Indian authorities have released a preliminary report on last month's plane crash in the western city of Ahmedabad that left at least 260 people dead. The report says the aircraft's switches for controlling fuel flow to the engines transitioned to the cutoff position and the engines began to decrease from their takeoff values.

The Ministry of Civil Aviation released the report on Saturday, exactly one month after the incident. The report says that there are no recommended actions for Boeing and engine operators and manufacturers "at this stage of investigation." The report did not reach a conclusion on what caused the crash.

It says the investigation is continuing. An Indian former air accident investigator, says inspections should be ordered for all relevant aircraft if a problem is found with the engines. He also said there will need to be "corrective actions" for any human factors behind the accident.

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A heartwarming video filmed Tuesday in the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding has gone viral, showing four panda cubs adorably swarming their keeper during bath time.

The Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding is a world-renowned institution for the conservation of giant pandas. The base is famous for its work in protecting and breeding giant pandas, red pandas and other endangered wild animals exclusive to China as well as its educational outreach programs and its role as a major tourist attraction.

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Parts of Grand Canyon National Park, a popular natural wonder in the U.S. west, were closed due to a fast-moving wildfire that reached about 8,700 acres as of Friday afternoon, authorities said.

All visitors on the North Rim of Grand Canyon National Park, northwestern Arizona, were required to evacuate due to the advancing wildfire, dubbed the White Sage Fire, said park officials in a statement. They issued an extreme heat warning, as temperatures are expected to reach as high as 46 degrees Celsius.

The fire made a significant run on Thursday, spotting and torching due to sustained winds, extremely dry conditions and low relative humidity, according to InciWeb, an interagency all-risk incident web information management system provided by the United States Forest Service's latest update.

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Thirty PKK fighters destroyed their weapons at a symbolic ceremony in Iraqi Kurdistan on Friday, two months after the Kurdish rebels ended their decades-long armed struggle against the Turkish state.

The ceremony marked a major step in the transition of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) from armed insurgency to democratic politics as part of a broader effort to end one of the region's longest-running conflicts. The PKK's disarmament also grants President Erdogan the distinction of being the Turkish leader who managed to draw a line under a conflict that has cost more than 40,000 lives and wrought havoc in Turkiye and beyond.

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The annual Japan Festival has begun in the Brazilian city of Sao Paulo, offering visitors the chance to sample local Japanese dishes and experience the country's atmosphere. Brazil is home to the world's largest community of Japanese descendants. The festival is said to be one of the world’s largest of its kind outside Japan.

The event showcases Japanese culture, including traditional drum performances. At the food corner, about 40 prefectural associations have set up booths where people can enjoy local dishes and sweets from around Japan. The festival runs through Sunday. The organizer expects about 200,000 visitors.

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The first-ever Birkin bag designed by French luxury brand Hermes for celebrity Jane Birkin sold for 8.58 million euros at a Sotheby's auction in Paris on Thursday, smashing previous price records for a handbag. The modern design classic, owned by a Paris-based handbag collector, sparked a telephone bidding war up to seven million euros, with the final sale price set at 8.58 million with commission and fees, the Sotheby's website showed.

The final buyer, who eclipsed eight other rivals, was a "private collector from Japan", the auction house added, without giving further details. The previous record price for a handbag at auction was set by a diamond-encrusted crocodile skin Hermes Kelly 28, which fetched $513,000 in 2021 at Christie's in Hong Kong.

The bag is now the second-most expensive fashion item ever sold at auction, Sotheby's said. The record was established by a pair of ruby red slippers worn by actor Judy Garland from The Wizard of Oz in 1939, which sold for $32.5 million in 2024 in Dallas, Texas.

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The four members of SpaceX’s Crew 11 Mission spoke at a press conference Thursday from the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas. (NASA) The Crew-11 mission, targeted to launch in late July/early August, will carry NASA astronauts Zena Cardman and Mike Fincke, JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Kimiya Yui, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Oleg Platonov to the orbiting laboratory.

The crew will launch aboard a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft on the company’s Falcon 9 rocket from Launch Complex 39A.

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Mattel has launched its first Barbie doll with type 1 diabetes in a bid to foster a greater sense of inclusion and empathy among children, a company vice-president said. The doll is wearing a blue polka dot top and matching skirt inspired by global diabetes awareness symbols. Alongside the new model, the company also launched a bespoke Lila Moss doll, complete with the CGM paraphernalia.

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American actor Glynn Turman, whose career spans over 50 years in cinema and on television, received the 2,816th star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Turman may be best known for his role in the hit TV series A Different World, the award-winning and prolific actor, director, producer, writer, and composer boasts a diverse and extensive body of work that spans all media and genres and more than half a century.

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The first batch of fuel in more than four months allowed into Gaza provides only a dent in the needs of the fuel-starved, from hospitals to water systems, UN humanitarians said on Thursday.

The 75,000 liters of fuel Israeli authorities allowed a UN team to bring into the Gaza Strip on Wednesday was not enough to even meet one day's fuel requirements, estimated to be in the hundreds of thousands of liters, said the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).

"Fuel is still running out in the strip, and services will shut down if far greater volumes do not enter immediately," OCHA said. "One partner, for instance, reported this week that in a matter of days, fuel shortages could cut off supplies of clean drinking water to about 44,000 children supported by its team in Gaza. This would further increase the risk of waterborne illnesses such as cholera, diarrhea and dysentery."

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