Author: Abhirami Priya

Texas: SpaceX’s Starship megarocket has returned to its Texas launch tower, marking a major milestone in the company’s efforts to develop a fully reusable spacecraft capable of carrying humans into space. The 171-foot (52-metre) upper stage descended into the mechanical arms of the launch tower on November 14, completing a 22-hour mission during which it orbited Earth 14 times. The 15th Starship test flight was intended to achieve a historic double catch, with both sections of the rocket returning intact to the launch site instead of being recovered from the ocean, as happened during some previous tests. Mechazilla catches Starship!…

New Delhi: Delhi overtook Pakistan’s Lahore on November 13 to become the world’s most polluted major city as air quality deteriorated to hazardous levels, with dense smog reducing visibility across the national capital. Swiss air quality monitoring group IQAir recorded Delhi’s Air Quality Index (AQI) at 334, placing it at the top of its global pollution rankings. Meanwhile, India’s Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) reported a higher AQI of 403, categorising the city’s air quality as ‘severe’. The difference between the two readings is attributed to the distinct AQI scales and calculation methods used by the Swiss monitoring organisation and…

London: Microsoft is working to resolve a widespread global service outage that has disrupted several of its platforms, including Outlook, Microsoft Teams, Microsoft 365, and its artificial intelligence (AI) assistant Copilot. The disruption reportedly affected tens of thousands of users across 74 countries and territories within about one hour, according to the outage-monitoring website Downdetector. The company noted that some of its infrastructure was experiencing elevated loads across multiple regions, which was likely contributing to connectivity errors. High server loads can strain Microsoft’s systems, affecting its ability to deliver services and maintain stable connections. In its latest update on X,…

New York: A building collapse in Brooklyn, New York City, has killed at least two people and left several others injured, as firefighters continue search-and-rescue operations for people potentially trapped beneath the debris. The three-storey mixed-use building collapsed in the Flatbush neighbourhood, an area with a predominantly Black and Afro-Caribbean population. The incident prompted a large emergency response, with rescue operations beginning at around 4 pm on November 11. New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani shared updates on the emergency response through social media and urged residents to stay away from the affected area. According to Mamdani, emergency responders reached…

London: With flu season bringing sore throats, headaches, fever and blocked noses, many people turn to over-the-counter cold and flu medicines for relief. However, experts say expensive branded remedies may offer little advantage over cheaper supermarket alternatives and basic painkillers. Prof Jayne Lawrence, head of the pharmacy division at the University of Manchester, says there is little difference between well-known brands and lower-priced alternatives when they contain the same active ingredients. She recommends choosing cheaper options rather than assuming that familiar brands deliver better results. Cold and flu medicines generally fall into three categories: established brands such as Lemsip and…

Beijing: Artificial intelligence is becoming an increasingly prominent feature of China’s online shopping industry, with the country’s month-long Singles Day shopping festival highlighting growing consumer interest in AI-powered services, devices and digital products. From chatbots that recommend products and assist with purchases to AI-enabled toys and companion robots, e-commerce platforms are expanding their use of the technology. Consumers are also purchasing AI tokens, which represent units of computing capacity used to access and operate AI models. Major online retailers, including Alibaba, JD.com and PDD Holdings, are increasingly using artificial intelligence to attract shoppers amid intense competition and cautious consumer spending.…

Antalya, Turkey: World leaders are set to outline their climate priorities at the COP31 summit in Turkey on Wednesday as negotiators work towards an agreement to expand electricity’s role in global energy consumption and revive efforts to reduce dependence on fossil fuels. Representatives from nearly 200 countries have gathered in the Mediterranean city of Antalya as global greenhouse gas emissions remain stubbornly high. Ongoing conflicts, inflation and other international challenges are also competing for governments’ attention, adding pressure to climate negotiations. A United Nations report published last month warned that the world is on course to exceed the 1.5 degrees…

Sydney: Australian airline Qantas has announced plans to cut 850 jobs and outsource some corporate functions to consulting firm Accenture as it responds to the growing use of artificial intelligence (AI) across the aviation industry. In an email to employees on Tuesday, November 10, Qantas CEO Vanessa Hudson remarked that the job reductions would take place over the coming years, with the first phase expected to be completed by mid-2027. The cuts will affect around three percent of the airline’s 28,000-strong Australian workforce. The initial phase will target positions across finance, procurement, human resources and marketing. Some of these responsibilities…

England: Schools in England are set to receive stronger guidance on mobile phone use, with the government urging headteachers to introduce stricter measures to keep smartphones out of pupils’ reach throughout the school day. Education Secretary Lucy Powell noted that the government wants to move towards fully phone-free schools, encouraging institutions to go beyond existing recommendations that mobile phones should be ‘not seen, not heard.’ The current guidance, introduced in September, advises pupils to keep their phones switched off and inside their bags during school hours. However, Powell is now calling on schools to adopt comprehensive policies that prevent students…

Tokyo: Japan’s iconic Godzilla franchise has achieved another major box office success, with its latest instalment, Godzilla Minus Zero, topping the US box office during its opening weekend and attracting audiences worldwide. The Japanese-language film earned $63 million globally, including $31.6 million in the United States and Canada. The opening established a new record for the biggest debut weekend by a live-action foreign-language film in the North American market. The movie is screened in Japanese with English subtitles. The 39th instalment in the franchise, which began in 1954, also delivered record-breaking results in Japan. According to the latest reports, the…