injured in the crash are doing OK, the center said.
ABC News has reached out to Bonn, Germany-based DHL for comment.
ABC News’ Joe Simonetti and Melissa Gaffney contributed to this report.
