
-
French creche worker gets 25 years for killing baby with drain cleaner
-
UK avoids worst US tariffs post-Brexit, but no celebrations
-
Canada imposing 25% tariff on some US auto imports
-
Ruud wants 'fair share' of Grand Slam revenue for players
-
Lesotho, Africa's 'kingdom in the sky' jolted by Trump
-
Trump's trade math baffles economists
-
Gaza heritage and destruction on display in Paris
-
'Unprecedented crisis' in Africa healthcare: report
-
Pogacar gunning for blood and thunder in Tour of Flanders
-
Macron calls for suspension of investment in US until tariffs clarified
-
Wall St leads rout as world reels from Trump tariffs
-
Mullins gets perfect National boost with remarkable four-timer
-
Trump tariffs hammer global stocks, dollar and oil
-
Authors hold London protest against Meta for 'stealing' work to train AI
-
Tate Modern gifted 'extraordinary' work by US artist Joan Mitchell
-
Mexico president welcomes being left off Trump's new tariffs list
-
Tonali eager to lead Newcastle back into Champions League
-
Lesotho hardest hit as new US tariffs rattle Africa
-
Stellantis pausing some Canada, Mexico production over Trump auto tariffs
-
Rising odds asteroid that briefly threatened Earth will hit Moon
-
Italy reels from Brignone broken leg with Winter Olympics looming
-
Is the Switch 2 worth the price? Reviews are mixed
-
Ancelotti’s tax trial wraps up in Spain with prosecutors seeking jail
-
Civilians act to bring aid to Myanmar earthquake victims
-
US trade gap narrows in February ahead of bulk of Trump tariffs
-
Stocks, dollar and oil sink as gold hits high on Trump tariffs
-
Countries eye trade talks as Trump tariff blitz roils markets
-
Arsenal defender Gabriel out for rest of the season
-
Trump says US to emerge 'stronger' as markets tumble over tariffs
-
Wiegman says Belgium games can aid England's women's Euros title defence
-
Prosecutors demand jail term for Ancelotti for tax fraud
-
Syria accuses Israel of deadly destabilisation campaign
-
Skiing World Cup champion Brignone suffers broken leg
-
Iconic Paris hotel Lutetia taken over by Mandarin Oriental
-
Nepal capital chokes as wildfires rage
-
AI could impact 40 percent of jobs worldwide: UN
-
'Shocking': US tariffs worse than feared for Vietnamese exporters
-
Liverpool's Slot happy to let Premier League title bid take its course
-
USA sole bidder for 2031 Women's World Cup, UK set to host in 2035
-
Tesla sales fall again in Germany amid Musk backlash
-
Italy's skiing champion Brignone air-lifted to hospital after crash
-
US trade partners eye talks after Trump tariff blitz
-
Evenepoel adds Tour de Romandie to comeback programme
-
Defending champion I Am Maximus heads final field for Grand National
-
Rubio says US committed to NATO - but tells allies to spend more
-
Dollar, stocks sink as gold hits high on Trump tariffs
-
India eyes opportunity despite Trump tariffs hit
-
UK show reveals tawdry tale of Shakespeare folio theft
-
Top Russian official in Washington for talks on improving ties
-
Sinner's former physio to blame for failed dope tests, says ex-physical trainer
RYCEF | 0.2% | 9.8 | $ | |
RBGPF | -0.41% | 67.72 | $ | |
CMSC | -0.81% | 22.32 | $ | |
SCS | -5.77% | 10.835 | $ | |
GSK | 2.88% | 38.755 | $ | |
AZN | 3.14% | 74.565 | $ | |
RIO | -1.72% | 58.89 | $ | |
BTI | 3.83% | 41.855 | $ | |
NGG | 5.09% | 69.31 | $ | |
CMSD | -1.01% | 22.602 | $ | |
RELX | 1.03% | 51.51 | $ | |
VOD | 2.51% | 9.355 | $ | |
JRI | -1.24% | 12.88 | $ | |
BCC | -6.85% | 95.53 | $ | |
BP | -7.57% | 31.43 | $ | |
BCE | 1.35% | 22.119 | $ |

Historic private astronaut mission ends with splashdown off Florida
The SpaceX Polaris Dawn mission, which made history when its crew conducted the first spacewalk by non-government astronauts, concluded early Sunday with a splashdown off the coast of Florida.
The Dragon spacecraft plunged into the ocean at 3:37 am (0737 GMT), a webcast of the arrival showed, with a recovery team deploying in the pre-dawn darkness to retrieve the capsule and crew.
The capsule was lifted from the water and onto the recovery vessel half a hour later.
After brief medical checks, a smiling and waving SpaceX engineer Anna Menon was the first of the crew to exit, followed by engineer Sarah Gillis, pilot Scott Poteet and commander Jared Isaacman. A helicopter was due to transport them to land.
"Happy, healthy, home," the Polaris Program wrote on X. "A new era of commercial spaceflight dawns, with much more to come."
The four-member team led by fintech billionaire Isaacman launched Tuesday from the Kennedy Space Center, quickly journeying deeper into the cosmos than any humans in the past half century as they ventured into the dangerous Van Allen radiation belt.
They hit a peak altitude of 870 miles (1,400 kilometers) -- more than three times higher than the International Space Station and the furthest humans had ever traveled from Earth since the Apollo missions to the Moon.
Then on Thursday, with their Dragon spacecraft's orbit brought down to 434 miles, Isaacman swung open the hatch and climbed out into the void, gripping a structure called "Skywalker" as a breathtaking view of Earth unfolded before him.
"SpaceX, back at home we all have a lot of work to do, but from here, Earth sure looks like a perfect world," he told mission control in Hawthorne, California, where teams erupted in applause.
He went back inside after a few minutes and was replaced by a second astronaut, SpaceX engineer Gillis, who, like Isaacman, performed a series of mobility tests on SpaceX's sleek, next-generation suits.
Since Dragon doesn't have an airlock, the entire crew were exposed to the vacuum of space. Mission pilot Poteet and SpaceX engineer Menon remained strapped in throughout as they monitored vital support systems.
It marked a "giant leap forward" for the commercial space industry, said NASA chief Bill Nelson, as well as another triumphant achievement for SpaceX.
Founded in 2002, the company has quickly outpaced its legacy competitors, now thriving as one of NASA's prime contractors -- thanks in large part to owner and CEO Elon Musk's fervent drive to colonize Mars.
- Rousing violin solo -
Since completing their extravehicular activity, the crew have continued to carry out roughly 40 science experiments -- for example inserting endoscopic cameras through their noses and into their throats to image their airways and better understand the impact of long-duration space missions on human health.
They also demonstrated connectivity with SpaceX's Starlink internet satellite constellation by sending back to ground control a high-resolution video of Gillis playing "Rey's Theme" by "Star Wars" composer John Williams, on the violin.
Polaris Dawn is the first of three missions under the Polaris program, a collaboration between Isaacman and SpaceX.
Financial terms of the partnership remain under wraps but Isaacman, the 41-year-old founder and CEO of Shift4 Payments, reportedly poured $200 million of his own money into leading the 2021 all-civilian SpaceX Inspiration4 orbital mission.
The final Polaris mission aims to be the first crewed flight of SpaceX's Starship, a prototype next-generation rocket that is key to Musk's interplanetary ambitions.
G.Schulte--BTB