North Korea's space satellite crashes into sea; alerts sent then retracted in South Korea, Japan - The Straits Times

SEOUL/TOKYO – A satellite launch conducted by North Korea on Wednesday ended in failure after the rocket’s second stage malfunctioned, sending the craft plunging into the sea, state media said, as the nuclear-armed North seeks to gain ground in a regional space race.

The launch prompted emergency alerts and brief evacuation warnings in parts of South Korea and Japan, which were then withdrawn with no danger or damage reported.

The “Chollima-1” rocket plunged into the sea “after losing thrust due to the abnormal starting of the second-stage engine”, the Korean Central News Agency (KNCA) reported, in an unusually candid admission of a technical failure by the North.

KCNA said Pyongyang’s National Aerospace Development Administration will investigate the “serious defects” and take action to overcome them before conducting a second launch as soon as possible.

The launch was the nuclear-armed state’s sixth satellite launch attempt, and the first since 2016.

North Korea had said it would launch its first military reconnaissance satellite between May 31 and June 11 to boost monitoring of US military activities.

In data provided to the international authorities, Pyongyang said the launch would carry the rocket south, with various stages and other debris expected to fall over the Yellow Sea and into the Pacific Ocean.

South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said on Wednesday the military was conducting a salvage operation to recover what is believed to be parts of the space launch vehicle.

The military shared pictures of debris pulled from the water, including a large cylindrical object tethered to a buoy.

Mr George William Herbert, adjunct professor at the Centre for Nonproliferation Studies and a missile consultant, said the images showed at least part of a rocket, including an “interstage” section designed to connect to another stage.

It is most likely a liquid-fuel rocket, and a round, brown object inside is likely a propellant tank for either fuel or oxidiser, he added.

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2023-05-30 21:48:28Z
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Ukraine war comes to Moscow as drones strike both capitals - CNA

INJURIES AND EVACUATIONS IN MOSCOW

Two people were injured while some apartment blocks were briefly evacuated, according to Moscow's mayor. Residents said they heard loud bangs followed by the smell of petrol. Some filmed a drone being shot down and a plume of smoke.

Tuesday's early-morning drone volley targeted some of Moscow's most prestigious districts including where Putin and the elite have residences. He was later in the Kremlin and received a briefing on the attack, a spokesman said.

Afterwards, Putin said Ukraine's biggest ever drone strike on Moscow was an attempt to frighten and provoke Russia, and that air defences around the capital would be strengthened.

Ukraine, Putin said, had chosen the path of trying "to intimidate Russia, Russian citizens and attacks on residential buildings".

Civilian targets in Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities have since the earliest days of the war been struck repeatedly by Russian drones and missiles.

But Tuesday marked only the second time Moscow had come under direct fire. There was an apparent drone strike on the Kremlin earlier this month that Moscow also blamed on Ukraine and said was meant to kill Putin.

The White House said it was still gathering information on the reports of drones striking in Moscow.

"We do not support attacks inside of Russia. That's it. Period," White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said at a briefing. Washington is a major supplier of weaponry to Ukraine on the condition it uses it to defend itself and to retake Ukrainian territory occupied by Russian forces.

Russian lawmaker Maxim Ivanov called it the most serious assault on Moscow since Nazi Germany's invasion in World War Two, saying no Russian could now avoid "the new reality".

Russian state television gave the attacks calm coverage, and many Muscovites carried on with their lives with the fatalism for which they are famous. Most shrugged their shoulders and many voiced sadness that the conflict seemed to be spreading.

Olga, who said she lived near to the site of one of the drone collisions on Profsoyuznaya Street, called the strikes "logical, to be expected ... what else were we waiting for?"

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2023-05-30 21:56:00Z
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Putin says Ukraine drone strikes on Moscow aim to scare and provoke Russia - CNA

RUSSIA AT WAR

So far Putin has kept the war in Ukraine far from Moscow, where life has continued relatively normally despite the biggest rupture in Russia's ties with the West since the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis.

Russia began attacking the Ukrainian capital with swarms of cheaply produced loitering munitions often known as “kamikaze drones” last October and uses them extensively during its regular air strikes across Ukraine.

Prosecutors said incidents occurred in the Odintsovsky District of western Moscow region - where Putin has his Novo-Ogaryovo state residence. The area, the most expensive in Russia, is the home to the country's elite.

Russian state television gave the attacks calm coverage. Many Muscovites carried on with their lives with the fatalism for which they are famous.

On a warm spring day in the city centre, residents could be seen taking selfies in front of the Bolshoi Theatre while others relaxed in cafes and shopped in the well-stocked luxury stores of Moscow.

Putin has repeatedly cast the conflict in Ukraine as a struggle with what he says is an arrogant and aggressive West which is risking a global war by supporting Ukraine.

Thus far, the war has been described by the Kremlin as a "special military operation". The United States has repeatedly said it does not want a war with Russia and has said Ukraine should not use Western weapons to attack inside Russia.

Russian lawmakers cautioned that there were likely to be more attacks on Moscow, which many said would make it necessary to give the military and security agencies even greater powers.

"The sabotage and terrorist attacks of Ukraine will only increase," said Alexander Khinshtein, from the ruling United Russia bloc.

"It is necessary to radically strengthen defence and security measures, especially in terms of countering drones. This includes finally passing the necessary laws."

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2023-05-30 14:48:13Z
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Lui Tuck Yew is Singapore's new ambassador to the United States - The Straits Times

SINGAPORE – Former transport minister Lui Tuck Yew has been appointed Singapore’s ambassador to the United States, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) announced on Tuesday.

Prior to this, he was the country’s ambassador to the People’s Republic of China from November 2019 to April 2023. He was also Singapore’s ambassador to Japan from 2017 to 2019.

He will take over the post in the US from Mr Ashok Kumar Mirpuri, who has been Singapore’s ambassador to the US since July 2012.

Mr Peter Tan Hai Chuan is Singapore’s new ambassador to China.

The Government also appointed two other new ambassadors – Mr Ong Eng Chuan to Japan and Ms Constance See Sin Yuan to the Philippines.

Mr Lui, 61, who retired from politics in 2015, was first elected MP in 2006. Before embarking on a political career, he was navy chief from 1999 to 2003 and chief executive of the Housing Board from 2005 to 2006.

He was minister for information, communications and the arts from 2009 to 2011, and transport minister from 2011 to 2015.

His other portfolios included second minister for foreign affairs and second minister for defence.

Mr Ong, 55, joined MFA in 1994 and took on the role of deputy secretary (management) of the ministry from May 2016.

Ms See, 48, was director-general of MFA’s South-east Asia II Directorate from March 2017 to March 2023.

In a Facebook post on Tuesday, President Halimah Yacob said she presented letters of credence to Mr Lui, Mr Ong and Ms See.

“I look forward to their contributions in strengthening Singapore’s bilateral relations,” she said.

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2023-05-30 13:04:00Z
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Prepare N95 masks, air purifiers as haze may hit S'pore from June, says Met Service - The Straits Times

SINGAPORE – Members of the public are advised to ensure that they have sufficient N95 face masks and air purifiers in good working condition as there is a higher risk of transboundary haze hitting Singapore from June due to drier and warmer weather conditions.

The Meteorological Service Singapore (MSS) said in a press release on Tuesday that in anticipation of the onset of drier weather, the government inter-agency haze task force has been coordinating action plans for possible haze.

Singapore’s 24-hour PSI as at 3pm on Tuesday ranged from 25 in the north, to 51 in the east. A reading of 0 to 50 is considered good air quality, while a reading between 51 and 100 is considered moderate.

The one-hour PM2.5 concentration reading, an indication of the current air quality, ranged between 6 in the north and 17 in the west at 3pm. A reading of 0 to 55 is considered normal.

According to the outlook on the National Environment Agency’s (NEA) haze microsite for the next few days, dry weather is likely for many parts of the southern Asean region, although isolated showers are expected over central Sumatra, northern Borneo and Sulawesi. Higher hot spot counts may be expected in the fire-prone areas of this region under prevailing dry weather conditions, with an increased risk of smoke haze development.

While N95 masks are not needed indoors or during short exposures such as commuting, a healthy person who has to be outdoors for several hours when the air quality is in the hazardous range can reduce exposure by wearing an N95 mask.

For air purifiers, an appropriate one should have a clean air delivery rate number that is at least three times the volume of the room in cubic metres.

While the period between June and September is the usual dry season for Singapore and the surrounding region, two climate phenomena – El Nino conditions and the positive Indian Ocean Dipole – could lead to a more intense and prolonged dry season this year, even extending into October, said MSS.

El Nino is a naturally occurring climate pattern associated with changes in both the ocean and atmosphere in the equatorial Pacific Ocean, and is set to bring hotter and drier weather to South-east Asia and Australia.

The positive Indian Ocean Dipole causes warmer sea surface temperatures in the western Indian Ocean.

“Drier and warmer conditions are conducive to the development of peatland and vegetation fires. Therefore, hotspots could escalate from June 2023 under extended periods of drier weather, particularly in fire prone areas,” said MSS.

“This will increase the risk of transboundary haze affecting Singapore if fires develop in close proximity and prevailing south-easterly to south-westerly winds blow smoke haze from the fires towards Singapore,” added MSS.

MSS will continue to closely monitor the development of El Nino and the Indian Ocean Dipole, as well as the regional weather and haze situation, and provide updates when necessary.

When a haze episode is imminent, the NEA will provide haze forecasts through the NEA website (www.nea.gov.sg), the myENV mobile app and the haze microsite (www.haze.gov.sg).

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2023-05-30 07:55:00Z
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Singapore coordinating action plans amid higher haze risk - CNA

WARMER TEMPERATURES

During the last strong El Nino event from 2015 to 2016, Singapore’s total rainfall from June to September 2015 was about 35 per cent below the long-term average, said the Met Service. 

El Nino events also bring warmer temperatures to Singapore, with the warmest temperatures often occurring when El Nino events weaken typically in March to April the year following the start of the event. 

Singapore’s average temperature over the June to September 2015 period was 28.8 degrees Celsius or 0.6 degree Celsius above its long-term average for that period. 

For the period from March to April 2016, Singapore's average temperature was 29.2 degrees Celsius or 1.2 degrees Celsius above its long-term average for that period, said the authority, adding that 2016, together with 2019, are Singapore’s hottest years on record.

“At this stage, there is no indication of the strength and duration of the El Nino, if it develops. Should a strong El Nino set in, well below average rainfall and warmer temperatures can be expected during the coming southwest monsoon season.”

The Met Service said it will continue to closely monitor the development of El Nino and IOD as well as the regional weather and haze situation, and provide updates when necessary. Haze and El Nino updates are available on its website.

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2023-05-30 06:38:00Z
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China's Shenzhou-16 lifts off for space station; Beijing plans to land astronauts on Moon by 2030 - The Straits Times

The Tiangong is the crown jewel of China’s space programme, which has also seen it land robotic rovers on Mars and the Moon and made it the third country to put humans in orbit.

The mission is the first to the Tiangong space station since it entered its “application and development” stage, Beijing said.

Once in orbit, the Shenzhou-16 will dock at the space station’s Tianhe core module, before the crew members meet three colleagues from the previous manned Shenzhou-15 flight, who have been at the space station for six months and will return to Earth in the coming days.

The mission will “carry out large-scale, in-orbit experiments... in the study of novel quantum phenomena, high-precision space time-frequency systems, the verification of general relativity, and the origin of life,” China Manned Space Agency (CMSA) spokesman Lin Xiqiang told reporters on Monday.

The space station was resupplied with drinking water, clothing, food and propellant in May in preparation for Shenzhou-16‘s arrival.

One expert told AFP that Tuesday’s flight represented “a regular crew rotation flight as one crew hands over to another”, but even that was significant.

“Accumulating depth of experience in human space flight operations is important and doesn’t involve new spectacular milestones all the time,” said Dr Jonathan McDowell, an astronomer and astrophysicist at the Harvard-Smithsonian Centre for Astrophysics.

‘Heavenly palace’

Plans for China’s space dream have been put into overdrive under President Xi Jinping.

China is planning to build a lunar base, and CMSA’s Mr Lin reaffirmed on Monday Beijing’s plan to land a manned mission on the Moon by 2030.

“The overall goal is to achieve China’s first manned landing on the Moon by 2030 and carry out lunar scientific exploration and related technological experiments,” he said.

The final module of the T-shaped Tiangong – which means “heavenly palace” – successfully docked with the core structure in 2022.

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2023-05-30 02:10:00Z
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