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Blue Origin rocket explodes on launch pad during test

Blue Origin rocket explodes on launch pad during test

NewsFeed A rocket belonging to Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin exploded during a test at the Florida launch pad Thursday night. The explosion shook nearby homes and briefly painted the sky orange. Bezos said it was “too early to know the root cause” of the incident. No one was injured in the blast. The same rocket, New Glenn, failed a mission to deliver a satellite last month and prompted an investigation. Published On 29 May 202629 May 2026 Click here to share on social media share-nodes Share googleAdd Al Jazeera on Googleinfo Adblock test (Why?)

How Indian PM Modi’s efforts to isolate Pakistan ‘backfired’

How Indian PM Modi’s efforts to isolate Pakistan ‘backfired’

Doha, Qatar – Thumping his fist on a lectern, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi issued a direct challenge to the leaders of Pakistan. “India has been successful in isolating you, and we will intensify those efforts,” he said, addressing a large rally of supporters in the southern Indian state of Kerala, as dusk set in. “We will make sure that you are isolated around the world.” Recommended Stories list of 4 itemsend of list It was September 2016, and Modi was responding to an attack by armed fighters in Indian-administered Kashmir days earlier, in which 18 Indian soldiers had been killed. “The leaders of Pakistan should listen: The sacrifice of our 18 soldiers will not go in vain,” the Indian leader said. Yet a decade later, Pakistan stands far from isolated: It is a close strategic ally of China, where the Pakistani prime minister, Shehbaz Sharif, visited this week, and has reemerged as a trusted partner of the United States under President Donald Trump. Pakistan’s army chief Asim Munir and Sharif have both visited Trump at the White House over the past year. Islamabad is the principal mediator between the US and Iran amid their ongoing war. Trump has also frequently praised the Pakistani leadership. In part, say analysts, that’s a reflection of Pakistan’s success in wooing Trump, and in capitalising on key geopolitical events to make itself an important diplomatic player for superpowers and regional players alike. But equally, say analysts, Pakistan’s growing diplomatic stature underscores missteps by Modi’s administration. Advertisement “Certainly, India’s strategy of undercutting and indeed isolating Pakistan, regionally and globally, has backfired in a big way,” Michael Kugelman, a senior fellow on South Asia at the Atlantic Council think tank, told Al Jazeera. Rubble of buildings in Muridke, Pakistan, hit by Indian missiles in May 2025 [Abid Hussain/Al Jazeera] The ceasefire and the Nobel nomination On May 10, 2025, Trump announced that he had secured a ceasefire between nuclear-armed India and Pakistan. “After a long night of talks mediated by the United States, I am pleased to announce that India and Pakistan have agreed to a FULL AND IMMEDIATE CEASEFIRE,” he posted on his Truth Social platform. Shortly after, Sharif, the Pakistani PM, thanked Trump’s “leadership and proactive role” in securing the truce that ended four days of intense fighting involving ballistic missiles, fighter jets and drones. It was the worst fighting between India and Pakistan in decades: Dozens of people were killed on both sides of their heavily militarised border. The conflict erupted after the Indian military carried out attacks on “terror” sites deep inside Pakistani territory, in response to an attack by gunmen who killed 26 tourists in Indian-administered Kashmir. But unlike Sharif, Modi, who had cultivated a personal rapport with the US president – whom he had met just months earlier in the Oval Office – chose to remain silent, even as India’s foreign secretary confirmed the ceasefire. Days later, the US president offered to work with the two arch foes to find a solution to the Kashmir issue, which has defined India-Pakistan relations since 1947, the year the two South Asian nations achieved independence from British colonial rule. For India, Trump’s attempts to portray himself as a peacemaker between New Delhi and Islamabad were troubling: India has long insisted that its disputes with its neighbour were strictly bilateral, for the two countries to resolve among themselves – though US former President Bill Clinton had played a role in ending the 1999 Kargil War. In June, Modi was visiting Canada when Trump asked him to also fly over to Washington. Modi turned down the offer. He instead told the US president over the phone that New Delhi wouldn’t accept third-party mediation, and that the ceasefire in May was solely the result of bilateral conversations with Pakistan. Yet that tit-for-tat spiral of claims around the May truce continued. Trump has since insisted on more than 30 occasions that he brokered the ceasefire between India and Pakistan. He has claimed that he averted a nuclear war that could have killed millions. The US president also asserted that Indian fighter jets were shot down on the first day of the conflict, echoing the Pakistani narrative of downing several Indian planes. Advertisement New Delhi also failed to convince the international community on Pakistan’s role in the attack that triggered the May 2025 fighting in the first place, analysts say. “The world did not step back and encourage India to carry out strikes… World capitals noted that India did not provide proof of any Pakistani complicity in the Pahalgam attack,” Kugelman of the Atlantic Council said, referring to the scenic town in Indian-administered Kashmir where tourists were shot. Pakistan, he said, appeared to have won “the global battle of narratives”. “The fact that Pakistan was able to hold its own in a conflict and shoot down several Indian jets … that’s something that got a lot of attention around the world, including in the White House,” he added. New Delhi’s silence on the downing of the jets for almost three weeks further gave impetus to that perception. The country’s top general eventually acknowledged that several fighter planes were shot down by Pakistan, though India has never confirmed the number. Analysts say Modi’s refusal to give credit to the US president for the truce strained US-India ties. Pakistan, on the other hand, promptly acknowledged Trump’s efforts in achieving the truce and even nominated him for the Nobel Peace Prize – an award the US president has said he deserved. Trump, who had accused Pakistan of “deceit and lies” during his first term, has since repeatedly praised Pakistani leadership, including army chief Asim Munir who led the war efforts against India. And to India’s dismay, Trump invited Munir to the White House for lunch – the first time that a Pakistani military chief who was not also president had been hosted by a US president. Trump has described Munir as his “favourite Field Marshal” and an “exceptional human being” –

Israel football dispute to ‘heat up’ after protest in Ireland-Qatar match

Israel football dispute to ‘heat up’ after protest in Ireland-Qatar match

Ireland’s football match against Qatar was stalled by pro-Palestinian protests as pressure builds on upcoming games against Israel. By Al Jazeera Staff and Reuters Published On 29 May 202629 May 2026 Republic of Ireland midfielder ‌Jamie McGrath has warned that the controversy surrounding Nations League games against Israel could intensify after their friendly win over Qatar in ⁠Dublin was disrupted by pro-Palestinian protests. Ireland are set to host Israel at Dublin’s Aviva Stadium on October 4, ⁠while a September 27 fixture designated as an Israel home match is expected to be staged at a neutral venue. Recommended Stories list of 3 itemsend of list Qatar’s match against Ireland was part of their preparations for this summer’s World Cup, where they begin their campaign against Switzerland on June 13. Ireland failed to qualify for the event. Earlier this month, leading Irish footballers joined with celebrities in a campaign ‌calling for a boycott of Israel’s matches, but Ireland’s governing body for football (FAI) has said it will go ahead with the fixtures and that a refusal to play could lead to disciplinary measures. Tennis balls featuring the Palestinian flag were thrown on to the pitch in Thursday’s friendly, ⁠causing the match to be halted twice, ⁠and McGrath expected more protests to follow. “I’m sure it’s going to heat up over the next few months. We (the players) don’t want to be put into ⁠a position,” he told the BBC’s Northern Ireland bureau after the match. “It’s obviously a unique scenario. The people [protesters], we have to listen to them, they have the right to do what they do, as long as it’s done in a peaceful way, that’s all that matters. “Hopefully, the powers above us can work something out or use it for the greater good, I’m not sure what the process will be as it heats up. Advertisement “At the end of the day, we’re footballers and we don’t want to be caught in this, but sometimes we might have to.” In November last year, 93 percent of FAI members voted ‌for ‌its leadership to press UEFA to suspend the Israel Football Association from European competitions. On Tuesday, the Ireland Palestine Solidarity Campaign held a protest at the Dail (Irish parliament). Ireland manager Heimir Hallgrimsson has also regularly weighed in on the debate and, ahead of the Qatar match, said his players must “win this war” against Israel in the upcoming matches. McGrath was pressed further on the matter as to whether he believed a resolution would be found ahead of the matches. “To be honest, I’ve no idea,” he replied. “We obviously touched on it a few days, I’m sure as it heats up, it might be taken out of our hands, I’m not sure.” Adblock test (Why?)