The best fine-dining restaurants have been named by Tripadvisor, with Restaurant Bougainville in Amsterdam taking the top spot. 

The Michelin-starred Dutch eatery has been awarded the accolade as part of Tripadvisor’s 2023 Travellers’ Choice ‘Best of the Best’ Restaurants Awards, which are decided by an algorithm that analyses the millions of reviews and ratings collected in a year from travellers around the world.

Ise Sueyoshi in Nishiazabu, a district of Tokyo, is the second-best restaurant in the global ranking, followed by the Old Stamp House Restaurant in the Lake District – last year’s number one – in third place, making it the top-ranking UK eatery. 

Number one in the U.S is Le Bernardin in New York City, which ranks 23rd overall. No Australian restaurants made it into the top 25.

The gold-medal-winning Restaurant Bougainville has more than 260 coveted ‘five-bubble’ reviews on Tripadvisor, with one user, ‘Linda K’, declaring the restaurant a ‘first-class dining experience’. 

Silver medal-winner Ise Sueyoshi, meanwhile, serves up ‘kaiseki’, which is a traditional Japanese dinner consisting of several courses. Reviewer ‘Tyler K’ described his meal there as ‘unforgettable’. 

Third-place Old Stamp Restaurant, which lies in the picturesque town of Ambleside, is housed in the former office of the Romantic poet William Wordsworth.

With head chef Ryan Blackburn at the helm, the 28-cover restaurant serves dishes that give a ‘unique glimpse into the food and cultural heritage of Cumbria’. A tasting menu might feature tomatoes from the north of Cumbria, mushrooms found in the woods around Ambleside, and turbot from the English Channel. 

MailOnline Travel Editor Ted Thornhill described the food as ‘winningly whimsical and sometimes breathtaking‘. 

Rounding out the rest of the top five are two more European eateries – the Michelin-starred Maison Medard restaurant in the French village of Boulleret and the three-Michelin-starred Ristorante Villa Crespi in Orta San Giulio, Italy. 

As for the UK fine-dining ranking, the Old Stamp Restaurant is followed by Paul Ainsworth at No. 6, a restaurant in Padstow, Cornwall, that presents ‘modern British’ fare.

The Kitchin in Edinburgh is third, Hide and Fox in Hythe, Kent, ranks fourth, and Cellar in Anstruther, Scotland, is fifth. 

In the U.S list, top-ranking Le Bernardin, a three-Michelin-starred restaurant, is run by Chef Eric Ripert and is famous for its seafood. Tripadvisor reviewer ‘213LAX’ wrote that the restaurant’s dishes ‘are visually stunning’. 

The rest of the U.S top five is made up of The Restaurant at Gideon Ridge in Blowing Rock, North Carolina (second); Halls Chophouse in Charleston (third); Bourbon Steak by Michael Mina in Nashville (fourth) and The Silver Fork in Manchester, Vermont (fifth). 

The awards also have five more subcategories – Everyday Eats, Date Night, Hidden Gems, Family-Friendly and Vegetarian. 

Brand-new category ‘Vegetarian’ celebrates meat-free restaurants around the globe, with Chia Vegan Restaurant, in Cusco, Peru, taking the top spot. 

It’s tailed by Blu Bar in Barcelona in second place and Time Traveller in the Indian city of Bengaluru in third. 

The UK bagged two top world spots in the inaugural Vegetarian-Friendly Restaurants category – Mallow in Borough Market, London, has been named best vegetarian-friendly restaurant in the UK and 12th in the world, and Herb in Leicester takes 13th place globally. 

In the ‘Date Night’ category, it’s Waitui Bar & Grill on Denarau Island in Fiji that’s number one, followed by Restaurante 1621 in Cartagena, Colombia (second), and Mylos A La Carte Restaurant in Kolimbia, Greece (third). 

In the UK date-night ranking, it’s Uig Sands Restaurant in Timsgarry, Scotland, that ranks top, though it doesn’t make the global top 25. While in the U.S, it’s Hot Tin Roof in Key West, Florida (19th worldwide), that reigns supreme and in Australia, EXP Restaurant in Pokolbin, New South Wales, tops the podium – it’s 24th worldwide. 

For travellers who like to wander off the beaten path, the awards also points out the best ‘hidden gem’ restaurants to discover. Top of the list is Restauracja Future & Wine in Warsaw, Poland. It’s followed by Omakase in Braga, Portugal (second), and Kinara by Vikas Khanna in Dubai (third). 

The UK’s best ‘hidden gem’ restaurant? That accolade goes to Ganesha Authentic Indian Cuisine in Bristol. Meanwhile, in the U.S it’s ‘Cookie Dough Monster – Burgers & Shakes’ in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. 

And for foodie families, the world’s best family-friendly restaurant, according to Tripadvisor, is El Huaso Mirra in Tongoy, Chile. It’s tailed by two Brazilian restaurants – Pizzaria da Vila in Aquiraz (second) and Restaurante Casa do Tempero in Penha (third). 

One Australian eatery performed well in this category – Hatsuhana Japanese Restaurant in Gold Coast ranks as the world’s fifth-best eatery for families. 

Tripadvisor also analysed the best ‘everyday eats’ for the UK and the U.S. Top in Britain is La Boca Steakhouse in Doncaster, while Doc Ford’s Rum Bar & Grille in St. Petersburg, Florida, is number one in the States. 

Commenting on the awards, Sarah Firshein, Head of Editorial at Tripadvisor, said: ‘Restaurants provide a great way for travellers to get immersed in a destination’s history and culture. 

‘This year’s Travellers’ Choice Restaurant winners -whose diversity and geographic reach reflect the fact that the last remaining pandemic-era travel restrictions have lifted – are especially exciting. 

‘We know Tripadvisor travellers seek out first-hand intel and guidance, and that’s exactly the spirit of these lists – All of our winners were selected not by professional food critics or editors, but by real diners who have left their feedback on Tripadvisor within the past year.’ 

Chinese researchers have discovered a new virus on the ocean floor of the deepest place on earth.

The pathogen was found in sediment five miles below sea level in the Mariana Trench, the lowest point on earth in the Pacific Ocean, and south of Japan.

‘Wherever there’s life, you can bet there are regulators at work,’  Min Wang, a marine virologist at the Ocean University of China in Qingdao who led the research, said. ‘Viruses, in this case.’

The virus is a bacteriophage – which means ‘bacteria eater’ – and survives by infecting and replicating inside bacteria. 

Yue Su, one of the authors of the research study, told DailyMail.com that isolating and learning more about bacteriophage gene libraries is beneficial to humans.

‘They help protect humans from bacterial infections, especially in today’s era of antibiotic use and the proliferation of antibiotic-resistant bacteria,’ Su said.

Su also said current research suggests there is no precedent for bacteriophages like the virus found in the ocean sediment infecting humans and marine life, because its host is bacteria.

Therefore, the team can store the new strain in an ordinary laboratory lab at about 39 degrees Fahrenheit (4 degrees Celsius).

The team published their report in Microbiology Spectrum.

The virus was found in sediment 29,200 feet below sea level in the Mariana Trench which reaches nearly 36,100 feet at its lowest point.

The bacteria, which is infected by the virus, is usually found in sediment deep in the ocean and in hydrothermal vents – or openings on the seafloor that release hot water streams, according to the report.

‘To our best knowledge, this is the deepest known isolated phage in the global ocean,’ Wang said.

Research is currently limited on hadal viruses – or viruses from the hadal zone which is the deepest part of the ocean – Su said, so no viruses that can infect animals or humans have been isolated from the zone yet.

But the team is not ruling out the possibility of the presence of viruses in the zone that could infect animals and humans, and Su said future research will be needed there.

According to Wang, an analysis of the virus’s genetic material suggests the existence of a viral family in the ocean that was not known of before. 

It also gives new insights into deep-sea phages and phage-host interactions, Wang said. 

The new virus is being identified as vB_HmeY_H4907, and the team’s analysis shows it has a similar structure to its host. 

The virus is lysogenic, meaning it invades and replicates inside the host, and doesn’t usually kill the bacterial cell.

The research team looked for viruses in bacterial strains that were collected and isolated by another team under Yu-Zhong Zhang, also a marine virologist at the Ocean University of China.

Climate change and rising ocean temperatures affect ocean currents and sedimentation, for example, and Su said the team speculates these environmental factors may impact the survival pressures on viruses as their hosts’ metabolism change due to changes in the ocean. This could potentially lead to the rise of new viruses, but there is currently no research in this area, Su said. 

Wang said the researchers’ findings lead to new questions and research around how viruses in harsh, secluded environments stay alive, and how they co-evolve alongside their hosts. 

The team wants to continue investigating interactions between deep-sea viruses and their hosts, and searching for new viruses in other extreme places.

‘Extreme environments offer optimal prospects for unearthing novel viruses,’ Wang said. 

For the first time in eight decades, explorers have pictured a Japanese aircraft carrier sunk during World War II‘s Battle of Midway. 

Japan‘s aircraft carrier Akagi was pictured for the first time since it disappeared under the water in 1942 during the battle that helped during the Pacific campaign in America’s favor.  

‘This expedition is not only rewriting history and our understanding of these special places, but also pushing the limits of what we thought was possible in terms of interdisciplinary collaboration,’ said Daniel Wagner, chief scientist for Ocean Exploration Trust. 

The trust led the exploration efforts from September 8 to September 12 to photograph the Akagi along with other vessels sunken during the pivotal battle that saw 3,000 Japanese fighters perish. 

The group also surveyed in detail the USS Yorktown, which was the lone US carrier sunk during Midway and not found until 25 years ago. 

The Battle of Midway began on June 4, 1942, and lasted until the 7th. The naval campaign has gone down in US lore for its ability to flip the momentum in America’s favor. 

Four Japanese aircraft carriers -including the Akagi, Kaga, Soryu and Hiryu – were sunk along with a heavy cruiser. The Americans lost the carrier Yorktown and the destroyer Hammmann. 

The loss of the four carriers by Japan proved difficult to overcome. The Imperial Empire also lost well-trained pilots in the battle. Meanwhile, America’s industrial capabilities grew allowing it to replace the losses. 

In total, Japan lost more than 3,000 men during the fight. The US lost only 362,  

The sunken ships were lost to the sea for years, until deep-sea explorers helped find some of the ships. 

The Akagi was found in 2019, but this month’s exploration marked the first complete survey of the vessel. 

Japanese aircraft carriers – the Soryu and Hiryu – and the cruiser Mikuma are still unaccounted for.

The USS Yorktown was discovered three miles below the surface in May 1998 The USS Yorktown was discovered 25 years ago in May 1998 during a joint US Navy and National Geographic Society expedition led by Robert Ballard, the founder of Ocean Exploration Trust, in conjunction with the Navy.

For the most recent exploration, remote-controlled vehicles were utilized to capture images of the shipwrecks with  the mission involving more than 100 experts from various countries who ‘helped guide the mission and providing valuable real-time interpretations throughout the surveys.’ 

The expedition team also conducted ‘non-invasive visual surveys’ of the wrecks during three deployments at depths exceeding 16,700 feet – the deepest remotely operated vehicle dive ever completed by the Exploration Vessel Nautilus.

‘On this occasion, we meet on those same Pacific waters in which Japan and the U.S. once met in battle, but this time as allies and fellow researchers,’ said Kosei Nomura, Minister, Head of Economic Section, Embassy of Japan. 

‘We are reminded that today’s peace and tomorrow’s discoveries are built on the sacrifices of war, and so in my view, it is meaningful that Japan and the U.S. are now deepening their cooperation at Midway, utilizing such cutting-edge technology.’

‘During over 43 hours at depth, we methodically circumnavigated these historic wrecks, bringing to light many features in great detail, including their armament, battle, and sinking-related damage,’ said Daniel Wagner, the chief scientist for the Ocean Exploration Trust. 

The wrecks were meticulously examined and included looking for damage related to battles they fought and their subsequent and sinking. 

‘Many anti-aircraft guns were still pointing up, providing clues about the final moments on these iconic ships,’ Wagner explained.

Each dive ended with poignant ceremonies paying tribute to those who lost their lives in the Battle of Midway. 

Frank Thompson, a historian with the Naval History and Heritage Command in Washington, D.C., who is onboard the Petrel said: ‘We read about the battles, we know what happened. But when you see these wrecks on the bottom of the ocean and everything, you kind of get a feel for what the real price is for war.

‘You see the damage these things took, and it’s humbling to watch some of the video of these vessels because they’re war graves.’ 

Retired Navy Capt. Jack Crawford, who died in April 2022 at the age of 103, was among the Yorktown’s 2,270 survivors.

Japanese dive bombers left the Yorktown badly damaged, with black smoke gushing from its stacks, but the vessel was still upright. Then the torpedoes hit, Crawford recounted in an interview about the battle.

‘Bam! Bam! We get two torpedoes, and I know we’re in trouble. As soon as the deck edge began to go under, I knew . she wasn’t going to last,’ said Crawford, whose later military career was with the naval nuclear propulsion program.

The Yorktown sank slowly, and a destroyer was able to pick up Crawford and many others.

‘An important part of our mission here at the Naval History and Heritage Command is to locate, interpret, and protect lost U.S. Navy ships and aircraft, particularly those that represent the last resting place of American sailors,’ said Samuel Cox, Director of the Naval History and Heritage Command, and one of the explorers to photograph the Yorktown during the recent mission.

The entire exploration of the Midway ships was streamed live in real-time, giving the public its first chance to see the vessels along with researchers. 

The surveys were non-invasive at about 16,600 feet below the surface. 

It is illegal to otherwise disturb the underwater US military gravesites, and their exact coordinates are kept secret. The battle was found about 1,000 miles from Hawaii at about the halfway point between Japan and the US. 

The exploration effort involved more than 100 experts from US, Japan and across the globe.

The goal of the exploration was to help document and assess the important site for both America and Japan. 

During the battle, American forces broke Japan’s naval code and prepare for a counter attack. That allowed the US the upper hand in what became a turning point in the war. 

• Eating cheese and dairy products  is associated with less cognitive decline
• Dairy eaters over 65 had better attention, memory and language skills

By Rebecca Whittaker For Mailonline

Published: 07:39 EDT, 18 September 2023 | Updated: 08:25 EDT, 18 September 2023

By Ryan Walker For Mailonline

Published: 13:30 EDT, 17 September 2023 | Updated: 16:57 EDT, 17 September 2023

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A summer resurgence in Covid cases has prompted some GP surgeries to bring back face mask rules for patients — weeks after a new variant was spotted.

One practice in Leicester last week reinstated the guidance, urging people to mask-up, as a ‘precautionary measure’ to protect vulnerable patients.

Another in Essex cautioned that an ‘increasing number of patients and staff with Covid’ had prompted the move. 

A spike in infections across the country has seen Covid hospitalisations in England hit a five-month high. 

Health officials yesterday confirmed that a total of 42 cases of the super-mutated Pirola Covid variant have now been detected in the UK, up from 36 last week. 

Mukta Modi, manager of Canon Street Medical Centre in Leicester told GP magazine Pulse: ‘We are preparing for the autumn vaccination programmes and this is a precautionary measure to protect staff and our vulnerable patients.

‘This has been discussed with our patient participation group who have been very supportive.’

Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland Local Medical Committee (LMC) chair Dr Grant Ingrams told MailOnline today: ‘Every practice is different with significant variation in the number of staff and patients who are at higher risk of catching Covid or having complications. 

‘In addition, many practices are very short of space meaning that patients have to sit or stand close together in reception and waiting areas.’

He added: ‘Practices are private companies and have a legal duty to protect their staff and patients under Health and Safety Legislation and this includes against infection. 

‘Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland LMC supports all practices to carry out a risk assessment and implement what protection they conclude is needed which may include wearing masks.’

While the true prevalence of the virus is unclear, data from the ZOE Covid study, which tracks self-reported infections, suggests there were 97,904 new daily cases of symptomatic infection on September 13 — almost double the 50,000 it reported at the start of August.

The study, which is based on data from millions of users of the ZOE app, estimates around 1.29million in the UK are currently infected, roughly one in 52 people. 

The figure is the highest for five months, but it is still far lower than the estimated toll during earlier peaks, with it reporting that 3.8million people were infected in April 2022.

Patients had been required to wear face masks in GP surgeries up until June last year.

Updated NHS guidance at the time told practices that patients, apart from those with respiratory symptoms, are ‘not required’ to wear a face mask unless they wish to as a ‘personal preference’.

However, health and care staff were advised to continue to wear face masks as part of PPE when working with suspected or confirmed Covid patients, including those working with untriaged patients in primary care.

It comes as a caller, known only as Caroline, spoke to TalkTV on Wednesday claiming the unnamed GP surgery she works at in Essex had asked staff ‘to mask up again’.

In a message sent out to staff earlier in the week, it said: ‘Due to an increasing number of patients and staff with Covid, I’m afraid we need to ask you to mask up again at work from tomorrow. 

‘Hopefully by wearing them again during the surge we can protect and look after each other and provide an example to patients.’

The message also confirmed the practice would review ‘mask wearing on a regular basis’, she claimed.

She told TalkTV: ‘I did message back and said I wouldn’t be wearing them and I would try and keep my distance if they were worried.

‘They also wanted us to start testing again if we feel unwell.’ 

In recent weeks scientists have recommended a return of pandemic mitigation measures, including mask wearing, and increased ventilation because of the virus’ resurgence. 

Some virologists have also urged Ministers to re-consider vaccine eligibility criteria, after the Government ditched plans last month to offer Covid vaccines to under 65s under the autumn jab rollout which began on Monday.

Despite some experts questioning whether they were ever necessary, studies have repeatedly shown mask wearing can reduce the transmission of the virus.  

Last month, a report by the Royal Society also found ‘mask wearing and mask mandates were an effective approach to reduce infection’.

Researchers said studies consistently reported the measures were an effective approach to reduce infection, despite officials issuing mixed messages about their effectiveness at the beginning of the pandemic. 

Other evidence from studies in healthcare settings also showed that higher-quality ‘respirator’ masks — such as N95 masks — were ‘more effective than surgical-type masks’, they added. 

However researchers noted that as the pandemic progressed and the virus became more transmissible, non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) became less effective in controlling the spread of the virus. 

It comes after UKHSA data yesterday showed that Covid hospitalisations are at their highest level since April.

Admissions among patients who tested positive for the virus stood at 4.6 per 100,000 people in the week to September 10, official figures show.

This is up from 3.7 per 100,000 the previous week and the highest since the week ending April 30.

This is still a fraction of the level reached last winter, when the rate stood at 11.8 per 100,000. It is also well below the figures seen during the first year of the pandemic. 

The rate has been on a clear upwards trend for the past two months, however. 

Rates remain highest among people aged 85 and over, at 51.1 per 100,000, and 75 to 84-year-olds, at 21.2 per 100,000.

Experts predict Covid cases will continue to rise as the UK heads into the autumn, and people mix more indoors.

Brits are also no longer testing en masse like they were earlier in the pandemic — with community testing ending in May 2022. 

Therefore, confirmed cases are an underestimate of how many Britons are infected with Covid and how many of those have the new variant Pirola. 

Yesterday UKHSA confirmed a total of 42 cases of the super-mutated strain, known scientifically as BA.2.86, have now been detected in the UK, up from 36 last week. 

Of England’s 37 cases, spotted as of September 11, seven had been hospitalised, while two were detected among A&E patients. No deaths have been recorded among those infected. 

Some 5 BA.2.86 cases have been reported by Public Health Scotland. No Pirola cases have been detected in Wales and Northern Ireland. 

Pirola, like other recently emerged Covid variants, is a spin-off of the Omicron strain.

However, its host of mutations, 35 in total, sparked alarm with some experts fearing it would be different enough to effectively dodge the protection offered by Covid vaccines and infection from previous waves. 

The UKHSA said it is currently analysing blood samples taken from NHS workers to test how effective the immune response generated by Covid jabs is against Pirola.

Experiments to determine how effective lateral flow tests are at spotting Pirola are also still underway. 

• Researchers in Japan have developed a Covid vaccine in pill form
• When given to monkeys, it saw them develop the necessary antibodies
• READ MORE: FDA approves new Covid booster vaccines for every American

By Caitlin Tilley, Health Reporter For Dailymail.Com

Published: 00:05 EDT, 13 September 2023 | Updated: 00:05 EDT, 13 September 2023

A million US deaths could be averted each year if mortality rates in America were on par with those in other rich countries, a damning report has found.

Researchers looked at the rate of all-cause mortality per population size since the 1930s in nearly two dozen peer nations, including the UK, Canada, Japan, Australia and 17 European countries. 

They found that despite the US being the richest, it has suffered more deaths per capita than any of the 21 other nations since around 1980, which have reached ‘unprecedented levels’ in recent years.

The study noted the opioid and fentanyl epidemic, gun violence, and obesity-related deaths, which have all been exacerbated by the Covid pandemic, are the reason America is an outlier.

The study, published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Nexus, found that by 2019, around 600,000 deaths could have been prevented if the US had similar mortality rates to its peer nations.

But in 2020 and 2021, this rose to 1.1million.  

Steffie Woolhandler, senior author and professor at the School of Urban Public Health at Hunter College, blamed America’s healthcare system, insurers, corporate greed and politicians for the avoidable deaths the country has seen.

‘We waste hundreds of billions each year on health insurers’ profits and paperwork, while tens of millions can’t afford medical care, healthy food, or a decent place to live,’ Woolhandler said.

‘Americans die younger than their counterparts elsewhere because when corporate profits conflict with health, our politicians side with the corporations,’ she added.

The United States was only one of a handful of countries on the list that does not provide universal healthcare coverage to its residents. 

Despite the number of excess deaths peaking in 2020 and 2021, the team from Boston University School of Public Health, University of Pennsylvania, Harvard Chan School of Public Health and Hunter College found America’s excess death rate had been worsening since the 1980s.

During World War II and thereafter, America had a lower mortality rate than peer countries. 

In the 1960s and 70s, the rate was similar to other wealthy countries. 

However, in the 1980s, the number of excess deaths began to rise, climbing to approximately 622,500 in 2019. 

Deaths then spiked in 2020 and 2021 during the pandemic. Those years saw approximately one million excess deaths.

In the years between 1980 and 2021, there were 13.1 million ‘missing Americans’. 

Study lead and corresponding author Jacob Bor, an associate professor of global health and epidemiology at Boston University, called the number of missing Americans ‘unprecedented in modern times.’

Nearly half of the missing Americans died prior to age 65 in 2020 and 2021, a level of excess deaths Bor said was particularly stark. 

‘Think of people you know who have passed away before reaching age 65. Statistically, half of them would still be alive if the US had the mortality rates of our peers. The US is experiencing a crisis of early death that is unique among wealthy nations,’ Bor said. 

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported life expectancy in 2020 was 77 years old, a decline of nearly two years from 2019. In 2021, life expectancy declined again to 76.4 years. 

In 2020, nine of the 10 leading causes of death were the same as in 2019, though five causes switched ranks. 

However, heart disease and cancer remained the top two, while Covid was newly added and took the third slot. 

Unintentional injuries moved to fourth place and stroke moved to fifth place.

In 2021, nine of the 10 leading causes of death remained unchanged from the year prior and heart disease, cancer and Covid were the top three again.

Unintentional injury and stroke remained the fourth and fifth top causes of death in 2021, respectively. 

During both 2020 and 2021, deaths among all ages increased year-over-year, except those among one- to four-year-olds, which declined slightly only in 2020. 

‘Living in the US is a risk factor for early death that is common across many US racial and ethnic groups,’ Bor said. 

‘Whereas most health disparities studies assess differences between US racial/ethnic groups, such an approach renders the poor health of Whites invisible and grossly underestimates the health shortfall of minoritized groups. 

‘By using an international benchmark, we show that Americans of all races and ethnicities are adversely affected by the US policy environment, which places a low priority on public health and social protections, particularly for low-income people.’ 

Accounting for the future years lost due to someone dying prematurely, researchers estimate that in 2021, excess deaths translated to 26.4 million years of life lost when compared to peer countries. 

Based on the study results and the trend of excess deaths in the US, Mr Bor is not optimistic mortality rates will rebound in the near future, even as Covid deaths fall to some of their lowest numbers. 

‘The US was already experiencing more than 600,000 missing Americans annually before the pandemic began, and that number was increasing each year. There have been no significant policy changes since then to change this trajectory.

‘While COVID-19 brought new attention to public health, the backlash unleashed during the pandemic has undermined trust in government and support for expansive policies to improve population health.

‘This could be the most harmful long-term impact of the pandemic, because expansion of public policy to support health is exactly how our peer countries have attained higher life expectancy and better health outcomes.’

Ever since the first sighting more than 75 years ago, popular culture has usually depicted a UFO as a flying saucer emitting a powerful halo of light.

But that could finally change following the official release of information from the Pentagon about the mysterious aerial phenomena. 

Based on clues from reported sightings, the typical UFO has a round shape, usually described as spherical or an orb, with a white or silver colour, often translucent. 

It also has a size of between 3 and 13 feet (1 to 4 metres) and usually travels through the air at a height just below commercial passenger planes. 

The Pentagon has also released a hotspot map that reveals the location of reported UFO sightings, including Japan and the Middle East. 

Details about the typical UFO, based on reports between 1996 and 2023, were revealed in the document posted to the new website of the AARO, a dedicated UFO office under the Department of Defense, formed in July last year. 

AARO discloses that most UFOs (28 per cent) have been sighted at altitudes of around 20,000 feet – just under commercial air traffic. 

Around 10 per cent have been reported at just 5,000 feet – around eight times as tall as Seattle’s Space Needle and three times as tall as New York’s One World Tower. 

In terms of shape, most of them (47 per cent) have been described as ‘orb’, ’round’ or ‘sphere’, while one per cent have been Tic Tac-shaped. 

One of the most famous and unusual UFOs to date, spotted by the US Navy in 2004, was the floaty white oblong similar to the breath mint. 

Other UFO shapes include rectangle, oval, triangle, disk, cylinder, square and even polygon, although 19 have had an ‘ambiguous’ shape. 

Meanwhile, 16 per cent have been described as having lights, although in many cases this may have been due to their reflective qualities.

‘Thermal signatures’ include the emission of shortwave or medium-wave infrared light, which is invisible to the naked eye but can be picked up by special detectors. 

In terms of velocity, it is generally ‘stationary to Mach 2’ – meaning the UFO will range from not moving at all to moving at two times the speed of sound, which is just over 1,500 miles per hour.  

And it has ‘no thermal exhaust detected’, so the ones that move at considerable speeds may have other means of propulsion, albeit unknown.

UFO stands for ‘unidentified flying object’ and so the term doesn’t necessarily describe an object with an extraterrestrial origin. 

Department of Defense, commonly known as the Pentagon, now refrains from using the term UFO at all.

This is largely because it is commonly associated with wind up conspiracy theories and paranoia (such as the ‘time traveler’ who claims an alien invasion will take place next year).  

Instead, the Pentagon uses UAP – ‘unidentified aerial phenomenon’ – although in most places this has low usage and is yet to enter common parlance. 

AARO explains: ‘DoD considers unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAP) as sources of anomalous detections in one or more domain (i.e., airborne, seaborne, spaceborne, and/or transmedium).

‘[They] are not yet attributable to known actors and that demonstrate behaviors that are not readily understood by sensors or observers.’

These days, UFOs are considered a security threat by the Pentagon, which will have them shot down if they are in enough space and don’t pose dangers to citizens below. 

A good example is the ‘octagonal’ object with ‘potential surveillance capabilities’ that was taken out over the Great Lakes in February (which itself followed the elimination of a Chinese ‘spy balloon’). 

Others may get mistaken for astronomical objects if they arrive with a flash of light (one possible example is the 2015 UFO that was said to burn away in the atmosphere over the Indian Ocean).

The US government is notoriously secretive when it comes to sharing what it knows about UFOs, but the new AARO’s new website could usher an era of more transparency with the public. 

It will be a ‘one-stop shop’ for publicly available information on the phenomena and it could be a matter of time before fresh data is disclosed. 

In a recent statement, Pentagon officials said the site would shows how ‘committed’ it is to ‘transparency with the American people’.

It comes not long after a prominent UFO whistleblower David Grusch delivered a bombshell testimony before Congress, claiming the Pentagon was covering up evidence related to extraterrestrials.

He testified under oath that the Pentagon had first-hand encounters or knowledge about secret government programmes involving technology that is ‘non-human’. 

In response, one Twitter user posted: ‘David Grusch is my hero. The man will go down in history as the spark that ignited the flame that burnt down the façade separating humanity from the truth of our origins.’

However, Sean Kirkpatrick, a laser and materials physicist, slammed Grusch’s claims about alleged secret programs that retrieve crashed UFOs and reverse engineer the technology as ‘insulting’. 

Biden leaves for New Delhi as polls raise questions about his 2024 run

By Nikki Schwab, Senior U.S. Political Reporrter In Charleston, South Carolina

Published: 08:13 EDT, 8 September 2023 | Updated: 08:13 EDT, 8 September 2023

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