Donald Trump's administration announced Tuesday it was speeding up plans to send US astronauts back to the Moon, from 2028 to 2024, calling for a "spark of urgency" to prevail over delays that have plagued NASA's lunar return plans.
"It is the stated policy of this administration and the United States of America to return American astronauts to the Moon, within the next five years," Vice President Mike Pence vowed in a speech in Huntsville, Alabama, the "Rocket City" where American launchers have been built since the 1960s.
"Let me be clear, the first woman and the next man on the Moon will both be American astronauts launched by American rockets from American soil," he said, echoing previous declarations by NASA chief Jim Bridenstine that a woman could be the next human to set foot on the Moon.
The first manned Moon flight since the last Apollo mission in 1972 had been scheduled for 2028.
But the program has encountered frustrating delays in the development of a new heavy rocket for .

US to speed up astronaut return to Moon: target 2024

PTI Automatic

The head of Lebanese Shiite movement Hezbollah on Tuesday called for "resistance" a day after the United States recognised Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights.
US President Donald Trump on Monday officially recognised Israeli sovereignty over the strategic border area, seized from Syria in 1967 and then annexed in 1981 in a move not recognised by the international community.
Hezbollah is a key backer of the regime in neighbouring Syria, where its fighters have helped Damascus gain ground against rebels and jihadists during the eight-year civil war.
In a televised speech on Tuesday, Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah said the only option left to Syrians to take back their land -- and for Palestinians to achieve their "legitimate rights" -- was "resistance, resistance, and resistance".
He described Trump's move as "a crucial turning point in the history of the Arab-Israeli conflict".
Trump's decision "deals a knockout punch to what is called the peace process in the region, which ..

Hezbollah chief urges 'resistance' over US Golan move

American delivery giant UPS on Tuesday launched the first authorized use of unmanned drones to transport packages to recipients.
The company said the shipment of medical samples at the WakeMed hospital campus in Raleigh, North Carolina was the first of "numerous planned daily revenue flights."
UPS has teamed up with Matternet, which makes autonomous drones and already has operations in Switzerland, for the same-day delivery service, the company said in a statement.
The company called the inaugural flight "a major milestone for unmanned aviation in the United States." It will provide "the ability to avoid roadway delays, increase medical delivery efficiency, lower costs and improve the patient experience with potentially life-saving benefits," the company added.
The "quadcopter" drones can carry medical payloads weight up to five pounds (2.3 kilograms) for distances up to 12.5 miles (20 kilometers).  Currently, the only option is through traditional courier service.
"Drone transport ...

UPS launches package delivery by drone

A Democrat-led congressional committee challenged Tuesday the Pentagon's plan to divert USD 1 billion to support President Donald Trump's plan to build a wall on the US-Mexico border.
Less than one day after acting Pentagon chief Patrick Shanahan authorized moving the USD 1 billion from existing Defense Department projects to border construction, the House Armed Services Committee said this move was not permitted.
It was the newest challenge to Trump's February 15 declaration of a "national emergency" at the border in order to obtain more than USD 5 billion to build a frontier wall to keep out illegal immigrants and drug smugglers, after Congress denied him the funds.
The Defense Department "is attempting to circumvent Congress and the American people's opposition to using taxpayer money for the construction of an unnecessary wall, and the military is paying the cost," said committee chairman Adam Smith.
"This needs to stop.... The Administration should stop using our service members .

US lawmakers challenge Pentagon diversion of USD 1 bn for border wall

Boeing has flown test flights of its 737 MAX to evaluate a fix for the system targeted as a potential cause of two deadly plane crashes, two sources familiar with the matter said Tuesday.
The aviation giant, which has been under fire and its flagship narrow-body planes grounded since March 13, tested the system upgrade on Monday, two days after pilots from American Airlines did simulation flights in Renton, Washington, the sources said.
Boeing needs authorization from the Federal Aviation Administration before the MAX can return to service. But the company still has not submitted its proposed software patch to the FAA, a government source told AFP.
The aircraft was grounded following two deadly accidents involving Ethiopian Airlines earlier this month and Lion Air in October which killed 346 people.
Engineers have been focusing on addressing problems with the MCAS system, a stall prevention system designed to point the nose of the 737 MAX 8 downward if it is in danger of stalling, or .

Boeing holds test flights for 737 MAX fix: sources

The presence of Russian soldiers in Venezuela violates the country's constitution, Juan Guaido, the opposition leader recognized as interim president by the US and many of its allies, said Tuesday.
"It seems (the government of President Nicolas Maduro) doesn't trust its own troops, because it is importing others... once again violating the constitution," Guaido told lawmakers in the opposition-run National Assembly.
The legislature, sidelined by Maduro, asserts only it has the legal power to authorize foreign military missions in Venezuela.

Russian troops in Venezuela violates constitution: Guaido

The United States announced Tuesday it is toughening a policy denying funding to foreign NGOs that perform or promote abortions.
When he came to power in 2017, President Donald Trump restored the policy first announced by then president Ronald Reagan in 1984 at an international conference in Mexico City.
Since then, Democratic presidents have scrapped the rule and Republican ones have reinstituted it.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced Tuesday a tightening of the policy, saying the US will refuse to provide assistance to foreign NGOs that give financial support to other foreign groups involved in what he called the "global abortion industry."
"We will enforce a strict prohibition on backdoor funding schemes and end-runs around our policy. American taxpayer dollars will not be used to underwrite abortions," Pompeo told reporters.
In 2017, progressive and women's advocacy groups criticized the Trump administration for reinstituting the so-called Mexico City policy.
They expressed .

US toughens policy against foreign NGOs that perform abortions

The US envoy seeking a peace deal with the Taliban to end 17 years of war is heading back to the region for a new round of talks, the State Department said Tuesday.
Zalmay Khalilzad will head to Afghanistan as well as neighboring Pakistan during the trip that began Monday and is scheduled to run through April 10.
The State Department did not confirm he would hold fresh talks with the Taliban but said he would stop in Qatar, the usual location for negotiations with the militants.
Khalilzad's trip is "part of an overall effort to facilitate a peace process that brings all Afghan parties together in inclusive intra-Afghan negotiations," the State Department said.
The emphasis on negotiations among Afghans comes as the Taliban refuse to sit down for talks with the internationally recognized government of President Ashraf Ghani, despite US appeals.
Tensions over the issue recently led to Ghani's national security adviser telling reporters in Washington that Khalilzad had not been ...

US envoy on Afghan peace heads back to region

European lawmakers voted Tuesday to back an end to the annual changing of clocks in spring and autumn by 2021.
If the draft law is approved by the EU executive and member states, countries will decide whether to remain permanently on what is now summer or winter time.
After 2021 the twice annual ritual of moving clocks back or forward by an hour will be over -- as many fed-up European voters have demanded.
Following pressure from a citizens' initiative, notably in Germany, the European Commission initially proposed to end daylight savings time from this year.
But concerns were raised that a confusing patchwork of timezones would be created if some states opted to remain on "summer time" and some on "winter time".
"Therefore we're waiting for member states to coordinate their decisions," warned Swedish MEP Marita Ulvskog, who is guiding the reform through the legislature.
These decisions will not now come into effect before 2021 after the European Parliament voted by 410 votes to 192 ..

Europe eyes end to winter-summer clock changes by 2021

Five European countries that sit on the UN Security Council on Tuesday rejected US President Donald Trump's decision to recognize the Golan as Israeli territory and voiced concern the move could have broad consequences.
Belgium, Britain, France, Germany and Poland insisted that the European position had not changed and that the Golan remained Israeli-occupied Syrian territory, in line with international law enshrined in UN resolutions.
"We do not recognize Israel's sovereignty over the territories occupied by Israel since June 1967, including the Golan Heights, and we do not consider them to be part of the territory of the state of Israel," Belgian Ambassador Marc Pesteen de Buytswerve told reporters.
"We raise our strong concerns about broader consequences of recognizing illegal annexation and also about the broader regional consequences," he said, flanked by the ambassadors of the four other countries.
Three UN Security Council resolutions call on Israel to withdraw from the Golan, .

Europe at UN says Golan is not Israeli territory

Iran battled torrential rain and floods across most of the country on Tuesday, warning citizens to stay vigilant after unprecedented flash flooding killed 23 people.
The authorities also announced for the first time that seven people were killed a week ago in separate floods that swept the northeastern provinces of Golestan and Mazandaran.
The latest deluge claimed the lives of 19 people and injured 98 in the worst-hit southern city of Shiraz, the rescue services said.
There was also one death in each of the western provinces of Kermanshah, Lorestan and Kogiluyeh-Va-Boyerahmad, and another in the southwestern province of Khuzestand.
The disaster, which the energy minister blamed on climate change, struck in the middle of Iranian New Year holidays, with many relief workers on vacation and millions of Iranians on the roads.
On Tuesday the authorities sent out emergency warnings to the public on mobile phones as state television aired safety tips, including on how to leave cars stuck in .

23 dead as Iran battles heavy rain and floods

Russia's foreign ministry said Tuesday that Moscow's decision to send military specialists to Caracas was in full accordance with Venezuelan law, after Russian military planes delivered troops and equipment to the country in a move denounced by Washington.
Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said in a statement that Moscow is "developing cooperation with Venezuela in strict accordance with the constitution of that country and with full respect for its legal norms."
She added that "the presence of Russian specialists on Venezuelan territory is regulated by an agreement between the Russian and Venezuelan governments on military and technical cooperation that was signed in May 2001.

Russia says troops sent to Venezuela in accordance with 'legal norms'

Thai pro-democracy factions on Tuesday moved to unite and thwart a junta-backed party from forming a government after the first election since a 2014 coup.
The junta appeared to be in pole position to return to power as a civilian administration after preliminary results from Sunday's poll showed its proxy party had secured an unexpected majority of the popular vote.
Around 7.6 million votes went to Phalang Pracharat with 94 percent of ballots tallied, the Election Commission has said.
That gives it -- and its prime ministerial candidate, junta chief Prayut Chan-O-Cha -- a strong claim to legitimacy from a poll held under new junta-scripted rules.
It is more than 400,000 ballots ahead of Pheu Thai, the populist party toppled from power by the 2014 coup and affiliated with self-exiled former premier Thaksin Shinawatra.
But Pheu Thai still appeared set to become the largest party in the lower house, on track for 137 constituency seats compared to Phalang Pracharat's 97, according to ...

Thai political parties to form democracy 'coalition' against junta

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Tuesday he was prepared for further military action in Gaza after cutting short a Washington visit and returning to Israel following a shaky ceasefire announced by Hamas.
After Hamas said Egypt had brokered a truce late Monday aimed at ending a severe escalation, further exchanges of fire occurred throughout the night before calm again returned at around 6:00 am (0400 GMT).
Gaza and Israeli cities near the Palestinian enclave remained quiet throughout the day.
UN envoy for the Middle East Nickolay Mladenov told the United Nations Security Council that a "fragile calm" had returned but the situation remained "extremely tense."
There were no deaths on either side, but seven Israelis and seven Palestinians were wounded in the flare-up at a highly sensitive time ahead of Israel's April 9 elections.
Speaking via satellite link to pro-Israel lobby AIPAC's annual conference after returning from Washington, where he met US President Donald Trump, ...

Gaza ceasefire holds but Netanyahu issues warning

Gareth Southgate has called for education to stamp out racism in football as European governing body UEFA opened disciplinary proceedings against Montenegro following abuse aimed at black England players during his side's 5-1 Euro 2020 qualifier win in Podgorica.
Raheem Sterling celebrated the fifth goal on Monday by cupping his ears towards the home fans as a sign of defiance, while Callum Hudson-Odoi said he and Danny Rose heard monkey noises aimed at them.
"Sanctions are worthless if there is nothing alongside that to help educate people," said England coach Southgate.
"My kids don't think for one minute about where people are born, what language they speak, what colour they are.
"There's an innocence about young people that is only influenced by older people. So we have to make sure that the education is right for everybody.
"In our country, (it's) the same. I've said this before, I'm not sitting here just criticising what's happened tonight because in our country we have the same 

Southgate condemns racism as UEFA charges Montenegro

China's President Xi Jinping on Tuesday attempted to dispel concern about his country's growing presence in Europe at a meeting with French, German and EU leaders who stressed their desire for a more balanced relationship.
French President Emmanuel Macron was joined by Germany's Angela Merkel and European Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker for talks in Paris with the visiting Chinese leader which took place against a backdrop of growing tensions caused by Donald Trump's America.
"Of course there are differences and competition, but it's positive competition," Xi told a joint press conference of EU-China relations. "We are advancing together. We shouldn't let suspicions lead us to be constantly looking backwards."
The EU and China have both been on the receiving end of Trump's "America first" nationalism, protectionist trade policies and attacks on international agreements covering global warming, trade and Iran's nuclear programme.
"Cooperation pays better than confrontation," ...

European leaders demand win-win relationship with China

Cristiano Ronaldo's thigh injury picked up during Portugal's 1-1 Euro 2020 qualifier draw with Serbia has sparked alarm in Italy ahead of Juventus's Champions League quarter-final tie against Ajax in two weeks' time.
The 34-year-old Juve attacker hobbled off 30 minutes into Monday's stalemate after pulling up chasing a ball on the left wing, and Turin-based daily Tuttosport launched a "Ronaldo Alarm" on Tuesday, while Gazzetta Dello Sport headlined with "CR7 Worry".
Juventus travel to Amsterdam for the first leg of their quarter-final clash with the Dutch side on April 10 with the return leg on April 16, and the absence of Ronaldo would be a huge blow for the Turin giants after he dragged them past Atletico Madrid in the last 16 with a return-leg hat-trick earlier this month.
Recovery time for a thigh injury varies from up to 10 days for a slight problem to three months, but Ronaldo quickly moved to reassure everyone that he would soon shake off the knock.
"I'm not worried. I know my .

'Ronaldo Alarm' for Juventus ahead of Champions League quarter-finals

The man who attacked two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova with a knife at her Czech home in December 2016 was sentenced to eight years in prison on Tuesday, a court said.
"He got eight years in a tight-security prison," Eva Angyalossy, a spokeswoman for the regional court in the southern Czech city of Brno, told AFP.
The 33-year-old Radim Zondra, who is currently in prison for another crime, was sentenced on charges of serious battery and an illegal entry into Kvitova's flat.
Angyalossy said that Zondra and the prosecutor had two weeks to appeal the verdict. Zondra pleaded not guilty.
The 29-year-old world number two Kvitova suffered career-threatening injuries to her playing left hand as she fought off the intruder at her home in the eastern Czech town of Prostejov.
Police said the attacker did not know whose flat he was entering after pretending to be a technician checking boilers.
Kvitova, who has identified the attacker, is currently playing at the Miami Open, facing Ashleigh 

Kvitova attacker sentenced to eight years in prison

Russia's anti-doping agency has sacked all the doping control officers from its former structure as part of a cleanup in response to the scandal over alleged state-sponsored doping, its chief said Tuesday.
"The agency underwent a serious, deep and full transformation with the replacement of 90 percent of its staff and the sacking of all of its doping control officers," said Yury Ganus, the head of the RUSADA agency who appointed last year and tasked with restoring its credibility.
"International experts who were recommended by WADA (World Anti-Doping Agency) made a significant contribution to the organisation of the new RUSADA's work," he added.
WADA conditionally lifted its ban on RUSADA in September last year with one of the conditions being the granting of access to thousands of samples at the tainted Moscow lab by the end of 2018.
But when a WADA team arrived in December, Russian authorities raised issues with the certification of their equipment under Russian law.
WADA officials .

RUSADA fires doping testers from former agency

Roger Federer will play on clay before this year's French Open after being confirmed on the entry list for the Madrid Masters, which starts on May 3, on Tuesday.
The 37-year-old last played the tournament, where he is a three-time champion, in 2015, when he also made his most recent appearance at Roland Garros.
Federer has skipped the clay-court season for the last two years to focus on being ready for the grass courts of Wimbledon, but announced after the Australian Open that he would return to the red dirt in 2019.
The 20-time Grand Slam champion, a three-time winner in Madrid, will line up alongside world number one Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and title-holder Alexander Zverev after tournament organisers announced the field on Tuesday.
Federer won his 19th major crown at Wimbledon in 2017, before adding the Australian Open last year, but has not reached a Slam semi-final since.
He faces Russian youngster Daniil Medvedev in the Miami Masters last 16 later on Tuesday.
The French ...

Federer to play Madrid Masters on clay return

Algeria's army chief called Tuesday for President Abdelaziz Bouteflika to be declared unfit to govern, following weeks of mass protests demanding the ailing leader step down.
The move would potentially clear the way for elections to be organised in the coming months unless the president recovers.
"It is necessary, even imperative, to adopt a solution to get out of the crisis which responds to the legitimate demands of the Algerian people, and which guarantees the respect of the provisions of the constitution and safeguards the sovereignty of the state," General Ahmed Gaid Salah said in a televised speech.
The armed forces chief of staff, considered loyal to Bouteflika, added that the solution "is in article 102" of the constitution, under which parliament could declare the president unable to perform his duties due to serious illness.
The 82-year-old leader uses a wheelchair and has rarely appeared in public since suffering a stroke in 2013.
Bouteflika said last month he would run for 

AFP

AFP

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