World briefs 6/29/15

Rocket destroyed on way to space station

An unmanned SpaceX rocket carrying supplies to the International Space Station broke apart Sunday shortly after liftoff. It was a blow to NASA, the third cargo mission to fail in eight months. The accident happened about 2*½ minutes into the flight from Cape Canaveral, Florida. A billowing white cloud emerged in the sky, growing bigger and bigger, and then fiery plumes shot out. Pieces of the rocket could be seen falling into the Atlantic like a fireworks display gone wrong. More than 5,200 pounds of space station cargo were on board. NASA officials said they have enough supplies for the three-person crew on board the station to last till October and plan to send three more crewmembers up in a late July launch.

Iran nuclear talks to miss target date

VIENNA -- A senior U.S. official acknowledged Sunday that Iran nuclear talks will go past their June 30 target date, as Iran's foreign minister prepared to head home for consultations before returning to push for a breakthrough. Iranian media said Mohammed Javad Zarif's trip was planned in advance. Still, the fact he was leaving the talks so close to what had been the Tuesday deadline reflected the talks had a ways to go and his need to get instructions on how to proceed on issues where the sides remain apart -- among them, how much access Tehran should give U.N. experts monitoring his country's compliance to any deal.

Hundreds hurt in fire at music party

TAIPEI, Taiwan -- More than 400 people, many of them seriously burned, remained in hospitals Sunday after a fire spread into a crowd of spectators at a music party at a Taiwan water park, authorities said. The fire late Saturday was sparked by an accidental explosion of a colored theatrical powder thrown from the stage in front of about 1,000 people, a local fire agency and media said. The powder for the one-time event called "Color Play Asia" ignited along the ground, mainly burning people's lower bodies, said Wang Wei-sheng, a liaison with the New Taipei City fire department.

-- From wire reports