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Chandrayaan-2: India attempts Moon mission launch on July 22

India will relaunch a mission to land a rover on the moon, in what would be a first for a nation that is trying to become a space superpower.

The Indian Space Research Organisation's (ISRO) Chandrayaan-2 moon mission will launch at 5:13 a.m. EDT (0913 GMT) on Monday from the agency's Satish Dhawan Space Center on the island of Sriharikota about 50 miles (80 kilometers) north of Chennai. The local time at liftoff will be 2:43 p.m. IST.

India initially tried to launch the Chandrayaan-2 mission Sunday (July 14) using its powerful Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle Mark III-M1 rocket, but they called off the attempt due to a "technical snag" an hour before liftoff. The glitch was reportedly related to a helium pressurization system on the rocket's cryogenic stage, according to Spaceflight Now.

The Chandrayaan-2, which weighs 3.8 tons and carries 13 payloads, has three elements -- lunar orbiter, lander and rover, all developed by the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO).

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Indian Space Research Organisation's Chandrayaan-2 spacecraft (bottom) and its Vikram lander (top) are prepared to be encapsulated by a payload fairing before being loaded on their Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle Mark III-M1 rocket for a July 2019 launch.
(Image credit: India Space Research Organisation)

It will travel for two months, before positioning itself in a circular orbit 62 miles (100km) above the moon's surface. From there, the lander -- named Vikram after the pioneer of the Indian space program Vikram Sarabhai -- will separate from the main vessel and gently land on the moon's surface near its South Pole.

A robotic rover named 'Pragyan' (meaning "wisdom") will then deploy and spend one lunar day, or 14 Earth days, collecting mineral and chemical samples from the moon's surface for remote scientific analysis.

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40 prisoners found strangled to death in prisons across Brazil

At least 40 inmates in Brazil have been strangled to death in separate jails - a day after a fight between rival prison gangs killed 15 people.

The latest violence took place across four prisons in the Amazon jungle city of Manaus, and those who died were discovered by staff during routine inspections. Local officials said all of the prisoners showed signs of asphyxia.

A federal task force is being sent to Manaus in an effort to halt the violence.

On Sunday, 15 inmates were killed during a riot at Manaus' Anisio Jobim Prison Complex, where 56 prisoners died in the violence two years earlier.

brasil 1Family members of inmates pray in front of the Puraquequara Prison facility

The prisoners had begun fighting one another before midday on Sunday and security reinforcements were rushed in and managed to regain control within 45 minutes, local authorities said.

Amazonas state governor Wilson Lima said reinforcements were being sent to "help us in this moment of crisis and a problem that is national: the problem of prisons".

Brazil's far-right president Jair Bolsonaro has vowed to regain control of the country's prisons as well as building additional ones.

However, the vast majority of jails are administered at state level and have been overcrowded and out of control for decades.

Several drug-trafficking and other criminal gangs in Brazil run much of their day-to-day business from prisons.

Prison clashes are known to spread rapidly in Brazil, where drug gangs have de facto control over most jails.

In January 2017, nearly 150 inmates died at the hands of other prisoners during several weeks of fighting among rival crime gang members at prisons in northern states.

Many of those victims had their heads cut off or their hearts and intestines ripped out.

The 2017 deaths were largely gang-related, which prompted authorities to increase efforts to separate factions and frequently transfer prisoners.

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The world's largest-ever wildlife trafficking bust saves thousands of animals

Police, environmental authorities, wildlife and forestry agencies, border patrols, and customs agents in 109 countries last month banded together for Operation Thunderball, the world’s largest-ever anti-wildlife trafficking endeavor. And their joint efforts were enormously successful.

On July 10, the World Customs Organization (WCO) announced that the joint operation, conducted with the international police agency Interpol throughout June, “resulted in the seizure of large quantities of protected flora and fauna across every continent.” Based out of Interpol in Singapore, the agencies coordinated seizures of illegally-trafficked plant and animals around the globe, arresting nearly 580 suspects. They have plans to arrest many more, WCO secretary general Kunio Mikuriya said in a statement.

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Slender billed parakeets siezed by Police in Chile/PIC: INTERPOL

Interpol and WCO have worked together before, but had never previously cooperated on a mission with such a comprehensive scale involving so many authorities from different agencies around the globe. And they say they will do it again. “As clearly illustrated by the results of Operation Thunderball, close cooperation at international and national levels to combat wildlife crime must never be under-estimated,” Mikuriya said. “Such initiatives will be replicated to raise awareness within the global law enforcement community on the gravity of global wildlife crime and to better coordinate cross-agency efforts, including the engagement of civil society groups to detect and deter wildlife criminal networks.”

The bust resulted in nearly 1,830 seizures of growing things and creatures, found both dead and alive, whole and in parts. Authorities from around the world captured 23 live primates, 30 big cats, 440 elephant tusk pieces and 1200 additional pounds of ivory, five rhino horns, more than 4,300 birds, almost 1,500 reptiles and nearly 10,000 turtles and tortoises, about 7,700 wildlife parts from a range of species, 74 truckloads of timber, 2,600 plants, and almost 10,000 “marine wildlife items.”

Wildlife traffickers were caught both in the act of smuggling and while engaging in online sales. For example, the WCO said it seized seven packages of pangolin parts in Nigeria. The parts were headed for Asia. Meanwhile, in Uruguay, three suspects were caught while smuggling more than 400 protected wildlife species. In Spain, illegal online trade led to 21 arrests, and in Italy 1,850 birds were seized based on online investigations.

animal 2Ivory seizures by Kenyan wildlife patrols/ PIC: INTERPOL

Wildlife traffickers were caught both in the act of smuggling and while engaging in online sales. For example, the WCO said it seized seven packages of pangolin parts in Nigeria. The parts were headed for Asia. Meanwhile, in Uruguay, three suspects were caught while smuggling more than 400 protected wildlife species. In Spain, illegal online trade led to 21 arrests, and in Italy 1,850 birds were seized based on online investigations.

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British PM Theresa May announces resignation over Brexit

Theresa May will resign as leader of Britain’s ruling Conservative Party on June 7, she announced on the steps of 10 Downing Street on Friday morning. She will remain Prime Minister until a new leader is chosen by her party, in a contest which will begin the following week and conclude some time in the summer.

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World faces 'climate apartheid': UN expert

Geneva (AFP) - The world faces "a climate apartheid" where the wealthy are better able to adjust to a hotter planet while the poor suffer the worst from climate change, a UN expert said Monday.

In a new report, the United Nations special rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights, Philip Alston, warned that "climate change threatens to undo the last 50 years of progress... in poverty reduction."

Alston's report, which will be presented to the UN Human Rights Council next week, cited previous research that climate change could leave 140 million across the developing world homeless by 2050.

"Perversely, while people in poverty are responsible for just a fraction of global emissions, they will bear the brunt of climate change, and have the least capacity to protect themselves," Alston said in a statement.

"We risk a 'climate apartheid' scenario where the wealthy pay to escape overheating, hunger and conflict while the rest of the world is left to suffer."

The expert noted that despite global alarm bells ringing over the threat of climate change, the issue remains a "marginal concern" within the human rights community.

He specifically criticised the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights for not devoting enough attention and resources to the issue.

"As a full-blown crisis that threatens the human rights of vast numbers of people bears down, the usual piecemeal, issue-by-issue human rights methodology is woefully insufficient," he said.

All special rapporteurs are independent experts who do not speak for the UN but report their finding to the world body.

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US-China trade war could derail global economy, OECD warns 

The US-China trade war that has raged for the past year could cause a disastrous $US600 billion blow to the global economy.

That’s the grim assessment of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), which warned a further escalation of the crisis could impact a world economy already weakened by sluggish growth and uncertainty.

In a biannual report released yesterday, the renowned think tank predicted global gross domestic product would fall by up to 0.7 per cent by 2021, with uncertainty hitting advanced economies the hardest.

It expects the world’s GDP to slow to 3.2 per cent in 2019 compared with 3.5 per cent last year and 3.8 per cent in 2017.

“Trade tensions have disrupted growth. With uncertainty high and confidence low, investment has suffered, and the manufacturing sector has taken a hit,” OECD chief economist Laurence Boone said.

us chinaPresidents Xi Jinping and Donald Trump have been locked in a trade war for months now. Pictures: Fabrice Coffrini, Mandel Ngan/AFP PhotosSource:AFP

Bloomberg Economics has painted a similarly pessimistic picture, agreeing an “all-out trade war” would lower the global GDP by 0.6 per cent or “close to $600 billion” relative to a “no trade war scenario”.

And if the tariffs imposed by both the US and China earlier this month remain in place for the next two years, Bloomberg Economics predicts global GDP could be 0.3 per cent lower by mid-2021.

But according to Chris Richardson, director of Deloitte Access Economics, the news isn’t all bad — especially for Australia.

“The basic thing to remember about trade wars is the two Ds — they are dumb, but they’re not dire,” he said.

“To be clear, there are beautiful win-win gains to be had from trade … including lifting a billion people out of poverty over the last decade and a bit.

“But now we are amid a lot of stupidity — it’s that classic push and shove in the playground stuff.”

Mr Richardson said at the moment, the US-China trade war had not yet notably hurt the global economy, although global trade had started to shrink.

But he said Australia actually stood to benefit from the situation.

“Remember, for Australia, there is this weird side effect which is that, as China slows, they pump stimulus which leads to extra construction and extra demand for things like steel,” he said.

“So, if anything, global trade wars and a slowdown in the global economy is actually good news for Australia because the world gives us a pay rise off the back of it.”

He said Australia stood to “indirectly benefit” from Chinese stimulus, with Australian farmers and the mining sector (coal and iron ore) the main winners, and while the political blowback from the trade wars could negatively affect Australia, the economic repercussions were largely positive.

However, Mr Richardson said the situation could get worse because “egos are involved” — although he said there was a risk of “overstating” just how bad it could get.

“There does remain the chance that if egos are kept under control, the damage to the world economy could still be smaller than people fear — it is dumb but it’s not dire, and there’s a chance of an outcome which is ultimately good for the world,” he said, adding the situation could encourage China to open its economy further.

TRADE WAR

For months now, US President Donald Trump and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping have been locked in an alarming trade war.

Earlier this month, it stepped up a notch after Mr Trump increased tariffs from 10 per cent to 25 per cent on $US200 billion worth of Chinese goods.

China then retaliated by placing tariffs on $US60 billion of US imports.

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Yemeni rebel missile attack on Saudi airport injures 26

A missile fired by Iranian-backed Yemeni rebels hit a Saudi airport on Wednesday, wounding 26 people and ratcheting up regional tensions just as international efforts to avert escalation get underway.

The projectile hit the arrival section at Abha International airport in the southwest of the country, according to the state-run Saudi Press Agency. Yemen’s Houthis said earlier in the day that they had used a cruise missile to target the airport, a claim that couldn’t be independently verified.

The rebels have launched dozens of missile attacks on Saudi targets over the past four years. But the unusually-high casualty toll is the latest signal that the group’s attacks on the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen are becoming increasingly sophisticated.

A drone strike hit a Saudi Aramco facility hundreds of kilometers away from the Yemeni border last month, prompting the oil company to temporarily shut one of its key pipelines.

Saudi officials said that attack was ordered by Iran, but didn’t provide evidence to back their claims. The U.S. has also blamed Iran for sabotaging tankers near the Persian Gulf using naval mines, a claim Tehran denies.

“The Houthi capabilities are getting better,” said Elisabeth Kendall, a senior research fellow at Oxford University. “This is one sign of how the war has backfired on Saudi Arabia. It was intended to reduce Iranian influence but instead it has increased it.”

The prospects of a showdown between the U.S., its Arab allies on one hand, and Iran on the other, have spiked since the Trump administration stopped granting waivers to buyers of Iranian oil early in May. President Donald Trump withdrew the U.S. last year from a landmark 2015 agreement meant to prevent the Islamic Republic from developing a nuclear weapon.

Bahrain, a member of the Saudi-led alliance fighting in Yemen, described Wednesday’s incident as a “dangerous escalation carried out by Iranian weapons,” Foreign Minister Khalid al-Khalifa said on Twitter.

Saudi Arabia’s benchmark Tadawul All Share Index trimmed gains after the kingdom’s authorities acknowledged the attack. It was trading 0.4 percent higher at 1:18 p.m. local time. The civil aviation authority said the airport was operating normally, the Saudi-owned Al Arabiya television reported around midday.

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Bomb blast targets tourist bus near Egypt's pyramids 

At least 17 people were injured on Sunday in a blast targeting a tourist bus near the new Egyptian museum close to the Giza Pyramids, Egyptian officials said.

The roadside bomb went off as the bus was being driven in Giza, also causing injuries to Egyptians in a nearby car, medical and security sources said. There were no deaths reported.

"A device exploded and smashed the windows of a bus carrying 25 people from South Africa and a private car carrying four Egyptians," the security source said. 

Video footage captured by AFP showed the bus and car with broken windows on the side of the road.

According to the security source, the wounded were being treated for scratches caused by the broken glass.
egypt blast 1
A group picture of the tour group from Durban that was onboard the bus.

Ndivhuwo Mabaya, spokesman for South Africa's department of international relations, told AFP that "there might be South Africans involved" but declined to give any figures.

Sunday's incident comes after three Vietnamese holidaymakers and their Egyptian guide were killed when a roadside bomb hit their bus as it travelled near the Giza pyramids outside Cairo in December.

It also comes just little more than a month before the African Cup of Nations hosted by Egypt is to kick off.

Egypt has been battling an insurgency that surged especially in the turbulent North Sinai region following the 2013 military ouster of Islamist president Mohamed Morsi, who was replaced by former army general Abdel Fattah al-Sisi.

In February 2018, the army launched a nationwide operation against militants, focusing mainly on the North Sinai region.

Some 650 militants and around 45 soldiers have been killed since the start of the offensive, according to separate statements by the armed forces.

Since first being elected in 2014, Sisi has presented himself as a bulwark against terrorism, promising stability and increased security.

Recently, the country's vital tourism industry has started to slowly rebound after suffering strong blows due to deadly attacks targeting tourists following the turmoil of the 2011 uprising that toppled longtime ruler Hosni Mubarak.

Figures by the official statistics agency showed that tourist arrivals reached 8.3 million in 2017, compared with 5.3 million the previous year. 

Authorities have gone at great lengths to lure tourists back, touting a series of archaeological finds and a new museum next to the pyramids, as well as enhanced security at airports and around ancient sites.

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Trump's trade wars sent global investments tumbling: World Bank

Donald Trump’s trade wars with China, Mexico and Europe have sent global investment tumbling, according to a World Bank report that forecasts worldwide growth this year will slip back to levels not seen since 2016.

The Washington-based lender to developing world countries said in its half-yearly global health check that spiralling political uncertainty was to blame for a slowdown in trade and a collapse in investment spending that will push down GDP growth to 2.6% this year “before inching up to 2.7% in 2020”.

The decision by the Trump administration to impose higher tariffs on Chinese imports and prolonged Brexit uncertainty were among a string of events to increase the World Bank’s policy uncertainty index to a record high.

The report’s gloomy findings were echoed in a speech on Tuesday by the US Federal Reserve chair, Jerome Powell, who pledged to take “appropriate” measures to protect the US economy from the impact of trade wars.

In what was widely seen as a hint that the Fed could cut interest rates in the coming months if the US economy cools, Powell told a monetary policy conference in Chicago that the central bank was “closely monitoring the implications” of ongoing trade disputes.

He said: “We don’t know how or when these issues will be resolved. As always, we will act as appropriate to sustain the expansion.”

Stock markets tumbled last month as traders began to fear an escalation in Washington’s tit-for-tat with Beijing over import tariffs. Oil prices have tumbled and investors have piled into safe haven assets such as gold – with prices up 4% on Tuesday – and German sovereign bonds.

Trump warned Mexico last week that it could face higher tariffs on all its exports to the US if it failed to reduce migration. Washington said a 5% tariff on all goods would be imposed as early as next week and rise to 25% by October.

Manufacturing output across the world has been especially hard hit, with surveys showing a sharp decline in growth across most regions. In the UK, a major survey found manufacturing contracted last month. The picture was gloomier still across Ireland and continental Europe, where output slowed at an even faster pace.

The World Bank said emerging economies in Asia, South America and Africa were constrained by sluggish investment “and risks are tilted to the downside”.

It said in the report, Global Economic Prospects: Heightened Tensions, Subdued Investment, that rising trade barriers increased the financial stress on trade-dependent economies, such as Turkey, and created sharper-than-expected slowdowns in major economies, especially in Europe.

Developing-world governments have reacted to the fall in private sector investment by borrowing to fill the gap, increasing the risk of financial instability should global growth slow further.

David Malpass, the World Bank group president, said: “Stronger economic growth is essential to reducing poverty and improving living standards. Current economic momentum remains weak, while heightened debt levels and subdued investment growth in developing economies are holding countries back from achieving their potential.”

Malpass, who was appointed earlier this year to succeed previous president Jim Yong Kim, added that developing-world countries should hold back on borrowing further funds unless it was for growth and investment.

“It’s urgent that countries make significant structural reforms that improve the business climate and attract investment. They also need to make debt management and transparency a high priority so that new debt adds to growth and investment.”

Some countries expected by the World Bank to see an improvement in GDP growth this year have already started to go backwards, according to recent figures.

South Africa’s economy suffered its worst quarter since the financial crisis. The economy shrank at an annual rate of 3.2% in the first three months of 2019, knocking it off course from the 1.1% growth expected by the World Bank this year.

South Africa’s manufacturing, mining and agricultural sectors all shrank, in a blow to the newly re-elected president Cyril Ramaphosa. Agriculture contracted by 13%, mining fell 11%, while manufacturing decreased by 8.8% year-on-year.

Australia’s economy has also slowed, forcing the central bank to reduce interest rates to a record low of 1.25%.

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Five foreign tourists killed in plane crash in Honduras

TEGUCIGALPA: Five foreigners including the pilot died on Saturday when their private plane crashed into the sea shortly after taking off from Roatán island, a tourist destination on the Atlantic coast of Honduras, local authorities said.

Officials gave conflicting accounts of the victims’ nationalities. Armed forces spokesman Jose Domingo Meza said four of the victims were from the United States and the fifth victim’s nationality had yet to be determined.

Local emergency services initially said the victims included four Canadians and another victim of unknown nationality.

Local authorities did not immediately offer a cause for the accident.

The Piper PA-32-260 plane was headed to the tourist port city of Trujillo, about 80 kilometers (49.71 miles) from Roatan, a picturesque island frequented by tourists from the United States, Canada and Europe, authorities said.

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Myanmar police hunt 'Buddhist bin Laden' over Suu Kyi comments

Myanmar police have issued an arrest warrant for Ashin Wirathu, a firebrand monk known as the "Buddist Bin Laden", over alleged incendiary remarks about Aung San Suu Kyi.

Wirathu has long been accused of inciting sectarian violence against Myanmar’s Muslims, in particular the Rohingya community, through hate-filled, Islamaphobic speeches.

The monk, who is at the forefront of Myanmar’s radical nationalist movement, supported the military crackdown on the Rohingya in August 2017 in Rahkine state. The UN has since defined the military violence as ethnic cleansing which was carried out with “genocidal intent”.

The police confirmed on Tuesday that a warrant had been issued for Wirathu’s arrest under article 124(a) of the legal code. It covers sedition, defined as “attempts to bring into hatred or contempt, or excites or attempts to excite disaffection towards the government." The charge carries a three-year sentence.

It is believed to be connected to defamatory comments made by Wirathu about Myanmar state counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi.

The police were still trying to hunt down the monk on Wednesday. He usually lives in his own compound within the Masoeyein monastery in Mandalay but his whereabouts were currently unknown.

If he is charged, this would not be Wirathu’s first time in prison. He was first jailed in 2003 by the military junta but released in 2012 under an amnesty and began touring the country, whipping up hatred against Muslims with his extremist sermons.

While a senior Buddhist council temporarily prevented Wirathu from preaching, over the past few months he has been a regular feature at pro-military rallies, again stirring up anti-Muslim sentiment by calling for boycotts of Muslim businesses and referring to the Rohingya as illegal immigrants.

He has also been banned from Facebook since January 2018 and he was banned from entering Thailand last month.

While Buddhism espouses non-violence, Wirathu has openly said he is "proud to be called a radical Buddhist" and in a 2013 sermon said of Muslims in Myanmar: "You can be full of kindness and love, but you cannot sleep next to a mad dog."

Speaking at a rally in October, the monk spoke out against attempts by the international criminal court (ICC) to investigate the crimes against the Rohingya in Rahkine. "The day when the ICC comes here," he said, "is the day that Wirathu holds a gun."

 

 

 

 

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Taiwan becomes first Asian country to legalize same-sex marriage

Thousands of marriage equality advocates celebrated in the pouring rain outside Taiwan’s legislature on Friday as it easily voted to grant same-sex couples similar marriage rights as those of heterosexual couples.

The law, which allows for same-sex couples to apply for “marriage registration” as part of “exclusive permanent unions,” passed by a comfortable margin and marked a key victory for Taiwan’s LGBT community.

Taiwan’s high court ruled on May 24, 2017 that barring same-sex couples from marrying violates its constitution and gave the legislature two years to pass a corresponding law or see same-sex marriage become legalized automatically. The process frequently stalled amid conservative opposition. In November 2018, Taiwan voted in a public referendum to restrict same-sex couples from full marriage rights.

Taiwan’s ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) responded by submitting legislation designed to comply with both the court ruling and the referendum result. Two competing bills which would be less favorable to the gay community were submitted, but they failed to gain traction.

The law could give the DPP and President Tsai Ing-wen a boost ahead of January 2020s presidential election. Gay rights advocates have long criticized the ruling party for failing to pass legislation sooner, but these concerns were largely absent amid the mood of optimism at Friday’s rally.

Chi Chia-wei, a gay rights activist for over 30 years, said he was “very, very happy” to see Taiwan legalize same-sex marriage, calling the process “a strong demonstration of our democratic spirit.”
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A man holds rose with a gay pride ribbon tied to it as he waits outside Taiwan's parliament where voting is taking place on legalising same-sex marriage on May 17, 2019 in Taipei, Taiwan. (Carl Court/Getty Images)  

The law ensured that Taiwan, a self-ruled democratic nation, would stand as an example for Asia’s growing LGBT community. Thailand has proposed a law to recognize civil partnerships, but same-sex unions remain illegal elsewhere in Asia.

Jay Lin, CEO of Portico Media and a gay father of two children, called the law a “beacon of hope” for Asia’s gay community. “I’m very glad that I’m living in Taiwan and I’m a beneficiary of these new laws,” he said.

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