Shenzhou-13 crew return safely to Earth after record six months in orbit - Global Times

The Shenzhou-13 crew have safely returned to Earth after their epic six-month orbital trip, which nearly doubled the previous record of China's longest single-flight space mission of 92 days set by the Shenzhou-12, some eight hours after the manned spacecraft's detachment from the Tianhe core module.

The Shenzhou-13 return capsule conduced successful touchdown at 9:56 am Saturday in the Dongfeng landing site in Gobi Desert, North China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. Medical team confirmed that the crew of three taikonauts are in good health, marking the full success of the Shenzhou-13 manned spaceflight mission, Global Times learned from the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA) on Saturday.

The ground controlling team ordered the return by 9:06 am, and the return capsule separated with the Shenzhou-13 with success. After that, at 9:30 am, the return capsule detached from the propelling part, according to the CMSA.

Ground rescue and recovery team arrived at the landing point immediately and medics opened the hatch and confirmed the crew are in good health condition.

All three taikonauts exit return capsule by 11:05 am and they are adapting to the gravity, CMSA updated.

The Shenzhou-13 crew exited the return capsule one hour and 10 minutes after their touchdown, faster than that for Shenzhou-12 crew which took one hour and 40 minutes.

Shenzhou-13 mission commander Zhai Zhigang got out of return capsule first, reporting "feeling good". Following him, "Star-picking mom is home," said Shenzhou-13 crew member Wang Yaping, the first spacewalking Chinese woman, waving to her daughter with a big smile after exiting return capsule. And Ye Guangfu, the youngest member of the three soon joined them with good spirits.

Astronaut Wang Yaping is out of the return capsule of the Shenzhou-13 spaceship at the Dongfeng landing site in north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region on April 16, 2022.Photo:Xinhua

Sichuan sausages, yogurt, eggs …the crew will have a great variety of food options for their first meal back on Earth with some 20 dishes, CCTV reported.

The crew arrived in Beijing in the afternoon, followed by a brief welcome ceremony at the airport. The three taikonauts will undergo three to four weeks of routine quarantine, rest and rehabilitation. They are expected to resume regular training after about six months, according to CCTV report.

Apart from the long-term stay in space, the mission has set many records and firsts in the country's manned space history. 

The Shenzhou spacecraft developer, China Academy of Spacecraft Technology (CAST), disclosed in a statement sent to the Global Times that the Shenzhou-13 mission also explored emergency mission mechanisms for the first time, with the Shenzhou-14 manned spacecraft and Long March-2F Y14 rocket in standby position right after the launch of the Shenzhou-13 and Long March-2F Y13. This enabled a potential space rescue of the Shenzhou-13 taikonauts in case of any malfunction preventing the spacecraft from returning to Earth.

Compared to the return trip of the Shenzhou-12 mission which took approximately 28 hours, the Shenzhou-13 carried out a rapid return maneuver which took just eight hours. 

The CAST explained that the Shenzhou-13 orbit plan was streamlined to five orbits compared to the 18 of the Shenzhou-12 mission, and it was designed to further enhance return efficiency, shorten the ground monitoring and make it more comfortable for the returning astronauts.  

Photo: Recovery and rescue team arrives at the landing point of Shenzhou-13 return capsule right after its touchdown.

The 18 laps for Shenzhou-12 included some fly-around experiment tasks, and the traditional plan was 11 and a half laps, deputy chief designer Shao Limin told the Global Times.

The Shenzhou-13 crew's unprecedented six-month stay in orbit was taken into consideration and the plan was to make their journey home more comfortable, Shao noted.

Wang Ya'nan, chief editor of Beijing-based Aerospace Knowledge magazine, told the Global Times that this approach required more precise control of the spacecraft and more accurate orbital calculations, so that the spacecraft, once separated, could quickly target the landing area, calculate the return path, and adjust its altitude. 

"Having the ability to adopt such a fast return method indicates that China's return technology for manned missions is very mature and reliable," Wang added.

To ensure their safe and smooth return, the taikonauts have been taking physical exercises to train their muscles. Meanwhile, the ground support team has evaluated their physical and psychological condition, and made targeted adjustments. 

"The reason why the three crew members' physical and psychological condition is better than expected is that we have arranged their lives and work in space carefully, in an orderly and rational fashion. If the arrangements were not carefully designed, their mental status could have easily gone wrong," Wang explained.

The taikonauts on the Shenzhou-13 executed two successful spacewalks with Wang Yaping, who became the first Chinese woman in history to perform this maneuver. Wang is also the record-holder for the longest stay in orbit by any Chinese astronaut.

The crew delivered two Tiangong Classroom science lectures for students on Earth, connecting with young people in Beijing, Hong Kong, Macao and the Xinjiang and Xizang autonomous regions.

They have also played a significant part in many historic moments in China in the past six months, sending their blessings and congratulations during the Chinese New Year and joining the audience of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games from space.

With the advance of space communication technologies, the crew members were able to entertain themselves on the internet, talking to their families and friends frequently, and having space-Earth interactions on a regular basis. The two space lectures also helped a lot in boosting their mental status.

Launch history of manned missions to space by Long March-2F carrier rockets

Pang Zhihao, a senior space expert, told the Global Times on Saturday that normally it would take around three months for astronauts returning from space to recover their strength. However, it could take a bit longer for the Shenzhou-13 crew, as they stayed in space for such a long period, Pang said. 

After the successful Shenzhou-13 mission, China Space Station will enter an in-orbit construction phase with two lab modules to be added to the core module, per program insiders.

Bai Linhou, deputy chief designer of China's space station, said in an interview that two experimental modules are expected to be launched in the second half of this year. The verification and assembly work of the modules is progressing smoothly.

Both lab modules have a length of over 17 meters and a diameter of over 4 meters.

The Wentian module is positioned to carry out space science experiments inside and outside the cabin. It has an airlock through which taikonauts can exit, and a small robotic arm which can be used alone or combined with the large mechanical arm of the space station.

It can also serve as a backup to the core cabin, Bai said. If malfunction occurs in the core cabin, the Wentian module can replace it immediately, improving the reliability of the entire station's operation.

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2022-04-16 01:57:00Z
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France's Macron, Le Pen call Stellantis CEO's pay package 'shocking' - CNA

PARIS: French President Emmanuel Macron and his far-right challenger Marine Le Pen on Friday (Apr 15) called the pay package of Franco-Italian carmaker Stellantis' CEO "shocking" with excessive executive pay now a hot topic in France's tight-run presidential election.

Just nine days ahead of a runoff that will determine who will lead the European Union's second-largest economy for the next five years, opinion polls show Macron is only slightly ahead of Le Pen in a contest that could potentially go either way.

The 2021 compensation package for Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares adds up to around €19 million (US$20.5 million), plus a stock package worth some additional €32 million and long-term compensation of about €25 million.

"We're talking about astronomical sums here ... we should put a cap on these, this could work if we act at a European level," Macron told franceinfo radio.

"People can't have purchasing power problems, difficulties and anxiety in their lives and see sums like this," Macron said, adding that otherwise "society going to blow up".

Le Pen echoed his comments.

"Of course it is shocking. It's even more shocking when it's a CEO who has put the company in difficulty and gets considerable sums," she told BFM television, suggesting one way to offset such remuneration was to develop staff shareholdings.

The company said in a statement that it does not comment on politicians' positions and said the group had gone from near bankruptcy to a leading position under Tavares' leadership.

It added that it had paid out as much to staff as to shareholders - €1.9 billion - and said that Tavares' pay was 90 per cent variable depending on company performance and lower than at rivals GM and Ford.

Just over 52 per cent of the company's shareholders voted on Wednesday against the compensation package in a consultative vote.

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2022-04-15 08:04:00Z
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People who got Sinovac vaccine nearly 5 times more likely to develop severe COVID-19 than Pfizer: Singapore study - CNA

THE STUDY

The study’s authors included NCID’s executive director Leo Yee Sin, chair of the expert committee on COVID-19 vaccination Benjamin Ong, MOH senior assistant director Wycliffe Wei, as well as MOH director of communicable diseases Vernon Lee.

The study aimed to compare the effectiveness of mRNA vaccines and inactivated whole virus vaccines in the same population. The findings will be useful for guiding policy recommendations to prevent infection and reduce strain on the healthcare system, the paper said.

Of the 2,709,899 individuals involved in the study, about 74 per cent received the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, 23 per cent took the Moderna vaccine, while 2 per cent received the Sinovac vaccine and 1 per cent the Sinopharm vaccine.

The Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine was approved for use under the programme in Singapore on Dec 30, 2020, while the Moderna and Sinovac vaccines were approved on Feb 3, 2021 and Oct 23, 2021 respectively.

From Aug 30, 2021, the Sinopharm vaccine was also available at private healthcare institutions, but not part of the national programme.

The cohort was restricted to those two weeks after completion of two vaccine doses to allow sufficient immune response, and who had received their second dose within 120 days of the analysis.

A total of 107,220 of those vaccinated were confirmed by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests to have COVID-19 over the study period, and 644 developed severe disease.

While the study was based on “comprehensive national data”, the team said there were “several limitations”.

This included the “residual confounding” from comorbidities as well as factors that influence a person’s choice of vaccine or risk of exposure. There were also asymptomatic cases who did not see a doctor and were not recorded as cases.

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2022-04-14 04:48:00Z
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Severe Covid-19 symptoms 5 times more likely in patients who got Sinovac than Pfizer jab: Study - The Straits Times

SINGAPORE - Recipients of the Sinovac-CoronaVac vaccine are five times more likely to experience severe Covid-19 symptoms when they are infected than those who had the Pfizer-BioNTech/Comirnaty vaccine.

Sinovac recipients are also more than twice as likely to be infected with Covid-19 than Pfizer vaccine recipients and almost six times more likely than those who took the Moderna vaccine.

These are the findings of a Singapore study which were published on Tuesday (April 12).

The study by infectious diseases experts looked at the difference in vaccine efficacy between mRNA vaccines, such as the Pfizer-BioNTech/Comirnaty and Moderna ones, and those which use an inactivated form of the Covid-19 virus.

Examples of the latter include Sinovac-CoronaVac and Sinopharm.

Among the study's authors are National Centre for Infectious Diseases (NCID) executive director Leo Yee Sin, Associate Professor Benjamin Ong from the NUS Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, Ministry of Health (MOH ) senior assistant director Wycliffe Wei, NCID associate consultant Calvin Chiew, MOH Communicable Diseases Division director Vernon Lee, National University Health System junior resident M. Premikha and NCID Infectious Disease Research and Training Office director David Lye.

The study covered a seven-week period, from Oct 1, 2021, to Nov 21, 2021, and involved close to three million adults aged 20 years old and above who had received their first two doses of the Covid-19 vaccines.

Compared against people who opted for the Pfizer vaccine, Sinovac recipients were 2.37 times more likely to be infected with Covid-19, while those who were vaccinated with Sinopharm were 1.62 times more likely to be infected, the study found.

Those who got the Moderna vaccine were found to be 0.42 times, or less than half, as likely to show severe Covid-19 symptoms than Pfizer recipients, while those who had Sinopharm shots were 1.58 times more likely to experience severe symptoms.

Associate Professor Lye, in a post on Twitter on Wednesday, said: "Singapore study showed five times the risk of severe Covid with Sinovac vs Pfizer. Thankfully only 2 per cent are vaccinated with Sinovac."

The authors concluded, however, that even with the lower level of protection offered by inactivated whole virus vaccines than the mRNA vaccines, both types of vaccine give sufficient protection against severe Covid-19 symptoms and that vaccination remains a key strategy against the pandemic.

MOH has said that as at Tuesday, over 96 per cent of the eligible population have completed their full regimen of vaccinations, while 72 per cent have received their booster shots.

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2022-04-13 10:03:15Z
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Hong Kong home prices: Sellers wonder how low asking bids will go - CNA

The world’s least affordable housing market is in a rut.

Hong Kong home prices have fallen more than 6 per cent since a peak in August, with no quick recovery in sight as residents leave the city at record rates. 

Some analysts are predicting another 20 per cent slump by 2025 due to rising mortgage rates and a slowing economy. 

Even habitually bullish local agents are expecting that prices will be sluggish for most of the year.

Sales activity has dripped to a two-year low, and COVID-19 restrictions have put a damper on viewings. 

Property owners are hoping that the dip isn’t a sign of more pain to come, as the city grows ever-closer with Beijing and its future as a financial capital is called into question.

“I have never seen the property market as quiet in more than 15 years of buying and selling,” said Ada Chan, 42, who is trying to sell her three-bedroom apartment near the University of Hong Kong. 

The place has been on the market for more than a year, a remarkable length of time in a city where residents treat property investment with religious fervour.

Chan bought the 500-square-foot apartment for HK$17 million (US$2.17 million) in 2018, and she thought it would be worth HK$18.5 million when she listed it. Now, she’s willing to take what she paid. “I’m just hoping it to be a tie game,” she said.

“The market has mostly priced in impact from COVID-19,” Chan said. “It is the political situation and economic uncertainties which make buyers hesitant, like the interest rate hikes.”

But Ivan Wong, sales director at property agency United Properties, says he thinks the recent downward trend is entirely COVID-related. 

He thinks there is pent-up demand that will speed up transactions in the coming weeks. “There are too many unknowns to move property prices up in the short term,” Wong said, adding that he sees potential upside in the fourth quarter.

Hong Kong is one of a number of cities in Asia where the property boom appears to be on ice, and Hong Kong’s currency peg to the dollar means local rates will climb. Meanwhile, home prices in the US and UK have continued to soar in the face of rising mortgage rates.

Sellers aren’t used to taking a hit on their investment in Hong Kong property, after a remarkable run over the past two decades. Home values in the city increased 449 per cent since a trough in 2003, compared with about 100 per cent in the U.S. Last year, an apartment in the exclusive Peak area set a record when it was sold for HK$640 million. 

Many will still do well. More than 95 per cent of apartments sold in January went for more than the owner originally paid, though it was the lowest figure since 2010, according to Ricacrop Properties Ltd.

That means some will still be satisfied taking less than they had hoped for. 

David Gibson, a 49-year-old logistics expert from New Zealand, bought his two-bedroom apartment in Mid-Levels in 2013 for HK$12.5 million, then spent HK$1.4 million on renovations. 

He listed the 1,300-square-foot apartment for HK$24.5 million in December, but he has only had 10 viewings since then and no offers.

“It’s been the worst possible time to put the house on the market,” he said.

He says any offer north of HK$23 million would be a good deal for him, though he’s not in a rush. He isn’t planning on leaving for another five years but wants to move his equity out.

The shrinking pool of potential buyers isn’t making things any easier. 

People started reconsidering their stay in Hong Kong after pro-democracy protests erupted in 2019. In response to the political activism, Beijing imposed a national security law that clamped down on speech and demonstration.

Then, Hong Kong implemented strict measures and quarantine requirements to try to keep COVID-19 out of the city completely. 

But the effort collapsed when the Omicron variant swept through a population where about half of the elderly people weren’t vaccinated, pushing total coronavirus-attributable deaths to more than 8,800.

Eagle Fung is one of the many Hong Kong residents leaving. A retiree in her late 50s, Fung dropped the price on her apartment in Kowloon to HK$4.4 million. She wants to sell before moving to the UK with her family in the summer.

The Chinese government’s increasing influence within Hong Kong society prompted her family to rethink the future, Fung said. 

“You can’t fight against the country as a regular citizen,” she said, reflecting the view of residents disappointed with the outcome of protests three years ago. 

“If you can’t change the government, you can change yourself, and choose a path that you find comfortable.”

She’s willing to drop the price a few percent, which will still provide a hefty profit, given that she bought the property for less than a quarter of what she’s asking. She hasn’t received any offers that she considers reasonable.

In a city where apartments barely bigger than a parking space sell for US$645,000, and parking spots alone go for over US$1 million, officials are racing to build to ease the supply crunch. 

The number of new homes built in Hong Kong this year may surge to the highest level since 2005, according to Bloomberg Intelligence. And there are plans for an entire new mega-district in the north that would house 2.5 million people.

The dip in prices is providing an opportunity for buyers, especially those who have faith in the city’s future.

Greg Cheung, 37, is looking to buy his first property in the city. He wants to stop wasting money on rent and sees real estate as a safer bet than stocks. 

His optimism has slipped, but he thinks that Hong Kong’s fundamentals will keep it competitive. “Hong Kong will still be one of the top 10, if not top five cities in Chinese society,” Cheung said.

Gibson, too, thinks the city will pull ahead.

“Although there is downward pressure in general, overall I’m optimistic that Hong Kong is going to recover,” he said. “It has that resilience.”

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2022-04-13 04:10:12Z
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Brooklyn subway shooting: Police focus on van renter; at least 20 injured in incident - CNA

The attack unnerved a city on guard about a rise in gun violence and the ever-present threat of terrorism.

It left some New Yorkers jittery about riding the nation's busiest subway system and prompted officials to increase policing at transportation hubs from Philadelphia to Connecticut.

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority announced last fall it had installed security cameras in all 472 subway stations citywide, saying they would put criminals on an "express track to justice”.

But cameras were not working at three stations where police went to look for evidence on Tuesday, Essig said.

MTA system chief Janno Lieber told TV interviewers he did not know why the cameras malfunctioned.

A riders' videos show a person in a hooded sweatshirt raising an arm and pointing at something as five bangs sound.

Rider Juliana Fonda, a broadcast engineer at WNYC-FM, told its news site Gothamist that passengers from the car behind hers started banging on the connecting door.

“There was a lot of loud pops, and there was smoke in the other car,” she said. “And people were trying to get in and they couldn’t, they were pounding on the door to get into our car.”

As police searched for the shooter, Governor Kathy Hochul warned New Yorkers to be vigilant.

“This individual is still on the loose. This person is dangerous,” the Democrat said at a news conference just after noon.

After people streamed out of the train, quick-thinking transit workers ushered passengers to another train across the platform for safety, transit officials said.

High school student John Butsikaris was riding that other train and initially thought the problem was mundane until the next stop, when he heard screams for medical attention and his train was evacuated.

“I’m definitely shook,” the 15-year-old said. "Even though I didn’t see what happened, I’m still scared, because it was like a few feet away from me, what happened.”

In Menlo, Iowa, President Joe Biden praised "the first responders who jumped in action, including civilians, civilians, who didn’t hesitate to help their fellow passengers and tried to shield them”.

Adams, who is isolating following a positive COVID-19 test on Sunday, said in a video statement that the city "will not allow New Yorkers to be terrorised, even by a single individual".

New York City has faced a spate of shootings and high-profile bloodshed in recent months, including on the city’s subways. One of the most shocking was in January, when a woman was pushed to her death in front of a train by a stranger.

Adams, a Democrat a little over 100 days into his term, has made cracking down on crime - especially in the subways - an early focus of his administration, pledging to send more police officers into stations and platforms for regular patrols.

It was not immediately clear if any officers were in the station when the shootings occurred.

“It is going to take the entire nation to speak out and push back against the cult of death that has taken hold in this nation,” Adams said by video on Tuesday night.

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2022-04-13 03:34:00Z
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Brooklyn subway shooting not being investigated as 'act of terrorism' - The Straits Times

NEW YORK (REUTERS, BLOOMBERG, AFP) - A rush-hour shooting on Tuesday (April 12) in the New York City subway is not being investigated as an act of terror, authorities said, adding that 10 people were shot, but none were in “life threatening” condition.

“This is not being investigated as an act of terrorism at this time,” New York City police commissioner Keechant Sewell told reporters. “Reportedly we have no one with life-threatening injuries as a result of this case.”

Fire Department commissioner Laura Kavanagh said 10 of the 16 people injured had suffered gunshot wounds in morning-rush hour incident at the subway station in Sunset Park, Brooklyn.

Authorities initially responded to reports of smoke at about 8.30am at the 36th Street station, which serves the D, N and R lines. First responders encountered wounded commuters along with several undetonated devices, according to a spokesman for New York City Fire Department (FDNY).

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives was on the scene along with the FBI. There are no active explosive devices, the New York City Police Department (NYPD) said on Twitter shortly before 10am.

The police said they are searching for a Black man with an orange construction vest and a gas mask who is about 173cm tall and weighs about 79kg to 82kg.

The NYPD warned people to stay away from the area, which is known for its thriving Chinatown, views of the Statue of Liberty and Industry City, a sprawling warehouse district that has become home to many creative businesses.

Public schools in the area entered “shelter-in” mode, according to Nathaniel Styer, spokesman for the city’s Department of Education. Students sheltering-in are still in class as usual, unlike lockdowns, which require them to move out of sight and keep silent while teachers lock classroom doors and turn off lights.

District 15 schools, which are mostly east of Prospect Park, are all sheltering-in, according to an email from the principal of P.S. 321 in Park Slope. School officials are discouraging parents from picking up their children in an effort to limit movement in and out of the building.

Commuters were told to expect major delays on the D, F, M, N, Q and R trains, and urged to take alternate lines or buses. Officers were inspecting all stations and trains as part of its investigation, the NYPD said on Twitter. 

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2022-04-12 16:42:56Z
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