- Thursday, February 27, 2025
THE Indian Space Research Agency (ISRO) is closing in on an attempt to land a spacecraft on the moon’s south pole. Here are key facts about the Chandrayaan-3 mission. WHAT IS INDIA’S CHANDRAYAAN-3 MISSION? The Chandrayaan-3 is aimed at the lunar south pole, a region with water ice, or frozen…
EXCITEMENT rose in India on Tuesday (22) on the eve of a much-anticipated moon landing, with prayers held for its success, schools marshalling students to watch a live telecast of the event and space enthusiasts organising parties to celebrate. The Indian Space Research Organisation’s (ISRO) Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft was scheduled to…
A former officer with London’s Metropolitan Police was on Tuesday (22) jailed for 16 years for a series of rapes, in the latest scandal to hit the force. Adam Provan, 44, was found guilty in June of raping a 16-year-old girl in 2010 and six counts of rape against a…
THE president of Pakistan, Arif Alvi, said last Sunday (20) he had refused to sign into law two bills that would give authorities more power to prosecute people for acts against the state and military, a move the law ministry said was unconstitutional. The bills have already been passed by…
AROUND 100,000 people have been evacuated from flooded villages in Pakistan’s Punjab province, emergency services said on Wednesday (23). Several hundred villages and thousands of acres of cropland in the central province were inundated when the Sutlej river burst its banks on Sunday (20). The head of Punjab’s government, Mohsin…
THE space race India aims to win this week by landing first on the moon’s south pole is about science, the politics of national prestige and a new frontier: money. If India’s Chandrayaan-3 succeeds in landing on the lunar south pole on Wednesday (23), analysts and executives expect an immediate…
SINGAPORE-BORN Indian-origin Tharman Shanmugaratnam was on Tuesday (22) officially announced as a candidate for the prosperous city-state’s presidential election on September 1, along with two Chinese-origin former business executives. Tharman, 66, former investment chief of state-owned company, Ng Kok Song, 75, former head of the state-run insurance company and Tan…
INDIA’S Ministry of Tourism last Saturday (19) launched a campaign to showcase the country as a premier wedding destination. Officials said the drive will also aim to unlock the potential of India’s huge wedding industry. Federal Minister for Tourism, G Kishan Reddy, said at the launch, “Today marks the beginning…
Leaders of the BRICS nations – Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa – were due to open a summit in Johannesburg on Tuesday (22) where they will weigh expanding membership as some members push to forge the bloc into a counterweight to the West. Heightened global tensions provoked by…
A US court has ordered a stay on the extradition of Pakistani-origin Canadian businessman Tahawwur Rana to India where he faces a trial for his involvement in the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks. Rana, 62, faces charges for his role in the Mumbai attacks and is known to be associated with…
