Author: Disha Mishra

A SpaceX Starship rocket broke up in space minutes after launching from Texas on Thursday, forcing airline flights over the Gulf of Mexico to alter course to avoid falling debris and setting back Elon Musk’s flagship rocket program. SpaceX mission control lost contact with the newly upgraded Starship, carrying its first test payload of mock satellites but no crew, eight minutes after liftoff from its South Texas rocket facilities at 5:38 p.m. EST (2238 GMT). Video shot by Reuters showed orange balls of light streaking across the sky over the Haitian capital of Port-au-Prince, leaving trails of smoke behind. “We…

The leader of Yemen’s Houthis said on Thursday that the Iran-aligned group would monitor the implementation of a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas aimed at ending the war in Gaza and continue its attacks on vessels or Israel if it is breached. The Houthi militia, which has targeted ships using ballistic missiles and drones in waters near Yemen’s shores to show their solidarity with the Palestinians, had long said they would cease these operations if the 15-month conflict ended. The ceasefire is expected to take hold on Sunday. “We will continue to monitor developments in Palestine during the three…

President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for Treasury secretary, Scott Bessent, said on Thursday that the dollar should remain the world’s reserve currency, the Federal Reserve should stay independent and that he is ready to impose tougher sanctions on Russia’s oil sector. Bessent, testifying at a Senate Finance Committee confirmation hearing, underscored an urgent need to extend Trump’s 2017 individual tax cuts, saying that allowing them to expire at the end of this year would unleash a $4 trillion tax hike that could crush the U.S. economy. “If we do not renew and extend, then we will be facing an economic calamity,”…

Los Angeles officials told most evacuees from the wildfires on Thursday to stay away from their homes at least another week as emergency responders remove toxic waste from incinerated neighborhoods and cut off electricity and gas lines posing a hazard amid the ruins. Landslides further endangered the devastated hillsides, where leveled structures no longer hold earth in place and water from fire hoses and broken pipes has saturated the ground, adding more stress and heartache to people suffering the worst natural disaster in Los Angeles history. With wildfires burning for a 10th day, firefighters expressed relief over withstanding recent red…

The Israeli cabinet will meet to give final approval to a deal with Palestinian militant group Hamas for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and release of hostages, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said on Friday. In Gaza itself, Israeli warplanes kept up intense strikes, and Palestinian authorities said late on Thursday that at least 86 people were killed in the day after the truce was unveiled. With longstanding divisions apparent among ministers, Israel delayed meetings expected on Thursday when the cabinet was expected to vote on the pact, blaming Hamas for the hold-up. But in the early hours of…

Blanca Figueroa and Severiano Martinez have known from the start of their eight-year marriage that she was at risk of deportation because she entered the United States illegally. Now – with President-elect Donald Trump expected to issue a flurry of executive orders aimed at speeding the deportation process on the day he takes office on Jan. 20 – that risk has become an overwhelming source of anxiety and discussion in their central Florida home. Figueroa, who is from Guatemala, and Martinez, who is a U.S. citizen, live with their seven-year-old son who was born in the U.S., and a teenage…

Brazil’s Supreme Court on Thursday rejected former President Jair Bolsonaro’s request to have his passport returned so he could travel to the United States to attend President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration, a decision seen by Reuters showed. Bolsonaro, who has been barred from running for office until 2030 and faces criminal charges for allegedly plotting a coup after his 2022 election defeat, had his passport retained in February 2024 on the order of Brazil’s top court. The former president denies any wrongdoing. His lawyers did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Right-wing Bolsonaro, who governed from 2019 to 2022…

South Korea’s arrested President Yoon Suk Yeol did not attend a second day of questioning by investigators on Thursday, further stonewalling a criminal probe into whether he committed insurrection with his bid to impose martial law. Yoon on Wednesday became the first sitting South Korean president to be arrested and was held at the Seoul Detention Centre after refusing to cooperate. He remained in the centre on Thursday, with his lawyer citing his health as a factor for his absence from the questioning. The investigators did not elaborate on why they did not compel him to attend. Authorities have 48…

U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s incoming national security adviser said on Thursday the new administration will keep TikTok alive in the United States if there is a viable deal. “We will put measures in place to keep TikTok from going dark,” Representative Mike Waltz told Fox News, noting the law gives authority for a 90-day extension for the app’s Chinese owner ByteDance to complete a divestiture “as long as a viable deal is on the table. Essentially that buys President Trump time to keep TikTok going.” TikTok did not immediately comment. A spokesperson for the Trump transition, Karoline Leavitt, said “President…

India became the world’s fourth nation on Thursday to achieve the feat of space docking, a technological milestone that underscores its ambitions to expand its share of a rapidly growing $400-billion global space market. Target and Chaser, two satellites of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) that are each roughly the size of a large refrigerator, successfully latched onto each other at about 9 a.m. (0330 GMT), an agency spokesperson said. The indigenous technology, crucial for satellite servicing, space station operations, and interplanetary missions, positions India for a key role in commercial and exploratory space efforts. “India has ambitious missions…