Trump fires Pam Bondi as attorney general

President Donald Trump has fired Pam Bondi as attorney general, CNN reported. 

She will be replaced for now by Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, who will serve as acting attorney general, Trump said.

The president wrote on Truth Social that Bondi would be “transitioning to a much needed and important new job in the private sector,” praising her for her work in his administration and offering no specific reason for why she would be leaving.

Myanmar's coup leader who set off a brutal civil war is set to become president

Just seven days after he made the fateful decision to launch his coup against the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi on 1 February 2021, General Min Aung Hlaing made a promise; to hold elections, and return to civilian rule, within a year, BBC reported. 

It has taken him five years to fulfil that promise. 

Today, the newly-elected parliament will choose him to be the next president.

Min Aung Hlaing has already stepped down as armed forces commander, as required by the constitution before he can take the post of president.

Quake hits Indonesia with 7.4 magnitude

A powerful 7.4 magnitude undersea earthquake struck northern Indonesia, damaging buildings, triggering a small tsunami, and killing at least one person on Thursday, AP reported.

According to the Disaster Management Agency to AP, Strong tremors of 10-20 seconds were felt in North Sulawesi and North Maluku, with reports of damaged homes and a church. A 70-year-old woman died in Manado, while several others were injured.

Tsunami waves up to 75cm were recorded along the Molucca Sea coast before warnings were lifted. Authorities are assessing damage as aftershocks continue including 6.2 magnitude.

NASA launches four astronauts on world's first crewed lunar mission in half a century

Four astronauts blasted off from Florida on Wednesday on NASA's Artemis II mission, a high-stakes voyage around the moon that marks the United ​States' boldest step yet toward returning humans to the lunar surface later this decade in a race with China, Reuters reported. 

NASA's Space Launch System (SLS) rocket, topped with its Orion crew capsule, roared to life just before sunset at the agency's Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, carrying its debut crew - three U.S. astronauts and a Canadian astronaut - into Earth orbit. The 32-story-tall space vehicle thundered into clear skies trailing a towering column of thick, white vapor.

NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman said the launch was an opening act for subsequent missions that would include construction of a moon base to support the "enduring presence we're trying to create on the surface."