
-
English cricket chiefs confirm sale of six Hundred franchises
-
Wirtz opens Liverpool account in friendly win in Japan
-
Marchand shatters record as US, Australia win more world gold
-
Thousands honour Ozzy Osbourne at UK hometown funeral procession
-
WHO chief says continuous medical aid into Gaza 'critical'
-
London court rules oligarch liable in $1.9 bn Ukraine loan scheme
-
England's Stokes out of India series decider with shoulder injury
-
Stocks diverge, dollar gains before tech earnings, Fed decision
-
India's Gill says Oval groundsman caused 'unnecessary' row
-
Physicists still divided about quantum world, 100 years on
-
Russia relieved as tsunami spares far east from major damage
-
'Can't believe it': Marchand shatters long-standing world record
-
French govt prepares new law to return colonial-era art
-
London court rules oligarch liable over $1.9 bn Ukraine loan scheme
-
Olympic biathlon champion confirmed dead after Pakistan mountaineering accident
-
German biathlete confirmed dead after accident on Pakistan mountain
-
Marchand smashes long-standing 200m medley world record
-
US economy returns to growth in second quarter on tariff turbulence
-
'All gone': Beijing villagers left with nothing after deadly floods
-
Aston Martin pares outlook as US tariffs weigh
-
Adidas says may hike US prices after tariff cost warning
-
GSK reports improved outlook despite US drug tariffs
-
Olympic champ Pan crashes out again in second worlds flop
-
US, India launch powerful Earth-monitoring satellite
-
Thailand and Cambodia trade allegations of truce breaking
-
Thai family mourns soldier son killed just before truce
-
Zimbabwe's Taylor to return after corruption and drugs ban
-
'Whirlwind' as Australia's O'Callaghan romps to 200m world gold
-
Portugal gains control of some wildfires
-
Bayern Munich boost firepower with Diaz signing
-
Tunisia's Jaouadi wins 800m freestyle gold for first major title
-
Hermes confirms outlook for rising sales in 2025
-
Stocks diverge, dollar slips before tech earnings, Fed decision
-
Australian medal hope latest swimmer hit by tummy trouble at worlds
-
England captain Stokes out of India series decider
-
HSBC banks lower profits on higher costs
-
Shanghai police bust gang selling counterfeit Labubu toys
-
Eurozone economy expands but tariff impact looms
-
Shanghai evacuates 283,000 people as typhoon hits
-
Ryanair says dropping three French airports over 'harmful' tax
-
China says childcare subsidies to 'add new impetus' to economy
-
Mercedes-Benz welcomes EU-US deal after profits plunge on tariff woes
-
Bayern Munich sign Luis Diaz from Liverpool
-
Adidas reports hit from US tariffs
-
Italy opens probe into Meta over AI tool in WhatsApp
-
Russian TV shows buildings swept away as tsunami hits coast
-
Japan sees new record high temperature of 41.2C
-
Mercedes-Benz profit plunges on tariff, China woes
-
Climbers attempt rescue of German biathlete injured on Pakistan mountain
-
Life after cod: Latvia reinvents its coastal communities
CMSC | 0.07% | 22.625 | $ | |
RYCEF | -0.3% | 13.34 | $ | |
RELX | -0.52% | 51.65 | $ | |
GSK | 3.16% | 38.9 | $ | |
SCU | 0% | 12.72 | $ | |
RIO | -1.68% | 61.239 | $ | |
NGG | -0.07% | 70.47 | $ | |
VOD | -0.36% | 11.07 | $ | |
BTI | 0.33% | 52.945 | $ | |
SCS | 1.41% | 10.66 | $ | |
BCC | 0.21% | 86.325 | $ | |
JRI | 0.15% | 13.08 | $ | |
AZN | 2.8% | 76.11 | $ | |
BP | -2.14% | 32.27 | $ | |
CMSD | -0.3% | 23.051 | $ | |
BCE | -0.66% | 23.505 | $ | |
RBGPF | -4.75% | 74.03 | $ |

SpaceX rocket fuel makes stunning swirl in European sky
A stunning blue and white spiral spotted in skies across Europe late Monday was created by frozen fuel tumbling from a SpaceX rocket, according to weather forecasters and scientists.
The UK's Met Office said on X it had received many reports of an "illuminated swirl" in the sky on Monday evening likely caused by a rocket that had blasted off earlier from Cape Canaveral in Florida.
"Don't panic! No, it wasn't a UFO but the degassing of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket," said the French state weather forecaster Meteo France in the country's central Loire Valley.
Pictures of the vivid swirl were also posted by social media users in countries including Sweden, Poland, Hungary and Croatia.
People across Europe may have had the chance to see the phenomenon -- as long as it was not obscured by clouds, planetary scientist James O'Donoghue of the UK's University of Reading told AFP.
The spiral was created after the rocket's first-stage booster, which blasted it off the ground, separated and the upper stage took over, he said.
As the booster fell back to Earth, it vented leftover fuel, which froze into reflective crystals.
"These crystals caught the sunlight, creating the bright spiral pattern in the sky," O'Donoghue said.
"The spiral shape happened because the tumbling rocket was spinning as it released the fuel."
- Spy satellite? -
The swirl was created by the launch of SpaceX's NROL-69 mission. Exactly what it was carrying into space was classified.
But the mission was conducted for the National Reconnaissance Office, which manages the US military's spy satellites.
"The Falcon 9 reusable rocket booster returned safely to Landing Zone 1 after delivering the national security payload to orbit," the office said in a statement.
A similar spiral was spotted above New Zealand in 2022, also from the workhorse Falcon 9 rocket, according to reports at the time.
The venting of the gas that creates these spirals is not dangerous, O'Donoghue said. It can happen to other rockets, but the sheer number of Falcon 9 launches makes it a likely suspect.
The timing of this launch -- during the European twilight -- as well as the season, cloud cover and other factors affect whether people on the ground can see such spirals, O'Donoghue said.
Billionaire Elon Musk's SpaceX has taken a "fail fast, learn fast" approach that has helped it become the world's dominant launch services provider.
The company's massive Starship rocket exploded during its latest test flight this month, with social media footage showing red-hot debris raining down over the Bahamas.
Musk's status as one of President Donald Trump's closest advisors, and his influence over federal regulators, have raised concerns about potential conflicts of interest.
Eric Lagadec, an astrophysicist at the Cote d'Azur Observatory in France, reposted a video on the social media platform Bluesky that was apparently taken in Poland of the spiral rising in the sky.
Along with a gif of Musk dancing, Lagadec said: "I have a feeling this is a guy who likes to mess things up on Earth and above!"
N.Walker--AT