Latest News
SpaceX rocket launches private missions to Moon
Two lunar landers built by private companies in the US and Japan have left Earth aboard a SpaceX rocket as part of a ride share to the Moon.
The Falcon 9 took off from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 01:09 local time (06:09 GMT) on Wednesday, carrying landers belonging to America’s Firefly Aerospace and Japan’s ispace.
The landers will eventually separate once they reach the Moon’s orbit and conduct independent explorations.
They are the latest in a growing number of commercial missions to the Moon.
Firefly’s rover, Blue Ghost, is expected to take about 45 days to reach the Moon, once it has separated from the SpaceX rocket.
It will then drill, collect samples and also take X-ray images of the Earth’s magnetic field to “advance research for future human missions on the Moon and provide insights into how space weather impacts the planet”, according to SpaceX.
Meanwhile, ispace’s Resilence lander will take up to five months to reach the Moon’s surface, where it will deploy a rover for exploration and attempt to scoop up loose surface material known as regolith.
Nasa is backing the endeavour, which, if successful, will be its biggest commercial delivery to the Moon so far.
Intuitive Machines last year became the first commercial outfit to put a lander on the Moon, a feat only previously accomplished by the US, the Soviet Union, China, India and Japan.
Separately, SpaceX is also conducting its seventh orbital flight test of its Starship rocket, which is due to take off from Texas at 16:00 local time (22:00 GMT).
[BBC]
Iran has named Mojtaba Khamenei as its new supreme leader, just over a week after the assassination of his father, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei , in joint United States-Israeli strikes that have.plunged the entire region into a sprawling war.
The 56-year-old, who will now be charged with leading the Islamic Republic through the biggest crisis in its 47-year history, was named by clerics as his father’s successor on Sunday.
Key leaders, Iran’s powerful Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), and the armed forces were quick to pledge their backing to the new leader.
Ali Larijani, secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, who has been tasked with steering Iran’s security strategy since the US and Israel launched their all-out offensive, called for unity around the new supreme leader.
Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf welcomed the choice, saying that following the new supreme leader was a “religious and national duty”.
Mojtaba Khamenei has never run for office or been subjected to a public vote, but has for decades been a highly influential figure in the inner circle of the supreme leader, cultivating deep ties to the IRGC.
In recent years, Khamenei has increasingly been touted as a top potential replacement for his father. His selection could be a sign that more hardline factions in Iran’s establishment retain power, and could indicate that the government has little desire to agree to a deal or negotiations in the short term as the war enters its second week.
Al Jazeera’s Ali Hashem described Khamenei as his “father’s gatekeeper”.
“He adopts the positions of his father with respect to the United States, with respect to Israel. So we are expecting a confrontational leader. We’re not expecting any moderation,” he said.
“However, if this war comes to an end and he is still alive, and he is able to continue running the country, there is going to be big potential… to find new routes for Iran,” Hashem said.
(Aljazeera)
Global oil prices have jumped above $100 (£75.11) a barrel for the first time since 2022 as the escalating US-Israeli war with Iran has fuelled fears of prolonged disruption to shipments through the Strait of Hormuz.
Iran on Sunday named Mojtaba Khamenei to succeed his father Ali Khamenei as Supreme Leader, signalling that a week into the conflict hardliners remain in charge of the country.
The US and Israel launched fresh waves of airstrikes across Iran over the weekend, hitting multiple targets including oil depots.
Major disruption to energy supplies from the region threatens to push up prices for consumers and businesses around the world.
Early on Monday in Asia, Brent crude was around 15.5% higher at $107.16, while Nymex light sweet was up by more than 17% at $106.77.
Stock markets in the Asia-Pacific region fell sharply in early trading on Monday, with Japan’s Nikkei 225 index down by more than 5% and the ASX 200 in Australia more than 3.5% lower.
Many in the markets predicted that oil would hit the $100 a barrel mark this week.
In the event it took about a minute to jump 10%, and then another 15 minutes to rise a further 10% in early Asian trading.
Last week the markets had been relatively relaxed about the seeming nightmare scenario for millions of barrels of crude and liquefied natural gas trapped in the Gulf, unable or unwilling to transit the Strait of Hormuz.
But the escalations over the weekend, alongside scenes of destruction of energy infrastructure both in Iran and across the Gulf, saw the markets take rapid fright.
The question now is where does this go? Some analysts argue that if the shutdown in the strait lasts until the end of March, we could see record oil prices above $150 a barrel.
The existing rise is likely to further increase petrol prices, and those of important derivative products such as jet fuel and vital precursors for fertilisers.
The physical supplies from the Gulf are mainly consumed in Asia.
Already however there are signs that Asian consumers are bidding up prices for US gas, with some tankers originally heading for Europe turning around in the mid-Atlantic.
US President Donald Trump responded to the jump in prices by saying that short term rises were a “small price to pay” for removing Iran’s nuclear threat.
His energy secretary told US broadcasters on Sunday that Israel, not the US, was targeting Iran’s energy infrastructure, amid some concern about rising domestic pump prices caused by the war.
(BBC)
SriLankan Airlines Resumes Flights to Riyadh and Dubai
Iran names Khamenei’s son as new supreme leader after father’s killing
Oil prices jump above $100 for first time in four years
Dry weather will prevail over the island
FSP warns of possible coal shortage
Repatriation of Iranian naval personnel Sri Lanka’s call: Washington
‘Dates have the highest sugar content to fight Coronavirus’
Sunday Island 27 December – Headlines
#SundayIsland 17th December – Headlines
Sunday Island – 28th March
Sunday Island Headlines – 21 March
Sunday Island – 21st February – Headlines
-
News4 days agoUniversity of Wolverhampton confirms Ranil was officially invited
-
News5 days agoLegal experts decry move to demolish STC dining hall
-
News4 days agoFemale lawyer given 12 years RI for preparing forged deeds for Borella land
-
News3 days agoPeradeniya Uni issues alert over leopards in its premises
-
Business5 days agoCabinet nod for the removal of Cess tax imposed on imported good
-
News4 days agoLibrary crisis hits Pera university
-
News3 days agoWife raises alarm over Sallay’s detention under PTA
-
Business6 days agoWar in Middle East sends shockwaves through Sri Lanka’s export sector