Month: September 2023

G20 leaders pay respects at Gandhi memorial as they wrap up Indian summit and hand over to Brazil

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G20 leaders pay their tributes at the Rajghat, a Mahatma Gandhi memorial, in New Delhi, India, Sunday, Sept. 10, 2023. (AP Photo/Kenny Holston, Pool)

By KRUTIKA PATHI and ADAM SCHRECK Associated Press

NEW DELHI (AP) — G20 leaders paid their respects to Indian independence leader Mahatma Gandhi as their summit came to a close Sunday, a day after the group added a new member and reached agreement on a range of issues but softened language on Russia’s war in Ukraine.

The Group of 20 rich and developing nations welcomed the African Union as a member — part of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s drive to uplift the Global South. And host India was also able to get the disparate group to sign off on a final statement despite pointed disagreements among powerful members, mostly centered on the European conflict.

India also unveiled an ambitious plan with the United States, the European Union and others to build a rail and shipping corridor linking it with the Middle East and Europe in a bid to strengthen economic growth and political cooperation. Continue reading

India’s moon rover completes its walk. Scientists analyzing data looking for signs of frozen water.

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This image provided by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) shows Vikram lander as seen by the navigation camera on Pragyan Rover on Aug. 30, 2023. India’s moon rover has confirmed the presence of sulfur and detected several other elements on the surface near the lunar south pole a week after the country’s historic moon landing. ISRO says the rover’s laser-induced spectroscope instrument also has detected aluminum, iron, calcium, chromium, titanium, manganese, oxygen and silicon. (Indian Space Research Organisation via AP)

By ASHOK SHARMA Associated Press

NEW DELHI (AP) — India’s moon rover has completed its walk on the lunar surface and been put into sleep mode less than two weeks after its historic landing near the lunar south pole, India’s space mission said.

“The rover completes its assignments. It is now safely parked and set into sleep mode,” with daylight on that part of the moon coming to an end, the Indian Space Research Organization said in a statement late Saturday.

The rover’s payloads are turned off and the data it collected has been transmitted to the Earth via the lander, the statement said.

The Chandrayaan-3 lander and rover were expected to operate only for one lunar day, which is equal to 14 days on Earth. Continue reading

Billionaires want to build a new city in rural California. They must convince voters first

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In this aerial photo is farmland in rural Solano County, Calif., Wednesday, Aug. 30, 2023. Silicon Valley billionaires and investors are behind a years-long, secretive land buying spree of more than 78 square miles (202 square kilometers) of farmland in Solano County with the goal of creating a new city. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)

By JANIE HAR Associated Press

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Silicon Valley billionaires behind a secretive $800 million land-buying spree in Northern California have finally released some details about their plans for a new green city, but they still must win over skeptical voters and local leaders.

After years of ducking scrutiny, Jan Sramek, the former Goldman Sachs trader spearheading the effort, launched a website Thursday about “California Forever.” The site billed the project as “a chance for a new community, good paying local jobs, solar farms, and open space” in Solano, a rural county between San Francisco and Sacramento that is now home to 450,000 people.

He also began meeting with key politicians representing the area who have been trying unsuccessfully for years to find out who was behind the mysterious Flannery Associates LLC as it bought up huge swaths of land, making it the largest single landholder in the county. Continue reading