The old place where Alexander the Great was crowned is the Palace of Aigai in Vergina, Greece. This ancient palace was the largest building of classical Greece and the royal residence of the Argead dynasty. Alexander the Great was proclaimed king of Macedonia there in 336 BC, after the assassination of his father Philip II.

The Palace of Aigai was closed to the public for a 16-year, 20-million-euro renovation that aimed to restore its past glory. It reopened on Sunday, January 7, 2024, with a ceremony attended by the Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, who called it a “monument of global importance”. The palace now features a museum, a research center, and a cultural venue that showcases the rich history and culture of ancient Macedonia.

The first day of the US moon landing in decades is expected to be in 2025. This is the target date for NASA’s Artemis program, which aims to land the first woman and the first person of color on the lunar surface. The Artemis program was originally planned for 2024, but it was delayed by one year due to a funding shortfall and a lawsuit over the landing vehicle

However, before NASA’s crewed mission, two private companies in the US are attempting to land robotic spacecraft on the moon in early 2024. These are Astrobotic Technology and Intuitive Machines, which are part of a NASA-supported effort to kick-start commercial moon deliveries. If successful, they will be the first US moon landings since the Apollo program ended in 1972, after sending 12 astronauts to the moon.

India is experiencing extreme heat and the cause of this is the combination of meteorological factors, such as atmospheric pressure, wind patterns, precipitation and climate change. According to the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), heat waves in South Asia are made at least 30 times more likely by climate change. Average temperatures in India have risen by around 0.7% between 1901 and 2018, partly due to climate change.

The implications of the extreme heat in India are severe and multifaceted to the extent that there have been Increased mortality and morbidity due to heatstroke, dehydration and other heat-related illnesses. A study by the Lancet found that India saw a 55% rise in deaths due to extreme heat between 2000-2004 and 2017-2021.  There have also been reduced productivity and income for millions of people, especially the poor and daily-wage laborers employed in outdoor work. Exposure to heat also caused a loss of 167.2 billion potential labour hours among Indians in 2021, resulting in loss of incomes equivalent to about 5.4% of the country’s GDP.

Accelerated melting of snow and ice in the mountainous regions, leading to flash floods, glacial lake floods and reduced water availability in the long term. Not just this there have been crops damaged and reduced agricultural yields, affecting food security and livelihoods of farmers.

India is currently experiencing deteriorated air quality and increased risk of fire outbreaks, affecting human health and ecosystems. To cope with the extreme heat, India has implemented heat action plans in some cities, which involve issuing alerts, providing cooling shelters, distributing water and educating the public about heat prevention measures. However, these plans are not enough to address the root causes and long-term impacts of the heat problem. India needs to invest more in climate adaptation and mitigation strategies, such as improving urban planning, enhancing renewable energy sources, promoting water conservation and reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

A 90-year-old woman was rescued alive five days after Japan’s deadly earthquake that struck on New Year’s Day 2024. She was trapped in a collapsed house in Suzu city, Ishikawa Prefecture, and was found by a search dog named Jennifer.

She was then taken to a hospital and was in stable condition. The woman was one of the 122 people rescued by the Self-Defence Forces, who were searching for survivors among the rubble and landslides caused by the magnitude-7.6 quake.

The earthquake killed at least 126 people and left hundreds missing. It also triggered tsunami waves, power outages, water shortages and food crisis in the affected regions. Japan has been struggling to cope with the disaster, which was the worst since the 2011 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami.