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SpaceX has scored a major milestone with the first successful test flight of its Starship rocket, breaking a streak of fiery failures, BBC reported.

The world’s largest and most powerful rocket blasted off from Texas and completed a tense 60-minute flight, soaring nearly 200km above Earth before returning damaged but intact. Parts of the engine appeared to explode and flaps caught fire during descent, but the mission proved the rocket’s resilience.

NASA has contracted Starship to carry astronauts to the Moon under its Artemis programme, officially set for 2027 though delays are widely expected. According to BBC, Elon Musk praised the achievement, saying it reflects SpaceX’s “fail fast, learn fast” approach as the company pushes toward reusable rockets and future crewed missions to Mars.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has promised major tax cuts to soften the blow of new US tariffs that threaten millions of Indian jobs. Speaking on Independence Day, he pledged a simplified goods and services tax (GST) system and urged citizens to back his “Made in India” call for self-reliance, according to BBC.

The reforms, paired with earlier income tax cuts, are expected to boost consumption by putting more money in people’s hands. Analysts say this could lift demand for everyday goods, cars, housing and support economic growth despite global headwinds.

Markets have reacted positively, with India also securing its first sovereign rating upgrade in 18 years. But experts warn that strained US-India trade ties and slowing growth remain serious challenges, BBC reported.

The UN has demanded accountability after an Israeli strike on Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis killed at least 20 people, including five journalists and four health workers. The UN human rights office said the attack raised “many questions” about Israel’s targeting and stressed that investigations “must yield results” and deliver justice, noting a lack of accountability in past cases, BBC reported.

Israel’s military said it was aiming at a Hamas camera near the hospital but admitted gaps in its initial probe. The incident has drawn global condemnation, with calls growing for independent investigations as Gaza continues to face mass casualties, destruction, and worsening famine.

Pakistan has begun evacuating over 100,000 people from Punjab’s border areas after India released water from overflowing dams, marking the first direct contact between the two countries since May’s brief conflict.

Authorities warned further rainfall in India could raise river levels, increasing flood risks. This comes amid Pakistan’s deadly monsoon season, which has claimed at least 800 lives since June, and recent cloudburst floods in the northwest that killed over 300, highlighting the country’s vulnerability to climate change, according to Al Jazeera.