Afghan politician, President who led from 2014 to 2021
Abdul Ahad Momand, Afghanistan’s first and only astronaut, has died of cancer in Stuttgart, Germany, on June 21. Born in Ghazni, he flew on the Mir space station in 1988 as part of a Soviet-led mission and later lived in exile. His legacy is marked by a historic spaceflight that connected Afghanistan with the wider cosmos.
The Washington Post reports that during a July 8 Ankara stop, Trump was secretly moved from Air Force One to a smaller plane to avoid an Iranian threat. Journalists and some aides remained on the decoy aircraft, while security officials say the move was to protect the president. Details of passenger lists and the full sequence remain undisclosed.