Briefly

UNITED STATES

Consumer confidence slides to 12-year low

US consumer confidence dropped in September to the lowest level since 2014, according to data released on Tuesday from the Conference Board. The board's consumer confidence index fell by a substantial 6.7 points to 81.9 in September, down from 88.6 in the month prior.

Starship engine failure affects NASA mission

The Starship engine failure that nearly foiled the orbital debut of SpaceX's next-generation spacecraft on its 14th uncrewed test flight may complicate NASA's ability to meet its time frame for astronaut missions to the moon. Starship, designed in part to carry large payloads to space, is one of two vehicles vying to become the first craft that NASA will use as early as 2028 to land humans on the moon and bring them safely home. The Starship mission on Monday was cut short by several hours after its propulsion system malfunctioned. How big a blow to Starship's development progress the engine snafu becomes depends on whether it turns out to be "a one-off failure of a single part" or points to a larger design problem that requires upgrades "across the fleet", said Dean Sladen, an aerospace engineer for Accu Components.

UNITED KINGDOM

Rejoining EU among options for future: PM

UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham said in an interview broadcast on Wednesday that rejoining the EU was among the potential answers to the unavoidable question of what Britain's future relationship with Europe could look like. His comments came after he told his ruling Labour Party's annual conference that he would set out "different options" for future ties with the European Union closer to a planned summit with the bloc later this year.

MIDDLE EAST

Israel-bound flight diverted to Saudi Arabia

A flight bound for Israel from the United Arab Emirates diverted to Saudi Arabia after transmitting emergency signals following a fight between the pilots, an Israeli official said on Wednesday. Flydubai Flight FZ1073 from Dubai to Tel Aviv diverted over Jordanian airspace toward Saudi Arabia, transmitting a general emergency signal and then another emergency signal that indicated possible unlawful interference several minutes later, according to flight-tracking website Flightradar24. Three Israeli officials told Reuters that the incident is a possible attempted "terror attack". Israel's state-owned Kan TV News, citing an Israeli official, reported that the authorities had not ruled out a "terrorist incident" and were examining whether one of the two pilots may have tried to crash the aircraft.

AGENCIES-XINHUA