NASA predicts the Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory will plunge back into Earth’s atmosphere on 4 Nov, with the most likely time around 3:30 AM Eastern Time and an uncertainty of about 11 hours. The 1.5‑tonne spacecraft, launched on 20 Nov 2004, has spent 22 years in orbit, detecting over 2,000 gamma‑ray bursts and roughly 1,400 supernovae before its operations ended. A rescue attempt using a private LINK robotic spacecraft was abandoned after attitude‑control problems, leaving the re‑entry uncontrolled.
Southeast Asia
3 stories since 29 October 2026, newest first
4 November 2026
31 October 2026
The death toll from Indonesia's wildfire smoke reached an estimated 3,560 in September, roughly double August's figure, while about 57.8 million people breathed unhealthy to hazardous air. The crisis has triggered protests in Jakarta and other cities against President Prabowo Subianto's policies, and the government announced prosecutions of companies tied to the fires. Over 4.6 million acres have burned since August, and more than 300,000 Indonesians have sought treatment for acute respiratory problems.
29 October 2026
China's clean-technology exports are on course to avoid about 450 million tonnes of CO2 in 2026, according to a Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air analysis reported on 29 Oct. The CO2 impact of these exports rose 26% year on year over the first three quarters of 2026, after a 36% rise in 2025. Electric vehicle exports rose 61% and wind turbine exports 45% over the first nine months, compared with a year earlier. Lifetime avoided emissions from 2026 exports are projected at 8,400 million tonnes, with about 76% occurring in the global south. The annual UN climate talks begin next month in Turkey.