National-World

By Jackie Wattles and Ashley Strickland, CNN (CNN) — This year held some truly out-there moments in the world of science and space travel. With SpaceX’s Mars rocket erupting into a ball of flames over the ocean (twice) and a spacecraft swinging by Earth to drop off pieces of an asteroid that could contain solar

By Mindy Weisberger, CNN (CNN) — Thousands of years ago, Earth’s magnetic field underwent a significant power surge over a part of the planet that included the ancient kingdom of Mesopotamia. People at the time probably never even noticed the fluctuation, but signs of the anomaly, including previously unknown details, were preserved in the mud

By Laura Paddison, CNN (CNN) — Ali Hajimiri has spent a decade researching how to put solar panels in space and beam the energy down to Earth. Yet when the Caltech electrical engineering professor talks about his work, people always have three questions, usually in this order: Why not just put solar panels on Earth?

By Christian Edwards, CNN (CNN) — Standing on the deserted streets of Nagorno-Karabakh on the 20th anniversary of his inauguration, Azerbaijan’s Ilham Aliyev said he had achieved the “sacred goal” of his presidency: reclaiming the land taken from his father. Azerbaijan had for decades been haunted by the loss of Nagorno-Karabakh, a tiny Caucasian enclave

By Brad Lendon, CNN (CNN) — US warships in the Red Sea have been battling a growing number of weapons fired by Houthi forces in Yemen over the past several weeks, including 17 drones and missiles during a 10-hour period on Tuesday alone. Yahya Sare’e, a spokesman for Houthi forces, said on X, formerly Twitter,

By Yoonjung Seo and Jessie Yeung, CNN Seoul, South Korea (CNN) — South Korean actor Lee Sun-kyun, known internationally for his role in the Academy Award-winning film “Parasite,” has died while being investigated for illegal drug use, police confirmed Wednesday. He was 48. Police in the capital Seoul said in a statement they had received

By Simone McCarthy, CNN Hong Kong (CNN) — The “reunification” of Taiwan with China is “inevitable,” Chinese leader Xi Jinping claimed in a speech Tuesday, reiterating Beijing’s long-held stance on the self-ruled island democracy ahead of a crucial election there next month. “The realization of the complete reunification with the motherland is an inevitable course

CNN By Xiaofei Xu, Anna Chernova and Catherine Nicholls, CNN (CNN) — Russian opposition leader Alexey Navalny has spoken out for the first time since his sudden disappearance several weeks ago, after his team said they eventually located him at a penal colony in Siberia Monday. Navalny, a staunch Kremlin critic, shared a message via his

By Xiaofei Xu, Anna Chernova and Catherine Nicholls, CNN (CNN) — Russian opposition leader Alexey Navalny has spoken out for the first time since his sudden disappearance several weeks ago, after his team said they eventually located him at a penal colony in Siberia Monday. Navalny, a staunch Kremlin critic, shared a message via his aides

By Brad Lendon and Wayne Chang, CNN Seoul, South Korea (CNN) — In the age of open-source intelligence, one main way for Western experts to keep tabs on China’s military is by analyzing photos of new People’s Liberation Army equipment posted online by amateur enthusiasts. Posting photos of military ships or aircraft captured from outside

By Veronica Lin and Jessie Yeung, CNN Hong Kong (CNN) — Perched up against the edge of a cliff in China’s southwest Guizhou province is the bamboo shack 21-year-old “retiree” Liu Youwen built from scratch. Three years ago, Liu left his rural hometown Xiaxixiang, Guizhou, for the city of Shantou in Guangdong, China’s richest province,

By David Shortell, CNN (CNN) — Sigrid Kaag, a Dutch politician and veteran United Nations diplomat, will take charge of the international body’s effort to bring humanitarian relief to war-ravaged Gaza, the UN Secretary General announced Tuesday, filling a position created this month in a breakthrough UN Security Council resolution. In a post on X, Kaag said that she would resign