SpaceX launched its next-generation Starship cruise vessel, but minutes into the flight, it veered off course and exploded. The company says the explosion isn’t a complete failure because it provided valuable data for future missions.

Kopernik Shores

Failed SpaceX launch hailed a 'success'

And with that, SpaceX's massive starship took to the sky. The cheers of the SpaceX employees at mission control, mixing with the roar of the rocket's engines, was almost deafening. But around two and a half minutes into the flight, the rocket veered off course and began to tumble. After several flips and turns, it blew up, or as SpaceX likes to say, it experienced a rapid, unscheduled disassembly. And yet, the cheers were louder than ever. That's because this isn't considered a failure for SpaceX CEO Elon Musk. I mean, it was exciting. This was not unexpected. In the history of spaceflight, launch failures in the development process happen all the time. They set expectations as such. They even have that euphemism of the rapid, unscheduled disassembly to kind of cover using the term failure. But failure is productive. Failure is when you learn. And today, they got a lot of data about the vehicle in flight. They did have a few surprises from which they can learn, such as apparent debris coming off the launch pad, even damaging a nearby car. Engineers are likely poring over critical data for the next launch attempt, which Musk said could happen in a few months. The ground crew scouring the launch pad for damage. I imagine that is a phenomenal amount of information that they wouldn't really model properly with their computer software. So that happened, and then of course, you know, the debris that happened from the launch pad, I think they're going to need to do a lot of work. But SpaceX will push ahead. Eventually, a version of this Starship will be used to take astronauts back to the moon as part of NASA's Artemis program. And that mission's coming up pretty quickly. Yeah, because you know what? They need to do this very soon. You know, we have Artemis 2 that's going back around the moon with Canadian Jeremy Hansen. And then after that is Artemis 3. But NASA doesn't have a lunar lander. They are actually depending on SpaceX. And SpaceX, it'll be a version, it's called the Human Landing System, will be a version of this Starship. And that mission is supposed to go in 2025. So the question is, will SpaceX make that deadline? Don't know. Well, we'll find out. Nicole Merclaro, thanks very much. Thank you.

After a tribal welcome to the mountains of Papua New Guinea, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has spent the night camping on the Kokoda Track in an Anzac Day trek aimed at drawing the two countries closer.

Kokoda

Prime Minister walking the Kokoda Track

Residents in New Delhi complained of breathing problems after a massive fire broke out at a Ghazipur landfill the day before. Large plumes of smoke continued to rise from the burning landfill in the city’s eastern district, where excavators were seen removing piles of garbage to deescalate the fire.

New Delhi

Landfill fire envelops New Delhi in smoke

Protests in support of Palestine continue at university campuses across the United States, despite a crackdown by police. Hundreds of students and teachers have been arrested over the past week.

New York

Israel-Gaza War

Protests rage at U.S. universities over Israel’s war on Gaza

An aide to a German far-right member of the European Parliament has been arrested on suspicion of spying for China, German prosecutors said, deepening concerns about foreign interference ahead of June's European elections.

Berlin

Aide to far-right German MEP arrested for spying for China

Five people, including a child, have died in an attempt to cross the English Channel from France, hours after Britain passed a bill to deport asylum seekers to Rwanda to try to deter the dangerous crossings.

Wimereux

Migrants drown in Channel hours after U.K. passes Rwanda bill

Police arrested dozens of people at pro-Palestinian demonstrations at Yale University in Connecticut and New York University in Manhattan on Monday, as the war in Gaza continued to reverberate through U.S. university campuses.

Dozens arrested at U.S. universities as Gaza protests grow

The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) on April 22 threatened possible legal action against claims that it may have covered up the issue of Chinese swimmers testing positive for a banned substance before the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, as global sports groups piled pressure on the regulator and demanded an investigation into the case.

Tokyo

Chinese Olympic swim team doping scandal heats up

Court documents have revealed Bruce Lehrmann refused an offer to settle with Network Ten and journalist Lisa Wilkinson before his failed defamation case had begun hearings.

Council of the City of Sydney

Bruce Lehrmann refused settlement before court case

The lawyer representing a former NSW Police officer charged with murdering Jesse Baird and Luke Davies says his client's defence may involve mental health elements.

Man accused of murdering Sydney couple faces court

A western New South Wales man charged with murdering a young woman was on bail for several violent charges against the same victim.

Forbes

Man faces court over murder of young Forbes woman

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak promised to start sending asylum seekers to Rwanda within 10 to 12 weeks as the upper house of parliament finally passed required legislation, delayed for weeks by attempts to alter the plan.

London

U.K. parliament passes Rwanda asylum law

New York prosecutors said on the first day of Donald Trump's criminal hush money trial that the former president broke the law and corrupted the 2016 election by trying to cover up sexual encounters with a porn star and a Playboy model, while his defense lawyer said he committed no crime.

Jury hears opening statements at Trump hush money trial

Floods swamped parts of China's Guangdong province following record-breaking rains, sparking worries about the region's defenses against bigger deluges induced by extreme weather events.

Guangdong Province

China's Guangdong floods spark extreme weather fears

Israel has yet to provide evidence for its accusations that hundreds of staff with the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) are members of terrorist groups, according to a review of the agency's neutrality released.

Tel Aviv-Yafo

'No evidence' of UNRWA, Hamas links

Arj Barker has defended asking a mother to leave his show at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival. The woman said she was humiliated after being asked to leave while breastfeeding her baby during Barker’s performance.

Melbourne

Comedian criticised for removing breastfeeding mother from show

India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi is being accused of hate speech for comments he made about Muslims at an election rally, referring to the religious community as "infiltrators." Nearly a billion people are eligible to cast ballots during the six weeks of voting, which started Friday.

India's Modi accused of anti-Muslim hate speech amid election

The Philippines and the United States are holding joint naval exercises in a climate of tension between China and its neighbors. Despite international legal rulings, Beijing claims the entire South China Sea as its own. That's contested by the Philippines and other Indian Ocean nations.

Manila

Filipino, U.S. troops set to begin joint combat exercise

More than one year after prosecutors pressed charges in Manhattan against former President Donald Trump, they are presenting their evidence to a jury. Opening statements have begun in the first-ever trial of a former president as Trump faces 34 felony counts for falsifying business records.

Manhattan

Opening statements begin in Trump hush money trial

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday he would fight against sanctions being imposed on any Israeli military units for alleged rights violations, after media reports said the U.S. was planning such a step.

Jerusalem

Netanyahu says he will fight any sanctions on army units

Accused triple murderer Erin Patterson has faced court for the first time in five months over the alleged mushroom poisonings of her relatives last year.

Leongatha

Accused mushroom murderer faces court

Federal Treasurer Jim Chalmers has flagged more tax relief is on the cards if the Government can find room in next month's budget. Cost of living issues are dominating the political agenda, as inflation bites.

Canberra

More cost of living relief expected in Federal budget

The U.S. House of Representatives approved additional military aid for Israel despite growing concerns over human rights violations in the West Bank. The U.S. is expected to sanction the IDF for the first time with Antony Blinken promising "results soon" when questioned at a recent presser in Italy.

Washington

U.S. poised to sanction Israeli army over human right violations

Former U.S. president Donald Trump’s hush-money trial — for allegedly falsifying business records to cover up paying porn star Stormy Daniels to bury her story — is set to start this week in New York City. The world is watching how it will play out and whether it will impact his political future.

Opening statements at Trump criminal trial set to begin

TikTok on Sunday reiterated free speech concerns about a bill passed by the U.S. House of Representatives that would ban the popular social media app in the U.S. if its Chinese owner ByteDance did not sell its stake within a year.

TikTok raises concerns about bill passed by U.S. House

Since the start of the war in Gaza over six months ago, Israeli soldiers have filmed and posted hundreds of videos of destruction in Gaza online, with many mocking the destruction of the enclave. The IDF says it's addressing the issue with sanctions.

IDF soldiers chronicle Gaza destruction on social media

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has thanked the U.S. House of representatives for passing a $61bn aid bill. It was part of a major military package that also provided funds for Israel, Taiwan and several other allies.

Kyiv

Ukraine Invasion

Ukraine says U.S. aid bill will halt Russian advances

Israeli forces killed at least 14 Palestinians during a raid in the occupied West Bank, Palestinian authorities said, amid escalating violence that began more than a week ago after an Israeli boy went missing.

Tensions rise in West Bank after Israeli boy goes missing

The United States House of Representatives with broad bipartisan support has passed a $95 billion legislative package providing security assistance to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan, despite bitter objections from Republican hardliners.

U.S. House approves aid package for Ukraine, Israel

In Iraq, at least one person has been killed and twenty others have been injured in a large explosion. The blast happened south of the capital Baghdad, in the Babil province. A base used by the Iranian-backed Popular Mobilization Forces was hit.

Babylon Governorate

Giant explosion hits military base near Baghdad

Revelations that 23 Chinese swimmers tested positive for a banned drug before the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, have shocked and angered Australian swimmers, with calls for medals to stripped.