Australian tennis star Nick Kyrgios has admitted assaulting an ex-girlfriend but avoided a criminal conviction. The 27-year-old’s guilty plea in a Canberra court came after his lawyers failed to have the charge dismissed on mental health grounds. Mr Kyrgios pushed Chiara Passari onto the pavement during a row in Canberra in 2021, the court heard. The magistrate called the incident “a single act of stupidity or frustration” when sparing him a criminal record. Mr Kyrgios released a statement after the ruling saying he was grateful to the court for dismissing the charges without conviction. “I was not in good place when this happened and I reacted to a difficult situation in a way I deeply regret,” he said. “I know it wasn’t OK and I’m sincerely sorry for the hurt I caused.” Agreed facts tendered to the court say Mr Kyrgios pushed Ms Passari after she stopped his car from driving away while they were arguing on 10 January 2021.(BBC)…[+]

A 30-year-old Portuguese dog has been named as the world’s oldest ever by Guinness World Records – beating a record that stood for a century. Bobi is a purebred Rafeiro do Alentejo – a breed that has an average life expectancy of 12 to 14 years. The previous oldest dog ever was Australia’s Bluey, who died in 1939 at the age of 29 years and five months. As of 1 February, Bobi was 30 years and 226 days old, and is said to be doing well for his age. His grand old age has been validated by the Portuguese government’s pet database, which is managed by the National Union of Veterinarians, according to Guinness World Records. He has lived his whole life with the Costa family in the village of Conqueiros, near Portugal’s west coast, after being born with three siblings in an outbuilding. Leonel Costa, who was eight years old at the time, said his parents had too many animals and had to put the puppies down, but Bobi escaped.(BBC)…[+]

A university professor in Afghanistan who is an outspoken critic of the Taliban’s ban on education for women and girls has been arrested in Kabul. Prof Ismail Mashal was detained on Thursday while handing out free books. He rose to prominence after he tore up his academic records live on television in protest against the Taliban’s ban on university and secondary school education for women and girls. Prof Mashal, 37, has been accused of “provocative actions” by the Taliban. He is accused of trying to harm the Taliban’s government by inviting journalists to crowd on a main road and create “chaos”, Abdul Haq Hammad, a Taliban official from the Ministry of Information and Culture wrote on Twitter. Eyewitnesses reported that the professor was slapped, punched and kicked by Taliban security forces during the arrest, however Abdul Haq Hammad said the professor was being treated well while in custody.(BBC)…[+]