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NASA’s SpaceX Crew-11 members, NASA pilot Mike Fincke, NASA commander Zena Cardman, mission specialist Oleg Platonov of Roscosmos and mission specialist Kimiya Yui from the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency walk out of the operations center before boarding a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket at Kennedy Space Center, Fla., in July. File Photo by Pat Benic/UPI | License Photo

Jan. 8 (UPI) — NASA said Thursday that four astronauts aboard the International Space Station will return to Earth a month earlier than scheduled after one of them suffered a “serious medical condition.”

Neither the astronaut nor the medical issue were made public, with NASA officials saying they were withholding the information due to medical privacy.

NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman told reporters in a press conference that they expect to announce an anticipated undock and re-entry timeline in the next 42 hours.

It will be the first medical early return of an astronaut in the 25-year history of the orbiting laboratory.

“After discussions with chief health and medical officer Dr. J.D. Polk and leadership across the agency, I’ve come to the decision that it’s in the best interest of our astronauts to return Crew-11 ahead of their planned departure,” Isaacman said.

NASA astronauts Zena Cardman and Mike Fincke, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency astronaut Kimiya Yui and Roscosmos cosmonaut Oleg Platonov make up Crew-11, which launched on Aug. 1 for the ISS aboard a SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft.

Polk said the affected astronaut was “absolutely stable” but had suffered a medical incident “sufficient enough” that they would be best served by a complete evaluation on Earth.

“Again, because the astronaut is absolutely stable, this is not an emergent evacuation,” he said. “We’re not immediately disembarking and getting the astronaut down, but it leaves that lingering risk and lingering question as to what that diagnosis is, and that means there’s some lingering risk for that astronaut aboard.”

Though it is ISS’ first medical evacuation, Polk said it was being carried out as NASA was “erring on the side of caution for the crew member and in their best interest and their best medical welfare.”

The announcement came hours after NASA postponed Thursday’s spacewalk from the ISS due to an astronaut medical issue involving a single crew member.

“Safely conducting our missions is our highest priority, and we are actively evaluating all options, including the possibility of an earlier end to Crew-11’s mission,” NASA said in a statement. “These are the situations NASA and our partners train for and prepare to execute safely.”

Crew-11 was originally scheduled to complete its mission and return to Earth in late February, after being relieved by Crew-12.

Isaacman said they are now looking at earlier launch opportunities for Crew-12 to reach the ISS.

Until then, NASA astronaut Christopher Williams, who launched to the station late November, will maintain a U.S. presence on the orbital laboratory.

Along with Williams, the ISS is inhabited by cosmonauts Sergey Kud-Sverchkov and Sergei Mikayev, who arrived via Russian Soyuz on Nov. 27.

PART of a popular beach in the UK has been forced to close due to safety fears.

An ‘active and ongoing landslip’ has resulted in huge boulders falling from the cliffs on Monmouth Beach.

The beach – part of the 95-mile Jurassic Coast in Dorset – has since closed off sections to the public.

Anyone in the area has been warned to avoid the area, with it currently cordoned off.

The Lyme Regis Coastguard said: “Large boulders have been falling from the top of the cliff and have been rolling down onto the beach and into the water.

“Consequently, the beach area immediately near the base of the slip has been closed to the public.”

“We strongly advise all members of the public to stay well clear of this area.

“Do not attempt to climb the slip or walk near the base of the affected cliffs.

Fossil-hunters have also been told that the boulders are unlikely to contain any new fossils.

This is because the area is known for its historic dinosaur remains, dating back thousands of years.

And dog walkers have been urged to keep them on leads and to keep them away from the base of the cliffs.

The coastguard added: “The cliffs along the Jurassic Coast are naturally unstable and can crumble without warning.”

“Please respect the closures and signage in place for your own and others safety.

“In an emergency at the coast, call 999 and ask for the coastguard.”

Back in 2021, the cliffs saw its biggest landslide in decades after 4,000 tonnes of rock fell onto the beach.

Landslides can be triggered by a number of factors including intense rainfall in a short period of time.

Despite this, most of the Jurassic Coast is seen as still safe to visit.

One of the most famous sections is Durdle Door, home to the famous rock arch.

Often compared to both Portugal and California, it was even named one of the world’s must-see beaches by National Geographic last year.

Here’s where to find the UK’s longest seaside town, also on the Jurassic Coast.

Jan. 5 (UPI) — U.S. President Donald Trump issued a warning to Venezuela’s new president, Delcy Rodriguez, to “do what’s right,” or face a similar or worse fate than President Nicolas Maduro, who is in a U.S. prison after being seized by U.S. Special Forces over the weekend.

“If she doesn’t do what’s right, she is going to pay a very big price, probably bigger than Maduro,” Trump told The Atlantic, adding that regime change remained on the table, saying that it was preferable to the present state of affairs and the situation “can’t get any worse.”

Rodriguez, who was due to be sworn in as president in Caracas at 7 a.m. EST with the support of the country’s military and the supreme court, has said she is willing to cooperate with the United States after initially condemning the arrest of Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, and demanding their release.

“We invite the U.S. government to collaborate with us on an agenda of cooperation orientated towards shared development within the framework of international law,” she told her cabinet at her first meeting in charge on Sunday.

Trump said U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio had spoken with Rodriguez and that she was “essentially willing to do what we think is necessary to make Venezuela great again.”

Amid conflicting messaging, it was unclear if that was Trump’s meaning when he said in his news conference Saturday announcing the military operation that the United States was “going to run the country until such time as we can do a safe, proper and judicious transition.”

“We’re going to be running it with a group, and we’re going to make sure it’s run properly,” Trump said.

Rubio clarified Sunday that Trump was talking about exerting control from outside the country to bring about major policy shifts.

He said sanctions were one of the tools at the administration’s disposal to ensure the cooperation of the acting leadership, saying in an American broadcast TV interview that a blockade on Venezuela’s oil exports, being enforced by the U.S. military, would remain in place.

“We continue with that quarantine and we expect to see that there will be changes not just in the way the oil industry is run for the benefit of the people, but also so that they stop the drug trafficking, so that we no longer have these gang problems, so that they kick the [Columbian insurgent groups] FARC and the ELN out, and that they no longer cozy up to Hizballah and Iran in our own hemisphere,” Rubio said.

Meanwhile, Maduro was due to make his first appearance in Federal Court in New York later Monday, where he and Flores will be read a 25-page indictment accusing the pair of accumulating vast wealth from a narco-terrorism conspiracy.

They also face three related charges of cocaine importation conspiracy, possession of machine guns and destructive devices, and conspiracy to possess machine guns and destructive devices.

They are due to be transferred from the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, which houses defendants accused of regular crimes, to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York in White Plains, N.Y., to appear at 12 p.m. EST.

EUROSTAR passengers have been left stranded for hours due to a power supply fault with holidaymakers urged not to travel.

Journeys between the UK and France are cancelled or seriously delayed as a result of the problem with the overhead power supply in the Channel Tunnel.

Eurostar said it strongly advised all its passengers to postpone their journey to a different date.

The high-speed train operator warned passengers to expect severe delays and last-minute cancellations due to the power supply problem.

London’s St Pancras International station is crammed with waiting passengers near the departure area as they wait for updates.

Disgruntled passengers took to social media to vent their frustrations.

One traveller even claimed they were “stranded on the Eurostar for four hours”.

Another called the delays “absolutely ridiculous” after being stuck on a train for five hours.

He was travelling to Brussels but is now back in London, which he said “ruined new years plans”.

Others reported several trains stuck in the tunnel itself.

Some are stuck in lines of traffic waiting to board Eurostar, with one posting on X: “Going nowhere. Power failure apparently. One way to end the year!”

Eurostar said in a statement on its website: “Due to a problem with the overhead power supply in the Channel Tunnel and a subsequent failed Le Shuttle train, we strongly advise all our passengers to postpone their journey to a different date.

“Please don’t come to the station unless you already have a ticket to travel.

“We regret that trains that can run are subject to severe delays and last-minute cancellations.

“Please check for live updates on the status of your train on the train status and timetables page.”

Delays are being reported on both LeShuttle terminals – that’s the service that takes road vehicles on trains across the Channel.

On the UK side, there is a delay of around three-and-a-half hours to the booked time.

Meanwhile, at the terminal in France, the delay is currently around two hours.

National Rail is also advising passengers to reschedule their journeys.

It says the on-going power issue is very likely to lead to severe delays and last-minute cancellations between London St Pancras International and Paris.

“There is a problem with the overhead power supply in the Channel Tunnel,” National Rail say.

“Trains are likely to be subject to severe delays and last-minute cancellations.

“Check before you travel as your journey could be disrupted. We strongly advise all passengers to postpone their journey to a different date.”

Former Newcastle United, Liverpool and England striker Andy Carroll is due to appear in court on Tuesday after he was charged with breaching a non-molestation order.

Carroll, 36, who now plays for National League South side Dagenham and Redbridge, was arrested in April with the alleged offence said to have been committed a month earlier.

The 36-year-old, who has nine caps for England and was signed by Liverpool in 2011 for a then club record fee of £35m, is listed to appear at Chelmsford Magistrates Court.

Essex Police said: “A man has been charged with breaching a non-molestation order. Andrew Carroll, 36, of Epping, was arrested on April 27 and the alleged offences relate to an incident in March. He is due to appear at Chelmsford magistrates’ court on December 30.”

A non-molestation order is a court injunction typically issued to prevent a person from communicating with another and could also stop someone from coming within a certain distance of a specific address or a place of work.

The punishment for breach of a non-molestation order ranges from a fine to up to five years in prison for the most serious of cases.

Gareth Fuller/PA Media

Gareth Fuller/PA Media