Foreign News
India launches space mission to study black holes
India’s space agency has successfully launched a rocket that is carrying an observatory which will study astronomical objects like black holes.
It was launched from Sriharikota spaceport at 09:10 local time (03:40GMT) on Monday.
This is only the second mission in the world of this nature after Nasa launched one in 2021. The space agency said it wanted to help scientists improve their “knowledge of black holes”. “We will have an exciting time ahead,” Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) chairperson S Somanath said after the launch.
A black hole is a region of space where matter has collapsed in on itself. The gravitational pull is so strong that nothing, not even light, can escape.
Black holes emerge from the explosive demise of certain large stars, and some are truly huge – their size billions of times the mass of our Sun.
Isro’s satellite – X-ray Polarimeter Satellite (XPoSat) – will aim to conduct in-depth research on black holes.
Built at an approximate cost of 250m rupees ($30m; £23.5m), the XPoSat satellite is estimated to have a lifespan of five years.
The launch comes after a hugely successful year for Isro. In August, its Moon mission Chandrayaan-3 touched down near the lunar South Pole region, an area that no-one had reached before. Days later, it launched Aditya-L1 – its first observation mission to the Sun.
Monday’s launch is just one among several projects Isro has planned to carry out this year.
“2024 is going to be the year for Gaganyaan readiness,” Mr Somnath said, referring to the project which aims to send three astronauts into low-Earth orbit and bring them back after three days.
Isro carried out the first in a series of tests flights for the mission in October 2023 and aims to be ready for the manned mission by 2025.
(BBC)
The UK and South Korea have finalised a trade deal which the government says will create thousands of jobs and bring billions into the British economy.
British industries including pharmaceuticals, car manufacturing, alcohol and financial services are expected to benefit from an extension to the current tariff-free trade on most goods and services.
The deal is the fourth such agreement struck by the Labour government, following deals with the EU, US and India — none of which have had a material impact on the UK’s economy so far.
South Korean culture, including music, cosmetics and food, has become much more popular in the UK in recent years.
(BBC)
A son of film director Rob Reiner and Michele Singer Reiner has been arrested and booked on suspicion of murder after the couple were found dead in their Los Angeles home.
The Los Angeles Police Department said on Monday that Nick Reiner, 32, had been arrested and that he was in custody with no bail.
The deceased couple’s 28-year-old daughter, Romy, found her parents in their home with multiple stab wounds on Sunday, sources told the BBC’s US partner CBS News.
Rob Reiner is known for directing several iconic films in a variety of genres, including When Harry Met Sally, This is Spinal Tap, Stand By Me, Misery and A Few Good Men.
Emergency services were called to provide medical aid at the Reiners’ Brentwood, California, home at around 15:38 local time (23:38 GMT) on Sunday.
The Los Angeles Fire Department said two people – later identified as Rob Reiner, 78, and his wife Michele, 68 – were pronounced dead at the scene.
Police said Nick Reiner was arrested several hours later, at about 21:15 local time on Sunday. Investigators have not publicly outlined a motive and said the investigation remains ongoing.
(BBC
Angry fans attending Lionel Messi’s tour of India ripped up seats and threw items towards the pitch after his appearance at Kolkata’s Salt Lake Stadium.
Thousands of adoring supporters had paid up to 12,000 rupees (£100; $133) to catch a glimpse of the football star, but were left disappointed when he emerged to walk around the pitch and was obscured by a large group of officials and celebrities.
When the Argentina and Inter Miami forward was whisked away early by security after around 20 minutes, elements of the crowd turned hostile.
West Bengal’s chief minister, Mamata Banerjee, said she was “deeply disturbed and shocked” by the events.
Announcing an enquiry, Banerjee apologised to Messi and “sports lovers” for the incident at the stadium.
“The enquiry committee will conduct a detailed enquiry into the incident, fix responsibility, and recommend measures to prevent such occurrences in the future,” the chief minister said on X.
A spokesperson for Messi said that he fulfilled the time commitment that had been agreed in advance. In terms of the organisation of the event itself, he referred the BBC to the apology issued by Banerjee on social media.
A police official told reporters that the event’s “chief organiser” had been arrested, without giving any further details, AFP reports.
Authorities will look into how organisers could refund money to those who bought tickets, the official added.
The All India Football Federation (AIFF) said it was not involved in the “private event”.
Messi is in India for his ‘GOAT [greatest of all time] tour’, a series of promotional events in Kolkata, Hyderabad, Mumbai and Delhi.
His tour began with the unveiling of a 70ft [21m] statue of himself in Kolkata, which had been assembled over the course of 27 days by a 45-strong crew. Messi appeared virtually due to security concerns.
Thousands of fans travelled to the city’s stadium for a chance to see the footballer in person.
They were chanting, buying jerseys and wearing “I love Messi” headbands.
Messi initially walked out at the stadium waving to fans, but after his appearance was abruptly ended on Saturday, some frustrated fans stormed the pitch and vandalised banners and tents, as others hurled plastic chairs and water bottles.
The 2022 World Cup winner – consdered one of football’s greatest ever players – had been expected to play a short exhibition game at the stadium, the AFP news agency reports.
“Only leaders and actors were surrounding Messi… Why did they call us then? We have got a ticket for 12,000 rupees, but we were not even able to see his face,” a fan at the stadium told Indian news agency ANI.
One angry fan told the Press Trust of India news agency people had paid the equivalent of a month’s salary to see the eight-time Ballon d’Or winner.
“I paid Rs 5,000 for the ticket and came with my son to watch Messi, not politicians,” they said.
“The police and military personnel were taking selfies, and the management is to blame.”
Messi was accompanied on his brief visit by his Inter Miami teammate and Uruguay star Luis Suarez, and Argentina’s Rodrigo de Paul.
Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan also met Messi earlier in the day, according to the Reuters news agency.
Kolkata is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal and has a large football fanbase in an otherwise cricket-crazed country.
In the city, it is common to see hundreds of thousands of fans gather at stadiums at a derby of local clubs.
In the early hours of Saturday, thousands lined the roads and congregated outside the hotel where Messi was staying to try and catch a glimpse of him.
Hitesh, a 24-year-old corporate lawyer, flew nearly 1,900 kilometres from the south Indian city of Bengaluru.
“For me it’s personal. You can see I am quite short, and I love to play football with my friends,” Hitesh told the BBC, standing in front of the statue.
“Messi is the player I related with the most, no one can match his talent. He gives me hope that with talent you can do anything.”
[BBC]
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