Third Shenzhou-17 astronaut comes out of return capsule

China

Third Shenzhou-17 astronaut comes out of return capsule

2024-04-30 19:29 Last Updated At：22:17

Every day of the six-month stay in space was fulfilling, fascinating, and wonderful, said Shenzhou-17 astronaut Jiang Xinlin on Tuesday after returning to Earth safe and sound.

Jiang was the last of the Shenzhou-17 crew to get out of the return capsule, after the module touched on the ground safely at the designated Dongfeng landing site in north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region Tuesday.

The return capsule, carrying Shenzhou-17 astronauts Tang Hongbo -- the mission commander, Tang Shengjie and Jiang Xinlin, landed at 17:46 Beijing Time, according to the China Manned Space Agency.

Upon landing, Jiang and the two other crew members reported their good conditions to the Beijing Aerospace Control Center.

"During my six-month stay in space, every day was incredibly fulfilling, fascinating, and wonderful. Now that I've returned to the embrace of the motherland, my heart is filled with excitement. I feel immensely proud of our great motherland. Moving forward, I will continue to work hard, do a good job in my recovery, and strive to return to space at an early date," he said.

After all three crew members got out of the return capsule, the ground control at the Beijing Aerospace Control Center announced the Shenzhou-17 manned mission a complete success.

Since blasting off for the Chinese space station last October, the Shenzhou-17 crew had witnessed the arrival of the Tianzhou-7 cargo spacecraft, performed two extravehicular activities, carried out 84 in-orbit experiments with more than 200 samples produced, and have brought back over 400 material samples retrieved after being exposed to space outside the station's Wentian lab module.

During their second spacewalk, the astronauts did repair work on the solar panels of the space station's core module, which had been subject to minor damage by space debris. This marked China's first-ever extravehicular repair mission.

The Shenzhou-17 spaceship, which was launched on Oct 26 last year, initiated its journey back to Earth after separating from the space station combination at 08:43 Beijing Time (00:43 GMT) on Tuesday.

WikiLeaks founder wins High Court victory in case against extradition to U.S.

2024-05-21 13:49 Last Updated At：14:07

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange on Monday won a victory in his ongoing battle against extradition from the United Kingdom (UK) to the United States, after the High Court in London granted him permission to appeal.

Permission to appeal was to be granted only if the U.S. government was unable to provide the court with suitable assurances that Assange can rely on the First Amendment (free speech) for protection.

The U.S. government had to prove that Assange, who is Australian, will not be prejudiced at trial due to his nationality, and will be afforded the same protections as a U.S. citizen.

The U.S. side also had to provide assurance that Assange would not be sentenced to death if convicted.

According to Assange's legal team, it could be months before the new appeal is heard.

The latest move came after the High Court deferred a decision in March on whether Assange could take his case to another appeal hearing.

Assange supporters cheered at the news of the court's ruling. He was not in court on Monday for health reasons, but those present included his wife Stella Assange.

"The judges reach the right decision. The Untied States should read the situation and drop this case now. Now, it is the moment to do it," said Stella.

"Some people have sacrificed their own freedom for that of all the other people. Some people want to expose the truth, revealing the deeds that are labeled as 'state secrets.' Indeed, it has been proven that the so-called 'state secrets' can be criminal activities, just as Julian Assange and WikiLeaks exposed at that time," said a supporter of Assange.

Assange, 52, is wanted by the U.S. for allegedly disclosing national defense information following WikiLeaks's publication of hundreds of thousands of leaked military documents relating to the Afghanistan and Iraq wars a decade ago. These included Apache helicopter video footage of the U.S. military gunning down journalists and children in the streets of Baghdad in 2007.

Assange has been held at southeast London's high-security Belmarsh Prison since 2019. The UK approved his extradition to the U.S. in 2022, after a judge had initially blocked it due to concerns over his mental health. Assange and his lawyers have subsequently appealed.