The first all-woman crew of the 21st century flew on a Blue Origin capsule to the edge of space, creating history after they landed safely back on Earth after an 11-minute flight.
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00:00Hello and welcome. Geeta Mohan and you're watching World. Today we begin with a big
00:20international story. Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin created history on the 14th of April with
00:2511-minute space travel of first all-women crew in more than 60 years. New Shepard rocket
00:33successfully returned to Earth after an almost 11-minute flight. The six passengers were pop
00:39star Katy Perry, broadcaster Gayle King, journalist Lauren Sanchez, rocket scientist Aisha Bao,
00:46civil rights activist Amanda Nguyen and film producer Carrie Ann Flynn. The crew traveled
00:53to the edge of space where they experienced a brief period of weightlessness and then they
00:58returned to Earth.
00:59It's a very soft, soft landing despite the sporty perception. There it is. Just seeing her mother
01:15go to space and come back.
01:22After 11 minutes in space, the six famous women became astronauts on 14th April 2025.
01:33All six of them have already made their marks in life. Now they have left marks in space history as well.
01:40I don't have, I can't put it into words, but like I looked out the window and we got to see the moon.
01:49No dream is too wild. It was the most incredible experience of my life.
01:54This experience is right, is second to being a mom.
01:59They rang the bell as they moved forward to board their spacecraft for Blue Origin mission NS-31.
02:09Lauren Sanchez, Katy Perry, Amanda Wynn, Gayle King, Aisha Bowie and Karian Flynn
02:17strapped inside the 3.8-meter-wide New Shefford capsule waited for the takeoff.
02:23Blue Origin owner and Lauren Sanchez's fiancee was there to chair them on.
02:27I'm so excited for you. I don't want to get off. I want to go with you.
02:34And when you get back, I can't wait to hear how it's changed you.
02:39I love all of you. See you soon. Godspeed.
02:45Gradatum ferocitor.
02:47Their friends and family waited for this incredible experience of space travel to come true.
02:53I don't think I realized how emotional it was going to be.
02:58And I literally had chills all over my body from the second it launched until the moment I just saw it land.
03:04And it's it's sort of hard to explain because I don't think you think you would be that emotional.
03:09But I've been friends since we were 21 and 22.
03:11And I have never been more proud of my friend than today.
03:15Never been more proud.
03:16And then at 7 p.m. Indian Standard Time, they took off.
03:22It is the highest high and it is surrender to the unknown, trust.
03:39And this whole journey is not just about going to space.
03:47It's the training. It's the team. It's the whole thing.
03:52I couldn't recommend this experience more.
03:54The moon was so beautiful.
03:56And that was like I felt like that was a special gift just for me.
04:00The best part was when we got back in our seats after zero G's.
04:03Katie sang What a Wonderful World.
04:06Everybody said sing roar, sing fireworks.
04:08And she said, it's not about me.
04:09I wanted to talk about the world.
04:11Just seeing her mother go to space and come back.
04:16As the capsule touched down in the middle of the Texas desert,
04:20family and friends in the gallery were teary eyed, excited and proud.
04:27I'm asking this question for your fans.
04:29Will you write a song about this experience?
04:31Oh, for sure. 100 percent.
04:33And not only that, I got to reveal my set list for the tour on Butterfly.
04:39How apropos.
04:41All six women after the 11 minutes in space and 14 minutes long mission build a sisterhood
04:47in space travel for humanity to follow.
04:50Bureau Report, India Today.
04:58And joining us now is Sibut Rupati, Senior Assistant Editor, Science, India Today Network.
05:03Sibut, thank you so much for joining me.
05:05This is a big moment.
05:07It's historic.
05:08It is one that takes us a step forward when it takes the science and technology space world
05:15a step forward when it comes to women's participation.
05:19Is that how the space world is seeing it?
05:22Definitely, Gita.
05:24This is the first all women flight, space flight of this century.
05:30In fact, not just of 2025, but of the 21st century.
05:32The last time an all women flight launched into space was in 1963, when Russian cosmonaut
05:38Treskova launched into space as the first women in space.
05:43Ever since in the last 60, 62 years, there has been no such flight, even from NASA, SpaceX,
05:50that an all women crew has gone into space.
05:52This was the first time.
05:53Over the years, we have seen many female astronauts take the reins, go to the space station,
05:58launch with the space shuttle.
06:00I mean, Indian origin, Sunita Williams, Kalpna Chawla, were all part of this list.
06:04However, this is the first time that an all women crew launched into space, even the
06:09communications manager was a female engineer of blue origin.
06:13So this was a historic moment.
06:15It symbolizes that the idea was to inspire women and especially girls to take up STEM,
06:24science, technology, engineering and mathematics in schools and in high schools to basically
06:29prosper into this field.
06:31And I think the crew completely did that.
06:34Right, but Sibu, let's make a distinction.
06:36This is, in many ways, space tourism, as opposed to having women participate in the space programs.
06:45We have learned that the Artemis program had a lot of women, women participation.
06:51But do you see that as actually a step forward where you will see women participating?
06:56The glass ceiling really breaking over here.
06:58Do you see that happen or is this just space tourism trying to send out a message?
07:04But will that message translate into real action?
07:08I think it goes both ways.
07:10I mean, I do see some sort of transformation happening after this.
07:14More and more girls and women being inspired to take STEM forward and to go into space or
07:20into other different fields of science and technology.
07:22Apart from that, as you talked about the Artemis mission, I mean, a first woman is going around
07:30the moon with Artemis mission.
07:32A first person of color will be going around the moon in Artemis mission, which is likely
07:36to launch next year.
07:38So I do see that there's going to be a change.
07:40That change might be slow, but it's definitely going to happen.
07:43I mean, NASA has special programs run just for women candidates, women interns and women
07:50scientists to come up and take aerospace engineering forward.
07:53And we have seen over the years this progressing into a full-fledged field being taken up by
07:58women.
07:59We see this change also in India.
08:01I mean, the Mangalya mission we all remember that was huge success for India was operated
08:07and run by women engineers.
08:09The Perseverance rover, which is currently driving and thriving on Mars at the moment, looking
08:15for science of life, is driven by an Indian woman, an Indian origin woman.
08:19So there is this huge liking and taking towards STEM subjects in this field.
08:26And I do see there is a change happening here.
08:29Right.
08:29Sibu, thank you so much for joining us here.
08:31This is History in the Making.
08:33Six women, all of them in an all-women crew.
08:38Spacecraft went to space and 11 minutes, what now can be termed a joyride.
08:46There was a lot of anxiety that we saw earlier.
08:49From the family that was waiting to see them come back, to see them return, to those who
08:55were on board, went up, came down, Katy Perry touched the ground.
09:01All of them were welcomed by family and friends, and it just is a moment to relish, because
09:08this is History in the Making.
09:16Now, global technology stocks rose on Monday after the U.S. exempted electronics, such as
09:22smartphones and computer hardware, from its steep, reciprocal tariffs on China.
09:27Amidst the growing tensions with U.S.-China tariff war, this has offered some relief to
09:33a sector battered by supply chain uncertainty.
09:36On the other hand, China's exports jumped 12.4 percent in March from a year earlier in
09:42a last-minute flurry of activity as companies rushed to beat increases in U.S. tariffs imposed
09:49by President Donald Trump.
09:57Chinese President Xi Jinping landed in Hanoi on Monday for a two-day state visit in his
10:05most direct effort to firm up alliances in an all-out trade war against the U.S.
10:11He heads for Cambodia next, his first trip to the country in nine years, and then for Malaysia,
10:16his first trip in 12 years.
10:20China had early approached India, Australia and even Saudi Arabia to form an axis against
10:26the U.S.
10:28If you look at that, China, first row.
10:32All this effort to blunt Donald Trump's trade attack.
10:35The U.S. president last week ratcheted his tariffs against China to an unimaginable 145 percent.
10:42China refused to blink and hit back with 125 percent.
10:46During the weekend, Trump parried the attack, deflecting the blow by exempting tech imports.
10:52But keeping the uncertainty simmering by announcing that electronics hardware will soon be a national
10:59security trade probe.
11:01So this is not like a permanent sort of exemption.
11:04He's just clarifying that these are not available to be negotiated away by countries.
11:10These are things that are national security that we need to be made in America.
11:16China and the U.S. enjoy a significantly symbiotic trade relationship.
11:22U.S. was China's largest trade partner in 2024, but had a massive trade deficit, burning a $263 billion hole in its budget.
11:33The top U.S. exports to China include $16 billion worth of oil seeds and grains, which kept China's poultry business running.
11:41Also, as of March 27, China had purchased 22.12 million metric tons of U.S. soya beans for shipment in 2024-25, which ends on August 31.
11:53Other exports included electrical equipment and fuel, both strategic in nature, machinery, aircraft and parts, plastics and pharma, comprise the other top exports.
12:04Top imports from China include mobile phones and other gadgets, laptops and appliances, toys, plastic products, prefab materials, textiles and footwear.
12:16According to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, the latest exemptions by the Trump administration for smartphones, laptops and other tech imports will account for nearly $100 billion in imports as per the 2024 figures.
12:32They, however, remain subject to a prior 20% fentanyl-related tariff.
12:36Meanwhile, China has raised the stakes against the U.S. by halting exports of six critical rare earth minerals and magnets, which are refined and produced only within its borders.
12:48These are needed to make everything from cars, drones, missiles and semiconductors.
12:54Bureau Report, Business Today Television.
12:56Donald Trump's doctor says the oldest man elected U.S. president is fully fit to serve as commander-in-chief as the White House released results of Trump's recent physical exam.
13:12The 78-year-old Trump is 20 pounds lighter since his checkup as president in 2020.
13:18At the end of his last term, his physical exam showed him bordering on obesity.
13:23Donald Trump had an answer ready for his perfect score on his latest physical examination.
13:30Listen in.
13:32How do you stay so healthy?
13:33How do you stay so energized?
13:34Because I enjoy what I'm doing and I like the results.
13:37I think we're making America great again and it makes me feel good.
13:41It probably keeps me happy.
13:43Okay?
13:44That's a nice question.
13:46I like this.
13:47Well, everyone's wondering how in the world do you do it, Mr. President?
13:50Two o'clock in the morning.
13:52I'm 55 years old.
13:53I can't keep up here.
13:5455.
13:55What a nice age.
13:56Have a good time.
14:04U.S. president Donald Trump's epic UFC 314 entry in Miami has gone viral.
14:13Crowd erupted in chant as he danced with Dana White.
14:23President Trump's contempt for legacy media is well known.
14:39But when he introduced his granddaughter, Kai Trump, to the media, he was open and savagely
14:45candid as he called them fake news.
14:47Hello, Kai.
14:48Come on over.
14:49What's up?
14:49Do you know the fake news?
14:51This is the fake news.
14:53Hey, what's up, everyone?
14:54How are you guys?
14:55Good morning.
14:56Good morning.
14:56Good morning.
14:56Good morning.
15:00I thought he's at the White House, the fights are off.
15:03Not everyone gets acknowledged by President Trump.
15:07At UFC 314, Trump walked past his cabinet minister, RFK Jr.'s wife, Cheryl Hines, and
15:15did not bother to shake out outstretched hands.
15:18He thought he's at the White House, the fights are off.
15:21It's pretty incredible.
15:22It's insane.
15:24President, China retaliated today by reducing the number of American films that can be
15:32shown there.
15:33What's your reaction to them now targeting cultural experts from the United States?
15:38I think I've heard of worse things.
15:40During a cabinet meeting at the White House on Thursday, Trump sparked a wave of laughter
15:47after responding to a reporter's question about China.
15:51As tensions between the two nations continue to rise, his lighthearted remark caught everyone
15:57by surprise, providing a brief moment of comic relief amidst the serious discussions.
16:02What's your reaction to them now targeting cultural experts from the United States?
16:07I think I've heard of worse things.
16:13U.S. President Donald Trump has replaced the official portrait of former President Barack
16:25Obama in the White House's Grand Entry Hallway with a painting of himself surviving an assassination
16:31attempt and, as usual, it has gone viral.
16:41As Russia hit the Ukrainian city of Sumy with its ballistic missiles, the world, including
16:46Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, reacted shockingly and sternly, demanded that Russia
16:51should be pressured to put an end to the war.
17:00As the world witnessed another terrible attack on Ukraine's city of Sumy, hit by Russia's ballistic
17:06missiles, U.S. President Donald Trump called it a mistake.
17:10US plays a crucial role in negotiations to end the Ukraine war as part of Donald Trump's campaign promise.
17:32The American President has also promised additional sanctions on Russia if Moscow failed to reach
17:39a deal.
17:41We didn't say they made a mistake in the attack.
17:43He said they made a mistake.
17:44You were told they made a mistake.
17:45Do you mean it was unintentional?
17:46They made a mistake.
17:47I believe it was...
17:48Look, you're gonna ask them.
17:51This is Biden's war.
17:52This is not my war.
17:55Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy condemned the attack and called it an act of filthy scoundrels.
18:02The attack hit the center of the city on Palm Sunday.
18:11Only filthy scoundrels can act like this.
18:13Today, many state leaders, diplomats, regular people with big hearts expressed their sympathy
18:19towards Ukraine and Ukrainians.
18:21They condemned the Russian attack.
18:31Meanwhile, responding to the Sumi attack, Kremlin said Russia's military only strikes military
18:37targets.
18:38The European Union called for maximum pressure on Russia to put an end to such deadly attacks.
18:53Foreign ministers of EU assembled in Luxembourg for a one-day meeting with Ukraine as the
18:59top agenda.
19:00Well, of course, we're gonna discuss, but right now, I think we have to put the pressure,
19:07the maximum pressure on Russia to really end this war.
19:11Because it takes two to want peace.
19:13It only takes one to want war.
19:14And we see that Russia really wants war.
19:16And all those who want the killing to stop should put the maximum pressure on Russia.
19:21Sumi's acting mayor had announced a three-day mourning for the victims.
19:26The deadliest attack of the year took place while residents were enjoying Palm Sunday and attending
19:32morning church services.
19:33The Russian missiles killed at least 34 people in Sumi on 13th April.
19:39With Maheshwetalala, Bureau Report, India Today.
19:47After years of threats, walkouts and war talk, Iran and the United States of America are
19:53finally back at the negotiating table.
19:56The two sides just wrapped up indirect nuclear talks in Oman.
20:00And surprisingly, both say things went well.
20:03But with the uranium enrichment racing ahead and Trump warning of military action if there's
20:07no deal, is this a real breakthrough?
20:11Or just a pause before the next blow up?
20:14In a much-needed diplomatic shift, Iran and the U.S. chaired indirect talks on Tehran's
20:27escalating nuclear program.
20:31The meeting took place on April 13th in Oman.
20:35This meeting was completely mediated by Omani officials.
20:42This comes as Iran refused face-to-face dialogue with representatives of U.S. President Donald Trump.
20:49Instead, messages were exchanged by the Omani foreign minister.
20:53Iranian foreign minister Abbas Arachi told state television that the atmosphere was productive, calm and positive.
21:06I think the Omani foreign minister shuttled between the Iranian and U.S. delegations about four times.
21:12And the views of both sides were conveyed to each other.
21:15It lasted about two and a half hours.
21:17And in my opinion, as a first meeting, it was a productive one.
21:21It took place in a calm and positive atmosphere.
21:24No inappropriate language was used.
21:35Meanwhile, Trump says that he will make a decision on Iran very quickly.
21:40Well, we're going to be doing it very shortly.
21:44Iran also.
21:45It was another way.
21:46I met with a different group of people in Iran.
21:48And we'll be making a decision on Iran very quickly.
21:53Despite the optimism, deep divisions remain.
21:58Iran continues to enrich uranium to 60%, a technical step away from weapons grade.
22:06Iran maintains its nuclear program is peaceful.
22:10But Western powers and Israel believe that it is a cover to develop atomic weapons.
22:18Moreover, Trump has threatened military action if Iran doesn't curb its uranium enrichment program.
22:25A second round of talks is set to take place in Rome as confirmed by Italy's Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani.
22:37A breakthrough may be guaranteed.
22:39But de-escalation is needed in a region gripped by war and mistrust.
22:46Bureau Report, India Today.
22:48Fugitive diamond trader Mehul Choksi accused in the 13,500-rupee Punjab National Bank scam has been arrested in Belgium.
23:04According to sources, the 65-year-old was taken into custody on the 12th of April from a hospital in Belgium where he was reportedly undergoing treatment.
23:13His arrest came at the request of Indian agencies, including the CBI and the Enforcement Directorate, which had secured non-bailable warrants against him from Mumbai courts.
23:24Choksi, who fled India in the year 2018, had been residing in Antiguan, Barbuda, before recently relocating to Antwerp, Belgium, with his wife, Preeti Choksi, who is a Belgian citizen.
23:36In September 2024, India formally requested his extradition, but Choksi's legal team opposed it, citing his blood cancer diagnosis.
23:46ED officials, however, argued that he was capable of returning to India for treatment, just as he had travelled from Antigua to Belgium.
23:54Choksi's legal team is now preparing a bail plea and is expected to oppose his extradition in Belgian courts.
24:01The central government has welcomed the development with officials stating that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had vowed not to spare those who looted the country and to recover the stolen money.
24:12With that, it's a wrap in this edition of World Today, but before I go, here is a rare and historic Golconda vivid blue diamond weighing at over 23 carats and is set to be auctioned at Christie's.
24:30The diamond's origin adds to its lore. The gem was once owned by the Maharaja of Indore. It was discovered at the legendary Golconda Mines, known for producing some of the world's most famous diamonds, including the Hope Diamond.
24:45The Golconda Blue is being sold as part of Christie's magnificent jewels auction in Geneva on the 14th of May and the sale is expected to set a record. Estimates run between 35 to 50 million dollars. Goodbye and take care.