TYB
Happy Monday
Craving some of those pancake balls now.
Huge Amazon internet outage leaves Snapchat, Reddit, banks and more not working: Latest updates
Monday 20 October 2025 10:23 EDT
Many of the world’s biggest apps and websites have suddenly stopped working properly.
Snapchat, Roblox, Fortnite, Duolingo and Canva were all suffering problems, according to tracking website Down Detector.
The issues began around 8am in the UK, or midnight pacific time.
The problems appear to be related to an issue at Amazon Web Services (AWS), which offers infrastructure that underpins much of the modern internet.
The company was seeing “increased error rates” and delays with “multiple AWS services”, it said on its service status page.
Amazon Web Services provides a host of internet infrastructure services that allow companies to hire computers and servers to run their apps and websites.
As such, any problems at AWS can quickly affect much of the rest of the internet, bringing down websites that might have no apparent connection to Amazon itself.
It is now the most popular provider of such cloud services in the world. It made $108 billion last year, and it now accounts for the majority of Amazon’s profits.
updates cont.
https://www.the-independent.com/tech/aws-amazon-internet-outage-latest-updates-b2848345.html
https://downdetector.com/
Transportation Secretary Duffy says Musk’s SpaceX is behind on moon trip and he will reopen contracts
Mon, Oct 20 20259:55 AM EDT
Key Points
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U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said SpaceX is falling “behind” schedule to get the U.S. back to the moon.
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Duffy, who was named acting NASA administrator this summer, said he will open the contract to other companies such as Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin.
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Elon Musk-backed SpaceX is one of the contractors participating in NASA’s Artemis mission to establish the “first long-term presence on the Moon.”
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said Monday that Elon Musk’s SpaceX is falling “behind” the U.S. timeline to return to the moon with Artemis and he will open the contract to other companies.
“We’re not going to wait for one company,” Duffy, who is currently the acting NASA administrator, told CNBC’s “Squawk Box” on Monday.
“We’re going to push this forward and win the second space race against the Chinese. Get back to the moon, set up a camp, a base.”
SpaceX did not immediately return a request for comment.
SpaceX is among the various contractors participating in NASA’s Artemis mission, which aims to establish the “first long-term presence on the Moon” and prepare for missions to Mars.
Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin, Boeing, Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman are also supporting the mission.
SpaceX won a contract in 2021 to provide a lunar landing system for astronauts on the Artemis III mission.
In December, NASA pushed back the next Artemis missions, with the next launch to send astronauts around the moon and back delayed until April 2026 and the trip to land two astronauts on the south polar region of the Moon moved to 2027.
Duffy said Monday that he thinks the April launch can happen in early February and the agency is looking to get “back to the moon in 2028” with two potential companies.
Duffy highlighted Blue Origin as a potential competitor that could take over. “They push their timelines out, and we’re in a race against China,” Duffy said of SpaceX.
“The president and I want to get to the moon in this president’s term, so I’m going to open up the contracts. Rocket tests for SpaceX and the space sector haven’t always been smooth sailing.
The company launched its eleventh Starship test rocket earlier this month following a string of stumbling blocks and explosions.
Firefly Aerospace’s Alpha rocket exploded last month, shortly after the Federal Aviation Administration cleared it to continue testing.
https://www.cnbc.com/2025/10/20/nasa-duffy-spacex-artemis-moon-landing.html
https://x.com/SecDuffyNASA
Solar Eruption, Big Changes at the Top of the Sky | S0 News
Oct.20.2025
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DurEzHlqmqQ
https://spaceweathernews.com/
https://www.swpc.noaa.gov/
Is NASA A “Democrat Agency”, Sean Duffy?
October 19, 2025
Over the years space supporters have complained when politics entered @NASA policy.
Over the past few days Transportation Secretary Duffy who moonlights as Interim/Acting NASA Administrator has gone totally political. Remember – if you are a Democrat or attended these rallies this is what he thinks of you (see Tweet and quotes).
But he only says these things as @SecDuffy – NOT as @SecDuffyNASA. Oh yes: the President has openly called for cutting budgets for “Democrat Agencies” and their programs.
So, is NASA a “Democrat agency” Sean Duffy? This is certainly a “question the American people [especially those of NASA] deserve to have answered.” Just sayin’.
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“[It’s] actually a hate America protest” Source: News Nation
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“The ‘No Kings’ protest, Maria, really frustrating. I mean, this is part of antifa, paid protesters. It begs the question, who’s funding it? Source: The Hill
https://nasawatch.com/uncategorized/is-nasa-a-democrat-agency-sean-duffy/
https://x.com/SecDuffy/status/1977729131967099358
Korea’s 1st commercial space vehicle cleared for launch, likely in November
Oct 20, 2025 3:48 pm KST
Innospace, a Korean space startup, is expected to launch its first vehicle, HANBIT-Nano, likely in November, marking the country’s first attempt to send a commercial space vehicle into low Earth orbit (LEO).
Innospace said Monday that it has recently received commercial launch approval for its SPACEWARD mission from the Korea AeroSpace Administration.
With this approval, the company has completed all necessary procedures and has begun final preparations for the launch at Brazil’s Alcantara Space Center.
For the launch, Innospace has set a launch window from Oct. 28 to Nov. 28. The launch window refers to the period during which the actual launch can take place.
Initially, it was set for Oct. 28 to Nov. 7, but was extended to Nov. 28 after coordinating launch inspection procedures, mission stability and joint operation schedules with the Brazilian Air Force.
Innospace said the upcoming launch will also mark the first commercial vehicle launch from a Brazilian space center, adding that Brazilian authorities have provided active support to ensure optimal conditions and a stable launch.
While the launch site is operated by the Brazilian Air Force, Innospace will use its own independently built launch platform for the mission.
The exact launch date and time will be determined after a comprehensive review of weather conditions, technical inspections, and launch operations.
Given the necessary preparations and weather factors, industry officials expect the launch will likely take place next month.
The SPACEWARD mission is a full-fledged commercial launch that will deploy clients’ satellites and other payloads into LEO at an altitude of 300 kilometers.
Having secured contracts with five clients from Brazil, India, and Korea, the HANBIT-Nano will carry eight payloads and one commemorative branded payload.
The payloads include five small satellites designed for climate and environmental data collection, technology development and education, as well as three experimental payloads aimed at testing new technologies and gathering data in space conditions.
The branding model, commissioned by Korean beverage company Brewguru, was prepared to commemorate Korea’s entry into the commercial aerospace era.
“The approval demonstrates that we have met all national requirements, including launch vehicle safety, mission capability, environmental and security standards,” Innospace CEO Kim Jong-soo said.
“It also shows that we have officially earned legal and technical credibility as the first Korean private company authorized for a commercial launch.”
“The SPACEWARD mission is not a flight test but a full-fledged mission to transport clients’ payload into space. It will be a historic milestone that marks our entry into the commercial launch market.”
Since Korea is a signatory to the Outer Space Treaty, the country is responsible for any launch conducted by its citizens or companies, even when the launch takes place outside its territory.
Also, domestic law stipulates that companies must obtain government approval if they intend to launch a domestically manufactured vehicle abroad.
Through this, the country manages space activities safely and addresses any potential issues that may arise during overseas launches.
https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/business/tech-science/20251020/koreas-1st-commercial-space-vehicle-cleared-for-launch-likely-in-november
China Has An Underwater Data Center. The US Will Build Them In Space
Oct 20, 2025, 03:40am EDT
China’s Highlander has launched an underwater data center in Hainan, the first project like it to be deployed at commercial scale.
The energy demands of Ai data centers come largely from the cooling requirements of the servers, and China has answered this question by placing their Ai data centers underwater.
This is something that’s been successfully experimented with by Microsoft among others but hasn’t been deployed commercially before now.
The benefits of submerged data centers include a reduction of 90% in cooling costs as the ocean’s currents do what fresh water would otherwise; this translates into 40% more compute than a comparable land-based system.
When coupled with renewable energy the costs drop further as this project is largely powered by an adjacent offshore windfarm; the company says that it’s 95% powered with renewable energy.
More encouraging from Sam Altman this month is the news that Samsung and OpenAI will develop floating data centers, a signal of openness and sign that OpenAI recognizes the strengths of diversification.
The specific reasons stated in Samsung’s statement about this collaboration highlight a few strategic advantages of floating data centers, “Floating data centers are considered to have advantages over data centers because they can address land scarcity, lower cooling costs and reduce carbon emissions.”
What’s Amazon’s response to this? They plan to build Ai data centers in space. They’ll save water for cooling because it’s cold in space, and with large solar arrays they’ll have a limitless power source.
The EU supports the idea and other companies are working on the this; one company has already tested a launch and claim success; with some advancements in rocketry and solar arrays, some claim this could be viable by 2037.
Whenever this feat is achieved and normalized, it will drop the water demands of Ai to zero while allowing infinite expansion of capacity while removing land competition on earth.
Ambitious plan; I would encourage that we continue with sea based instead, but at least space-based is more viable in the long term than land-based solutions that will run out of both water and land.
Water Difficulties in Britain
Do we need to worry about water availability and data centers? Do we have a general need to conserve water? Choosing Britain, an economically developed nation as our example: yes. The water usage of Scottish data centers has quadrupled since 2021.
The United Kingdom famously has problems with water infrastructure and drought, and their largest water utility, Thames Water, is dealing with headlines like this one from earlier this month: “Why is Thames Water in so much trouble?”
In short, Thatcher.
Problems aren’t limited to this single utility as Mark Thurston, the CEO of Anglian Water, was intercepted by activists this week attempting to place him under citizen’s arrest for “public nuisance.”
As Navaro Media explains, this direct action comes days after Anglian Water’s approval to raise the cap on water bills to fund infrastructure while the company posts profits.
This comes the same year that the UK approves up to two years in prison for water company bosses that impede investigations into sewage spills. How normalized must greed and obstruction by British water executives have been?
Bad enough to require legislation on the matter and 158 million pounds in fines paid by the water utilities for failings related to water and sewage leaks, as reported by the Financial Times.
What can be done to repair the bursting pipes and leaking sewage, and lower the annual water bill that’s now up 30% for some since April? Surely not to use over 13 million liters of water a year to cool Ai data centers in Scotland.
The European Union plans to triple its data center capacity over the next five to seven years as they try to stay relevant in the global Ai race and given that 34% of Europe’s population lives in areas with seasonal water scarcity, we can see why the submerged and floating designs should instead be explored.
The UK isn’t doing well with water security or efficiency generally; nor are Spain or Greece, where expansive data center buildouts are underway.
To build data centers without answering the water security question is governmental negligence.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/suwannagauntlett/2025/10/20/china-has-an-underwater-data-center-the-us-will-build-them-in-space/
A cosmic heart bursts with light in new deep space astrophotographer portrait
October 19, 2025
Astrophotographer Ronald Brecher has captured a colorful view of the Heart Nebula (IC 1805), which is located some 6,000 light-years from Earth in the Perseus spiral arm of the Milky Way.
The Heart Nebula is a colossal star-forming region named for its resemblance to a cartoonish representation of the human heart. The center of the nebula plays host to a population of energetic young stars that are busily sculpting dense pillars of dust with their radiation.
It can be found just 5 degrees away from the bright star Segin in the constellation Cassiopeia — roughly the width of your three middle fingers held at arm's length — which can be found high above the northern horizon around midnight in October.
Hanging below the vast cosmic heart is a knot of dust and gas known informally as the Fishhead Nebula, thanks to its vaguely oval outline and a dark dust filament that gives it the appearance of an aquatic creature.
Brecher collected light from the distant nebula scene from his home in Guelph, Canada using an astronomy camera mounted on a Sky-Watcher Esprit 70 EDX refractor telescope over the course of over 40 hours in September earlier this year.
The colorful scene was captured with the help of a set of astrophotography filters, each of which were designed to capture specific wavelengths of light that were subsequently assigned individual colors during the post processing phase.
The end result is a magnificent snapshot of deep space, created from particles of light that had travelled thousands of years to reach their destination.
https://www.space.com/stargazing/astrophotography/cosmic-heart-nebula-bursts-with-light-in-new-deep-space-astrophotographer-portrait-photo-october-2025
Watch comets Lemmon and SWAN make their closest approach to Earth today
October 20, 2025
Two comets, C/2025 A4 (Lemmon) and C/2025 R2 (SWAN), are about to reach their closest approach to Earth and you can watch the action unfold live online.
Astronomer Gianluca Masi and his Virtual Telescope Project will host a special livestream on Oct. 20 beginning at 1:30 p.m. EDT (1730 GMT) to watch as both comets make a close pass to Earth, making them well placed for observations.
"So far, living in the Northern hemisphere, I could admire C/2025 A6 Lemmon only, but C/2025 R2 SWAN is quickly joining the show and we are ready to amaze every astronomy lover with our live feed!" Masi told Space.com in an email.
You can watch the cosmic show live here on Space.com courtesy of the Virtual Telescope Project or on the project's website or YouTube channel, weather permitting.
Rare double-comet encounter
Having two right comets visible in the sky around the same time is a rare cosmic treat.
During the event, Comet Lemmon (C/2025 A6) will pass about 56 million miles (90 million kilometers) from Earth, while Comet Swan (C/2025 R2) will soar even closer, at roughly 24 million miles (39 million km).
Both are expected to peak in brightness between Oct. 20 and Oct. 21.
Comet C/2025 A6 (Lemmon) was discovered in January 2025 and has been steadily brightening as it soars through the inner solar system.
Lemmon is visible in a pair of binoculars or small telescopes in the western evening sky after sunset, slowly climbing higher each night as it moves northward.
Comet C/2025 R2 (SWAN) was discovered in September 2025 by the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory's SWAN instrument.
It is best viewed in the predawn sky, when the comet appears low on the eastern horizon as it continues its journey away from the sun.
If you're hoping to spot the comets yourself, check out our guides to the best binoculars and best telescopes for beginners, as well as our how to photograph comets guide.
And don't forget to explore our night sky guide for more celestial highlights this month.
https://www.space.com/astronomy/comets/watch-comets-lemmon-and-swan-make-their-closest-approach-to-earth-live-online-on-oct-20
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tD0jJnuuwq8
Don't miss the Orionid meteor shower peak begin overnight tonight under a moonless sky
October 20, 2024
Get ready stargazers! The Orionid meteor shower peak begins tonight, welcoming a spectacular natural light show that could see a flurry of shooting stars spawned by Halley's Comet brighten the dark, moonless sky.
The 2025 Orionid meteor shower peak begins overnight on Oct. 20-21, when 10-20 shooting stars may be visible streaking across the night sky from a point of origin known as a "radiant", located close to the red star Betelgeuse in the constellation Orion.
While tonight is the peak, Orionid shooting stars can be seen from Oct. 2 to Nov. 7 as Earth passes through the debris trail shed by comet 1P/Halley.
During that time, particles cast off from that ancient body collide with our planet at speeds of up to 41 miles per second (66 kilometers per second), burning up in a magnificent display as they're overwhelmed by the friction of atmospheric entry.
One of the best times to spot Orionid meteors will be in the pre-dawn hours of Oct. 21, when the constellation Orion will be positioned high above the southern horizon in a moonless sky for viewers in the U.S.
The shower peaks around the monthly new moon phase, meaning that there'll be no natural light pollution to ruin the cosmic show.
First, locate the red star Betelgeuse using a smartphone astronomy app. Then, pick a patch of sky 40 degrees away in the direction of your local zenith, which is the point directly above your head.
Remember, the width of your outstretched fist accounts for roughly 10 degrees in the night sky! Here, the meteor trails will be at their longest.
Be sure to allow 20-30 minutes for your eyes to adapt to the dark, and use a red light if needed in order to avoid ruining your night vision.
Don't forget, we're in astronomical autumn now, so be sure to wrap up warm and to let someone know where you're observing from if you head to a remote dark sky location.
Robert Lunsford of the American Meteor Society notes that there will still be plenty of meteor activity after the peak starts, so there's no need to worry if clouds appear to ruin the show that first early morning show!
"The Orionids will peak in the period of October 21-23," Lunsford told Space.com in an email. "Rates will fall very slowly after these dates so the mornings of October 24-26 will still provide hourly rates in excess of 10 per hour when viewing from rural dark skies.
Note by then the radiant will have moved eastward into western Gemini so folks should not be surprised to see these meteors shooting from that constellation instead of Orion".
The Orionids aren't the only meteor shower active over the coming weeks.
Both the Northern Taurid and Southern Taurid meteor streams are currently active, which could give rise to spectacular fireball events in the period leading up to their separate peaks in early November.
https://www.space.com/stargazing/meteor-showers/dont-miss-orion-meteor-shower-peak-oct-21-2025
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X04eCkP1enI
New CEO at AROSE
October 20, 2025
AROSE (Australian Remote Operations for Space and Earth) has appointed former NASA executive Jason Crusan to the position of Chief Executive Officer, commencing 1 November 2025.
The new appointment follows the retirement of AROSE’s inaugural CEO, Leanne Cunnold. Mr Crusan is a globally recognised technology executive with more than 25 years’ leadership across the energy and space sectors.
At Woodside Energy, he served as Vice President for Technology and New Energy, leading global technology deployment across oil and gas production and operations, hydrogen and ammonia value chains, and carbon capture and utilisation (CCU).
Previously, Mr Crusan held multiple senior executive roles at NASA, including Director of Advanced Exploration Systems and Chief Technologist for Space Operations.
He oversaw technology partnerships that delivered missions for first-of-kind measurement on the Moon and Mars, advanced a wide portfolio of technology to support human exploration, developed the first commercial human-rated module for the International Space Station, advanced in-space manufacturing capabilities, and the CubeSat Launch Initiative – enabling over 100 missions.
Mr Crusan led the development for NASA’s Lunar Gateway strategy and human lunar return architecture for the Artemis Program.
He also established the US Government’s Center of Excellence for Collaborative Innovation, which supports the expansion of open innovation and crowdsourcing across the US Government.
AROSE is an industry-led, not-for-profit consortium made up of leading minds and organisations supported by the Western Australian Government.
It was founded in 2020 from the vision of astronaut and former Deputy Administrator of NASA, Colonel Pamela Melroy, and former Head of Intelligent and Autonomous Systems at Woodside, Russell Potapinski.
AROSE was established to leverage existing remote operations expertise in the Australian resources sector, and catalyse knowledge transfer between terrestrial and off-Earth domains for the benefit of all industries.
AROSE Chair Deena Shiff said Mr Crusan would bring a wealth of senior experience to AROSE after his distinguished career at NASA and innovation leadership role at Woodside.
“Jason is an ideal leader to fulfill AROSE’s ambitions to scale-up local innovation that is relevant in space and on Earth,” Ms Shiff said.
“The Board is incredibly grateful for the important contribution that Leanne has made in establishing AROSE and building its global reputation during the last five years.
“It is on those foundations that AROSE can build as it realises its ambitions to commercialise and scale- up new remote operations technologies.”
Ms Cunnold said it had been a privilege to serve as the inaugural CEO of AROSE.
“The success of AROSE is built on collaboration and I would like to extend my sincere thanks to our dedicated team, our members, and our collaboration partners for helping turn our co-founders’ vision into reality,” Ms Cunnold said.
Mr Crusan said it was an honour to join AROSE at such a pivotal time for Australia’s space and technology sectors.
“AROSE uniquely bridges Earth and space – connecting the country’s deep operational capabilities in energy and resources with the challenges of sustainable exploration beyond our planet,” Mr Crusan said.
“Our next chapter will be about translating Australia’s remote operations leadership into global commercial advantage – enabling new industries, new partnerships and new opportunities that benefit life on Earth and beyond.
“We have the chance to help build entirely new commercial enterprises that draw on Australia’s ingenuity in communications, robotics, automation, and remote operations.
Just as importantly, AROSE can continue to inspire and prepare the next generation of engineers, scientists and innovators who will carry these capabilities into the future economy.”
Mr Crusan will be based at AROSE’s head office in Perth, Western Australia.
https://spaceanddefense.io/new-ceo-at-arose/
https://www.arose.org.au/
3I/ATLAS - What is THIS "Speeding" Object in Space? | Guest: Avi Loeb
Oct 20, 2025
A mysterious object about the size of Manhattan is hurtling through our solar system. Is this object, called 3I/ATLAS, an alien spacecraft or naturally occurring comet?
Harvard University professor Avi Loeb joins Glenn Beck to explain what’s so weird about this object…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T89AdXfTLa0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TPtK2BXwOFQ (3i/ATLAS Just Changed Everything We Know About Comets Oct 19, 2025)
https://avi-loeb.medium.com/
https://x.com/UAPWatchers/status/1980229803900060047
and here we are without a certified landing pad…
EU trying to derail Putin-Trump summit – Moscow
20 Oct, 2025 08:01
The EU is doing everything in its power to undermine the upcoming summit between Russian President Vladimir Putin and his US counterpart, Donald Trump, the Russian Foreign Ministry has said.
Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told TASS on Monday that the bloc is carrying out “active subversive actions” ahead of the planned meeting in the Hungarian capital, Budapest.
Her comments followed a report by Spanish outlet El Pais, which said Brussels viewed the talks as “a political nightmare.”
Citing diplomatic sources, the newspaper reported that the summit put the EU “in an awkward and unpleasant position” because Putin and Trump would discuss a potential settlement to the Ukraine conflict in an EU country without the bloc’s participation.
Zakharova said the “aggressive Western European community” wants to “derail any peaceful aspirations” related to the conflict. “We are seeing statements, threats being made,” she added.
The Western Europeans are “obviously, doing everything to escalate the conflict” between Moscow and Kiev, the spokeswoman stressed. They have been acting this way since 2022 when they “thwarted” the peace talks between the sides in Istanbul, she added.
According to former Ukrainian head negotiator David Arakhamia, Ukraine withdrew from dialogue with Russia after then-British Prime Minister Boris Johnson arrived in Kiev and urged Vladimir Zelensky to keep fighting.
The former UK prime minister has denied the claims.
Zakharova said sporadic statements about the need for peace coming from EU capitals and London are just “camouflage.”
“In reality, they are doing everything they can to achieve escalation. It is difficult to say if they actually understand what they are doing, given how many non-professionals there are at the helms of all these Western European countries,” she noted.
The announcement that Putin and Trump plan to meet in Budapest was made after the two leaders spoke by phone for nearly two and a half hours on Thursday.
According to Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, the venue was proposed by Trump, with Putin “instantly supporting” the idea. The summit could take place within the next two weeks or slightly later, Peskov said.
https://www.rt.com/news/626698-trump-putin-budapest-eu/
Houthis detain UN staff in Yemen
20 Oct, 2025 01:14
Houthi rebels detained United Nations staffers in Yemen’s capital, Sanaa, on Sunday, UN spokesman Jean Alam has said.
The militant group previously accused aid workers of spying for the US and Israel, allegations the UN has denied.
Alam said 20 employees of various UN agencies, including 16 foreign nationals, were detained during a raid on the organization’s compound in the Hada district. He added that 11 others were released after questioning.
AFP cited an unnamed UN official as saying that UNICEF’s envoy in Yemen, Peter Hawkins, is among those detained. AP reported that the Houthis confiscated all electronic devices, including computers and phones.
“The UN is in contact with the Houthis and other parties to resolve this serious situation as swiftly as possible, end the detention of all personnel, and restore full control over its facilities in Sanaa,” Alam said.
In a televised address on Saturday, Houthi leader Abdul Malik al-Houthi said the militants had dismantled what he described as a “dangerous espionage network” linked to the CIA and Mossad, claiming that the UN World Food Programme and UNICEF had been used as cover for “subversive operations.”
Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, dismissed the accusations as “dangerous and unacceptable” and called for the release of all aid workers.
The Houthis, who control a large portion of Yemen, have launched drones and missiles at Israel and attacked commercial shipping in the Red Sea in response to the war in Gaza. Israel, the US, and UK have responded with airstrikes on Houthi-linked targets.
https://www.rt.com/news/626691-un-staff-detained-in-yemen/