World's largest plane makes first test flight

Agencies
April 14, 2019

Washington, Apr 14: The world's largest airplane - a Stratolaunch behemoth with two fuselages and six Boeing 747 engines - has made its first test flight in California.

The mega jet carried out its maiden voyage over the Mojave desert on Saturday.

It is designed to carry into space, and drop, a rocket that would in turn ignite to deploy satellites.

It is supposed to provide a more flexible way to deploy satellites than vertical takeoff rockets because this way all you need is a long runway for takeoff.

It was built by an engineering company called Scaled Composites. The aircraft is so big its wing span is longer than a football field, or about 1.5 times that of an Airbus A380.

Specifically, the wing span is 117 meters; that of an Airbus A380 is just under 80. The plane flew Saturday for about two and a half hours, Stratolaunch said. Until now, it had just carried out tests on the ground.

It hit a top speed of 304 kilometers per hour (189 mph) and reached an altitude of 17,000 feet, or 5,182 meters.

"What a fantastic first flight," said Jean Floyd, CEO of Stratolaunch.

"Today's flight furthers our mission to provide a flexible alternative to ground launched systems," he added.

Stratolaunch was financed by Paul Allen, a co-founder of Microsoft as a way to get into the market for launching small satellites.

But Allen died in October of last year so the future of the company is uncertain.

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News Network
February 11,2025

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Addressing the AI Action Summit in Paris, Prime Minister Narendra Modi stressed that AI is writing the code for humanity in this century.

"I am grateful to my friend President Macron for hosting this summit and for inviting me to co-chair it. AI is already reshaping our economy, security and even our society. AI is writing the code for humanity in this century...," PM Modi said.

Giving a simple experiment, he said, "If you upload your medical report to an AI app, it can explain in simple language, free of any jargon what it means for your health. But if you ask the same app to draw an image of someone writing with their left hand, the app will most likely draw someone writing with their right hand...".

He also stressed on the need for open source systems that enhance transparency.

"Governance is also about ensuring access to all, especially in the Global South. It is where the capabilities are most lacking be it power, talent, or data for the financial resources. AI can help transform millions of lives by improving health, education, agriculture and so much more. It can help create a world in which the journey to sustainable development goals becomes easier and faster. To do this, we must pull together resources and talent. We must develop open-source systems that enhance trust and transparency. We must build quality data sets free from biases...," the Prime Minister said.

Highlighting AI's potential to shape humanity's future at Paris summit, PM Modi said, "We are at the dawn of the AI age that will shape the course of humanity." 

Hailing India's digital revolution, PM Modi said, "India has successfully built a digital public infrastructure for over 1.4 billion people at a very low cost. It is built around an open and accessible network. It has regulations and a wide range of applications to modernise our economy, reform governance and transform the lives of our people...Today, India leads in AI adoption and techno-legal solutions on data privacy...We have one of the world's largest AI talent pools."

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News Network
February 12,2025

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The family of Dr. Hussam Abu Safia, director of Gaza's Kamal Adwan Hospital, says he has been subjected to “severe torture and mistreatment” following his arrest by Israeli forces in late December.

Abu Safiya’s family, citing his lawyer, said in a post on X on Wednesday that he endured harsh conditions in the first days of his detention in Israeli jails and was held in solitary confinement for 24 days before being transferred to Ofer Prison in the occupied West Bank, where he continues to face poor treatment.

According to Abu Safiya's family, he suffers from chronic high blood pressure and an enlarged heart muscle.

His family added that although Abu Safiya is currently receiving treatment, he is only given one meal per day which is "inadequate” and of very poor quality.

“Regarding his legal case, it is clean, and there are no charges against him,” his family said, adding that all accusations attributed to him have been denied due to lack of evidence and the case is clear.

His family noted that Abu Safiya’s release could be imminent in the coming stages of the prisoner exchange, as the Israeli prosecutors have not filed any charges.

Abu Safiya’s family further called on the international community to pressure Israel to provide adequate food and medicine for him and secure his immediate release.

In late December, Israeli forces raided Kamal Adwan Hospital, forcing patients and medical staff to leave while detaining the rest.

Dr. Abu Safiya, 51, was among those taken for questioning by the Israeli military over alleged links to the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas.

He has already called for international intervention to secure his release and that of all detained medical personnel, stressing that healthcare workers must be protected, their rights upheld, and their immediate release ensured. 

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Agencies
February 7,2025

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US President Donald Trump has signed an executive order slapping sanctions on the International Criminal Court (ICC) for what he called baseless investigations targeting America and its close ally Israel over genocide in Gaza.

Trump's order said on Thursday the court in The Hague had "abused its power" by issuing an arrest warrant for Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who held talks with the US president on Tuesday.

The order also said the tribunal had engaged in "illegitimate and baseless actions targeting the United States and Israel," referring to ICC’s probes into US war crimes in Afghanistan and Israel's onslaught on Gaza.

The order includes asset freezes and travel bans against ICC officials, employees, and their family members, along with anyone deemed to have helped the court's investigations.

Last November, the ICC issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu and his former minister of military affairs, Yoav Gallant.

The warrants are for "crimes against humanity and war crimes committed from at least 8 October 2023 until at least 20 May 2024."

The court’s Pre-Trial Chamber I issued warrants of arrest for Netanyahu and Gallant "for crimes against humanity and war crimes committed from at least 8 October 2023 until at least 20 May 2024, the day the Prosecution filed the applications for warrants of arrest”, it confirmed in a statement Thursday.

It was the first instance in the court's 22-year history it had issued arrest warrants for Western-allied senior officials.

In its statement, the ICC's Pre-Trial Chamber I, a panel of three judges, said it has rejected appeals by Israel challenging its jurisdiction.

Trump imposed financial sanctions and a visa ban during his first term on the ICC's then-prosecutor, Fatou Bensouda, and other senior officials and staff in 2020.

Trump’s then-administration made the move after Bensouda launched an investigation into allegations of war crimes against US soldiers in Afghanistan.

President Joe Biden lifted the sanctions soon after taking office in 2021.

In January 2024, the international court of justice (ICJ) ruled that Israel must take all measures within its power to prevent genocide in Gaza. However, the regime has ignored the court's verdict.

Cuba has now officially declared its intention to join South Africa’s case against Israel at the ICJ.  Cuba is the 14th country to join the case.

 In December 2023, South Africa initiated legal proceedings against Israel, accusing it of breaching the Genocide Convention in its treatment of Palestinians in Gaza.

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