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Astronaut’s ‘serious medical condition’ forces Nasa to end space station mission early
Nasa has said it will return a four-person crew aboard the International Space Station (ISS), cutting short their mission a month early because of a “serious medical condition” affecting one of the astronauts.
The agency did not disclose the name of the crew member or the medical condition, citing health privacy, but said the person was in a stable condition.
“This is not an emergency evacuation,” said a Nasa official, adding: “We always err on the side of the astronaut’s health.”
On Wednesday, Nasa abruptly cancelled a spacewalk due to take place on Thursday, when two astronauts were set to step outside the ISS, citing a “medical concern”.
The decision to bring back the crew early was announced by Nasa Administrator Jared Isaacman and other agency officials at a news conference on Thursday.
They gave few details, but said the medical issue was not related to space operations, and was not an injury.
An update was expected within 48 hours on the timeline for the astronauts’ return, they added.
This is the first early evacuation in the history of the ISS, which has been continuously inhabited since 2000.
The four-person team is called Crew-11, and consists of Nasa astronauts Zena Cardman and Mike Fincke, Kimiya Yui from Japan’s JAXA space agency, and a Russian cosmonaut, Oleg Platonov.
One American astronaut will remain aboard the ISS, officials say, and will be accompanied by two Russian cosmonauts.
Dr James Polk, Nasa’s chief health and medical officer, told reporters this is the first time in Nasa’s over-65 year history that a mission would return early due to a medical issue.
Crew-11 launched to the ISS in August last year on a SpaceX Crew Dragon and were expected to remain in orbit for about six months, returning around next month, after being replaced by another four-person crew a few days earlier.
The ISS has basic medical equipment, supplies and communication systems that let doctors on Earth talk privately to astronauts in space, assess their condition and advise treatment, much like a secure video or phone consultation with a GP.
Returning the four-person crew early could delay some experiments and maintenance tasks until the new crew arrive next month, according to Dr Simeon Barber, a space scientist at the Open University.
“The space station is a big, complex feat of engineering, it’s designed to be operated by a certain minimum level of crew,” he said.
He added that the remaining crew would probably be forced to “dial back on some of the more experimental work and focus more just on the housekeeping and keeping the station healthy, waiting for the full complement of crew to be restored.”
[BBC]
China has executed four members of the Bai family mafia, one of the notorious dynasties that ran scam centres in Myanmar, state media report.
They were among 21 of the family’s members and associates who were convicted of fraud, homicide, injury and other crimes by a court in Guangdong province.
Last November the court sentenced five of them to death including the clan’s patriarch Bai Suocheng, who died of illness after his conviction, state media reported.
Last week, China executed 11 members of the Ming family mafia as part of its crackdown on scam operations in South East Asia that have entrapped thousands of Chinese victims.
For years, the Bais, Mings and several other families dominated Myanmar’s border town of Laukkaing, where they ran casinos, red-light districts and cyberscam operations.
Among the clans, the Bais were “number one”, Bai Suocheng’s son previously told state media after he was detained.
The Bais, who controlled their own militia, established 41 compounds to house cyberscam activities and casinos, authorities said. Within the walls of those compounds was a culture of violence, where beatings and torture were routine.
The Bai family’s criminal activities led to the deaths of six Chinese citizens, the suicide of one person and multiple injuries, the court said.
The Bais rose to power in Laukkaing in the early 2000s after the town’s then warlord was ousted in a military operation led by Min Aung Hlaing – who now leads Myanmar’s military government.
The military leader had been looking for co-operative allies, and Bai Suocheng – then a deputy of the warlord – fitted the bill.
But the families’ empires crashed in 2023, when Beijing became frustrated by the Myanmar military’s inaction on the scam operations and tacitly backed an offensive by ethnic insurgents in the area, which marked a turning point in Myanmar’s civil war.
That led to the capture of the scam mafias and their members were handed to Beijing.
In China, they became subjects of state documentaries which emphasised Chinese authorities’ resolve to eradicate the scam networks.
With these recent executions Beijing appears to be sending a message of deterrence to would-be scammers.
Hundreds of thousands of people have been trafficked to run online scams in Myanmar and elsewhere in South East Asia, according to estimates by the United Nations.
Among them are thousands of Chinese people, and their victims who they swindle billions of dollars from are mainly Chinese as well.
(BBC)
While speculation is rife about the sanctions the ICC could potentially levy on the PCB for the Pakistan government’s decision to boycott the T20 World Cup group match against India on February 15, the ICC is yet to decide if and when a Board meeting should be convened to discuss the issue.
Any discussions on sanctions normally take place at the ICC Board comprising the 12 Full Member boards and three representatives of the Associates along with the ICC chair. However, the ICC has not yet alerted the Board on any emergency meeting despite PCB indicating it is unlikely to respond officially in writing to the ICC on the boycott as well as the reason behind the government’s decision.
(Cricinfo)
Eshan Malinga will miss Sri Lanka’s third T20I’s aginst England on Tuesday with a dislocated shoulder, Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) has announced. ESPNcricinfo also understands that the 24-year-old quick had been named in Sri Lanka’s World Cup squad – which is yet to be publicly announced by SLC – but now that is also in jeopardy following the freak injury in Sunday’s T20I defeat to England in Pallekele.
The incident occurred in the eighth over of England’s chase as Malinga bowled the first ball following resumption of play after a lengthy rain interval. Upon delivery release Malinga seemingly tweaked his left (non-bowling) shoulder, and clutched it falling to the floor mid followthrough. The delivery itself was wayward, arriving above waist height and given as a no-ball.
“He will return to Colombo today, where he will undergo an MRI scan to assess the extent of the injury and determine the next course of action,” stated an SLC media release.
It’s a cruel blow for Malinga, who had shot up Sri Lanka’s seam-bowling pecking order following an impressive debut IPL stint in 2025. He had picked up eight wickets in his eight T20Is since debuting in November with a strike rate of 17.1.
No replacement was announced in the squad, and Pramod Madushan is the only other seamer available. He had been touted as a backup to Dushmantha Chameera ahead of the series, and will now likely slot in for Malinga.
With SLC delaying the announcement of their World Cup squad, it’s unclear if Malinga will retain his spot or not in the 15. Any change to the squad post the January 31 squad announcement deadline would also require ICC’s approval.
If they were to make a change however, Sri Lanka are spoilt for choice in the fast-bowling department. The two frontrunners are seemingly Madushan and Nuwan Thushara. Madushan will likely get to stake his claim in the third T20I, while Thushara has been key contributor to Sri Lanka’s T20I exploits over the past year. The likes of Asitha Fernando, Binura Fernando and Dilshan Madushanka are also in contention, with the latter two the only left-armers.
(Cricinfo)
China executes four more Myanmar mafia members
No decision yet on ICC meeting to discuss Pakistan boycott
Shoulder injury casts doubt over Eshan Malinga’s T20 World Cup
Showers expected in the Northern, North-central, Eastern, Western, Uva, Sabaragamuwa, Southern and Central provinces
Development Officers threaten to intensify their protest
Auditor General to be appointed tomorrow
‘Dates have the highest sugar content to fight Coronavirus’
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