SpaceX catches Starship booster again, but upper stage explodes
WASHINGTON — Hours after Jeff Bezos’s Blue Origin nailed its first-ever orbital mission, SpaceX seized back the spotlight on Thursday as its latest test of Starship, its gargantuan next-generation mega rocket, ended with the upper stage dramatically disintegrating over the…
Chinese economic growth among slowest in decades
BEIJING — China recorded one of its slowest rates of economic growth in decades last year, data showed Friday, as leaders nervously eye a potential trade standoff with incoming U.S. President-elect Donald Trump. Beijing has in recent months announced its…
Trump team might step in to save TikTok from US ban after high court upholds law
With a law declaring the social media application TikTok illegal in the United States, set to take effect on Sunday, the incoming administration of U.S. President-elect Donald Trump is signaling that it plans to try to find a way to…
US CDC recommends faster testing for bird flu in hospitalized patients
People hospitalized for flu should be tested for bird flu within 24 hours, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said on Thursday, in an expansion of the agency’s efforts to tackle increasing infections in humans. The advisory is…
UN appeals for $3.2 billion to support 8.2 million Ukrainian war victims
GENEVA — The United Nations is appealing for $3.2 billion to provide humanitarian assistance for 8.2 million Ukrainians whose lives have been upended by Russia’s invasion of their country nearly three years ago. “This has been a period of huge…
WHO appeals for $1.5 billion to tackle ‘unprecedented’ global health crisis
GENEVA — The World Health Organization appealed Thursday for $1.5 billion for emergency operations this year, warning that conflict, climate change, epidemics and displacement had converged to create an “unprecedented global health crisis.” The U.N. health agency estimated that health…
Who will drive Trump’s AI and crypto policies?
U.S. President-elect Donald Trump says he wants the United States to be the world leader in artificial intelligence and crypto currency. To that end, he has tapped a Silicon Valley entrepreneur and investor to be the AI and crypto czar….
Families mourn Ukrainian women killed in action since Russia’s invasion
Thousands of Ukrainian soldiers have died fighting since Russia invaded the country in February 2022, and some of them have been women. Tetiana Kukurika met with two families who lost loved ones in the war. Anna Rice narrates her story….
Bezos’ Blue Origin reaches orbit in first New Glenn launch, misses booster landing
CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida — Blue Origin’s giant New Glenn rocket blasted off from Florida early Thursday morning on its first mission to space, an inaugural step into Earth’s orbit for Jeff Bezos’ space company as it aims to rival SpaceX…
‘Enough death and destruction’: Gazans hope for ceasefire and a better future
Around 90 per cent of the population across the Gaza Strip have been displaced from their homes, forced to move to avoid Israeli military operations. Many have been displaced repeatedly, some 10 times or more. Much of Gaza is rubble, while Israeli airstrikes…