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NASA Is Giving Spacex $178 Million To Launch Its Mission To A Jupiter Moon

Zoe Maven
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NASA Is Giving Spacex $178 Million To Launch Its Mission To A Jupiter Moon

NASA has awarded SpaceX a $178 million contract to launch a spacecraft to Jupiter’s moon Europa.

The Europa Clipper aims to search for signs of aquatic alien life in Europa’s vast underground ocean.

The mission is now set to launch aboard SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy rocket in October 2024.

NASA has chosen SpaceX to launch its next alien-hunting mission to a Jupiter moon.

The mission, called Europa Clipper, is designed to fly past Jupiter’s moon Europa 45 times, getting as close as 16 miles above its surface. Scientists believe the moon conceals a global ocean beneath its icy crust, and alien life could thrive deep within it.

On Friday NASA announced that it set a date for the mission and awarded the $178 million launch contract to SpaceX. Now Europa Clipper is scheduled to blast off aboard the company’s Falcon Heavy rocket in October 2024.

Europa Clipper’s main objective is to determine whether Europa could host life at all.

It aims to take high-resolution images of the moon’s surface, chart the composition and thickness of its icy crust, look for lakes below the surface, and measure the depth and saltiness of the ocean below.

The spacecraft could even fly through plumes of water vapor that shoot through Europa’s ice, since those are known to crest more than 100 miles above the surface.

This water seems to come from the ocean below, and it could contain signs of life.

VP Osinbajo To Pioneer Technological Advancement In Judiciary

Angel Gimalo
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VP Osinbajo To Pioneer Technological Advancement In Judiciary

Vice President Yemi Osinbajo is breaking new frontier in the judiciary when he launches Africa’s first court recording.

The launch of Africa’s first court recording system which will be launched on July 26th will eliminate most manual proceedings and speedy up court judgments.

Osinbajo who has pioneered technological advancement in judiciary from his time as Attorney General of Lagos will again take the lead on the continental stage.

Speaking on the topic of virtual court proceedings in Nigeria at the Gavel webinar on September 3, 2020, Prof. Osinbajo said, “Reporting of court proceedings is a crucial exercise of the right to a fair hearing, a cornerstone of which is that hearings must be held in public. How that right will be given full expression when court proceedings are within the encrypted confines of virtual platforms is really the subject of our conversion today.

“The Attorneys General of Lagos and Ekiti States deserve our commendation for bringing the matter before the Supreme Court. They asked the court to determine whether having regard to the constitutional requirement that court proceedings, save for some exceptions, must be held in public and whether court hearings by the use of technology, by remote hearings of any kind, whether Zoom or WhatsApp, Microsoft Themes, Skype or any other audio-visual or video-conference platform are constitutional.

Prof Osinbajo noted that, “The Supreme Court while dismissing the suits themselves as premature and speculative nevertheless said that as things stood today virtual proceedings were Constitutional. This wise approach of the Court probably saved our system of justice another catastrophic round of technical decisions around the constitutionality of virtual proceedings

The Vice President stated that, “It may also be cautiously taken as a signal that the Supreme Court expects the lower courts to go down this new path with as little attention to technicality as possible.
“So, we are at a point where at least we know that virtual hearings are legal. This means that the Supreme Court is satisfied that appropriate means can be found to ensure that hearings are public and that the press and indeed members of the public can access the proceedings,” Prof Osinbajo added.

The event which will be held virtually will also have in attendance Honourable Justice Monica Dongban Mensem, President of the Court of Appeal.

Also in attendance is the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami; Funmi Quadri, Principal of Funmi Quadri SAN & Co; Olumide Akpata, President of Nigerian Bar Association and Haliru Nababa, Comptroller General of Nigeria Correctional Services.

Venezuela Says U.S. Military Plane Violated Its Airspace

Zoe Maven
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Venezuela Says U.S. Military Plane Violated Its Airspace

Venezuela’s armed forces said on Friday that a U.S. military plane violated its airspace along the South American country’s border with Colombia in what it said was a “flagrant provocation.”

Venezuela, whose socialist government is under heavy sanctions from Washington, has on several occasions in recent years reported alleged airspace violations.

It said that on Thursday evening, a C-17 plane from the U.S. Air Force flew over the Perija mountains in western Zulia state for three minutes.

In a statement the Venezuelan armed forces said reconnaissance tasks were being performed on Venezuelan geophysical space, and so they do not rule out other possible hostile actions that violate sovereignty and territorial integrity.

The U.S. State Department did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Washington accuses President Nicolas Maduro of corruption, human rights violations and rigging his 2018 re-election, and has pressured him to step down.

Samoa’s New Prime Minister Seeks To Install Cabinet On Tuesday

Zoe Maven
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Samoa’s New Prime Minister Seeks To Install Cabinet On Tuesday

Samoa’s first female Prime Minister, Fiame Naomi Mataafa, said on Saturday her government would formally take office next week, a day after the country’s Court of Appeal affirmed her government was legal.

In her first comments to the media following the court’s decision, Mataafa said parliament would meet at the earliest opportunity next week to pass a temporary budget to keep the government running.

This she said would give her and her cabinet time to review the country’s financial and economic circumstances.

Samoa, which relies on subsistence farming along with tourism and fish and coconut product exports, has had to depend on foreign aid and is heavily indebted to China, which offered to back a port development by the previous government.

Fiame told Reuters in May she would shelve the Beijing-backed port development, calling the $100 million project excessive for a small country already deep in debt.

The Pacific country’s politics descended into crisis this year after the incumbent, China-friendly Prime Minister Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi, refused to give way after losing a parliamentary election in April that ended his 22 years in power.

Mataafa said her administration is committed to returning this country to the special place dreamt of by our forefathers, when they grabbed the mantle of independence almost 60 years ago.

Monsoon Rains Flood Philippine Villages, Thousands Evacuate

Zoe Maven
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0
Monsoon Rains Flood Philippine Villages, Thousands Evacuate

Thousands of residents have fled flooded communities and swollen rivers in the Philippine capital and outlying provinces Saturday after days of torrential monsoon rains, which left at least one villager dead.

Officials said they struggled to open more emergency shelters in order to allow social distancing among the displaced residents and prevent evacuation camps from turning into epicenters of COVID-19 infections.

In the hard-hit city of Marikina in the capital region, nearly 15,000 residents were evacuated to safety overnight as waters rose alarmingly in a major river.

Marikina Mayor Marcelino Teodoro told News men, the situation would be too difficult if there won’t be a permanent solution to flooding, especially with the threat from the so-called covid-19 delta variant.

Teodoro blamed years of illegal logging in nearby mountains and heavy siltation in Marikina River for constant flooding in his city, adding that many of the residents were evacuated from flood-prone villages in Marikina overnight, depriving them of sleep.

In the mountainous northern city of Baguio, a resident reportedly died Friday afternoon after the taxi she was riding in was hit by a falling tree, adding two other people in the taxi were injured.

The northern Philippines has been swamped by days of monsoon rains that flooded low-lying villages and set off minor landslides.

Forecasters say Typhoon In-fa, which has churned off the country’s eastern coast and dumped rain on Taiwan before blowing toward China, intensified the seasonal downpours,.

State Governments Urged To Build Holding Centres For Suspects Awaiting Trial

Angel Gimalo
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State Governments Urged To Build Holding Centres For Suspects Awaiting Trial

The Federal Government of Nigeria says about 74% of the total population of inmates in its custodial centres, are awaiting trial inmates

It, therefore, urged state governments to build holding centres for suspects awaiting trial in order to address the challenges of congestion in custodial facilities across the country.

In a statement on Friday in Abuja, the Director of Press and Public Relations, Ministry of Interior, Blessing Lere-Adams, quoted Interior Minister Rauf Aregbesola as making the call.

Aregbesola spoke at the inauguration of the Osun Command office complex of the Nigerian Correctional Service (NCoS), Osogbo.

He noted that the entire national custodial facilities have a maximum capacity for 57,278 inmates.

“But by the last count earlier in the week, there is a total population of 68,747 inmates, made up of 67,422 males and 1,325 females.

“This means that we have shot above the capacity by 18 per cent.”

The minister noted further that 50,992 inmates, representing 74 per cent of the total population of inmates in the custodial centres, were awaiting trial inmates, while only 17,755 inmates, representing 26 per cent, were actual convicts.

Aregbesola urged state governments to work with the Federal Government in addressing the challenges as an overwhelming majority of inmates in custody were state offenders being tried by their respective state governments.

Heavy Rain In India Triggers Floods And Landslides

Zoe Maven
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0
Heavy Rain In India Triggers Floods And Landslides

Rescue teams in India were doing all they could in getting through the thick sludge and debris on Saturday to reach dozens of submerged homes as the death toll from landslides and accidents caused by torrential monsoon rain rose to 125.

According to Experts, Maharashtra state is being hit by the heaviest rain in July in four decades, and downpours lasting several days have severely affected hundreds of thousands of lives.

A senior Maharashtra government official said in Taliye, about 180 km southeast of the financial capital of Mumbai, the death toll rose to 42 with the recovery of four more bodies.

Harsh weather has hit several parts of the world in recent weeks, with floods in China and Western Europe and heat waves in North America, raising new fears about the impact of climate change.

Parts of India’s west coast have received up to 23 inches of rain, forcing authorities to move people out of vulnerable areas as they released water from dams about to overflow.

The hill station of Mahabaleshwar recorded its highest ever rainfall – 60 cm in 24 hours and Rescuers were searching for victims of landslides in four other places in the state, the official said.

In a statement the Maharashtra government said around 90,000 people were rescued from flood affected areas, as authorities released water from overflowing dams.

Thousands of trucks were stuck for more than 24 hours on a highway linking Mumbai with the southern technology hub of Bengaluru, with the road submerged in some places.

Meanwhile Prime Minister Narendra Modi said he was in anguish over the loss of lives.

Tokyo Olympics: Toko Finishes Fifth, Can Still Qualify For Quarterfinal

Angel Gimalo
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0
Tokyo Olympics: Toko Finishes Fifth, Can Still Qualify For Quarterfinal

Nigerian born Rower, Esther Toko could only qualify for the repechage stage of the women’s single sculls event in the rowing competition at the Tokyo Olympic Games on Friday.

Toko, who was on lane five of the six-woman heat in one of the event’s opening rounds at Sea Forest Waterway, could only finish fifth in eight minutes 58.49 seconds.

The 21-year-old was 1:08.78 behind fourth-placed Alejandra Alonso of Paraguay (8:11.88) and 2:28.56 ahead of Esraa Khogali of Sudan (10:18.27).

But all three rowers could only qualify for the classification series, after the first three rowers in the heat, had clinched the tickets to the quarter-finals from their heat.

NAN reports that Kara Kohler of the U.S won the heat in a time of 7:49.71.

Tatsiana Klimovich of Belarus (7:51.86) and Nazanin Malaei (7:59.01) of Iran joined her in heading to the last eight.

Toko will now take part in Saturday’s repechage 2 at the same venue.

Olympics 2020: Algerian Nourine Withdraws To Avoid Facing Israeli Opponent

Angel Gimalo
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0
Olympics 2020: Algerian Nourine Withdraws To Avoid Facing Israeli Opponent

An Algerian judoka has withdrawn from the Tokyo Olympics before his event starts, after the draw set him for a possible match-up against an Israeli.

Fethi Nourine told Algerian TV that his political support for the Palestinian cause made it impossible for him to compete against Tohar Butbul.

“We worked a lot to reach the Olympics, and the news came as a shock, a thunder,” he told the channel late on Thursday.

Nourine said his decision was “final” and he would not “get his hands dirty.”

The 30-year-old was due to face Sudan’s Mohamed Abdalrasool on Monday for his first match in the men’s 73 kg class.

A victory would have paired him with Butbul – who has a first-round bye – in the next round.

It is not the first time that Nourine has withdrawn from competition to avoid facing an Israeli opponent.

He pulled out of the 2019 world championships in Tokyo for the same reason.

“We were unlucky with the draw. We got an Israeli opponent and that’s why we had to retire.

“We made the right decision,” Nourine’s coach Amar Ben Yaklif was quoted as saying in Algerian media.

The Israeli-Palestinian conflict has dragged on for decades, with tensions flaring again this year as confrontations in contested Jerusalem triggering cross-border clashes.

Athletes from other countries, including Iran and Egypt, have also previously refused to compete against Israelis.

Nigeria At The Tokyo Olympics

Angel Gimalo
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Nigeria At The Tokyo Olympics

The 2020 Tokyo Olympics is underway and two of Nigeria’s contingent, seven-time Olympian, Olufunke Oshonaike and Esther Toko were in action in table tennis and in the sculls respectively on Saturday morning.

Oshonaike loses in the prelims

Oshonaike, Nigeria’s history maker in table tennis crashed out in the preliminaries to USA’s Juan Liu in five sets. The 45-year-old, ranked 175 in the world, lost 4-1 to her 36-year-old opponent.

Liu, ranked 449 in the world, won the first three sets: 11-7 11-3 11-4 before Oshonaike took the fourth in a tie-break 13-11. But Liu clinched qualification for the first round by claiming the fifth deciding set 11-4.

This is Oshonaike’s seventh Olympic Games, which made her the first woman to achieve that feat in table tennis.

Toko fails in the repechage

Nigeria’s only rower at the Tokyo Olympics, Esther Toko failed in her attempt to qualify for the quarter-final of the women’s single sculls event on Saturday morning.

Felice Chow of Trinidad and Tobago and Jeong Hyejeong of South Korea finished first and second with times of 8:15.94 and 8:26.73 respectively to progress to the quarterfinals of the women’s single sculls. Toko came in fourth with a time of 9:07:54.

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