Day: January 10, 2024
US space agency astronauts won’t get to walk on the Moon again until September 2026 at the earliest.
It represents a slip of a year in the previously targeted date for the return of humans to the lunar surface that was last achieved in 1972.
Nasa says the delay to what’s known as its Artemis III mission will enable further technology development.
NASA will now target September 2025 for Artemis II, the first crewed Artemis mission around the Moon, and September 2026 for Artemis III, which is planned to land the first astronauts near the lunar South Pole. Artemis IV, the first mission to the Gateway lunar space station, remains on track for 2028.
“We are returning to the Moon in a way we never have before, and the safety of our astronauts is NASA’s top priority as we prepare for future Artemis missions,” said NASA Administrator Bill Nelson. “We’ve learned a lot since Artemis I, and the success of these early missions relies on our commercial and international partnerships to further our reach and understanding of humanity’s place in our solar system. Artemis represents what we can accomplish as a nation – and as a global coalition. When we set our sights on what is hard, together, we can achieve what is great.”
Masked gunmen broke into a live television studio in Ecuador and threatened terrified staff, the BBC reports.
Employees were forced on to the floor during the broadcast by the public television channel TC in the city of Guayaquil before the live feed cut out.
Police say they later freed all the staff and made 13 arrests, showing off weapons recovered.
At least 10 people have been killed since a 60-day state of emergency began in Ecuador on Monday.
The emergency was declared after a notorious gangster vanished from his prison cell. It is unclear whether the incident at the TV studio in Guayaquil was related to the disappearance from a prison in the same city of the boss of the Choneros gang, Adolfo Macías Villamar, or Fito as he is better known.
In neighbouring Peru, the government ordered the immediate deployment of a police force to the border to prevent any instability crossing into the country.
The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday, Jan. 9, 2024, unanimously approved a motion introduced by Supervisor Kathryn Barger and co-authored by Supervisor Holly J. Mitchell that throws the weight of Los Angeles County behind calls for the release of Armenians being held hostage by Azerbaijan.
At least 36 Armenian prisoners are captive and remain in Azerbaijani custody. Additionally, Azerbaijan has been holding eight former military and political leaders of Artsakh captive as political prisoners since September 2023.
“This is about accountability,” said Supervisor Kathryn Barger. “We need to hold Azerbaijan accountable for violations of humanitarian law. As leaders of a County that is home to the greatest number of Armenians outside of Armenia itself, we must do what is within our power and use our voice to condemn Azerbaijan’s violations of human rights and urge the return of all Armenian hostages and prisoners of war. We have a moral obligation to do so. I am proud to stand in solidarity with the Armenian community.”
“The conflict between Azerbaijan and the people of Armenia impacts our Armenian community in Los Angeles County,” said Supervisor Holly J. Mitchell. “ We must make it clear that these crimes against humanity will not be tolerated by our government. We support the Biden administration in urging the Azerbaijan government to immediately return all Armenian prisoners of war and work toward a solution for lasting peace in the Nagorno-Karabakh region.”
The motion notes that the only “crime” committed by these individuals was the peaceful exercise of their political rights; they are being held under false and fabricated charges.
A letter will be sent with all five Supervisors’ signatures to United States President Joseph Biden, Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, and Secretary of the Treasury Janet Yellen urging the Administration to take action at the federal level and suspend all U.S. military and economic assistance to Azerbaijan.
