Debris from China's disintegrating rocket enters Earth's atmosphere
Beijing: China said on Sunday that the debris from its disintegrating Long March rocket has entered the Earth's atmosphere with most of its parts burned up during its uncontrolled re-entry.
The remnants of China's Long March 5B rocket re-entered the Earth's atmosphere at 10:24 am Beijing time, China's Manned Space Engineering Office said.
Most of the debris from the rocket burned up during its re-entry, the official media quoted the office as saying.
The rocket was used by China to launch a part of its space station recently.
While most space debris objects may burn up in the atmosphere, the rocket's size - 22 tonnes - has prompted concern that its large parts could re-enter and cause damage if they hit inhabited areas.
The rocket launched the first module of China's new Tianhe space station into Earth's orbit on April 29. Its 18-tonne main segment is now in freefall and experts have said it is difficult to say precisely where and when it will re-enter the atmosphere.
The U.S. Space Command's Space Track Project said in a tweet: "Everyone else following the LongMarch5B re-entry can relax. The rocket is down.
At around 100 feet tall and weighing about 22 metric tonnes, the rocket stage is one of the largest objects to ever re-enter the Earth's atmosphere on an uncontrolled trajectory.
Its re-entry prompted international concern about where it might land. Scientists said the risk to humans was astronomically low, but it was not impossible for it to land in an inhabited area.
The European Space Agency predicted a "risk zone" that encompassed much of the world, including nearly all of the Americas, all of Africa and Australia, parts of Asia and European countries such as Italy and Greece, The Washington Post said in a report.
Scientists have described China's decision as potentially hazardous corner-cutting.
"There's clearly a significant chance that it's going to come down on land, Jonathan McDowell, an astrophysicist at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, told CNN on Saturday.
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Zohran Mamdani sworn in as New York City mayor at historic subway station
New York (AP): Zohran Mamdani became mayor of New York City just after midnight on Thursday, taking the oath of office at a historic, decommissioned subway station in Manhattan.
Mamdani, a Democrat, was sworn in as the first Muslim leader of America's biggest city, placing his hand on a Quran as he took his oath.
“This is truly the honour and the privilege of a lifetime,” Mamdani said.
The ceremony, administered by New York Attorney General Letitia James, a political ally, took place at the old City Hall station, one of the city's original subway stops that is known for its stunning arched ceilings.
He will be sworn in again, in grander style, in a public ceremony at City Hall at 1 pm by US Sen. Bernie Sanders, one of the mayor's political heroes. That will be followed by what the new administration is billing as a public block party on a stretch of Broadway known as the “Canyon of Heroes,” famous for its ticker-tape parades.
Mamdani now begins one of the most unrelenting jobs in American politics as one of the country's most-watched politicians.
In addition to being the city's first Muslim mayor, Mamdani is also its first of South Asian descent and the first to be born in Africa. At 34, Mamdani is also the city's youngest mayor in generations.
In a campaign that helped make “affordability” a buzzword across the political spectrum, the democratic socialist promised to bring transformative change with policies intended to lower the cost of living in one of the world's most expensive cities. His platform included free child care, free buses, a rent freeze for about 1 million households, and a pilot of city-run grocery stores.
But he will also have to face other responsibilities: handling trash and snow and rats, while getting blamed for subway delays and potholes.
Mamdani was born in Kampala, Uganda, the son of filmmaker Mira Nair and Mahmood Mamdani, an academic and author. His family moved to New York City when he was 7, with Mamdani growing up in a post-9/11 city where Muslims didn't always feel welcome. He became an American citizen in 2018.
He worked on political campaigns for Democratic candidates in the city before he sought public office himself, winning a state Assembly seat in 2020 to represent a section of Queens.
Mamdani and his wife, Rama Duwaji, will depart their one-bedroom, rent-stabilised apartment in the outer borough to take up residence in the stately mayoral residence in Manhattan.
Mamdani inherits a city on the upswing, after years of slow recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. Violent crime has dropped to pre-pandemic lows. Tourists are back. Unemployment, which soared during the pandemic years, is also back to pre-COVID levels.
Yet deep concerns remain about high prices and rising rents in the city.
He'll also have to deal with Republican President Donald Trump.
During the mayoral race, Trump threatened to withhold federal funding from the city if Mamdani won and mused about sending National Guard troops to the city.
But Trump surprised supporters and foes alike by inviting the Democrat to the White House for what ended up being a cordial meeting in November.
“I want him to do a great job and will help him do a great job,” Trump said.
Still, tensions between the two leaders are almost certain to resurface, given their deep policy disagreements, particularly over immigration.
Mamdani also faces scepticism and opposition from some members of the city's Jewish community over his criticisms of Israel's government.
The new mayor and his team have spent the weeks since his election victory preparing for the transition, surrounding Mamdani with seasoned hands who have worked inside or alongside city government.
That included persuading the city's police commissioner, Jessica Tisch, to remain in her position — a move that helped calm fears in the business community that the administration might be planning radical changes in policing strategy.
