Nasa’s mega Moon rocket arrives at launch pad for Artemis II mission

Nasa's mega Moon rocket arrives at launch pad for Artemis II mission5 hours agoShareSaveRebecca Morelle,Science team ,Alison FrancisandKevin ChurchShareSaveWatch: Timelapse shows Nasa rocket's 12-hour journey to launch padNasa's mega rocket has been moved to the launch pad in Cape Canaveral, Florida, as the final preparations get underway for the first crewed mission to the Moon in more than 50 years.
Over almost 12 hours, the 98m-tall Space Launch System was carried vertically from the Vehicle Assembly Building on the 4-mile (6.5km) journey to the pad.
Now it is in position, the final tests, checks – and a dress rehearsal – will take place, before the go-ahead is given for the 10-day Artemis II mission that will see four astronauts travel around the Moon.
Nasa says the earliest the rocket can blast off is 6 February, but there are also more launch windows later that month, as well as in March and April.
ReutersThe Space Launch System (SLS) rocket that will fly the Artem..

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Ukraine-Russia war latest: Zelensky says Trump’s peace agreement could be signed at Davos next week if terms agreed

CloseZelensky says Trump’s peace agreement could be signed at Davos next week if terms agreedDocuments for a deal between Ukraine and the US on the war in Ukraine could be signed at Davos next week if terms are agreed, Volodymyr Zelensky has said.
A Ukrainian delegation is travelling to the US for negotiations on security guarantees and a “prosperity package” in the event of a ceasefire.
Speaking to reporters in Kyiv, the Ukrainian president expressed hope that the documents could be signed on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos next week, where global leaders will gather for talks.
During the talks, Zelensky said his team would seek clarity from the US on the Russian stance towards diplomatic efforts to end the war. Moscow has refused to budge on its maximalist demands for a peace deal.
The trip comes after Trump accused Zelensky of holding up an agreement in the latest show of support from the US President for the Russian leader.
He claimed that Putin “is ready to ..

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Iran protests live: Exiled Iranian royal says he is ‘uniquely positioned’ to lead Iran after unrest

CloseExiled Iranian Crown Prince decries ‘mass crimes’ of Islamic Republic to Washington crowdReza Pahlavi, the exiled son of Iran’s last shah, said he was certain that the collapse of the Islamic Republic was inevitable and that he was “uniquely” placed to lead the country after the unrest.
The US-based opposition leader called on the world to join Iranian protesters to hasten the process of the collapse of Khamenei’s regime and “prevent more loss of life”.
He said the foreign government did not require “boots on the ground” but only “targeted intervention”.
It came as the European Union has urged civilian airlines to avoid Iranian airspace due to the “high risk” of a flight being misidentified as a US attack.
The threat of US military action has left Iranian air defence on a heightened state of alert, meaning the possibility of wrongful identification has grown, the EU’s aviation regulator (EASA) said.
The protests, which have largely died down, saw more than 2,400 demonstrators kil..

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Blair and Rubio among names on Gaza ‘Board of Peace’

Blair and Rubio among names on Gaza 'Board of Peace'7 hours agoShareSaveMaia DaviesShareSaveGetty ImagesThe Trump administration has named US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and former UK prime minister Sir Tony Blair as two of the founding members of its “Board of Peace” for Gaza.
Trump's Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff and the president's son-in-law Jared Kushner will also sit on the “founding executive board”, the White House said in a statement on Friday.
Trump will act as chairman of the board, which forms part of his 20-point plan to end the war between Israel and Hamas.
It is expected to temporarily oversee the running of Gaza and manage its reconstruction.
Also on the founding executive board are Marc Rowan, the head of a private equity firm, World Bank chief Ajay Banga and a US national security adviser, Robert Gabriel.
Each member would have a portfolio “critical to Gaza's stabilisation and long-term success”, the White House statement said.
Trump had ..

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Exiled crown prince urges world to help protesters topple Iran’s government

Exiled crown prince urges world to help protesters topple Iran's government11 hours agoShareSaveMallory MoenchShareSaveWatch: 'The Islamic Republic will fall', says exiled crown princeThe exiled son of the last Iranian shah (king) has called on the world to help protesters topple Iran's government, saying he is confident “the Islamic Republic will fall – not if, but when”.
Reza Pahlavi, a US-based opposition leader, asked the world to target Iran's Revolutionary Guard leadership, which he said would “facilitate our task and prevent more loss of life”.
More than 2,600 protesters have been killed, according to a human rights group, in demonstrations that started over the economy on 28 December and turned into calls for the end of the rule of Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Hosseini Khamenei.
The Iranian government has called the protests “riots” backed by Iran's enemies.
Pahlavi has emerged as a prominent figure in Iran's fragmented opposition and has pr..

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Nick Reiner had been in mental health conservatorship in 2020, years before he allegedly killed his parents: report

Nick Reiner was placed in a mental health conservatorship that lasted from 2020 to 2021, according to reports.
The 32-year-old has been charged with the murder of his parents, acclaimed film director Rob Reiner and his wife Michele Singer Reiner. He is set to be arraigned on February 23, after his attorney quit.
According to the New York Times, a clerk with the Los Angeles Superior Court confirmed the conservatorship ended in 2021.
Steven Baer, a licensed fiduciary who was appointed as Reiner’s conservator, told the Times that mental illness “is an epidemic that is widely misunderstood and this is a horrible tragedy.”
Another source told the publication that Reiner had been diagnosed at different times with schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorder. They claimed that Reiner had been taking medication to treat the condition, but switched medication due to side effects about a month before his parents were killed.
Few other details about Nick Reiner’s conservatorship – a legal process..

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Venezuelan Nobel Peace Prize winner presents her medal to Trump

Venezuelan Nobel Peace Prize winner presents her medal to Trump5 hours agoShareSaveMax MatzaShareSaveWatch: Machado says she presented her Nobel Peace Prize medal to TrumpVenezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado says she has given her Nobel Peace Prize medal to President Trump during a meeting at the White House, saying it was a recognition of his commitment to her country's freedom.
“I think today is a historic day for us Venezuelans,” she said after meeting Trump in person for the first time, weeks after US forces seized Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro in Caracas and charged him in a drug-trafficking case.
Trump expressed his gratitude in a social media post, saying the move was “a wonderful gesture of mutual respect”.
However, the US president has declined to endorse Machado as Venezuela's new leader, despite her movement claiming victory in 2024's widely contested elections.
Trump has instead been dealing with the acting head of state in Venezuela, Delc..

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Troops and vessels from European Nato allies arrive in Greenland

Troops and vessels from European Nato allies arrive in GreenlandBBC Europe editor Katya Adler is in Greenland where troops and ships from several European states are gathering.
The limited deployment involves Germany, France, Sweden, Norway, Finland, the Netherlands and the UK.
US President Donald Trump says the US needs to “own” Greenland to prevent Russia and China from doing so.
Greenland's Prime Minister, Jens-Frederik Nielsen, said this week that the territory was in the midst of a geopolitical crisis, and that if his people were asked to make a choice they would choose Denmark over the US.
More on this story.
9 hours agoEuropeGreenlandFranceGermanyDenmarkDonald TrumpShareSaveAbout 15,000 crabs recovered after lorry crashThe crustaceans, which were worth about €60,000 (£52,000) were bound for shops and restaurants in Portugal.
EuropeWatch: Moment skier and dog swept along by avalancheFootage recorded by Spanish skier Ares Masip shows the incident on Pic de l'Hortell, a m..

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Ukraine-Russia war latest: Trump claims it is Zelensky, not Putin, holding up peace deal

CloseZelensky to declare state of emergency over Putin’s attacks on energy gridDonald Trump has blamed his inability to end the war in Ukraine on its president Volodymyr Zelensky – not Russian leader Vladimir Putin.
Asked why US-led negotiations had not yet resolved Europe's largest land conflict since the Second World War, Trump responded: “Zelensky”. He added that Putin “is ready to make a deal” while “Ukraine is less ready to make a deal”.
The claim from Trump is in sharp contrast with European allies who have proven Putin as the key figure ramping up military aggression and rejecting peace proposals from Trump’s envoys.
Just hours earlier, Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov insisted Moscow was not interested in agreeing to a ceasefire, instead holding out for a peace agreement that would end the conflict on its terms.
Meanwhile, Zelensky has said he will declare a state of emergency for Ukraine's energy sector following sustained Russian attacks on the country’s infra..

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Iran protests latest: Trump says Tehran has ‘no plan’ to execute protesters as UK closes embassy

Close'No plans for executions': Trump claims killings in Iran have stoppedUS president Donald Trump said he's been told “on good authority” that plans for executions in Iran have stopped, even as Tehran pressed ahead with fast-track trials in its crackdown on protesters.
Trump previously told protesting Iranians that “help is on the way” and that his administration would “act accordingly” in response to the killing of thousands of demonstrators by the security forces.
The unrest in Iran has forced the UK to close its Tehran embassy and withdraw its staff from the country, while both Poland and Italy have urged their citizens to leave.
The UK is also withdrawing staff from a military base in Qatar, and the US is reducing its personnel numbers at its Qatari Al-Udeid air base – the Middle East's largest US base, which houses around 10,000 troops.
Tehran warned other regional countries that it would attack if the US launched military action on it in response to the dead..

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