Briefly

UNITED STATES

NASA skips station plan, to build moon base

NASA on Tuesday announced a set of initiatives to accelerate returning to the moon, including pausing the Gateway lunar orbit station in its current form, and building a sustained lunar surface presence. NASA said it will incorporate more commercially procured and reusable hardware to enable frequent and affordable crewed missions to the lunar surface, initially targeting landings every six months. The agency outlined a phased approach to building a lunar base, including robotic missions, technology demonstrations, and infrastructure development focused on surface operations that support sustained human presence. NASA plans to launch the Space Reactor-1 Freedom, the first nuclear-powered interplanetary spacecraft, to Mars before the end of 2028, demonstrating advanced nuclear-electric propulsion.

2 people killed after shooting in Florida

Two people were killed on Tuesday morning after a shooting near the Indian River County Main Library in Vero Beach in the US state of Florida, police said. The Vero Beach Police Department said officers responded to a shooting around 7 am local time at the parking lot of the library. Two people, a male and a female, were found dead at the scene. There is no threat to the public and search warrants are currently being served in connection with the shooting.

COLOMBIA

Petro questions use of secondhand planes

Colombian President Gustavo Petro on Tuesday questioned the use of secondhand planes by the country's armed forces, as officials investigate the crash of a military transport plane that killed dozens of soldiers in southwestern Colombia. On Monday a military transport plane crashed shortly after taking off in Colombia's Putumayo Province, with the Defense Ministry reporting on Tuesday that 67 members of the armed forces and two policemen were killed in the accident. Officials said that 57 soldiers were rescued alive from the crash site in the remote municipality of Puerto Leguizamo, and were being treated for their injuries in the capital, Bogota and elsewhere. The Hercules plane was donated by the US to Colombia in 2020 under a cooperation agreement that included the donation of two other used Hercules planes.

GERMANY

Push renewed for sugar tax, energy drinks ban

A push to tax sugary drinks and ban energy drinks for under-16s will be voted on by the country's assembly of regional states on Friday as public and cross-party support emerges for tougher action on obesity and related illnesses. The proposal seen by Reuters and going before the Bundesrat on Friday would start the legislative process for such a move. It does not spell out how a levy should be designed, but it does propose that revenue raised should be used for health initiatives. The proposal calls for a ban on the sale of energy drinks to children under 16 because of the caffeine, taurine and sugar content of such drinks. Over 100 countries tax sugary drinks, the WHO says, including about half of the EU member states.

EUROPE

Moscow, Kyiv escalate aerial barrages

Russian air defenses downed 389 incoming Ukrainian drones, Russia's Defense Ministry said on Wednesday. The drones were stopped over 13 regions as well as the Crimean Peninsula. It came a day after Russia fired almost 1,000 drones and 34 missiles at Ukraine in the space of 24 hours, extending its nighttime barrage into daylight hours in one of its biggest aerial attacks of the conflict. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Wednesday that Russia hopes the US will play a role in resolving the issue.

Agencies - Xinhua