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When the next mission to the International Space Station blasts off from Florida next week, a special keepsake will be hitching a ride: a small stuffed rabbit. American astronaut and mother, Jessica Meir, one of the four-member crew, revealed yesterday that she’ll take with her the cuddly toy that belongs to her three-year-old daughter.It’s customary for astronauts to go to the ISS, which orbits 250 miles (400 kilometres) above Earth, to take small personal items to keep close during their months-long stint in space. “I do have a small stuffed rabbit that belongs to my three-year-old daughter, and she actually has two of these because one was given as a gift,” Meir, 48, told an online news conference. “So one will stay down here with her, and one will be there with us, having adventures all the time, so that we’ll keep sending those photos back and forth to my family,” she said. US space agency Nasa says SpaceX Crew-12 will lift off on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral in Florida to the orbiting scientific laboratory early Wednesday. The mission will be replacing Crew-11, which returned to Earth in January, a month earlier than planned, during the first medical evacuation in the space station’s history. Meir, a marine biologist and physiologist, served as flight engineer on a 2019-2020 expedition to the space station and participated in the first all-female spacewalks. Since then, she’s given birth to her daughter. She reflected yesterday on the challenges of being a parent and what is due to be an eight-month separation from her child. “It does make it a lot difficult in preparing to leave and thinking about being away from her for that long, especially when she’s so young, it’s really a large chunk of her life,” Meir said.“But I hope that one day, she will really realise that this absence was a meaningful one, because it was an adventure that she got to share into and that she’ll have memories about, and hopefully it will inspire her andother people around the world,” Meir added. When the astronauts finally get on board the ISS, they will be one of the last crews to live on board the football field-sized space station. Continuously inhabited for the last quarter century, the ageing ISS is scheduled to be pushed into Earth’s orbit before crashing into an isolated spot in the Pacific Ocean in 2030.The other Crew-12 astronauts are Jack Hathaway of Nasa, European Space Agency astronaut Sophie Adenot, and Russian cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev. Source link
India will slash tariffs on high-end American cars to 30% from as high as 110% and eliminate duties on Harley-Davidson bikes under an interim trade pact, an official said, but will not make concessions for electric vehicles, a move that pointedly leaves Tesla out. The US and India moved closer to a trade pact after releasing an interim framework on Friday, days after President Donald Trump said duties on Indian exports would be cut to 18% from 50% in exchange for New Delhi halting purchases of Russian oil. Under the deal, tariffs on traditional internal-combustion cars with engine capacity above 3,000cc would fall gradually to 30% over 10 years, an Indian government official said. Electric vehicles have been excluded from the deal, the official added, shutting the door on a possible lower-tariff entry route for Tesla – ignoring a key demand from Elon Musk, who has frequently criticised India’s high duties. The stance contrasts with the broader auto access India has offered to the European Union, where New Delhi agreed to steeper tariff cuts to as low as 10%, across a wider range of vehicles, including eventual concessions on some electric vehicles. India has long protected its domestic auto industry with steep import tariffs of 70% to 110%. It currently imports few cars from the US, although it does bring in high-end motorcycles such as Harley-Davidsons, and other premium motorbikes will also receive reduced duties, the official said. Source link
Children watch as war-wounded Palestinians and other patients prepare to leave the Gaza Strip for treatment through the Rafah border crossing between the Gaza Strip and…
Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s coalition swept to a historic election win yesterday, paving the way for promised tax cuts that have spooked financial markets and military spending aimed at countering China. The conservative Takaichi, Japan’s first female leader who says she is inspired by Britain’s “Iron Lady” Margaret Thatcher, was projected to deliver as many as 328 of the 465 seats in parliament’s lower house for her Liberal Democratic Party. The LDP alone sailed past the 233 seats needed for a majority less than two hours after polls closed, on track for one of its best ever election results. With her coalition partner, the Japan Innovation Party, known as Ishin, Takaichi now has a supermajority of two-thirds of seats, easing her legislative agenda as she can override the upper chamber, which she does not control. “This election involved major policy shifts – particularly a major shift in economic and fiscal policy, as well as strengthening security policy,” Takaichi said in a television interview as the results rolled in.“These are policies that have drawn a great deal of opposition … If we have received the public’s support, then we truly must tackle these issues with all our strength.” Takaichi, 64, called the rare winter snap election to capitalise on her buoyant personal approval ratings since she was elevated to lead the long-ruling LDP late last year. Voters have been drawn to her straight-talking, hardworking image, but her nationalistic leanings and emphasis on security have strained ties with Japan’s powerful neighbour China, while her promises of tax cuts have rattled financial markets. Residents trudged through snow to cast their ballots with record snowfall in some parts snarling traffic and requiring some polling stations to close early. It was only the third postwar election held in February, with elections typically called during milder months. Outside a polling station in the town of Uonuma in the mountainous Niigata prefecture, teacher Kazushige Cho, 54, braved below-freezing temperatures and deep snow to cast his vote for Takaichi’s Liberal Democratic Party. “It feels like she’s creating a sense of direction – like the whole country is pulling together and moving forward,” Cho said. But Takaichi’s election promise to suspend an 8% sales tax on food to help households cope with rising prices has rattled investors concerned about how the nation with the heaviest debt burden among advanced economies will fund the plan. Takaichi yesterday said she would speed up consideration of the sales tax cut while focusing on fiscal sustainability. “Her plans for the cut in the consumption tax leave open big question marks about funding and how she’s going to go about making the arithmetic add up,” said Chris Scicluna, head of research at Daiwa Capital Markets Europe in London. The head of Japan’s top business lobby Keidanren, Yoshinobu Tsutsui, welcomed Takaichi’s win as restoring political stability. “Japan’s economy is now at a critical juncture for achieving sustainable and strong growth,” he said. The LDP, which has ruled for almost all of Japan’s postwar history, had lost control of both houses in elections over the past 15 months under Takaichi’s predecessor, Shigeru Ishiba. Takaichi has managed to turn around the party’s fortunes by striking a chord with younger voters. She has even sparked a “sanakatsu” craze, roughly translated as “Sanae-mania”. Her handbag and the pink pen she scribbles notes with in parliament have been in high demand. US President Donald Trump last week gave Takaichi his “total endorsement” and said he would host her at the White House next month.China will also be parsing the result.Weeks after taking office, Takaichi touched off the biggest dispute with Beijing in over a decade by publicly outlining how Tokyo might respond to a Chinese attack on Taiwan, the democratic island claimed by China. Source link
At least 13 people were killed after an old building collapsed in the Bab al-Tabbaneh area of Tripoli, northern Lebanon, while nine survivors have been rescued so far. Rescue teams continue to search for the remaining missing persons under the rubbleLebanon’s National News Agency (NNA) reported that rescue teams are working around the clock in an effort to reach any survivors in the collapsed building. This incident comes just two weeks after another building collapsed in Tripoli, highlighting the dangers of old buildings in the city and the urgent need for authorities to take measures to ensure safety Source link
Two soldiers were killed when a military helicopter crashed in Gyeonggi Province, western South Korea.Military authorities said an AH-1S Cobra helicopter crashed in Gapyeong, about 55 km northeast of Seoul, shortly after taking off for a training mission. Authorities added that the incident did not involve any fires or explosions, and that an investigation is underway to determine the exact cause of the crash. The accident occurred during a flight training exercise aimed at familiarizing crew members with emergency landing procedures. In March, South Korean forces reported a collision between a military drone and a helicopter parked at Yangju Air Base, north of Seoul, an incident that resulted in no casualties. Source link
Thirty people were killed and others injured in a traffic accident in Kano State, northern Nigeria.Local authorities reported that a truck was traveling on a highway in the Gezawa area of ​​Kano State when the driver lost control. A state government spokesperson said that the fatal accident occurred when a semi-trailer truck collided with a vehicle due to reckless driving, killing more than 30 people and seriously injuring many others. Road accidents are common in Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country, partly due to the poor condition of the roads. Source link
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov affirmed that Russia has no plans of attacking Europe, noting that the military action in Ukraine is a “special military operation” and not a war with the European continent.”We are not going to attack any part of Europe. We have absolutely no reason to do so”, Lavrov said in a statement.The Foreign Minister warned “if Europe opts to materialize its threats to prepare for war against us and starts attacking Russia, there will be a full-scale military response with all available military means”. Russian President Vladimir Putin had previously stated that his country does not seek to enter into a war with European countries, however, he stressed that Russia is ready to fight if Europe chooses escalation. This statement comes amid ongoing tensions between Russia and the West since the start of Russia’s military operation in Ukraine in Feb.2022. Source link
HE Sheikh Joaan bin Hamad al-Thani, President of the Olympic Council of Asia and President of the Qatar Olympic Committee, attended the welcome dinner hosted yesterday by Kirsty Coventry, President of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), in Milan, on the sidelines of the 145th IOC session. The session was held in the city of Milan and brought together presidents of national Olympic committees, members of IOC, and presidents of international sports federations. The dinner provided an opportunity to exchange views on a number of issues related to Olympic affairs, within the framework of the side meetings accompanying the IOC session, which contribute to strengthening communication and co-ordination among sports leaders at the international level. The dinner was also attended by HE Sheikha Hind bint Hamad al-Thani, Vice-Chairperson of the Board of Trustees of Qatar Foundation and a member of the IOC Education Commission. Source link
Bangladesh has requested assistance from the United Nations human rights office for an investigation into the killing of Sharif Osman Hadi, a popular leader in the country’s 2024 youth-led uprising, the government said yesterday. The Bangladeshi mission in Geneva had sent a diplomatic note requesting the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) to support a “fair, impartial and expeditious” probe into the killing, the interim government’s press wing said. “The note requests technical and institutional assistance from the UN human rights office to support the investigation,” it added.Hadi, 32, was shot by masked assailants in Dhaka last December and later died of his injuries at a hospital in Singapore. His death set off a wave of violent protests.Hadi had planned to run as an independent candidate in polls taking place on Thursday. (Reuters) Source link