The official portrait of the US President-elect, Donald Trump, has been unveiled.

Daniel Torok, the president-elect’s chief photographer, shared the photo in an X post on Thursday alongside that of Vice-President-elect JD Vance.

“We are entering the GOLDEN AGE OF AMERICA!” Torok captioned the starkly contrasting photos of Trump and Vance.

As Vance struck a relaxed pose, smiling for the camera, Trump opted for a stern, unyielding stare.

The brightly lit photo is also a departure from his 2017 portrait where he smiled warmly.

The president-elect’s stare closely mirrored his mugshot after leaving jail in 2023.

In the mugshot, the 78-year-old stared menacingly at the camera with furrowed brows and a clenched jaw.

He was the first US former president to have their mugshot taken.

The photograph sparked a fundraising bonanza, appearing on t-shirts and mugs. It soon became the physical characterisation of Trump as a politically motivated prosecuted victim.

Trump’s transition team said the official photographs “go hard.” The pair will be sworn in on Monday.

Social media users had mixed reactions to the presidential pose.

The first vertical launch of a rocket into orbit from European soil could take place from the UK’s most northerly point this year after a German company won approval for spaceflight, regulators announced Thursday.

The UK’s Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) said it had granted a launch licence to Rocket Factory Augsburg (RFA), allowing it to send a rocket into space from SaxaVord Spaceport in Scotland’s Shetland Islands.

“This is a new era for aerospace and granting the first vertical launch licence from UK soil builds towards a historic milestone for the nation,” said CAA CEO Rob Bishton.

“This licence is the culmination of extensive hard work behind the scenes to put appropriate safety and environmental measures in place before launch,” he added.

It is the final large regulatory step allowing Rocket Factory Augsburg (RFA) to launch from on Unst, the most northerly of the Shetland Islands.

Jorn Spurmann, co-founder and chief commercial officer of RFA, called it a “groundbreaking moment for RFA and for Europe’s space industry.

“Securing the first-ever launch license outside European Space Agency’s established site in Kourou (French Guiana) is not just a regulatory milestone -– it’s a powerful endorsement of our technical excellence and a turning point for European space innovation,” he added.

“By enabling cost-effective and flexible launches from European main land, we are laying the foundation for a new era of space exploration and commercialization, ensuring Europe remains at the forefront of the global space race,” he added.

The CAA had already granted the privately-owned SaxaVord a spaceport licence and a range control licence.

RFA hopes to carry out the first test flight of its 30 metre-tall (100 feet) three-stage rocket, which can deliver a 1,300kg payload into orbit, in 2025.

The first stage of the initial rocket caught fire and exploded during a static fire test last year, pushing back plans for a 2024 launch.

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol has been arrested for questioning by the anti-corruption agency.

Yeol was impeached by parliament on December 14 following his botched martial law declaration. His presidential powers and duties have since been suspended pending the ruling from the constitutional court — which has up to 180 days to dismiss Yeol as president or restore his powers.

Previous attempts to arrest Yeol after his impeachment proved abortive.

On Wednesday morning, Yeol was picked up from his residence by investigators after a stand-off that pitted his security details against those of the state.

He was then driven in a motorcade to be taken into custody. It would be the first time a sitting South Korean president has been arrested.

The warrant allows investigators to hold Yeol for up to 48 hours. The Corruption Investigation Office (CIO) would need to apply for another warrant to detain him further.

Yeol’s supporters and opponents clashed at the scene of the arrest, with each group baying for the other’s jugular. Police officers had to cordon off the street to prevent a breakdown of law and order.

Yeol is accused of martial law declaration and leading an insurrection — a crime punishable by life imprisonment or even the death penalty.

After his arrest, Yeol released a pre-recorded message to say “the law is all broken in this country”.

“As a president who must protect the constitution and legal system of the Republic of Korea, responding to these illegal and invalid procedures is not an acknowledgment of them, but in the hopes of preventing unsavoury bloodshed,” he said.