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War in Ukraine: Pope Francis in tears in front of the audience as he evokes the supplication of the children, the elderly, the fathers and mothers, the young people of this martyred land that suffers so much

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Eva Deschamps / December 8, 2022

Pope Francis could not suppress tears as he spoke of the war in “martyred” Ukraine during a public ceremony Thursday afternoon in central Rome.
 
On the occasion of the traditional ceremony of homage to the Virgin Mary during the feast of the Immaculate Conception, a public holiday in Italy, the Pope went in the middle of the afternoon near the Spanish square in front of the statue of the Virgin installed on top of a column.
 
“O Immaculate Virgin, I would have liked to bring you today the thanks of the Ukrainian people…”, he declared, reading his speech standing up, before interrupting himself, broken by emotion.
 
The body shaking with jolts, the pope in tears then remained silent for long seconds, then the crowd present warmly applauded him. 
 
He then resumed his speech, leaning on the arm of his chair but remaining standing: “… of the Ukrainian people for the peace that we have been asking the Lord for some time”.
 
“On the other hand, I must present to you again”, he continued, his voice still altered by emotion, “the supplication of the children, the elderly, the fathers and mothers, the young people of this martyred land that suffers so much”.
 
Already in his public Angelus prayer at midday in St. Peter’s Square, the Pope had evoked “the universal desire for peace, especially for the martyred Ukraine, which is suffering so much.
 
The Pope has been tirelessly advocating for peace since the Russian invasion began in February, a subject he regularly raises in his speeches.
 
In an interview published at the end of November by the American Jesuit magazine America, the Pope denounced the “cruelty” that Ukraine is facing as a result of the Russian offensive.

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China sends its first civilian astronaut into space

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China sends its first civilian astronaut into space, Magnate Daily
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Eva Deschamps / June 1, 2023

The three astronauts’ stay is scheduled to last six months, and marks a new stage in the progress of Beijing’s space program.
 
On Tuesday May 30, China sent three new astronauts to its Tiangong space station, including for the first time a civilian. This is a valuable experience for the Asian giant, which has reaffirmed its desire to send a Chinese astronaut to the Moon by 2030, a major objective of a space program that has been progressing steadily for several decades.
 
The trio on the Shenzhou-16 mission lifted off aboard a Long March 2F rocket at 9:31 a.m. local time from the Jiuquan launch center in the Gobi Desert, according to AFP reporters on site. The launch was a “total success” and the “astronauts are in good shape”, said Zou Lipeng, director of the launch center.
 
Mission commander, veteran engineer Jing Haipeng, on his fourth space flight, is accompanied by engineer Zhu Yangzhu and Gui Haichao, a professor and the first Chinese civilian in space. A specialist in space science and engineering, Haichao will be in charge of experiments on the station. He does not come from the armed forces, as has always been the case until now. Their stay in Tiangong (“Heavenly Palace” in Chinese) is scheduled to last six months.
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The big announcement tonight: North Korea confirms launch of military spy satellite in June

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The big announcement tonight: North Korea confirms launch of military spy satellite in June, Magnate Daily
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Sylvie Claire /  June 1, 2023

North Korea confirmed on Tuesday that it will launch a military spy satellite in June, in order to “confront dangerous US military actions”, according to the official KCNA agency.
The “military reconnaissance satellite number 1” will be “launched in June”, in order to “confront the dangerous military actions of the United States and its vassals”, according to Ri Pyong Chol, vice-chairman of the ruling party’s Central Military Commission, quoted by KCNA.
On Monday, Japan announced that it had been informed by North Korea of a forthcoming satellite launch, a project which the Japanese government believed to conceal a ballistic missile launch.
According to Tokyo, Pyongyang has told the Japanese coastguard that a rocket will be launched between May 31 and June 11, and is expected to land in an area near the Yellow Sea, the East China Sea and east of Luzon Island in the Philippines.
North Korea has already tested ballistic missiles in 2012 and 2016, which it described as satellite launches and which flew over the island department of Okinawa in southern Japan.
The development of a reconnaissance satellite was one of Pyongyang’s key defense projects unveiled last year by Kim Jong Un.
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China to send its first civilian into space on Tuesday

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China to send its first civilian into space on Tuesday, Magnate Daily
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Steph Deschamps / June 1, 2023

On Tuesday, China will send a civilian astronaut into space for the first time in its history on a manned mission to the Tiangong space station, the China Human Spaceflight Agency announced.

 

This astronaut, Gui Haichao, a “payload specialist”, is “a professor at the Beijing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics”, Lin Xiqiang, spokesman for the space agency, told a press conference on Monday.

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Until now, all Chinese astronauts who have launched into space have been members of the People’s Liberation Army.

 

Mr. Gui will be “mainly responsible for in-orbit management of payloads” dedicated to space science experiments, the spokesman said.

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The civilian astronaut will orbit alongside Shenzhou-16 mission commander Jing Haipeng and astronaut Zhu Yangzhu.

 

The crew is due to take off from the Jiuquan launch base in northwest China at 09:31 local time, according to the space agency.

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Projects linked to China’s “space dream” are multiplying under the presidency of Xi Jinping.

 

The Asian giant has been investing billions of euros in its military-led space program for several decades, enabling it to make up most of the ground lost to the Americans and Russians.

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China sent its first astronaut into space in 2003, and its Tiangong (“Celestial Palace”) space station has been fully operational since late 2022. In 2019, a Chinese spacecraft landed on the far side of the Moon. Then, in 2021, China landed a small robot on the surface of Mars. China plans to send its first crew to the Moon by 2029.

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