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Netanyahu ‘expected to ask Trump for help with fresh Iran strikes’
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Benjamin Netanyahu is expected to brief Donald Trump on the possibility of fresh air strikes against Iran, according to a report.
Israeli officials fear that Iran is already rebuilding the nuclear enrichment sites that the US bombed in June and are weighing options to attack it again, NBC News said, citing anonymous US officials briefed on the plans and one person with direct knowledge.
The Israeli prime minister is set to meet Trump at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida at the end of this month for talks on the fragile ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in Gaza.
During the summit, Netanyahu is expected to make the case that Iran’s ballistic missile programme warrants a “swift’ response, the outlet reported.
The United States could be invited to join in bilateral action against Iran, with Netanyahu poised to argue that Iranian militarisation represents a threat to American interests in the region, the sources said.
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Smoke billows over Tehran during the strikes in June (via REUTERS)
The comments came just days after the head of Mossad insisted that Israel has a “responsibility” to stop Iran from producing a nuclear bomb.
David Barnea said on Tuesday: “The idea of continuing to develop a nuclear bomb still beats in their hearts.
“We bear responsibility to ensure that the nuclear project, which has been gravely damaged, in close cooperation with the Americans, will never be activated.”
Iran maintains that its nuclear programme is entirely peaceful. However, in the aftermath of the June strikes, Tehran barred the UN’s atomic watchdog from its facilities.
Trump asserted in an address to the nation on Wednesday that he had already “destroyed the Iran nuclear threat” and brought peace to the region for the “first time in 3,000 years”.
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Israel’s Iron Dome works to intercept incoming Iranian missiles in response (Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)
An early Pentagon assessment concluded that the strikes in June on the facilities at Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan had likely only set Iran’s nuclear programme back by a matter of months.
Israel had led with unilateral strikes against Tehran’s nuclear facilities, launch sites and top brass before the US vowed to sink entrenched nuclear sites with 30,000lb bunker-buster bombs.
Israel had claimed its initial offensive was the culmination of years of research and planning by Israel’s military and the Mossad intelligence agency.
Netanyahu warned at the time that Iran “could produce a nuclear weapon in a very short time” if not stopped, potentially “within months”.
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Before and after shots of the site at Fordow (Maxar Technologies)
Fears of a wider regional war took shape as Iran’s Houthi allies joined in unprecedented retaliatory strikes against Israel.
Depleted Iran proxy Hezbollah sat out of the conflict, keeping to a delicate ceasefire agreement agreed in November.
Israel is itself widely believed to possess nuclear weapons, though neither nation confirms or denies this.
Sealing of deal postponed despite decades of preparation.
European farmers are protesting against the EU-Mercosur deal.
That is as signing has been postponed until January, due to disagreements in Europe.
The European-South American deal, planned for more than 25 years, would create the world’s largest free-trade zone.
So, why is there division?
Presenter: Folly Bah Thibault
Guests:
Pieter Cleppe – Editor-in-chief at BrusselsReport.eu
Ciaran Mullooly – Member of the European Parliament for the Independent Ireland group
Gustavo Ribeiro – Founder and editor-in-chief of the Brazilian Report online newspaper
Published On 20 Dec 2025
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Watch: Moment German engineer becomes world’s first wheelchair user to go into space
An engineer from Germany has become the world’s first wheelchair user to go into space.
Michaela Benthaus, who suffered a spinal cord injury in a mountain bike accident seven years ago, had reached out to a retired space engineer online to see if her dream of being an astronaut was still possible.
He then helped organise the historic 10-minute flight with Blue Origin, the space tourism company founded by Jeff Bezos.
Ms Benthaus and five others blasted off from Texas on Saturday and reached a point just above the so-called “boundary” of space, known as the Kármán line.
“It was the coolest experience!” she said after landing in a video shared by Blue Origin.
“I didn’t only like the view and the micro-gravity, but I also liked going up. That was so cool, every stage of going up.”
New Shepard, Blue Origin’s reusable sub-orbital launch vehicle, took off from the company’s Texas launch pad at 14:15 GMT.
Ms Benthaus, who works at the European Space Agency, said she had “really, really figured out how inaccessible our world still is” for people with disabilities following her accident.
She made her own way from her wheelchair into the capsule, using a bench extending from the hatch.
Hans Koenigsmann, the retired SpaceX manager who helped organise the trip, was strapped in nearby to offer assistance during the flight if needed.
“I met Hans the first time online,” Ms Benthaus said. “I just asked him, like, you know, you worked for so long for SpaceX, do you think that people like me can be astronauts?”
Koenigsmann said Ms Benthaus “basically inspired me to do this. “It’s her drive that kind of convinced me I should do that, too, and to just experience something that I’ve seen from the outside for a long time,” he said.
Blue Origin said ground support equipment was added to help Ms Benthaus enter and exit the capsule.
“Michi’s flight is particularly meaningful, demonstrating that space is for everyone, and we are proud to help her achieve this dream,” Phil Joyce, senior vice-president of New Shepard, said.
The cost of the mission, which is the 16th suborbital space tourism launch carried out by Blue Origin, has not been revealed.
The company has taken dozens of tourists to space. In April, pop star Katy Perry, Bezos’s fiancée Lauren Sánchez and CBS presenter Gayle King were among six women blasted into space aboard a Blue Origin rocket for a flight that lasted about 11 minutes.
The high-profile flights come at a time when private space companies are fiercely competing for dominance in space tourism.
Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silvo on Saturday warned against US military action in Venezuela, saying such a move would spark a “humanitarian catastrophe.”
He made the comments at a summit for the five-member South American economic bloc Mercosur, which was taking place at the Iguacu Falls in southern Brazil.
At the same summit, Argentine President Javier Milei hailed Washington’s attempts to exert pressure on Caracas.
Venezuela was suspended from the bloc in 2016.
Both Argentina and Brazil are full members of the five-country Mercosur bloc, whose leaders met at the Igaucu FallsImage: Evaristo Sa/AFP
What did Lula and Milei say about US intervention in Venezuela?
Brazil’s left-wing president warned of negative consequences for the Americas if the US was to engage in military operations in Venezuela.
“An armed intervention in Venezuela would be a humanitarian catastrophe for the hemisphere and a dangerous precedent for the world,” Lula said in opening comments to the Mercosur summit.
Meanwhile, Milei, who is a close ally of US President Donald Trump and a fierce advocate of austerity and free market reforms, hailed Washington’s approach to Caracas.
“Argentina welcomes the pressure from the United States and Donald Trump to free the Venezuelan people. The time for a timid approach on this matter has run out,” said the Argentine president, who also attended the summit.
US ups pressure on Venezuela’s Maduro — but what’s the goal?
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What is the US campaign against Venezuela?
The United States has been engaging in a months-long campaign to destroy Venezuelan boats in the Caribbean it accuses of trafficking drugs.
The strikes have killed at least 90 people.
The US government has accused, without providing evidence, the government of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro of having links to the Cartel de los Soles criminal organization.
Earlier this week, Trump ordered a blockade on sanctioned oil tankers entering and leaving Venezuela. He has also suggested he could begin targeting sites in Venezuela in air strikes.
European farmers have warned of unfair competition from global agricultural powerhouse Brazil and other South American states [FILE: March 2014]Image: picture alliance/dpa
Lula urges EU to sign Mercosur deal
In his comments at the Mercosur summit, Lula also called on the European Union to show “courage” and sign a trade deal with the South American bloc.
“Without political will and courage on the part of leaders, it will not be possible to conclude negotiations that have dragged on for 26 years,” Lula said.
“We have in our hands the opportunity to send the world an important message in defense of multilateralism, and to reinforce our strategic position in a global environment that is more and more competitive,” he added.
The deal has been opposed by groups representing European farmers, especially in France and Italy, which argue that the bloc’s agricultural sector would be exposed to unfair competition.
On Thursday, the EU delayed the signing of the free trade deal with Mercosur to January.
Edited by: Dmytro Hubenko
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The Australian state of New South Wales (NSW) is proposing a ban on chants of the phrase “globalize the intifada,” which many consider to be an antisemitic call for violence against Jews.
This comes less than one week after a deadly mass shooting during a Hanukkah celebration at Bondi Beach that killed at least 15 people.
NSW Premier Chris Minns said that with the ban, police would be given more powers to demand that protesters remove face coverings during demonstrations, according to The Associated Press.
FORMER HAMAS HOSTAGE WARNED AUSTRALIAN LEADERS ABOUT DANGERS OF ANTISEMITISM MONTHS BEFORE BONDI BEACH ATTACK
Rabbi Yossi Friedman leads a tribute for the victims of a mass shooting during a Jewish Hanukkah celebration at Bondi Beach on Dec. 14, in Sydney, Australia, Dec. 20, 2025. (Eloisa Lopez/Reuters)
“Hate speech or incitement of hatred has no place in our society,” Minns said Saturday, the AP reported.
“Horrific, recent events have shown that the chant ‘globalize the intifada’ is hate speech and encourages violence in our community,” Minns told reporters. “You’re running a very risky racket if you’re thinking of using that phrase.”
The proposed ban would also prohibit public displays of ISIS flags or extremist symbols. Offenses could be punishable by up to two years in prison and can include fines, according to the AP.
Police inspect at the scene of a shooting at Bondi Beach in Sydney on December 15, 2025. (David Gray/AFP via Getty Images)
AUSTRALIA MOVES TO TIGHTEN GUN LAWS AFTER HANUKKAH MASS SHOOTING LEAVES 15 DEAD AT BONDI BEACH
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said Friday that intelligence further confirmed that the Bondi Beach shooting was inspired by ISIS.
“We’ve been informed that the Office of National Intelligence has identified a regular online video feed from ISIS that reinforces that this was an ISIS-inspired attack,” Albanese told reporters, according to the Times of Israel. He also announced a gun buyback plan and a “day of reflection” following the deadly attack.
The announcement of NSW’s proposed ban comes after Albanese pledged to introduce measures to curb radicalization and hate, including broadening the definition of hate speech offenses.
A woman kneels and prays at a flower memorial to shooting victims outside the Bondi Pavilion at Sydney’s Bondi Beach, Monday, Dec. 15, 2025, a day after a shooting. (Mark Baker/AP Photo)
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Australia had faced rising antisemitism prior to the attack at Bondi Beach, with a number of incidents occurring after Hamas’ Oct. 7 attacks against Israel.
Rabbi Eli Schlanger, a prominent member of the Jewish community who was killed in the Bondi Beach attack, wrote a letter to Albanese about his concerns regarding rising antisemitism. Schlanger implored the prime minister “not to betray the Jewish people.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Rachel Wolf is a breaking news writer for Fox News Digital and FOX Business.
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The United States is interdicting and seizing a vessel off the coast of Venezuela in international waters, three U.S. officials told Reuters Saturday.
It comes just days after President Donald Trump announced a “blockade” of all sanctioned oil tankers entering and leaving Venezuela.
This would mark the second time in recent weeks that the United States has seized a tanker near Venezuela and comes amid a large U.S. military build-up in the region.
The officials, who were speaking on the condition of anonymity, did not say where the operation was taking place but added the Coast Guard was in the lead.
The Coast Guard and Pentagon referred questions to the White House, which did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Venezuela’s oil ministry and state oil company PDVSA did not immediately reply to requests for comment.
A screen grab shows US forces seizing a crude oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela on December 10 (US Attorney General Pam Bondi)
“I am ordering A TOTAL AND COMPLETE BLOCKADE OF ALL SANCTIONED OIL TANKERS going into, and out of, Venezuela,” Trump said on Tuesday.
In the days since U.S. forces seized a sanctioned oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela last week, there has been an effective embargo in place, with loaded vessels carrying millions of barrels of oil staying in Venezuelan waters rather than risk seizure.
Since the first seizure, Venezuelan crude exports have fallen sharply.
While many vessels picking up oil in Venezuela are under sanctions, others transporting the country’s oil and crude from Iran and Russia have not been sanctioned, and some companies, particularly the U.S.’ Chevron, transport Venezuelan oil in their own authorized ships.
China is the biggest buyer of Venezuelan crude, which accounts for roughly 4% of its imports, with shipments in December on track to average more than 600,000 barrels per day, analysts have said.
For now, the oil market is well supplied and there are millions of barrels of oil on tankers off the coast of China waiting to offload. If the embargo stays in place for some time, then the loss of nearly a million barrels a day of crude supply is likely to push oil prices higher.
Since the U.S. imposed energy sanctions on Venezuela in 2019, traders and refiners buying Venezuelan oil have resorted to a “shadow fleet” of tankers that disguise their location and to vessels sanctioned for transporting Iranian or Russian oil.
The dark or shadow fleet is considered exposed to possible punitive measures from the U.S., shipping analysts have said.
As of this week, of more than 70 oil tankers in Venezuelan waters that are part of the shadow fleet, around 38 are under sanctions by the U.S. Treasury, according to data from TankerTrackers.com. Of those, at least 15 are loaded with crude and fuel, it added.
Trump’s pressure campaign on Maduro has included a ramped-up military presence in the region and more than two dozen military strikes on vessels in the Pacific Ocean and Caribbean Sea near Venezuela, which have killed at least 100 people.
Trump has also said that U.S. land strikes on the South American country will soon start.
Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro has alleged that the U.S. military build-up is aimed at overthrowing him and gaining control of the OPEC nation’s oil resources, which are the world’s largest crude reserves.
NEED TO KNOW
- Harry Connick Jr. recalled how the late Rob Reiner gave him his big break composing music for When Harry Met Sally
- Connick Jr. said the director was “rarest of rare” and that he was “kind, patient, and clear” with his vision for the songs
- He shared the piece of advice Reiner gave him, which was: “If you ever want to do anything in this business, do it yourself”
Harry Connick Jr. sang “It Had to Be You” in When Harry Met Sally — but he says none of it would be possible without Rob Reiner, who gave him his big break.
The musician and actor, 58, recalled getting the chance to work with the late director, 78, in a tribute piece published in Rolling Stone on Dec. 18.
Rob and his wife, Michele Singer Reiner, were found dead in their Brentwood, Calif., home on Dec. 14. Their son Nick Reiner has since been charged with first-degree murder in connection with their deaths.
Connick Jr. recalled that he had been just 21-years-old when Rob called him and invited him to Los Angeles to “play some solo piano underscoring” for the 1989 film starring Billy Crystal and Meg Ryan — which the musician noted he had “no idea what that meant” at the time.
Director Rob Reiner watches Harry Connick Jr. sing for the movie ‘When Harry Met Sally’ (1989).
Hulton Archive/Getty
He said that when he got there, the Sleepless in Seattle actor directed him on how to underscore the scenes with Crystal and Ryan, using a green strip and red strip queue, and encouraged him to “play anything you want.”
“I played improvised pieces for scene after scene. Mr. Reiner guided me through each one, pushing and pulling me to connect with what was unfolding on the screen,” he shared. “I was scared of him — he was so precise with his vision — but he was also kind, patient, and clear.”
The Hope Floats star said he also played “Winter Wonderland” by Ray Charles for the soundtrack album, and was instructed once again by Rob to play it however he wanted. So he opted to play a unique, “New Orleans piano-style version,” and noted that Rob told him, “Great. Let’s move on.”
“‘Who was this man? He was letting me sing and play anything I wanted. Was every film like this? Did every director work this way?’ ” the musician remembered thinking of Rob. “Turns out, no. He was the rarest of rare.”
During the recording of When Harry Met Sally’s main anthem, “It Had to Be You” he recalled the director asking him to end the song with a high note — which he said he managed to accomplish despite it being “really high for me” — and seeing Rob smile at him through the control room and tell him, “That’s it! That’s the one!”
He said that he called his father from his room at the Sunset Marquis and held a walkman up to the phone as he played him the music, which he “loved.” When his father asked him about what the Stand by Me director thought of it, Connick Jr. recalled feeling “giddy” as he told him, “I think he liked it.”
“Rob Reiner was a gentleman — a brilliant, generous gentleman. I’ll always remember him in the studio that day — loud and strong, precise and deliberate,” he shared, adding that the Hollywood director also offered some advice: “If you ever want to do anything in this business, do it yourself. Don’t expect anyone to do anything for you.”
Meg Ryan and Billy Crystal in ‘When Harry Met Sally’ (1989).
Castle Rock/Nelson/Columbia/Kobal/Shutterstock
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“True, unless it involved Rob Reiner. He did something for me — he changed my life — and I’ll be forever grateful,” the Independence Day actor said. “Thank you, Mr. Reiner. You’ll always be in my heart.”
The tribute piece comes days after he shared an Instagram video commemorating Rob and Michele after their deaths on Dec. 14. He captioned the clip, “my heart is broken. i love you, rob and michelle. sending all of my love to your family and friends.”
“I have no words to describe how sad I am,” he said in the video. “My heart is breaking for their friends and family. Rob Reiner has been in my life a long time. He was the one who gave me my big break when I was a kid … and his kindness and words of wisdom have stayed with me to this day.”
WORLD NEWS
MORE Epstein files are released as sickening details emerge from pedophile’s grand jury records
The Department of Justice has released two more batches of the Epstein files on Saturday, including grand jury transcripts from cases against Ghislaine Maxwell and Jeffrey Epstein.
In one document from a grand jury hearing ahead of Epstein’s 2019 trial, which never occurred because he died in jail, there were horrific details about what young girls were asked to do.
An FBI agent testified that a 14-year-old girl went to his home in Palm Beach, Florida, to massage him in her underwear. The girl was paid $300 per session, according to the agent’s testimony.
The girl told the agent about how the massage room had lotions and moisturizers. She also detailed how the walls had sketches or paintings of naked females on them.
A library in the home was straight out of Beauty and the Beast, according to the hearing’s transcript.
This comes after a judge ruled on December 9 that the DOJ was legally allowed to release grand jury materials from Maxwell’s sex trafficking investigation.
Because grand jury proceedings are secret by their very nature, it was unclear whether the DOJ would be able to release these documents as part of the Epstein Files Transparency Act that was signed by President Donald Trump last month.
US District Judge Paul Engelmayer said the grand jury materials had to be released because of that law, but he said mechanisms needed to be put in place to protect victims from disclosures that could ‘identify them or otherwise invade their privacy’.
Pictured: Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell together in an undated photo released by the Department of Justice on Friday
Pictured: The front of Epstein’s mansion in Palm Beach, Florida. A transcript of a grand jury proceeding released Saturday revealed that a 14-year-old girl massaged Epstein there while in her underwear
The files dumped on Saturday afternoon were far less redacted than what was released on Friday.
Democrats, including Congressman Ro Khanna, one of the authors of the law compelling the release of the Epstein files, were particularly furious with one document that contained 119 pages of grand jury testimony was entirely blacked out.
By contrast, the documents released on Saturday had much more context to them. One of the disclosures shows a series of notes left for Epstein throughout 2005 with messages like ‘has girl for tonight’ and ‘she can be here tomorrow from 2pm to whenever’.
One note left for the disgraced financier conveyed the message that a girl he was seeing ‘would like to speak to you. I belive (sic) about college.’
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MORE Epstein files are released as sickening details emerge from pedophile’s grand jury records
Insiders revealed what the two infamous prisoners will get for Christmas behind bars
18:05, 20 Dec 2025
Inside HMP Bronzefield where the two notorious prisoners are being held(Image: Press Association)
Insiders have revealed the Christmas festivities for some of Britain’s most infamous prisoners this year.
Lucy Letby and Constance Marten have become two of the most notorious prisoners in the UK. They are both serving their sentences in HMP Bronzefield along with around 500 other inmates.
Letby is serving 15 whole life orders for murdering seven babies and attempting to murder seven others at the Countess of Chester Hospital neonatal unit. Meanwhile Marten is serving a 14-year-long sentence after being convicted of gross negligence manslaughter.
READ MORE: ‘I send Lucy Letby Christmas cards and Disney gifts but prison has made bizarre change’READ MORE: Baby killer nurse Lucy Letby ‘loves Come Dine With Me’ and ‘hoards Maltesers in cell’
Lucy Letby is serving multiple whole life orders(Image: Cheshire Constabulary/AFP via Ge)
Constance Marten was jailed for gross negligence manslaughter(Image: Metropolitan Police/AFP via Gett)
As Christmas gets closer, insiders have revealed some of the festive treats that prisoners will be permitted, despite their crimes. This includes a Christmas dinner, as well as activities for inmates.
For Letby, there is also the added factor of her notoriety, as well as questions about the quality of evidence which was brought against during her trial. The convicted baby killer has several admirers and supporters in the outside world, some of whom even write to her with Christmas greetings and presents.
Speaking to the Daily Mail, a former prisoner said: ‘”There is a lot of support for Lucy in prison now. I don’t know if she is guilty or not but it’s very difficult to meet and talk to her and then balance that against the crimes she’s supposed to have committed.”
Letby has also received several Christmas presents from outside as well. These have reportedly included Disney toys, CDs, as well as pens and paper to write with.
Meanwhile, aristocratic Marten has reportedly got an outlet for a hobby of hers. This is singing, with the prison hosting Pimlico Opera, who host singing lessons for prisoners over the Christmas period.
One former prisoner opened up about how Christmas is marked at HMP Bronzefield. They told the Daily Mail: “Christmas is quite a good time.
A cell inside HMP Bronzefield(Image: Press Association)
“There’s a very definite change in atmosphere and on Christmas Day itself there are games like bingo and karaoke. The Christmas dinner isn’t anything great but it’s as good as you’ll get in a prison.
“The inmates will have already made their orders for this – they use a pod, like a mini computer, that is in all the cells.”
Letby and Marten are being held on a block containing some of the most high profile female prisoners in the country. This includes offenders who are deemed to be vulnerable, in particular ones whose offences involve children.
On the eve of the 2025 AFCON, football’s governing body in Africa create new four-year cycle and form a Nations League.
Published On 20 Dec 2025
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African football is getting a major shake-up with the creation of the African Nations League and conversion of the biennial Africa Cup of Nations to a four-year cycle.
Patrice Motsepe, the president of the Confederation of African Football, announced the changes Saturday during his news conference before the 2025 Africa Cup hosted by Morocco.
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Motsepe said that the 2027 Africa Cup, to be hosted by Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania, will go ahead as planned and that the following edition – originally scheduled for 2029 – will be moved forward to take place in 2028. The next Africa Cup after that will be in 2032.
This would allow the first African Nations League to take place in 2029. Motsepe said it would involve each of the continent’s 54 members, divided into four geographical zones, with games in September and October before the finals are held in November.
“What is new is that … in Africa there’s going to be a competition every year where the best African players who play in Europe and worldwide will be with us on the continent,” Motsepe said.
CAF officials did not immediately specify if the African Nations League will be held on a biennial or annual basis.
German engineer Michaela Benthaus on Saturday became the first person with paraplegia to travel to space.
The brief suborbital trip was carried out by US billionaire Jeff Bezos’ space tourism company Blue Origin.
The Saturday expedition was the 16th crewed flight for the firm.
Also on board were former space engineer Hans Königsmann of Germany and four US entrepreneurs.
The New Shepard NS-37 launched off from a Bezos property in West Texas at 8:15 a.m. local time (1415 UTC) for a flight that lasted around 11 minutes.
The vessel reached an altitude of approximately 100 kilometers (around 62 miles).
The passengers experienced a brief moment of weightlessness as part of the trip.
Dozens of people have traveled to space with Blue Origin, including pop singer Katy Perry and former Star Trek actor William Shatner. The firm aims to compete with Elon Musk’s SpaceX.
The Blue Origin capsule landed in a desert area of West Texas in the southwestern United StatesImage: Blue Origin/AP Photo/picture alliance
‘It was the coolest experience ever’
Benthaus, who is 33, was exuberant about her experience in space in comments made after her return to Earth.
“It was the coolest experience ever, honestly,” the engineer, who works at the European Space Agency (ESA), said.
“I think you should never give up on your dreams. There’s also sometimes just a low probability that it comes true,” she said.
Benthaus sustained a spinal injury during a mountain bike accident at the age of 26 and now uses a wheelchair.
She called for the world to improve accessibility for people with disabilities.
“After my accident … I really, really figured out how inaccessible our world still is,” she said, saying that facilities for disabled people are required in order to form an “inclusive society.”
Edited by: Dmytro Hubenko