CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida: A SpaceX rocket has failed for the first time in nearly a decade, leaving the company’s Internet satellites in an orbit so low that they’re doomed to fall through the atmosphere and burn up.
The Falcon 9 rocket blasted off from California on Thursday night, carrying 20 Starlink satellites. Several minutes into the flight, the upper stage engine malfunctioned. SpaceX on Friday blamed a liquid oxygen leak.
The company said flight controllers managed to make contact with half of the satellites and attempted to boost them to a higher orbit using onboard ion thrusters. But with the low end of their orbit only 84 miles (135 kilometers) above Earth — less than half what was intended — “our maximum available thrust is unlikely to be enough to successfully raise the satellites,” the company said via X.
SpaceX said the satellites will reenter the atmosphere and burn up. There was no mention of when they might come down. More than 6,000 orbiting Starlinks currently provide Internet service to customers in some of the most remote corners of the world.
The Federal Aviation Administration said the problem must be fixed before Falcon rockets can fly again.
It was not known if or how the accident might impact SpaceX’s upcoming crew flights. A billionaire’s spaceflight is scheduled for July 31 from Florida with plans for the first private spacewalk, followed in mid-August by an astronaut flight to the International Space Station for NASA.
The tech entrepreneur who will lead the private flight, Jared Isaacman, said Friday that SpaceX’s Falcon 9 has “an incredible track record” and as well as an emergency escape system.
The last launch failure occurred in 2015 during a space station cargo run. Another rocket exploded the following year during testing on the ground.
SpaceX’s Elon Musk said the high flight rate will make it easier to identify and correct the problem.
SpaceX rocket accident leaves company’s Starlink satellites in wrong orbit
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SpaceX rocket accident leaves company’s Starlink satellites in wrong orbit
- An upper stage engine malfunctioned minutes after the Falcon 9 rocket blasted off from California on Thursday night, carrying 20 Starlink satellites
- More than 6,000 orbiting Starlinks currently provide Internet service to customers in some of the most remote corners of the world
Malema, the radical politician in Trump’s South Africa video
- In a tense Oval Office meeting, Ramaphosa and his delegation distanced themselves from Malema’s rhetoric
- Malema mocked the meeting at the White House on social media as ‘A group of older men meet in Washington to gossip about me’
JOHANNESBURG: A video projected by US President Donald Trump to support false claims of “persecution” of white South Africans prominently featured Julius Malema, a firebrand politician known for his radical rhetoric.
Trump ambushed President Cyril Ramaphosa with the 4:30-minute video shown in the Oval Office on Wednesday during talks at which South Africa wanted to salvage bilateral ties and push back on baseless claims from the United States about a “white genocide.”
Malema was the main character, seen in several clips wearing the red beret of his populist, marxist-inspired Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) party and chanting calls to “cut the throat of whiteness” as well as a controversial anti-apartheid song “Kill the Boer, kill the farmer.”
Trump falsely said he was a government official, insinuating his inflammatory slogans reflected an official policy against South Africa’s white minority.
But Malema, 33, is an opposition politician, leader of the anti-capitalist and anti-US EFF that he founded in 2013 after being thrown out of the youth league of the ruling African National Congress (ANC), where he was accused of fomenting divisions.
He portrays himself as the defender of society’s most disadvantaged and has attracted largely young supporters angry at the large social inequalities that exist in South Africa 30 years after the end of apartheid.
Renowned for its theatrics, his party gained prominence advocating radical reforms including land redistribution and nationalizing key economic sectors.
But the party only came fourth in last year’s elections, with 9.5 percent of the vote, and it has lost popularity since, with several of its top brass leaving to join a new party of former president Jacob Zuma, uMkhonto weSizwe (MK).
In the tense Oval Office meeting, Ramaphosa and his delegation distanced themselves from Malema’s rhetoric.
Agriculture Minister John Steenhuisen, a member of the center-right Democratic Alliance, told Trump he joined Ramaphosa’s multiparty coalition “precisely to keep these people out of power.”
“I’m the biggest target of that rabble-rouser,” businessman Johann Rupert told Trump.
The decades-old “Kill the Boer” rallying cry was born during the struggle against the brutal policies of white-minority rule, and its use since the end of apartheid in 1994 infuriates parties that represent white South Africans, with many attempting to get it banned.
A ban in 2010 was lifted after courts said it does not constitute hate speech and instead should be regarded in its historical context, and for the fact that it was being used by Malema only as a “provocative means of advancing his party’s political agenda.”
“But why wouldn’t you arrest that man?” Trump asked Ramaphosa Wednesday.
“In a Constitutional democracy... a person cannot be arrested when what they are doing is explicitly permitted in law,” political scientist Sandile Swana told AFP.
Although controversial, the vocal Malema was exerting the “fundamental rights of freedom of expression,” he said.
In the context of the anti-apartheid struggle, “Kill the Boer” had “nothing to do with the killing of a specific white man, but with the killing of the system of apartheid,” he said.
Malema mocked the meeting at the White House on social media as “A group of older men meet in Washington to gossip about me.”
The party later accused Ramaphosa of “betraying the struggle for land and dignity.”
“Surrounded by elites like Johann Rupert and John Steenhuisen, Ramaphosa denounced a liberation song upheld by South Africa’s highest courts and failed to defend the nation against the false narrative of white genocide,” it said.
German finance minister optimistic that G7 can agree joint communique on Ukraine support
- “I am very positive that we will also reach a joint communique,” Klingbeil said
- If Russia is not prepared to enter into serious negotiations with Ukraine, “we will consider further sanctions“
BANFF, Canada: German Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil on Thursday said he was optimistic that the Group of Seven advanced economies could agree a joint communique showing support for Ukraine, amid a rift between the US and the rest of the G7 on the issue.
Sources earlier said it was unclear whether the delegations at G7 finance ministers’ consultations in Canada could agree on joint language, with one European source saying that US officials wanted to delete language describing Russia’s invasion of Ukraine as “illegal.”
“I am very positive that we will also reach a joint communique,” Klingbeil said at a press conference in Banff, adding that if Russia is not prepared to enter into serious negotiations with Ukraine, “we will consider further sanctions.”
The EU and Britain this week announced new sanctions against Russia without waiting for Washington to join them, a day after President Donald Trump’s phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin brought about neither a ceasefire in Ukraine nor fresh US sanctions.
European leaders have been lobbying intensely for the Trump administration to join them in imposing new sanctions if Russia rejected a ceasefire.
Klingbeil said that G7 finance ministers and their Ukrainian counterpart had concluded in a meeting that the conflict was “a brutal war” initiated by Russian President Vladimir Putin and that support for Ukraine continued unabated.
“I am optimistic that in the end such formulations will also be included in the communique, but please wait for the exact wording, as I want to leave that to the Canadian presidency this afternoon,” he said.
TRADE SOLUTIONS
Klingbeil earlier on Wednesday met United States Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent for a bilateral conversation and the two agreed to meet again in Washington.
“We have always discussed forward, how we can take steps together to find solutions,” Klingbeil said about the meeting, adding that Bessent’s invitation was a good sign.
Klingbeil warned, however, that if no agreement can be found with the United States on tariffs, “then we can expect turbulence on the markets again very quickly.”
The Trump administration has imposed a 25 percent tariff on US imports of steel, aluminum and cars, as well as a baseline 10 percent tariff on almost all countries, with additional “reciprocal” tariffs — making for a combined 20 percent in the EU’s case — lined up if negotiations during a 90-day pause fail.
France condemns Israeli minister’s accusations of inciting hatred
- “These are completely outrageous and completely unjustified remarks,” foreign ministry spokesman Christophe Lemoine said
PARIS: France on Thursday dismissed claims by Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar that European governments were inciting hatred against his country.
“These are completely outrageous and completely unjustified remarks,” foreign ministry spokesman Christophe Lemoine said.
“France has condemned, France condemns and France will continue to condemn, always and unequivocally, any act of anti-Semitism.”
In Washington on Wednesday, two Israeli embassy staffers were shot dead outside a Jewish museum by a gunman who shouted “free Palestine” as he was arrested.
US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu led global condemnation of the attack, each of them blaming anti-Semitism.
Israel’s foreign minister said: “There is a direct line connecting anti-Semitic and anti-Israeli incitement to this murder.”
He added: “This incitement is also done by leaders and officials of many countries and international organizations, especially from Europe.”
Tensions have risen in recent days between Israel and European governments over Israel’s military offensive in Gaza and the plight of civilians in the territory.
Speaking in the southern French city of Nice, Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot reiterated that France had condemned the killing as “a horrific attack targeting Israeli diplomats.”
He said he had sent a message to his Israeli counterpart “to tell him how saddened I was by what had happened, how much I was thinking of the families of these diplomats but also of all their colleagues at the Israeli foreign ministry.”
“This blind violence is obviously unjustifiable,” he added.
“We deplore an explosion of anti-Semitic acts that we have seen on our territory in recent years, but we are fighting this explosion with the utmost determination,” he said.
France’s Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau told police earlier Thursday to “step up surveillance at sites linked to the Jewish community.”
On Monday, the leaders of Britain, France and Canada condemned Israel’s “egregious actions” in Gaza and warned of joint action if it did not halt a heightened military offensive on the Palestinian territory.
Last week France’s President Emmanuel Macron accused Netanyahu of “unacceptable” behavior in holding up aid to the Palestinians in Gaza, where Israel is fighting to crush the militant group Hamas.
Netanyahu accused Macron of siding with a “murderous Islamist terrorist organization.”
Suspected Houthi fighter arrested in Germany
- The man, partially named as Hussein H., was detained by police in the southern town of Dachau
- Prosecutors said the man had briefly fought for the militia in clashes in Yemen’s central Marib province in 2023
BERLIN: A Yemeni man suspected of having fought with the country’s Iran-backed Houthis was arrested in Germany on Thursday, prosecutors said.
The man, partially named as Hussein H., was detained by police in the southern town of Dachau, the federal prosecutor’s office said in a statement.
He is suspected of “being a member of a terrorist organization” after allegedly joining the Houthis in October 2022.
Prosecutors said the man, after receiving ideological and military training, had briefly fought for the militia in clashes in Yemen’s central Marib province in early 2023.
The Houthis have imposed strict rule over the large swathe of Yemen under their control, covering two-thirds of the population.
Since the Gaza war broke out after the Hamas attack of October 2023, the Houthis have regularly fired missiles and drones at maritime traffic and at Israel in what they say are acts of solidarity with Palestinians.
The militia warned Monday they would impose a “naval blockade” on the Israeli port of Haifa after the country’s military intensified its offensive in Gaza.
How CPEC expansion can transform Afghanistan’s economy
- Chinese, Pakistani and Afghan foreign ministers held a trilateral meeting in Beijing
- Afghanistan is believed to have vast reserves of lithium and other critical minerals
KABUL: The entry of Beijing’s multi-billion-dollar China-Pakistan Economic Corridor into Afghanistan is expected to boost its ailing economy and regional standing, experts say, following the announcement of expansion plans.
The Chinese, Pakistani and Afghan foreign ministers reached an agreement during a trilateral meeting in Beijing on Wednesday to broaden the flagship part of China’s global infrastructure and investment strategy.
The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the expansion of CPEC aimed to “deepen” cooperation under the Belt and Road Initiative — a network of massive road, energy, port and industrial projects launched in 2013 to connect China to the rest of Asia, Europe and Africa.
For Afghanistan, the mega project offers an “important opportunity” to boost its political and economic ties not only with China and Pakistan, but also with the neighboring Central Asian republics, Amin Stanikzai, an economist and lecturer at the Rokhan Institute of Higher Education in Nangarhar, told Arab News.
“It can serve as the intersection of China, Pakistan, Afghanistan, as well as South and Central Asia, therefore, it benefits Afghanistan ... Afghanistan is optimistic about the CPEC project partly because regional connectivity is in Afghanistan’s interest as it is a landlocked country with no access to the sea.”
Since the Taliban took over Afghanistan in 2021, its economy has been reeling under Western sanctions and unemployment has more than doubled.
“If managed well, the project can contribute to the overall stability and development in the region, in addition to improving connectivity and Afghanistan’s access to regional and international markets,” Stanikzai said.
Chinese projects could offer a significant respite to Afghanistan’s economic woes and help develop its potential.
Afghanistan is believed to have vast untapped reserves of lithium, rare earths and other critical minerals, which are key resources in the EV battery and green tech industries.
The potential value of Afghanistan’s lithium and rare earth elements has been estimated by the US Geological Survey and the US Department of Defense to range between $1 trillion and $3 trillion.
It has also some of the world’s largest untapped copper deposits. China Metallurgical Group Corp won a 30-year lease in 2008 to develop the Mes Aynak copper mine in Logar province, but the project stalled due to security issues.
Last year, the Taliban government and China renewed discussions to revive the project.
Talks on Afghanistan’s inclusion in CPEC also started several years ago but practical work has yet to begin, complicated by geopolitical considerations.
Major global powers remain skeptical of China’s BRI. The project has also been consistently opposed by India as it involves construction in Pakistan’s Gilgit-Baltistan region — part of the disputed Kashmiri territory, which New Delhi and Islamabad claim in full but rule in part.
The entry of CPEC projects would, however, help mend Afghanistan’s lately troubled relations with its largest trading partner and route: Pakistan.
“Afghanistan can benefit from these projects politically as well since this is an initiative led by China and it can use its influence over Pakistan in resolving political tension between Afghanistan and Pakistan in the future,” said Abdul Hai Qanit, a political analyst and commentator on Afghan affairs.
“This will have a positive impact on Afghanistan’s economy as a result of becoming a part of the large transportation network that BRI and CPEC will provide. Afghanistan will be able to export its goods without any challenges and delays.”
The scope of projects in the long term could help transform Afghanistan, whose infrastructure and economy have been underdeveloped due to decades of war.
It would also secure its access to international markets and integration into regional economic frameworks.
“Direct linkage to China through Pakistan via CPEC could facilitate the construction of vital transportation corridors, energy projects and digital infrastructure. These are crucial elements for long-term development and post-conflict reconstruction,” Bashir Seddiqi, an international relations expert, told Arab News.
He was not certain, however, how soon the change could be seen.
“Feasibility of implementation remains deeply uncertain,” Seddiqi said. “The CPEC project itself, despite its strategic importance, has experienced delays and setbacks within Pakistan due to governance challenges, financial constraints and shifting political priorities.”
