Category World News

A Russian launch site in Kazakhstan was damaged during a spacecraft launch carrying Russian and American astronauts to the International Space Station (ISS), Moscow’s space agency Roscosmos has said.

The joint Russian-US Soyuz MS-28 mission, carrying Roscosmos astronauts Sergey Mikaev and Sergey Kud-Sverchkov and NASA astronaut Chris Williams, took off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome at 12:28pm Moscow time (09:27 GMT) on Thursday.

The spacecraft successfully docked later that day, the ISS announced in a social media post, and the crew was on board the station in good health.

But after inspecting the Baikonur Cosmodrome following the launch, Russia’s state space agency confirmed that “damage to a number of elements of the launchpad” had been detected.

“An assessment of the state of the launch complex is being conducted now,” Roscosmos said.

“All the necessary reserve elements are there to restore it and the damage will be eliminated very soon,” it said.

Russian space bloggers, however, have claimed that the damage to the Baikonur Cosmodrome – Russia’s only launch site for crewed missions, located in the Russian-leased city of Baikonur in Kazakhstan – is more severe than authorities are claiming.

.@NASA astronaut @Astro_ChrisW and his two Roscosmos crewmates opened the Soyuz MS-28 hatch at 10:16am ET on Thanksgiving Day and joined Exp 73 crew. https://t.co/NQ7pUizkO2

Immediately after the morning launch, Russian rocket launch analyst Georgy Trishkin claimed that “the service cabin [had] collapsed” and part of the structures had fallen on launchpad 31, causing serious damage that could suspend operations for some time.

Russian space journalist Vitaly Egorov also drew attention to visible damage at the launch site that could be seen during the official broadcast.

“In the gas exhaust tray under the launchpad, there was some massive metal structure that should not have been there,” he said.

Egorov added that if the Baikonur Cosmodrome is disabled as suspected, Russia will have “lost the ability to launch people into space” for the first time since 1961.

The Soyuz crew is scheduled to spend 242 days at the ISS, returning to Earth in July 2026. Some 40 scientific experiments and two extravehicular activities will be conducted over the course of the eight-month mission.

Russia’s space programme, once a source of national pride, has suffered from years of chronic underfunding and corruption scandals.

Despite an almost complete breakdown in relations between Moscow and Washington over the war in Ukraine, space continues to be one of the few remaining areas of US-Russia cooperation.

In the wake of the Washington, DC, shooting, Trump earlier ordered the US government to re-examine all green card applications from 19 “countries of concern.” As a result, Trump’s announcement is the latest in a line of escalating immigration restrictions.

Trump stated in a post on his Truth Social platform on Thursday that he would “permanently pause migration from all Third World countries to allow the US system to fully recover” and that he would “terminate all of the millions of Biden illegal admissions.”

Although he did not define the term “Third World,” it frequently refers to developing nations in the Global South.

Trump added that he would “remove anyone who is incapable of loving our country or who is not a net asset to the United States.”

He added that “noncitizens” would no longer be eligible for federal benefits or subsidies, and he would “denaturalize migrants who violate domestic tranquillity and deport any foreign national who poses a public charge, security risk, or is incompatible with Western civilization.”

Joseph Edlow, director of US Citizenship and Immigration Services, earlier on Thursday, claimed that President Trump had mandated “a full, thorough re-examination of every green card for every alien from every country of concern.”

The American people will not have to bear the cost of the previous administration’s careless resettlement policies, according to Edlow, who emphasized that the protection of this nation and the American people is still important.

Although Edlow did not specify which nations’ applications would be reviewed, his office directed The Associated Press (AP) news agency to a presidential proclamation that barted out of US citizens from 19 nations. Afghanistan, Haiti, Iran, Myanmar, Venezuela, and Yemen are included on the list.

In response to Citizenship and Immigration Services’ earlier statement, the agency decided to “update security and vetting procedures” and suspend all Afghan immigration requests indefinitely.

As the US attorney for the District of Columbia in Washington, DC, Jeanine Pirro, a 29-year-old Afghan national who previously worked with US forces in Afghanistan, identified the suspect in the shooting of the National Guard members as Rahmanaullah Lakanwal.

Following the US’s withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021, Lakanwal reportedly arrived in the US through a program called “Operation Allies Welcome.” She claimed that federal authorities, including the FBI, would be scrutinizing his past and current immigration procedures.

The Trump administration has already aggressively restraining immigration into the US. The country announced in October that it would only accept 7,500 refugees by 2026, the lowest number since 1980.

According to a memo Edlow signed and obtained by the AP on Monday, the US government is currently conducting a thorough review of recent US refugee arrivals.

According to the AP, the memo directs the review of the roughly 200 000 refugees who have been granted asylum in the US through President Joe Biden’s administration.

According to state media reports that several Israeli soldiers were injured in clashes while another incursion by Israel into Syrian territory, including 12 children, was being carried out in the Damascus countryside.

Two children were among the victims of the Israeli dawn raid and strikes, which forced hundreds of families to flee Beit Jinn to nearby, safer locales, according to Syrian state media on Friday.

Israeli drones continue to hover over the area, according to the report.

The Israeli military continues to target any movement, according to the Syrian Civil Defense, and their teams were unable to enter Beit Jinn to help the injured.

Since Israel’s occupation of southern Syria expanded after President Bashar al-Assad was ousted in December 2024, its military incursions have become more brutal, more frequent, and more violent.

Local sources also confirmed to Al Jazeera on Friday that Israeli missile and artillery strikes on Beit Jinn resulted in the deaths of several Syrians and their injuries.

Following the incursion, there were verbal altercations between the residents and the occupying Israeli force.

The Israeli military claimed that three of its soldiers had been seriously injured in an exchange of fire, according to a statement posted on X.

According to reports, an Israeli force that had entered the Syrian village of Beit Jinn was surrounded, prompting air strikes and artillery shelling to expel it and compel its retreat, according to Israeli news outlet Yedioth Ahronoth. Numerous Syrians were killed and others were injured as a result of this.

After an Israeli force entered the town, an Israeli military helicopter exchanged fire.

Israeli bombings, kidnappings, and incursions in Syria

In the Golan Heights and Damascus countryside governorates, the Israeli army frequently launches ground incursions into Syrian territory.

Since Israel expanded its occupation of southern Syria in December 2024, Israeli military incursions have become more brutal, more frequent, and violent.

Following the 1967 conflict, Israel seized control of the Syrian Golan Heights and has held it ever since. However, Israel violated a 1974 agreement by occupying more land along the border as a “buffer zone,” including the strategically important summit of Jabal al-Sheikh, and then again invaded its neighbor’s territory.

Prior to the fall of al-Assad, a ally of its regional adversary Iran, Israel was already bombing Syria. However, Israel has increased its bombing activity and increased the number of strikes this year, including those in Damascus, which has resulted in the deaths of several Syrian soldiers and hitting the Ministry of Defense, as opposed to trying to take a new direction with Syria.

Damascus was in anger after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu appeared with Israeli troops in an illegally occupied area of southern Syria earlier this month, which added to the uncertainty surrounding a security deal that could be reached.

Despite receiving support from the United States, Netanyahu’s visit signaled that he is not intending to change from his hardline position on Syria.

The Israeli military has established checkpoints, patrols, and even gates across Quneitra province. Some are abducted, while others are stopped and searched by police.

Syrian authorities and human rights organizations refer to these incidents as abductions or unlawful arrests, as they are described by Israel as security operations. In recent weeks, up to 40 people have reportedly been detained.