In brief: Soyuz lifts off for space station

Baikonur, Kazakhstan – A U.S. astronaut and two Russian cosmonauts blasted off today in pre-dawn darkness, riding into orbit on a Soyuz craft emblazoned with the portrait of the first man in space in celebration of the 50th anniversary of Yuri Gagarin’s historic flight.

As the Soyuz TMA-21 launched from the Baikonur cosmodrome as scheduled at 4:18 a.m., it turned the darkness into broad daylight for several moments and warmed the chilly steppe of Kazakhstan with a bright orange glow.

About nine minutes into the flight to the International Space Station, officials announced that the spacecraft had successfully reached orbit.

Today’s launch was seven days shy of anniversaries of two space milestones: Gagarin’s flight into orbit in 1961 from the same launchpad and the first flight of the U.S. space shuttle 20 years later.

U.N., French forces surround Gbagbo

Abidjan, Ivory Coast – The United Nations and French forces opened fire with attack helicopters Monday on the arsenal of Ivory Coast’s entrenched ruler, as columns of foot soldiers finally pierced the city limit and surrounded the strongman’s home.

The fighters aiming to topple strongman Laurent Gbagbo had succeeded in taking nearly the entire countryside in just three days last week, but they faltered once they reached the country’s largest city, where the presidential palace and residence are located.

With the help of the international forces, the armed group fighting to install the country’s democratically elected leader, Alassane Ouattara, pushed their way to the heart of the city to reach Gbagbo’s home. They have surrounded it, and as of early today they were waiting for him to step down, said a close adviser to Ouattara.

Monday’s offensive marked an unprecedented escalation in the international community’s efforts to oust Gbagbo.