India has sent 38 tonnes of food and critical medical equipment to the Gaza Strip, reeling under Israel’s blistering retaliatory bombings, Ambassador R Ravindra, the Deputy Permanent Representative (DPR) to the United Nations said while representing India at the UN Security Council’s open debate on the “situation in the Middle East, including the Palestinian question”.

“India sent 38 tonnes of humanitarian goods, including medicines and equipment, to the people of Palestine. We also urge the parties to work towards creating conditions necessary for peace and for restarting direct negotiations, including through de-escalation and issuing violence,” Mr Ravindra said.

“The escalation of our utilities in the region has only exacerbated the dire humanitarian situation,” he said, adding, “It has once again underscored the fragile nature of the ceasefire.”

“In these challenging times, India will continue to send humanitarian assistance to the people of Palestine,” he said.

Gaza has reported massive casualties as Israel continues to bomb the coastal enclave from where Hamas launched the October 7 Sabbath attack, firing a barrage of over 5,000 rockets at Israel.

Noting that India has condemned the terror attack unequivocally, the deputy permanent envoy to the UN said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi was one of the first global leaders to convey his condolences over the loss of lives and “prayers for the innocent victims and their families”.

“We stood in solidarity with Israel at their moment of crisis when they were facing these terror attacks,” he added.

“We have also expressed deep shock at the tragic loss of lives at the Al Hali hospital in Gaza, where several hundreds of civilian casualties have occurred and thousands injured. Our heartfelt condolences to the families of the victims and prayers for the speedy recovery of the injured,” he said.

Outlining that PM Modi said that those involved in the attack “must be held responsible”, R Ravindra said India is deeply concerned about the deteriorating security situation and the massive loss of civilian lives in the ongoing war. “The mounting humanitarian crisis is equally alarming.”

Welcoming the resumption of the movement of aid into Gaza, R Ravindra said, “The unfolding humanitarian crisis needs to be addressed. We welcome the efforts of the international community for de-escalation and delivery of humanitarian goods to the people of Gaza.”

The deputy envoy reaffirmed India’s support for a two-state solution to the Israel-Palestine issue and said this could lead to the establishment of a sovereign, independent, and viable state of Palestine, living within secure and recognized borders, side by side in peace with Israel, taking into account the legitimate security concerns of Israel.

“We reiterate the need for an early resumption of direct peace negotiations. We also continue to support the Palestinian people through our bilateral development partnership, which covers a wide range of sectors including health, education, women’s empowerment, entrepreneurship, and information technology,” R Ravindra said.

He said the current escalation of the conflict has underscored the need for immediate resumption of credible and direct negotiations between Israel and Palestine.

“Every effort must be made to create conducive conditions for the resumption of these talks. We welcome all efforts of regional and global players aimed towards restoring normalcy,” he said.

(With input from ANI)

Last month, a NASA capsule landed in the desert in the US state of Utah, carrying to Earth the largest asteroid samples ever collected. On October 11, NASA gave the world its first look at the asteroid Bennu sample, something scientists hope will yield clues about the earliest days of our solar system and perhaps the origins of life itself.  So far, the team has removed and collected 2.48 ounces (70.3 grams) of rocks and dust from the sampler hardware. According to NASA, the samples exceed the mission’s goal of collecting 60 grams of debris from the asteroid. 

There are more samples to collect, however, the teams at NASA’s Johnson Space Center (JSC) are now struggling to open the canister.

In the last week, the team for the OSIRIS-REx mission has had a hard time opening the TAGSAM head, which contained the bulk of the rocks and dust collected by the spacecraft in 2020.

”After multiple attempts at removal, the team discovered two of the 35 fasteners on the TAGSAM head could not be removed with the current tools approved for use in the OSIRIS-REx glovebox. The team has been working to develop and implement new approaches to extract the material inside the head while continuing to keep the sample safe and pristine,” NASA wrote in a blog post.

The team will now spend the next few weeks developing and practicing a new procedure to remove the remaining asteroid sample from the TAGSAM sampler head while simultaneously processing the material that was collected this week.

”All curation work on the sample – and the TAGSAM head – is performed in a specialized glovebox under a flow of nitrogen to keep it from being exposed to Earth’s atmosphere, preserving the sample’s pristine state for subsequent scientific analysis. The tools for any proposed solution to extract the remaining material from the head must be able to fit inside the glovebox and not compromise the scientific integrity of the collection, and any procedures must be consistent with the clean room’s standards,” NASA added. 

OSIRIS-REx wasn’t the first mission to rendezvous with an asteroid and bring back samples for study — Japan succeeded in the feat twice, returning bits of space pebbles in 2010 and 2020.

Notably, NASA chose to sample Bennu because it is believed to be rich in organic compounds. Scientists think similar asteroids could have delivered organic building blocks to Earth along with water through collisions billions of years ago.

While it has no chance of hitting Earth through the mid 2100s, the chances rise to around 1 in 1750 between then and the year 2300, NASA said. 

The off-duty US pilot who tried to shut down the engines of a plane mid-flight over the weekend had taken magic mushrooms and thought he was having a nervous breakdown, court documents showed Tuesday.

Pilots wrestled Joseph Emerson out of the cockpit on Sunday after he lunged for handles that would have starved the engines of fuel and turned the plane into a glider.

Emerson, who told police he had not slept in 40 hours, also tried to open an emergency exit in the rear of the aircraft and had to be restrained by the cabin crew during an emergency landing.

“I pulled both emergency shutoff handles because I thought I was dreaming and I just want to wake up,” Emerson told police, according to a criminal complaint.

Emerson and the investigating officer “talked about the use of psychedelic mushrooms, and Emerson said it was his first time taking mushrooms.”

The 44-year-old was arrested on Sunday evening after the Alaska Airlines flight made an emergency landing in Portland, Oregon.

Emerson had boarded the flight — which was operated by Horizon Air — between Everett, Washington, and San Francisco, sitting in the jump seat of the cockpit, in line with airline policy for non-working staff.

A short way into the journey, after chatting with the pilots “Emerson attempted to grab and pull two red fire handles that would have activated the plane’s emergency fire suppression system and cut off fuel to its engines,” the Department of Justice said.

“After a brief physical struggle with the pilots, Emerson exited the cockpit.”

Alaska Airlines said Monday that pilots had reacted quickly to reverse the handles, and the aircraft had landed safely.

“Flight attendants placed Emerson in wrist restraints and seated him in the rear of the aircraft,” the Department of Justice said. 

“During the flight’s descent, Emerson tried to grab the handle of an emergency exit. A flight attendant stopped him by placing her hands on top of his.”

The US Attorney’s Office for the District of Oregon said Emerson faces a federal charge of interfering with flight crew members and attendants.

He has also been charged in Oregon with 83 counts of attempted murder, 83 counts of reckless endangerment and one count of endangering an aircraft.

US media reported that he pleaded not guilty to these charges during a brief court appearance in Portland on Tuesday.

Live ATC, a website that archives conversations between pilots and air traffic controllers, published an audio recording of the moments after the incident.

“We’ve got the guy that tried to shut the engines down out of the cockpit,” the pilot said. “And he doesn’t sound like he’s causing any issue in the back right now.

“I think he’s subdued. Other than that, yeah, we want law enforcement as soon as we get on the ground and parked,” the pilot said.

Alaska Airlines said Tuesday that Emerson had been “removed from service indefinitely and relieved from all duties.”

A Germanwings plane on a flight from Barcelona to Dusseldorf was intentionally crashed by a pilot in March 2015, killing all 144 passengers and six crew members on board.