World News: All-female crew on Blue Origin rocket successfully return to Earth

This is the World Now, bringing you the latest stories from around the globe.

Starting with the historic spaceflight in the United States, Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin New Shepard rocket, developed for space tourism, completed its first all-female crewed mission in over six decades.

The launch vehicle successfully returned to Earth on Monday with an all-women crew of six, including pop star Katy Perry and five other accomplished women, after an approximately 10-minute flight to space.

The crew took off from Blue Origin's launch site in West Texas at 9:31 AM on Monday.

The six-person crew included pop star Katy Perry, journalist Gayle King, aerospace engineer Aisha Bowe, civil rights activist Amanda Nguyen, film producer Kerianne Flynn, and pilot Lauren Sanchez.

The flight lasted about 10 minutes and 21 seconds, reaching the Karman line, the recognized boundary of space, where the crew experienced moments of weightlessness before safely returning to Earth.

The mission marked the first all-female spaceflight since Valentina Tereshkova's solo journey into space in 1963.

U.S. President Donald Trump hosted El Salvador's President Nayib Bukele, reinforcing their alliance on immigration enforcement amid controversy over deportations.

In a meeting at the Oval Office on Monday local time, President Trump and President Bukele discussed their ongoing cooperation on immigration policies.

The discussions came in the wake of a Maryland resident mistakenly being deported to El Salvador's Terrorism Confinement Center despite a U.S. court order preventing his removal.

Both leaders have declined to facilitate his return, with Bukele stating he lacks the authority to "smuggle a terrorist" back into the United States, and Trump officials asserting that the responsibility lies with El Salvador.

Also during the meeting, President Trump praised President Bukele's efforts in combating gang violence and suggested the possibility of expanding deportations to include U.S. citizens with criminal backgrounds.

The United States and Iran are set to hold a second round of nuclear negotiations in Rome on Saturday to follow discussions in Oman, which both sides described as "positive" and "constructive."

Italian Foreign Minister, Antonio Tajani, confirmed on Monday that Rome will host the upcoming negotiations, after requests from both parties and mediator Oman.

The first round of talks in Muscat, with U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Aragchi, marked the first direct discussions after years of indirect communication between the two states.

A landmark antitrust trial against U.S. tech giant Meta Platforms kicked off on Monday in Washington, D.C.

The Federal Trade Commission is seeking to force the tech giant to break Instagram and WhatsApp off from Meta.

It alleges that the tech giant bought the platforms in a strategic move to eliminate competition and establish a monopoly in the social networking market.

CEO Mark Zuckerberg defended the company's actions, saying the acquisitions enhanced consumer experience, citing competition from platforms like TikTok and YouTube.

The trial is expected to span approximately eight weeks and could result in potential structural changes for Meta.

Choi Chi-hee, Arirang News.