Section: The Manila Times (Philippines)
Russian spacecraft with US grandpa on board docks at space station
BAIKONUR, Kazakhstan: A Russian spacecraft carrying three crew to the International Space Station, including a US grandfather who is poised to enter the record books, has successfully docked with the orbital outpost, NASA said. The crew docked at 0309 GMT Saturday some 407 kilometers (253 miles) above the Pacific Ocean, off the western coast of...
Denmark tops global ‘happy’ index, Burundi at bottom
NEW YORK: Denmark, closely followed by Switzerland, is again the happiest country in the world while crisis-torn Syria and Burundi are the most miserable, according to a global ranking released Wednesday. The 2016 World Happiness Report seeks to quantify happiness as a means of making societies healthier and more efficient. The United Nations...
Trump victory a major global risk – EIU
LONDON: The prospect of Donald Trump winning the US presidency represents a global threat on a par with jihadist militancy destabilizing the world economy, according to British research group EIU. In the latest version of its Global Risk assessment, the Economist Intelligence Unit ranked victory for the Republican front-runner at 12 on an index...
Cats and dogs: fighters’ best friends in east Ukraine
A Ukrainian serviceman holds a cat as he guards a checkpoint near Sartana village, a suburb of the Sea of Azov port city of Mariupol that remains Kiev’s main stronghold in the conflict zonein Donetsk region. AFP PHOTO SARTANA, Ukraine: They fight rats, depression and even serve in combat roles—dogs and yes, some cats, have turned into a...
Europe-Russia mission departs on hunt for life on Mars
BAIKONUR: A joint European-Russian mission aiming to search for traces of life on Mars left Earth’s orbit Monday at the start of a seven-month unmanned journey to the Red Planet, space agency managers said. The Proton rocket carrying the Trace Gas Orbiter (TGO) to examine Mars’ atmosphere and a descent module that will conduct a test...
Athletics: Russia confident of ticking IAAF boxes for Olympic spot
MONACO: The IAAF has given Russia a tight two-month stay of execution to get its anti-doping house in order, but Moscow insists it is confident Russian athletes will compete in the Rio Olympics. Russia was suspended in November after revelations of state-sponsored doping and widespread corruption, the IAAF setting up an independent taskforce to...
Nobel laureates join plea for pilot’s release
KIEV: Three Nobel Prize laureates were among thousands of people who signed a petition urging European leaders to secure the release of a hunger-striking Ukrainian pilot from a Russian jail. The 34-year-old Nadiya Savchenko is standing trial for alleged involvement in the death of two Russian journalists in war-torn Ukraine. She faces up to 23...
Nobel laureates join petition for EU to secure Ukraine pilot’s release
KIEV: Three Nobel Prize laureates were among thousands of people who signed a petition urging European leaders to secure the release of a hunger-striking Ukrainian pilot from a Russian jail. The 34-year-old Nadiya Savchenko is standing trial for alleged involvement in the death of two Russian journalists in war-torn Ukraine. She faces up to 23...
Fukushima ‘dark tourism’ aids remembrance, healing
NAMIE: Shinichi Niitsuma enthusiastically shows visitors the attractions of the small town of Namie: its tsunami-hit coastline, abandoned houses and hills overlooking the radiation-infested reactors of the disabled Fukushima nuclear plant. Five years after the nuclear disaster emptied much of Japan’s northeastern coast, tourism is giving...
Doubts over planned polls in restive east Ukraine
PARIS: Crucial elections should be held in eastern Ukraine by the end of July, the foreign ministers of Ukraine, Russia, Germany and France agreed, but questions remain over Kiev and Moscow’s ability to seal the deal. French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault said that the Paris meeting was a “step forward” for the restive region, but his...
