British police assisted in capturing a submarine transporting 6.5 tonnes of cocaine to Europe, marking one of the largest drug busts of its kind.

The vessel had departed from Brazil when it was captured by Portuguese police in the Atlantic Ocean, 500 nautical miles south of the Azores Islands.

Five crew members from Brazil, Colombia, and Spain were arrested and transferred to the Portuguese island of São Miguel.

Officials stated that the submarine contained £530 million worth of cocaine.

A Portuguese newspaper reported that it was one of the largest semi-submersibles ever built to transport the drug from South America to Europe.

“The traffickers planned to collect the drugs near the coast using high-speed vessels and smuggle them ashore,” stated Spain’s Guardia Civil.

Spanish authorities, who alerted the Portuguese, noted it was the first time a drug-running semi-submersible had been intercepted in the open sea.

“The transatlantic movement of semi-submersibles is increasingly frequent, with several cases in recent years,” Spain’s Guardia Civil said.

“These types of vessels are difficult to detect and often carry a large amount of cocaine… the crew can easily sink them if caught, making it more difficult to recover the drugs as evidence of the crime.”

Europe is the largest cocaine market after the US, with hundreds of homemade submarines being launched to the continent since the practice began two decades ago.

In 2019, the discovery of a submarine carrying 3.3 tonnes of cocaine off the coast of Spain was described by police as the first “narco-submarine” to be intercepted in Europe.

The latest bust, dubbed Operation Nautilus, also involved the Portuguese Air Force, the UK’s National Crime Agency, the US Drug Enforcement Administration and the Lisbon-based Maritime Analysis and Operations Centre, of which Britain is a part.

Cocaine was one of the first effective local anaesthetics, and ophthalmology (eye surgery and treatment) was one of the first medical fields to adopt it widely.

Cocaine in Eye Treatments

• In the 1880s, doctors discovered that cocaine could numb the surface of the eye without affecting its function — a huge breakthrough.

• In 1884, Viennese ophthalmologist Karl Koller famously used a cocaine solution to perform eye surgery without general anaesthesia.

• This allowed for precise operations and was much safer than previous methods, often involving ether, chloroform, or nothing.

• Cocaine became standard in eye surgeries for a time — not just to numb the eye, but to reduce bleeding and irritation.

Sigmund Freud (yes, that Freud) was a big proponent of cocaine’s medical uses, including for mood elevation and nerve disorders. But Karl Koller, Freud’s colleague, applied it to ophthalmology and changed surgery forever.

Eventually, due to addiction issues and the development of safer alternatives (like procaine, aka Novocaine), cocaine fell out of favor medically — but its role in eye care was a significant part of its early reputation as a “miracle drug.”

Want to see what other weird things doctors used before modern anaesthetics?

The 2023 Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) assessed fourth—and eighth-graders' mathematics and science proficiency across 70 education systems worldwide. The results, released on December 4, 2024, reveal significant insights into global educational standings.

Top Performers:

• Singapore: Consistently leading in education, Singapore's students achieved the highest scores in both mathematics and science at the fourth and eighth-grade levels.This marks the third consecutive TIMSS cycle where Singapore has topped all categories.

• East Asian Regions: Following Singapore, regions such as Taiwan, South Korea, Hong Kong, and Japan also demonstrated strong performances, particularly in mathematics. For instance, 92% of Japanese eighth-graders reached proficiency in United States:

American students experienced a decline in mathematics scores, with eighth graders ranking 24th out of 45 education systems. This downturn is partly attributed to extended school closures during the COVID-19 pandemic, which disrupted learning more severely in the U.S. compared to countries with shorter closures.

Australia:

Australian fourth graders achieved their highest mathematics scores since TIMSS began, with 72% meeting the proficiency standard. However, 9% of these students still needed help with basic calculations. In science, Australian students performed slightly better than peers from the U.S. and other countries.

Spain:

Spanish students showed a decline in mathematics and science, with a notable widening of the gender gap in math performance. Regions like Castilla y León and Asturias led in these subjects, while the Canary Islands and the Balearic Islands lagged.

United Kingdom (England):

In England, fourth-grade students maintained high mathematics scores and improved in science, ranking ninth and fifth, respectively. Eighth graders also showed significant improvements, placing sixth in mathematics and fifth in science.

Key Observations:

• Impact of COVID-19: The pandemic's disruption had varied effects globally. Countries with prolonged school closures, like the U.S., faced sharper declines in performance. In contrast, nations with shorter disruptions managed to maintain or improve their standings.

• Gender Disparities: Some countries, including Spain, reported an increasing gender gap in mathematics achievement, with boys outperforming girls.

• Regional Variations: Significant disparities were observed among different regions within countries, highlighting the influence of local educational policies and resources.

After Christopher Columbus’s four voyages to the New World, his life was marked by a decline in fortune and prestige. Despite the early excitement over his discoveries, Columbus faced mounting difficulties, particularly during his governorship of Hispaniola, where his harsh rule sparked rebellion among colonists and indigenous populations. Reports of mismanagement and cruelty led the Spanish Crown to strip him of his governorship, and in 1500, Columbus was arrested and returned to Spain in chains.

Upon returning to Spain, Columbus appealed to King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella, who ordered his release but refused to restore his titles of Admiral of the Ocean Sea and Viceroy of the Indies. However, they allowed him to make a fourth voyage in 1502, hoping to find a westward passage to the Indian Ocean. This final voyage, embarked upon with determination, was marred by numerous difficulties, including shipwrecks, hostile encounters with Indigenous groups, and a long period of being stranded in Jamaica. Despite these hardships, Columbus persevered, failed to discover a passage, and returned to Spain in 1504, where his health and status severely diminished.

Columbus spent his remaining years in Valladolid, Spain, lobbying the Spanish court to restore his privileges and the wealth promised to him under his original contracts. He faced ongoing financial difficulties, as much of the wealth generated by his discoveries went to others or the Crown. Gout and other illnesses afflicted him, and he died on May 20, 1506, at the age of 54. The public largely forgot Columbus at his death, and he never fully regained the wealth or recognition he sought.