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NASA successfully launches historic Artemis II moon mission
The Artemis II space mission has blasted off from the US state of Florida, sending four astronauts on a historic journey around the moon and marking the first time humans have travelled beyond low-Earth orbit in more than 50 years.
The mission, which launched on Wednesday, is a major step in the United States space agency NASA’s plan to return humans to the moon and eventually send astronauts to Mars.
The 32-storey rocket rose from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, where tens of thousands gathered to witness the liftoff.
The Artemis II crew – NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover and Christina Koch, and Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen – are set for a nearly 10-day journey around the moon and back, taking them farther into space than humans have travelled in decades.
“On this historic mission, you take with you the heart of this Artemis team, the daring spirit of the American people and our partners across the globe, and the hopes and dreams of a new generation,” said Charlie Blackwell-Thompson, the launch director. “Good luck, Godspeed Artemis II. Let’s go.”
Five minutes into the flight, Wiseman, the commander, saw the team’s target: “We have a beautiful moonrise, we’re headed right at it,” he said from the capsule.
Tensions were high in the hours leading up to the launch as hydrogen fuel began flowing into the rocket, a critical phase that had caused a dangerous leak during a countdown test earlier this year and forced a lengthy delay.
To NASA’s relief, no significant hydrogen leaks were detected this time. The launch team successfully loaded more than 700,000 gallons (2.6 million litres) of fuel into the Space Launch System rocket on the pad, a smooth operation that set the stage for the Artemis II crew to board.
NASA also had to resolve several technical issues ahead of liftoff, but was able to clear them without delaying the launch. One issue involved commands not getting through to the rocket’s flight-termination system, which is designed to send a self-destruct signal if the rocket veers off course and threatens populated areas.
That issue was quickly resolved, according to NASA. Engineers also troubleshot a battery in the Orion capsule’s launch-abort system after its temperature readings fell outside the expected range, but the problem was fixed and did not prevent the launch from going ahead.

The astronauts will spend the first one to two days in high Earth orbit carrying out extensive systems checks, including testing Orion’s life-support, propulsion, navigation and communications systems to make sure the spacecraft is ready for deep space.
Once those checks are complete, Orion will perform a critical engine burn known as translunar injection, which will send the spacecraft out of Earth’s orbit and onto a trajectory towards the moon.
The journey will take several days, during which the crew will continue monitoring spacecraft systems as they travel farther from Earth.
Orion will then fly behind the moon on a free-return trajectory, a path that naturally swings the spacecraft back towards Earth using the gravity of both the moon and Earth, with minimal fuel required. During this phase, the spacecraft will reach its greatest distance from Earth.
After the lunar flyby, the crew will spend several days travelling back to Earth while carrying out additional deep-space tests on power systems, thermal controls and crew operations.
As Orion approaches Earth, the capsule will re-enter the atmosphere at speeds of about 40,233km per hour (25,000 miles per hour), before splashing down in the Pacific Ocean, where recovery teams will retrieve the crew.
With half the world’s population not yet born when NASA’s Apollo astronauts last walked on the moon, Artemis is being presented as a new generation’s moon mission.
“There are a lot of people who don’t remember Apollo. There are generations who weren’t alive when Apollo launched. This is their Apollo,” NASA science mission chief Nicky Fox said earlier this week.
[Aljazeera]
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Trump says he has ‘cancelled’ strikes against Iran and talks up possible agreement
Donald Trump says he has “cancelled” strikes against Iran saying negotiations with Tehran were “brought to the highest level of Iranian leadership and approved”
“Discussions and final points have been, in both concept and great detail, approved by all parties involved,” Trump says – elaborating further in remarks in the Oval Office.
However, Iran says a deal is yet to be finalised and earlier warned the US of an “endless quagmire that you will be stuck in for years” about more strikes
[BBC]
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Taskin, Mustafizur set up famous series win for Bangladesh
Bangladesh secured their first ODI series victory against Australia after they won the second ODI by five wickets in Dhaka, chasing down a rain-adjusted target of 192 having earlier removed the visitors’ first three wickets before they had scored a run.
Australia reached 187 for 8 in 42 overs when rain came, but had done well to reach that far becoming just the fourth team in ODI history to be 0 for 3. Taskin Ahmed and Mustafizur Rahman did the early damage and finished with three wickets each. Australia hung on through fifties from Marnus Labuschagne and Xavier Bartlett who rescued them with a 103-run seventh-wicket stand.
Buoyed by his maiden half-century, Bartlett bowled an inspired first over when play resumed. A big appeal off the first ball was followed by Tanzid Hasan giving a simple return catch. Bartlett then dropped Najmul Hossain Shanto off the fifth ball, although it was a tough chance, before the umpire raised the finger to an lbw appeal on the last ball but Shanto’s review saved him with the ball missing leg stump.
The recalled Soumya Sarkar got Bangladesh going with a lofted cover drive in the third over. He repeated the dose against Nathan Ellis in the next over then Shanto took consecutive boundaries off Bartlett in the fifth over.
Three more boundaries followed in as many overs, including Soumya hoisting Ellis over square leg for a six. Shanto survived a half chance on 21 when Labuschagne dropped a tough opportunity at short midwicket. Soumya then went after Adam Zampa, climbing into a high six over long-on.
It was the part-timer Matt Renshaw who got Australia the much-needed breakthrough in the 16th over. Soumya’s reverse paddle was poorly executed and he gave Bartlett a simple catch at slip. Shanto followed soon after, caught behind off Riley Meredith, who was returning to the ODI side after five years.
Cameron Green made a further blow when he removed Litton Das with a snorter that took the glove after a brisk 21. Mosaddek Hossain, Bangladesh’s batting hero from the first game, played his shots from the start before giving Cooper Connolly a simple catch at long-off.
At 144 for 5, with a only the bowlers to come, the game was not quite closed out. However, captain Mehidy Hasan Miraz withstood a blow to the side of the head to help Towhid Hridoy in the remaining part of the chase. The game ended up finishing in a rush as Hridoy hooked Meredith for a six followed by a pulled boundary then Mehidy sealed victory with another hook that cleared the boundary.
The opening exchanges of the match were remarkable. Taskin set off one of the most extraordinary starts seen in Bangladesh when he clean bowled Matthew Short for the second consecutive innings, this time the batter leaving the ball from a good length. It meant Short had fallen for a duck three innings in a row, starting from the third ODI against Pakistan in Lahore.
Connolly followed in the next over when he fell first ball to Mustafizur. The delivery was going slightly away from the left-handed Connolly who provided the thin edge. Renshaw fell in a similar way at the end of the same over, and Australia hadn’t opened their scoring.
They were reduced to 25 for 4 in the eighth over when Mustafizur got Alex Carey to drive one uppishly at point, where Shanto took the simple catch. Mustafizur picked up three wickets in the powerplay for only the second time in his ODI career.
Captain Josh Inglis tried to salvage the situation, striking five boundaries including a beautiful square-cut six off the Nahid Rana. He timed the ball well during his 34 but left-arm spinner Tanvir Islam neutralised his threat when Inglis’ miscued inside-out shot found deep cover. Tanvir wasn’t done, removing Green with a caught-and-bowled dismissal in the 22nd over.
Australia’s resistance came in the form of a seventh-wicket stand between Labuschagne and Bartlett. Labuschagne, who had been moved down to No. 7 and should have been run out on 1, struck three fours in his unbeaten 55 off 85 balls. It was just his second ODI fifty since the 2023 World Cup final.
Bartlett, who walked in at 81 for 6, was the aggressor and struck six boundaries including two huge sixes over midwicket in his 52 off 48 balls.
Taskin broke the partnership in the 41st over, cleaning up Bartlett with an in-ducker. Next ball he bowled a big off-cutter to fox Zampa. They were important blows because it meant the DLS target was more in Bangladesh’s favour after a two-and-a-half hour delay.
Brief scores:
Bangladesh 195 for 5 (Soumya Sarkar 42, Najmul Hosain Shanto 42, Towhid Hridoy 40*; Cameron Green 1-09) beat Australia 187 for 8 in 42 overs (Marnus Labuschagne 55*, Xavier Bartlett 52; Mustafizur Rahman 3-27, Taskin Ahmed 3-33, Tanvir Islam 2-45) by five wickets [DLS method]
[Cricinfo]
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Landslide Early Warnings issued to the districts of Kalutara, Kandy, Nuwara Eliya and Ratnapura
The National Building Research Organisation [NBRO] has issued landslide early warnings to the districts of Kalutara, Kandy, Nuwara Eliya and Ratnapura effective from 0400hrs on 12th June 2026 to 0400hrs on 13th June 2026
Accordingly,
LEVEL I [YELLOW] landslide early warnings have been issued to the Divisional Secretaries Divisions and surrounding areas of Palindanuwara in the Kalutara district, Doluwa in the Kandy district, Ambagamuwa in the Nuwara Eliya district and Pelmadulla, Ayagama, Ratnapura, Godakawela, Kalawana and Nivitigala in the Ratnapura district
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