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Blinken says Palestinians displaced in Gaza must be able to return home

Around The Globe - Sun, 01/07/2024 - 22:00
In Doha, the top US diplomat rejected Israeli officials' comments calling for mass displacement of Gaza residents.

UEFA set to ‘lose power’ but will football’s Super League take off?

Around The Globe - Sun, 01/07/2024 - 20:44
Will the league overcome its own challenges and successfully launch after a court ruling questioning UEFA's powers?

What’s behind Antony Blinken’s latest visit to the Middle East?

Around The Globe - Sun, 01/07/2024 - 19:45
US secretary of state has made at least five trips to the region since war on Gaza began.

Maldives suspends three officials for insulting Indian PM Modi

Around The Globe - Sun, 01/07/2024 - 18:56
Three deputy ministers were disciplined over social media posts about India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Week in pictures: Iowa shooting to Bangladesh elections

Around The Globe - Sun, 01/07/2024 - 16:43
From a US high school shooting to rescue operations after an earthquake in Japan, here is the week in photos.

Fighting for Space: The Low Earth Satellite Race

Around The Globe - Sun, 01/07/2024 - 16:30
People & Power investigates the new satellite space race and its implications for the future.

Fire at Rohingya refugee camp leaves thousands homeless again

Around The Globe - Sun, 01/07/2024 - 16:00
Around 7,000 Rohingya refugees have been made homeless again after a fire in Bangladesh's Cox's Bazar camp.

Jordan’s King Abdullah II presses Blinken to push for a ceasefire in Gaza

Around The Globe - Sun, 01/07/2024 - 15:56
The top US diplomat is travelling across the Middle East amid growing calls for a ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war.

India’s First Solar Observatory Reaches Destination 

Technology - Sun, 01/07/2024 - 15:54
New Delhi — India has achieved another milestone in space exploration by successfully placing a spacecraft in an orbit from which it will study the sun for five years. India joined a select group of nations already studying the sun four months after it became the first country to land an unmanned spacecraft on the moon's southern polar region, cementing its reputation as a nation that is emerging on the frontlines of space exploration. The Indian Space Research Organization said that the space observatory, Aditya L-1, reached the position from which it can monitor the sun’s outer layer and send data back to Earth on Saturday. The spacecraft, which was launched September 2, took four months to reach its destination. "The orbit of Aditya-L1 spacecraft is a periodic Halo orbit which is located roughly 1.5 million km [kilometers] from earth," according to an ISRO statement. Aditya-L1 is named after the Hindu god of the sun, called Aditya in Sanskrit. "L1" refers to Lagrange point 1, the location in space between the sun and Earth, where the satellite has been parked. "This demonstrates India’s capability to travel over a million kilometers away from the Earth’s orbit. It is a capability that very few countries have and India is the first in Asia to do so," according to Chaitanya Giri, associate professor of environmental sciences at Flame University in Pune. "The ability to maintain deep space communication with a spacecraft that has traveled so far and sustain a mission for a long period is also significant." The Indian mission is scheduled to study the sun for five years. The "Lagrange 1" point, where the spacecraft has been positioned provides an uninterrupted view of the sun, even during eclipses. The major focus of the mission is to gain a better understanding of space weather, variations in the environment in space between the Earth and the sun, which is crucial for protecting satellites and other spacecraft, according to space scientists. "It is vital to understand space weather at a time when there are thousands of satellites in space," Ajay Lele, space scientist and former senior fellow at the Manohar Parrikar Institute of Defense Studies and Analyses in New Delhi, said. "Space weather is about disturbances that happen on the sun such as solar winds, solar flares and coronal mass ejections. These three components need to be studied," he said. Aditya-L1 is expected to be able to give warnings about space storms that can have an impact on Earth, occasionally affecting the operation of satellites and radio communications. The spacecraft is equipped with seven scientific instruments to study solar wind particles and magnetic fields. Solar observatory missions have been launched so far by the U.S. space agency NASA, the European space agency, Japan and China. India’s space program, which began in the 1960s, has gained prominence under Prime Minister Narendra Modi — it is seen as part of his efforts to promote India’s global stature. "India creates yet another landmark. It is a testament to the relentless dedication of our scientists in realizing among the most complex and intricate space missions," Modi said in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, on Saturday. Other major missions planned by the Indian space agency include a manned mission to space that is due to be launched this year and an interplanetary mission to Mars. Besides scientific space explorations such as these, India is also looking to enhance its military capabilities in space, according to experts. The first signal that it is giving a military profile to its space program came in 2019 when it conducted an anti-satellite weapon test to demonstrate that it could shoot down satellites in space — a capability that only the United States, China and Russia have. India has plans to develop 50 new satellites based on artificial intelligence technology in the next five years to beef up the country’s border surveillance and enhance its "geo-intelligence" capabilities, Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) chairman S. Somanath said last month. Enhancing surveillance capabilities from space from a military perspective is key for India, according to experts. Its concerns center both on its Himalayan borders with China, where disputed borders between the two have sparked military tensions, and on the Indian Ocean region, where China has been increasing its influence.

Bangladesh holds election to keep PM Sheikh Hasina in power

Around The Globe - Sun, 01/07/2024 - 15:08
Counting under way in polls held to pave way for PM Sheikh Hasina and her Awami League to seize fourth consecutive term.

Airlines ground Boeing 737 MAX planes after mid-air blowout

Around The Globe - Sun, 01/07/2024 - 14:54
Airlines are conducting safety checks on their Boeing 737 MAX planes after a door panel ripped off an Alaska flight.

‘We fled oppression, not our home’: Albania to Australia and back again

Around The Globe - Sun, 01/07/2024 - 14:54
As Albanians continue to flock to the West, causing a ‘brain drain’, one family recounts a hair-raising tale of escape.

Hamza, son of Al Jazeera’s Wael Dahdouh, killed in Israeli attack in Gaza

Around The Globe - Sun, 01/07/2024 - 14:18
An Israeli attack targeted the car he was travelling in with two other journalists.

Childcare costs: Parents share struggles of 'broken' system

Education - Sun, 01/07/2024 - 14:07
An MP says parents find childcare costs so high that they liken it to a second mortgage.

North Korea threatens Seoul as tension builds over military drills

Around The Globe - Sun, 01/07/2024 - 13:43
Pyongyang conducts live-fire drills close to its coast for the third time in a row as it threatens Seoul.

Bangladesh counts votes in low-turnout election boycotted by opposition

Around The Globe - Sun, 01/07/2024 - 13:27
Initial signs suggest a low turnout in controversial poll guaranteed to give a fourth straight term to PM Sheikh Hasina.

Orthodox Christians attend midnight Christmas mass in Bethlehem

Around The Globe - Sun, 01/07/2024 - 13:22
Palestinian Christians held a solemn midnight mass to mark Orthodox Christmas in Bethlehem's Church of the Nativity.

What happened to Alaska Airlines’s Boeing 737 Max 9 whose door blew off?

Around The Globe - Sun, 01/07/2024 - 13:08
An order by US officials to ground 737 Max 9s for inspection will affect 171 aircraft worldwide.

Blaze at Bangladesh refugee camp leaves thousands of Rohingya homeless

Around The Globe - Sun, 01/07/2024 - 12:51
Hundreds of shelters at the refugee camp in southeastern Bangladesh were gutted with arson suspected.

Israel signals bombardment of northern Gaza set to end

Around The Globe - Sun, 01/07/2024 - 12:51
The Israeli military has 'dismantled' Hamas in the north, but suggests the onslaught will continue in the rest of Gaza.

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