The U.N. rights chief says the Taliban have waged a systematic assault on the freedom of Afghanistan's people

This year is set to be the hottest ever recorded, the UN said Thursday, demanding urgent action to rein in global warming and stem the...

By Tim Reid PHOENIX Mark Clarcq is an independent voter in the presidential battleground state of Arizona. In

Sir Richard Branson and activists have argued that capital punishment is not a deterrent against crime.

Hong Kong’s currency has risen above the mid-point of its trading band against the dollar for the first

SpaceX is ready to launch its next-generation Starship rocket, according to Elon Musk, pending regulatory approval. Starship is the most powerful rocket ever built, measuring 121 metres in height and capable of producing 5,000 metric tons of thrust. Once testing is complete, the craft will form part of Nasa’s Artemis mission to return astronauts to the Moon. Mr Musk also plans to use the rocket to transport people and cargo around the solar system, eventually using fleets of Starships to establish a permanent human colony on Mars. The next launch will be the second attempt at an orbital flight test, with the only previous effort ending in an explosion just three minutes into the 90 minute flight earlier this year. Each launch attempt requires approval from the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), while also requiring favourable weather conditions. “Starship is ready to launch, awaiting FAA licence approval,” Mr Musk posted on X, formerly known as Twitter, on Wednesday. A spokesperson for the FAA previously told The Independent that the launch licence application for Starship depends on various requirements being met, including reviews on policy, payload, safety, airspace integration, financial responsibility and environmental impacts. “The FAA will make a licence determination only after the agency is satisfied SpaceX meets all licensing, safety and other regulatory requirements,” the spokesperson said. SpaceX typically only reveals the date for rocket tests a few days before they take place, though numerous factors can still delay them. Weather at SpaceX’s Starbase facility in Texas is currently favourable for a launch, though the area can be prone to storms and hurricanes between June and November. SpaceX performed its 62nd orbital rocket launch of 2023 earlier this week, breaking its own record for the most number of launches in a single year. The private company has delivered roughly 80 per cent of all Earth payload mass to orbit in 2023, with Mr Musk predicting that this figure will rise to more than 99 per cent once Starship is in operation. “These magnitudes are madness to consider, but necessary to make consciousness multiplanetary,” he posted on X on Sunday. Read More SpaceX smashes rocket launch record as Musk eyes historic Starship mission SpaceX abandons YouTube for live streams of launches in favour of X/Twitter

China's economy remains in the doldrums, with prices falling due to slack demand from consumers and businesses

Turkey warned Tuesday it will not be pressured into backing Sweden's bid to join NATO and said it was still assessing whether the Nordic country's...

A daughter of a long-detained human rights activist in Bahrain plans to return to the island kingdom Friday to press for the release of her father, even as she faces imprisonment herself

As the first night of Chanukah approaches, with the recent rise in antisemitic hate crimes following the October 7th Hamas attack on Israel, are you feeling too afraid to place your menorah in the window? Or are you feeling a renewed sense of pride in showing off your Jewish Identity? Please share your story with us.

The Polish government is embroiled in allegations that migrants were illegally sold visas.

A former contractor for the Internal Revenue Service has been charged with leaking tax information to news outlets about a government official and thousands of the country’s wealthiest people