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Indian Space Startup Launches Country's Second Privately Built Rocket

FILE PHOTO: Agnibaan SubOrbital Technological Demonstrator (SOrTeD), vehicle is seen at Agnikul's Launchpad at Satish Dhawan Space Center in Sriharikota, India, November 28, 2022. Agnikul Cosmos Private Limited/Handout via REUTERS
FILE PHOTO: Agnibaan SubOrbital Technological Demonstrator (SOrTeD), vehicle is seen at Agnikul's Launchpad at Satish Dhawan Space Center in Sriharikota, India, November 28, 2022. Agnikul Cosmos Private Limited/Handout via REUTERS
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Indian Space Startup Launches Country's Second Privately Built Rocket

FILE PHOTO: Agnibaan SubOrbital Technological Demonstrator (SOrTeD), vehicle is seen at Agnikul's Launchpad at Satish Dhawan Space Center in Sriharikota, India, November 28, 2022. Agnikul Cosmos Private Limited/Handout via REUTERS
FILE PHOTO: Agnibaan SubOrbital Technological Demonstrator (SOrTeD), vehicle is seen at Agnikul's Launchpad at Satish Dhawan Space Center in Sriharikota, India, November 28, 2022. Agnikul Cosmos Private Limited/Handout via REUTERS

India's Agnikul Cosmos launched its Agnibaan rocket for the first time on Thursday, powered by the only Indian rocket engine to use both gas and liquid fuel in the country's second flight of a privately built rocket.
The Agnibaan's first flight had been called off four times in the last two months because of technical issues. The most recent cancellation was Tuesday, when launch was aborted five seconds before lift-off, Reuters reported.
The South Asian nation's space agency, the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO), has not successfully flown a rocket with a so-called "semi-cryogenic" engine.
"A major milestone, as the first-ever controlled flight of a semi-cryogenic liquid engine realized through additive manufacturing," ISRO said on social media platform X.
Agnibaan is a customizable, two-stage launch vehicle that can carry a payload of up to 300 kg (661 lb) into orbit of about 700 kilometers (435 miles).
The suborbital flight on Thursday was meant to test the new engine and 3D-printed parts; the company did not immediately say how long the test lasted or what altitude the rocket reached.
Pawan K Goenka, chairman of space regulator Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Center (IN-SPACe), also hailed the "historic moment". The Indian Space Association (ISpA) said the launch would "bolster global confidence" in the country's private space industry.
India Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been pushing for the privatization and commercialization of the country's space sector in the last few years.
India's first privately developed rocket, from the company Skyroot, flew in 2022.
Agnikul, whose name is derived from the Hindi and Sanskrit work for fire, was founded in 2017 and runs India's first private launchpad and mission control center. All other launchpads are operated by ISRO.

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Humpback Whale Stranded in Germany Released into North Sea

01 May 2026, Denmark, Skagen: An aerial view of the the humpback whale towed in its barge by the tugboat Fortuna B along the Danish coast, just south of Skagen in the Skagerrak, through the Baltic Sea. (dpa)
01 May 2026, Denmark, Skagen: An aerial view of the the humpback whale towed in its barge by the tugboat Fortuna B along the Danish coast, just south of Skagen in the Skagerrak, through the Baltic Sea. (dpa)
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Humpback Whale Stranded in Germany Released into North Sea

01 May 2026, Denmark, Skagen: An aerial view of the the humpback whale towed in its barge by the tugboat Fortuna B along the Danish coast, just south of Skagen in the Skagerrak, through the Baltic Sea. (dpa)
01 May 2026, Denmark, Skagen: An aerial view of the the humpback whale towed in its barge by the tugboat Fortuna B along the Danish coast, just south of Skagen in the Skagerrak, through the Baltic Sea. (dpa)

A humpback whale that had been struggling to survive after beaching near the German coast was Saturday released into the North Sea off Denmark after being transported in a barge, a member of a rescue mission said.

Dubbed "Timmy" by the German media, the whale was first spotted stuck on a sandbank on March 23 near the city of Luebeck before freeing itself and then becoming stuck again several times.

The whale left the barge it had been towed on from Wismar Bay on the Baltic coast at around 8:45 am (0645 GMT), said Karin Walter-Mommert from the rescue initiative.

It is now swimming on its own and freely, and at least for the time being, in the right direction, she said.

At the start of April, German officials gave up on trying to rescue the animal, saying they believed it could not be saved.

But this triggered an outcry and authorities were persuaded to approve a privately financed rescue plan proposed by two wealthy entrepreneurs.

The barge idea was hatched after their initial attempt to save the whale with inflatable cushions and pontoons was unsuccessful.

The rescue effort was seen as a long shot and criticized by experts who said it would only cause the animal more distress.

The whale's ordeal has sparked a media frenzy -- with non-stop coverage from TV channels, online outlets and social media influencers -- but has also led to angry spats and conspiracy theories.

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US Border Wall Construction Threatens Endangered Wolves, Conservationists Say

Mexican gray wolf cubs, an endangered native species, are seen in their enclosure at the Museo del Desierto in Saltillo, Mexico July 2, 2020. (Reuters)
Mexican gray wolf cubs, an endangered native species, are seen in their enclosure at the Museo del Desierto in Saltillo, Mexico July 2, 2020. (Reuters)
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US Border Wall Construction Threatens Endangered Wolves, Conservationists Say

Mexican gray wolf cubs, an endangered native species, are seen in their enclosure at the Museo del Desierto in Saltillo, Mexico July 2, 2020. (Reuters)
Mexican gray wolf cubs, an endangered native species, are seen in their enclosure at the Museo del Desierto in Saltillo, Mexico July 2, 2020. (Reuters)

For the first time in decades, a radio-collared endangered Mexican wolf crossed from the US into Mexico last week in New Mexico, a federal official said on Friday, but environmental groups warn the animal may never return due to US border wall construction.

The male wolf crossed into Chihuahua, Mexico, from a remote area of the New Mexico Bootheel, according to Aislinn Maestas, a spokesperson for the US Fish and Wildlife Service, which tracks members of the smallest and rarest subspecies of North American gray wolf, also known by its Spanish name "lobo."

Once common in the Southwestern US and Mexico, the wolf came ‌close to extinction ‌in the 1970s, exterminated by government agencies and ranchers who claimed ‌targeting ⁠the species would protect ⁠livestock.

The wolves have for millennia roamed the Bootheel's grasslands, desert and wooded mountains, traversing the migration corridor in search of prey and mates in what is now Mexico and the US

The administrations of President Donald Trump and former President Joe Biden have built a steel border wall westward across New Mexico to stem the trafficking of migrants and drugs.

Current construction of the 18- to 30-foot-high barrier in the area means last week's wolf border-crossing may be the last ever by ⁠the species, conservationist Michael Robinson said on Friday.

That would exacerbate the ‌wolf's chronic inbreeding, which has led to lower survival ‌rates for pups, as well as cancers and birth defects.

“Sealing off the Bootheel would isolate wolves and ‌other rare mammals like jaguars and ultimately make them all less likely to survive,” Robinson, ‌a senior conservation advocate at the Center for Biological Diversity, said in an interview.

The Department of Homeland Security and its US Customs and Border Protection agency, which are responsible for border wall construction, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

DIVERSITY PROBLEM

Conservation groups and some US wildlife officials have said expansion ‌of the border wall will fragment habitats and disrupt migration routes in regions such as the Big Bend area of Texas, the ⁠San Rafael Valley ⁠of Arizona and the Otay Wilderness in California.

The Department of Homeland Security has used legal authority to override environmental laws, leading to lawsuits against barriers.

US administrations from both parties have acknowledged environmental risks but argue the barrier is necessary for national security. Officials have incorporated mitigation features like ground-level wildlife openings for small animals such as reptiles and rodents.

In the case of the Mexican wolf, mating between animals from the US and Mexico could increase critically low genetic diversity, said Cyndi Tuell, Arizona and New Mexico director at Western Watersheds Project, a conservation group.

All modern Mexican wolves are descended from just seven wolves that were successfully bred after being captured as part of a binational breeding program started in the late 1970s.

As of this year there are at least 319 wild Mexican wolves in the US, around 36 in Mexico and about 380 in captive breeding programs, according to USFWS and conservation groups.

Varieties

‘Second Life’: Vintage Fiat 500s Get Electric Makeover

Owner of the Officine Gentile garage, Giovanni Gentile (L) and a worker inspect a finished model of the Fiat 500 Jolly Lido at the Officine Gentile garage in Turin on April 30, 2026. (AFP)
Owner of the Officine Gentile garage, Giovanni Gentile (L) and a worker inspect a finished model of the Fiat 500 Jolly Lido at the Officine Gentile garage in Turin on April 30, 2026. (AFP)
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‘Second Life’: Vintage Fiat 500s Get Electric Makeover

Owner of the Officine Gentile garage, Giovanni Gentile (L) and a worker inspect a finished model of the Fiat 500 Jolly Lido at the Officine Gentile garage in Turin on April 30, 2026. (AFP)
Owner of the Officine Gentile garage, Giovanni Gentile (L) and a worker inspect a finished model of the Fiat 500 Jolly Lido at the Officine Gentile garage in Turin on April 30, 2026. (AFP)

In a workshop in Turin -- the historic home of Italian carmaker Fiat -- vintage 500 models are getting a makeover with electric engines.

Classic Fiat 500s, made between 1957 and 1975, are being brought "into the 21st century", said Giovanni Gentile, owner of Officine Gentile.

Outside the workshop, rusty hulks of the tiny, curvy cars are lined up waiting their turn.

Inside, sparks fly as workers cut and weld the metal. The cars then get re-painted, re-wired and the electric engines are installed.

The charging socket is hidden behind the vintage Fiat symbol at the front of the car.

Many of the re-vamped cars are painted in pastel colors and some are convertibles.

The retrofitted cars sell for around 40-50,000 euros, with convertibles for up to 80,000 euros.

The original Fiat 500 became a design icon and some 4.2 million models were made.

They are still popular with vintage car enthusiasts the world over and regularly attract large rallies around Italy and beyond.

The model was relaunched in 2007 with some modern tweaks and is now also sold electric.

Giorgio Pagliero, sales director at Officine Gentile, said the workshop wanted to maintain "the legacy and historic nature" of the cars while giving them "a second life".