SpaceX successfully returned a four-person NASA crew from space after a nearly 200-day mission aboard the International Space Station came to a close.

The crew, known as Crew-2, splashed down in the Gulf of Mexico late Monday on a SpaceX Dragon vehicle, dubbed the Endeavor, after a fiery re-entry through Earth's atmosphere. A replacement crew could return to the space station as soon as Wednesday.

“We’re happy to have Shane, Megan, Aki, and Thomas safely back on Earth after another successful, record-setting long-duration mission to the International Space Station,” NASA administrator Bill Nelson said in a statement.

“Congratulations to the teams at NASA and SpaceX who worked so hard to ensure their successful splashdown. NASA’s Commercial Crew Program continues to demonstrate safe, reliable transportation to conduct important science and maintenance on the space station,” he added.

The crew and spacecraft spent 199 days in space and the Endeavor set a record for an aircraft staying in orbit, according to SpaceX.

"Since this Dragon also completed the 63-day Demo-2 mission last year, it has now clocked over 260 days in space," the company said on Twitter.

The crew that will replace Crew-2, known as Crew-3, will spend a similarly long six-month stint in space.

During their time aboard the International Space Station, Crew-2 worked on science and maintenance duties and carried out scientific investigations and technology demonstrations, said NASA.

They included growing hatch green chile, exercising while wearing a virtual reality headset and observing how gaseous flame reacts in microgravity./agencies

The International Organization for Migration and the UN refugee agency said Tuesday they are "very alarmed" by reports about the treatment of migrants at the Belarus-Poland border.

"It's a situation for which we've been expressing our concern for quite some time," UNHCR spokeswoman Shabia Mantoo said at a UN news conference in Geneva.

The two organizations referred to reports surfacing on Nov. 8 of a large group of migrants and refugees, among them women and children, on the Belarusian side of the border.

They were moving towards the international border crossing point "Bruzgi," with Poland.

They had allegedly settled in a makeshift camp near the border during the night.

"Taking advantage of the despair and vulnerability of migrants and refugees by offering them unrealistic and misleading promises is unacceptable and has severe human consequences," the IOM and UNHCR said.

Tensions between Poland and Belarus escalated on Monday after nearly 4,000 migrants, mainly from the Middle Eastern countries, headed to the Polish border and tried to breach the barriers, the UN noted.

Polish border guards, police, and soldiers used tear gas on migrants who tried to break through the barbed-wire fences.

The UN groups have contacted both governments and are seeking an urgent resolution as well as immediate and unhindered access to the group.

They want to ensure that humanitarian assistance is provided, there is identification and protection of those in need, and that those who wish to apply for asylum can do so where they are.

Several deaths were recorded in the border area in recent weeks, the further loss of life must be prevented, and the humane treatment of migrants and refugees ensured, said the agencies.

The EU accuses the Belarusian administration of "using irregular migration as a tool" and "trying to destabilize the EU" by sending migrants to the borders of EU countries -- Poland, Lithuania, and Latvia./aa

Japanese officials have been accused of “failing to provide appropriate medical care” to a Sri Lankan woman who died at an immigration center in Japan earlier this year.

The family of Ratnayake Liyanage Wishma Sandamali have filed a case against the director and deputy director of the Nagoya Regional Immigration Services Bureau, saying “their conduct amounted to willful negligence,” Kyodo News reported on Tuesday.

Wishma, 33, who came to Japan in 2017 on a student visa, was taken into custody in August 2020 for overstaying her visa.

She was detained at the facility in Nagoya, where she was denied medical attention despite persistently complaining of stomach pain and other symptoms since mid-January.

She lost 20 kilograms (44 pounds) in detention, was vomiting blood in her final days, and was so weak that she had no control of her arms and legs, according to an April 2021 report by Singapore-based The Straits Times.

In August, an investigation by the Immigration Services Agency of Japan revealed that staff at the facility “lacked awareness of handling crises, and there were problems with the center's medical and information sharing system.”

However, the probe did not determine the cause of her death, prompting Wishma’s family to file a complaint with the Nagoya District Public Prosecutors Office, Kyodo News reported./aa

Despite being promoted to the next grades, millions of children in Zimbabwe are unable to read or write, due to repeated lockdowns and inability to hook to online education.

Josphat Magosvongwe, 8, had just started schooling when restrictions were imposed to stem the spread of the virus. He is now in second grade, but cannot read or write letters.

“He hasn’t been attending school for the better part of 2020, meaning part of his grade one school learning never took place as the country was under lockdowns for most of the time,” Linda Jonasi, mother of Magosvongwe, told Anadolu Agency.

His 33-year-old father Jonasi Magosvongwe is worried about the child’s illiteracy, despite now studying in class two.

But many fortunate children studying in private schools did afford to switch to digital learning.

“I didn’t miss much during the lockdowns because my school kept us busy through virtual learning. My teacher kept teaching us online using the internet,” said 12-year-old Livson Chigota.

The COVID-19 restrictions have sharpened the divide between wealthy and poor children.

According to the US-based Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resources Center, Zimbabwe reported 133,205 COVID-19 cases with 4,690 deaths. The country has so far administered 6 million doses, but still, just 18.2% population stands fully vaccinated.

Obert Masaraure, who heads the Rural Teachers’ Union of Zimbabwe, said it is an uphill task to make up for the loss of education and make children who did not have digital access compete with children who had access.

“We have had learners who were supposed to be in grade one, grade two, and three at the beginning of 2020. They are automatically in next grades but have missed on concepts,” he said.

Zimbabwe’s Ministry of Education treats a person as literate when someone gets into grade three in primary school. It was visualized that till then, a child will be able to understand letters and read and write.

But experts say the COVID-19 has sent this rule upside down. Students in grade three are unable to comprehend letters, leaving parents and teachers worried./agencies

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg on Tuesday reassured Poland of the alliance’s solidarity amid the escalating migration crisis at its border with Belarus.

“Belarus using migrants as (a) hybrid tactic is unacceptable,” Stoltenberg wrote on Twitter following his phone conversation with Polish President Andrzej Duda.

“NATO stands in solidarity with Poland and all our allies in the region,” he added.

On Monday, Polish authorities stepped up border protection and mobilized over 12,000 troops after a large group of migrants started marching towards the country’s frontier with Belarus, accompanied by the Belarusian military.

In an interview with public broadcaster Polish Radio, Poland’s Deputy Foreign Minister Piotr Wawrzyk alleged that the Belarusian government is trying “to cause a major incident, preferably with shots fired and casualties.”

“The Belarusian regime is keeping up its provocations and resorting to the worst possible tactics,” he added.

Poland and the EU have accused Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko of seeking revenge for the bloc’s sanctions on his regime by inviting “tourists” from countries that are the main sources of migration to the EU.

Both NATO and EU consider the Belarusian government’s approach towards migrants as a hybrid threat meant to destabilize and undermine security in European countries through non-military means.

According to estimates from last month, over 6,000 migrants, mostly from Iraq, Afghanistan, and Syria, tried to enter the EU via the Belarus-EU border, up sharply from last year’s 150.​​​​​​​/aa

The European Union has suspended visa facilitation arrangements for Belarusian government officials in response to Minsk's hostile actions using migrants, the Council of the EU announced on Tuesday.

“The Council today adopted a decision partially suspending the application of the EU-Belarus visa facilitation agreement,” the institution representing EU member states said in a press statement.

The decision means that Belarusian government officials will not be able to apply for EU visas using simplified procedures reducing the number of required documents and the administration fee.

The statement also notes that the sanctions do not concern ordinary citizens, as can still “enjoy the same benefits under the visa facilitation agreement” in place since July 2020.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Monday called for new sanctions on Belarus in response to a growing migration crisis at its border with Poland.

“The EU will in particular explore how to sanction, including through blacklisting, third country airlines that are active in human trafficking,” she added.

The European Union accuses Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko of seeking revenge for EU sanctions on his regime by inviting “tourists” from countries that are the main sources of migration to the bloc.

The EU has imposed sanctions against 166 individuals and 15 entities from Belarus over human rights violations related to a crackdown on protests against the August 2020 rigged elections.

In June, the bloc banned overflights through EU airspace and access to EU airports for all Belarusian aircraft after the forced diversion of a Ryanair flight to the capital Minsk and the detention of Belarusian journalist Raman Pratasevich and his partner.

EU countries bordering Belarus – Lithuania, Latvia and Poland – have been reporting a dramatically growing number of irregular crossings since August.

According to the latest estimates from last month, over 6,000 migrants, mostly from Iraq, Afghanistan, and Syria, tried to enter the bloc via the Belarus-EU border, a sharp rise from last year’s 150./aa

The coronavirus pandemic has widened deep-rooted inequities in American economy, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said on Monday.

"Along racial, gender, and socioeconomic lines, those least able to bear it, unfortunately, were those who were most affected," he said at the Gender and the Economy Conference held in Washington, D.C. via webcast.

"Women make up the majority of frontline workers, who have been under substantial strain—and subject to personal risks—during the pandemic. Additionally, women took on the majority of caring responsibilities, for older relatives and children alike," he told at the symposium hosted by the Division of Consumer and Community Affairs, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System.

Stressing that women suffered more from job losses in the COVID-19 recession than men, Powell noted that the unemployment rate for women in the US was 16.1% in April 2020, compared with 13.6% for men.

The Fed chair said the gap persisted until September 2020, and while it has since reversed, it does not account many women who have entirely left the workforce.

Powell did not comment on the Fed's monetary policies, nor rising inflation in the post-pandemic era.

A survey by the New York Fed, however, showed that US consumers' inflation expectation peaked for the short-term, by rising 0.4 percentage point to 5.7%.

The inflation expectation remained unchanged for the medium-term at 4.2%, according to the Survey of Consumer Expectations for October.

While the median one-year ahead expected change in the cost of college education and in the price of food increased by 1.5 and 2.1 percentage points to 7.4% and 9.1%, respectively; the median expected change in the cost of rent increased by 0.4 percentage points to 10.1%, the survey showed./agencies

Brenton Tarrant, the Australian white supremacist who was sentenced to life for carrying out the 2019 Christchurch attacks in New Zealand, has been advised by his newly appointed attorney to appeal against his ruling, his lawyer said on Monday.

"I advised my client to appeal his sentence and conviction," Tony Ellis told Radio New Zealand, claiming that Tarrant "believed his right to a fair trial was compromised" which constituted "breach of the Bill of Rights."

During his trial, Tarrant had pleaded guilty to killing 51 people and injuring 40 others at the Al Noor Mosque and Linwood Islamic Centre in Christchurch, New Zealand, on March 15, 2019.

Ellis said Terrant was "considering" filing a plea against the life sentence issued last year in August and under which Tarrant cannot apply for parole.

The lawyer made the claim in his communication with Chief Coroner Judge Deborah Marshall. A coronial inquiry will now be launched into the mass killing.

"The shooter said his guilty pleas were obtained by 'duress' and the conditions under which he pleaded needed to be taken into consideration," said the attorney.

"It could be a breach of the Bill of Rights because he was subject to inhumane or degrading treatment whilst on remand, which prevented a fair trial," he added. "He sent me about 15 pages of narrative of how he had been treated since he'd been in prison."

The lawyer also raised objections against the court not identifying Tarrant by his name in communications.

A relative of one mosque attack victim described Tarrant's claim as "seeking attention."

"Every now and again it's like there's some personality deficit where he just seeks more attention. It's like he's a narcissist, you know? He just enjoys that attention," Rosemary Omar was quoted as saying by Radio New Zealand.

Omar's 24-year-old son, Tariq, was among the victims of Tarrant's mass shooting at Al Noor Mosque.

Experts says it would be a monumental task for Tarrant to prove his claims.

Soon after Tarrant was sentenced, New Zealand's parliament passed new counter-terrorism legislation last year, granting more powers to security agencies in their efforts to fight terrorism.

The bill was part of a government move to implement the recommendation of a royal commission probe into Tarrant's terror attacks.

Under the law, security agencies will also have powers to enter, search, and monitor premises without a warrant.

Weapons or combat training for terrorist purposes was also criminalized, as was travelling to, from, or via New Zealand with the intent to carry out a terror offense.

It also expanded offenses related to terror financing to include "wider forms of support" such as goods and services./aa