Beijing, China | AFP | China launched a rover early Saturday morning destined to land on the far side of the moon, a global first that would boost Beijing’s ambitions to become a space superpower. The Chang’e-4 lunar probe mission — named after the moon goddess in Chinese mythology — …
Read More »Scientists shocked as NASA cuts only moon rover
Tampa, United States | AFP | In a move that shocked lunar scientists, NASA has cancelled the only robotic vehicle under development to explore the surface of the Moon, despite President Donald Trump’s vow to return people there. Scientists working on the Resource Prospector (RP) mission, a robotic rover that …
Read More »S. Korea’s Moon supports #MeToo, urges ‘stern punishment’ for abusers
Seoul, South Korea | AFP | South Korea’s President Moon Jae-in on Monday threw his support behind the #MeToo campaign spreading across the country, urging measures to combat the widespread abuse of women and punish offenders. The remarks came as a growing number of South Korean women accused prominent figures …
Read More »South Korea’s Moon: There will be no war on Korean peninsula
Seoul, South Korea | AFP | There will be no war on the Korean peninsula, South Korean President Moon Jae-In said Thursday, saying Seoul effectively had a veto over US military action in response to the North’s nuclear and missile programmes. “All South Koreans have worked so hard together to …
Read More »Asteroid to shave past Earth inside Moon orbit: ESA
Paris, France | AFP | An asteroid the size of a house will shave past Earth at a distance of some 44,000 kilometres (27,300 miles) in October, inside the Moon’s orbit, astronomers said Thursday. The space rock will zoom by at an eighth of the distance from the Earth to the …
Read More »Egyptians brace for austere Ramadan after reforms
Cairo, Egypt | AFP | Ramadan is a time for daytime fasting and lavish evening feasts, but Egyptians are scaling back preparations for the Muslim holy month this year after austerity measures fuelled decades-high inflation. At a Cairo supermarket, Rana, a web designer and mother of two, said she was …
Read More »History lesson: S. Korea’s Moon scraps state textbooks
Seoul, South Korea | AFP | South Korea’s new President Moon Jae-In on Friday scrapped state-issued school history textbooks introduced by his ousted predecessor, saying they represented an “outdated and one-sided” view of the past, his office said. The previous Park Geun-Hye administration had introduced state-authored history textbooks at middle …
Read More »South Korea’s Moon sworn in, says willing to go to North
Moon Jae-In: I will take the helm empty-handed and will retire empty-handed. Seoul, South Korea | AFP | South Korea’s new president was sworn in on Wednesday, just a day after a landslide election victory, and immediately declared his willingness to visit Pyongyang amid high tensions with the nuclear-armed North. …
Read More »Trump wants ‘mutually beneficial’ relations with Russia: Lavrov
Washington, United States | AFP | US President Donald Trump is seeking “mutually beneficial” and “pragmatic” relations with Moscow, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Wednesday after meeting the US leader in the White House. “President Trump clearly confirmed his interest in building mutually beneficial, business-like pragmatic relations,” Lavrov …
Read More »Skygazers gear up for extra bright ‘supermoon’ tonight
Jakarta, Indonesia | AFP | Skygazers were heading to high-rise buildings, ancient forts and beaches Monday to witness the closest “supermoon” to Earth in almost seven decades, hoping for dramatic photos and spectacular surf. The unusually big and bright Moon will appear at its most impressive just as night falls …
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