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China Launches Shenzhou-20 Mission to Chinese Space Station

The Shenzhou-20 space mission carried by the Long March 2F rocket launches at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, near Jiuquan, China, 24 April 2025. EPA/ANDRES MARTINEZ CASARES
The Shenzhou-20 space mission carried by the Long March 2F rocket launches at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, near Jiuquan, China, 24 April 2025. EPA/ANDRES MARTINEZ CASARES
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China Launches Shenzhou-20 Mission to Chinese Space Station

The Shenzhou-20 space mission carried by the Long March 2F rocket launches at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, near Jiuquan, China, 24 April 2025. EPA/ANDRES MARTINEZ CASARES
The Shenzhou-20 space mission carried by the Long March 2F rocket launches at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, near Jiuquan, China, 24 April 2025. EPA/ANDRES MARTINEZ CASARES

China sent three astronauts to its permanently inhabited space station on Thursday, in its 15th crewed spaceflight and the 20th overall in the Shenzhou program that started over three decades ago.
The spacecraft Shenzhou-20 and the crew lifted off atop a Long March-2F rocket from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China at 5:17 p.m. (0917 GMT), according to state broadcaster CCTV.
According to Reuters, state news agency Xinhua reported soon afterwards that the launch was successful.
The launch comes as China's advances in lunar and space exploration are drawing in more countries.
Pakistan is carrying out a preliminary selection of astronauts, one of whom will eventually be sent to space on a future Shenzhou spaceflight and become the first foreign astronaut to enter China's Tiangong space station.

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Varieties

Global Fire Outbreaks Hit Record High as ‘Unprecedented’ Heat Extremes Loom, Scientists Say

A helicopter conducts firefighting operations as wildfires continue in Otsuchi, Iwate Prefecture, Japan, April 26, 2026. (Reuters)
A helicopter conducts firefighting operations as wildfires continue in Otsuchi, Iwate Prefecture, Japan, April 26, 2026. (Reuters)
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Global Fire Outbreaks Hit Record High as ‘Unprecedented’ Heat Extremes Loom, Scientists Say

A helicopter conducts firefighting operations as wildfires continue in Otsuchi, Iwate Prefecture, Japan, April 26, 2026. (Reuters)
A helicopter conducts firefighting operations as wildfires continue in Otsuchi, Iwate Prefecture, Japan, April 26, 2026. (Reuters)

Climate change has driven record-breaking outbreaks of fire in Africa, Asia and elsewhere this year, with conditions expected to get worse as the northern hemisphere's summer approaches and El Nino weather patterns kick in, scientists warned on Tuesday.

Fires from January to April have already caused unprecedented levels of damage, burning more than 150 million hectares (370.66 million acres) of land, 20% more than the previous record, according to data compiled by World Weather Attribution, a research group that studies the role played by global warming in extreme weather events.

The researchers said temperature records ‌could be broken this ‌year, causing widespread drought as well as fires, with ‌the impact ⁠of human-induced climate ⁠change compounded by an especially strong "El Nino" effect.

"Whilst in many parts of the world the global fire season has yet to heat up, this rapid start, in combination with the forecast El Nino, means that we're looking at a particularly severe year materializing," said Theodore Keeping, a wildfire expert at Imperial College London and part of the WWA group.

As much as 85 million hectares of land have burned in Africa so far ⁠this year, 23% more than the previous record of ‌69 million hectares, he said.

The unusually high fire ‌activity in Africa is being driven by rapid shifts from extremely wet to extremely dry conditions, he ‌said.

High rainfall produced more grass during the previous growing season, creating an abundance ‌of fuel to feed the drought- and heat-induced savannah fires of the last few months.

EL NINO CONDITIONS DUE THIS MONTH

Asian fires have burned as much as 44 million hectares of land so far this year, nearly 40% more than the previous record year of 2014, ‌with India, Myanmar, Thailand, Laos and China among the worst hit, Keeping said.

He warned that wildfire risks could worsen later ⁠this year, with El ⁠Nino increasing the likelihood of severe heat and drought in Australia, Canada, the United States and the Amazon rainforest.

"The likelihood of harmful extreme fires potentially could be the highest we've seen in recent history if a strong El Nino does develop," he said. El Nino weather conditions, caused by the warming of sea surface temperatures in the Pacific Ocean, are expected to start in May, the World Meteorological Organization said last month.

It could cause droughts in Australia, Indonesia and parts of southern Asia as well as flooding in other regions, and may drive up temperatures, the UN agency warned.

"If there is a strong El Nino later this year, there is a serious risk that the effect of climate change and El Nino ... will result in unprecedented weather extremes," said Friederike Otto, climate scientist at Imperial College London and co-founder of World Weather Attribution.

Varieties

New Zealand Moves to Halt Lawsuits over Climate Damage

(FILES) This photograph shows the scientific ice-going "Kronprins Haakon" sailing through the sea ice in eastern Spitzbergen, in the Svalbard archipelago, on April 10, 2025. (Photo by Olivier MORIN / AFP)
(FILES) This photograph shows the scientific ice-going "Kronprins Haakon" sailing through the sea ice in eastern Spitzbergen, in the Svalbard archipelago, on April 10, 2025. (Photo by Olivier MORIN / AFP)
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New Zealand Moves to Halt Lawsuits over Climate Damage

(FILES) This photograph shows the scientific ice-going "Kronprins Haakon" sailing through the sea ice in eastern Spitzbergen, in the Svalbard archipelago, on April 10, 2025. (Photo by Olivier MORIN / AFP)
(FILES) This photograph shows the scientific ice-going "Kronprins Haakon" sailing through the sea ice in eastern Spitzbergen, in the Svalbard archipelago, on April 10, 2025. (Photo by Olivier MORIN / AFP)

New Zealand will change the law to prevent lawsuits that seek to hold companies liable for "climate change damage" linked to greenhouse gas emissions, Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith said on Tuesday.

Goldsmith cited a lawsuit launched by Indigenous Maori climate activist Michael Smith, who is seeking to hold six prominent New Zealand companies responsible for environmental harms linked to climate change.

He said such cases were "creating uncertainty in business confidence".

New Zealand would change the law to "prevent findings of liability" for "climate change damage or harm caused by greenhouse gas emissions", Goldsmith said.

"The courts are not the right place to resolve claims of harm from climate change, and tort law is not well-suited to respond to a problem like climate change which involves a range of complex environmental, economic and social factors," Goldsmith said.

Tort law deals with civil cases in which people seek compensation for harmful or negligent actions.

Climate activist Smith said the government's announcement was "an affront to democracy".

"If parliament can cancel a live court case, then no legal claim is secure at all, once it becomes politically inconvenient," he told national broadcaster Radio New Zealand.

Smith's case named some of New Zealand's biggest and best-known companies, including dairy farming giant Fonterra.

The laws are all but certain to pass parliament, given New Zealand's ruling coalition holds a majority of seats.

Climate targets

New Zealand's right-leaning government has unraveled a string of environmentally friendly policies since coming to power in 2023.

It has cancelled a clean car discount incentivizing electric vehicle uptake, reversed a ban on oil and gas exploration, and begun a fast-track scheme for mining permits.

From South Korea to Germany, a growing body of litigation around the world is pushing courts to take climate change more seriously.

New Zealand is currently facing a separate legal challenge over its emissions targets.

In January 2025, the government said it aimed to reduce carbon emissions by 51 percent from 2005 levels by 2035.

The target was barely changed from a 50-percent cut targeted for 2030.

Lawyers for Climate Action and the Environmental Law Initiative took Climate Change Minister Simon Watts to court in March, arguing the government was not doing enough.

New Zealand's goal, enshrined in law, is to have net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, excluding methane produced by waste and agriculture.

Varieties

Texas Lawsuit Accuses Netflix of Illegal Data Collection

FILE PHOTO: A drone view shows the Netflix logo on one of their buildings in the Hollywood neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, December 8, 2025. REUTERS/Daniel Cole/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: A drone view shows the Netflix logo on one of their buildings in the Hollywood neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, December 8, 2025. REUTERS/Daniel Cole/File Photo
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Texas Lawsuit Accuses Netflix of Illegal Data Collection

FILE PHOTO: A drone view shows the Netflix logo on one of their buildings in the Hollywood neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, December 8, 2025. REUTERS/Daniel Cole/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: A drone view shows the Netflix logo on one of their buildings in the Hollywood neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, December 8, 2025. REUTERS/Daniel Cole/File Photo

The top prosecutor in Texas filed a lawsuit against Netflix on Monday, accusing the streaming giant of improperly collecting users' data and designing its platform to be addictive.

"When you watch Netflix, Netflix watches you," reads the opening section of the 59-page lawsuit filed in state court at a Dallas-area courthouse by Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton.

Paxton describes the streamer as a giant data repository where it tracks and logs users' viewing habits, preferences and "other sensitive behavioral data," according to a press release that describes Netflix as spying on Texas kids and consumers, said AFP.

Netflix provides these inputs to advertisers so they can better target the company's subscribers, the suit alleges.

The lawsuit also accuses Netflix of employing techniques that would make young viewers become addicted to the platform.

These include an "autoplay" function that activates on the default setting, including for children, meaning once one show ends, another episode automatically begins.

"This lawsuit lacks merit and is based on inaccurate and distorted information," Netflix said in a statement to AFP.

"Netflix takes our members' privacy seriously and complies with privacy and data protection laws everywhere we operate."

Paxton, who is engaged in a tight primary contest for US Senate against incumbent John Cornyn, said in a statement: "Netflix is not the ad-free and kid-friendly platform it claims to be."

"Instead, it has misled consumers while exploiting their private data to make billions," he added.

The suit asks for injunctions prohibiting Netflix from collecting or disclosing data on consumers during the litigation.

The complaint also seeks civil penalties of up to $10,000 for each violation of the Deceptive Trade Practices Act, a Texas state law.