China to send Pak astronaut as guest to its space station
Beijing/Islamabad, Feb 28: China plans to send an astronaut from its all-weather ally Pakistan as the first foreign guest to its space station Tiangong. China and Pakistan on Friday signed an agreement including bilateral efforts to select and train Pakistani astronauts and then send some of them to Tiangong, currently orbiting 400 kilometres above the earth, China Manned Space Agency (CMSA) said in a news release here. The agreement to send the Pakistani astronaut in space was signed by the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA) and Pakistan’s Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission (SUPARCO) at a ceremony attended by Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif in Islamabad, state-run China Daily reported. China has been launching satellites for Pakistan for the past few years to help its close ally. (PTI)
China executes woman for trafficking 17 children
Beijing, Feb 28: A Chinese woman convicted of abducting and trafficking 17 children for over a decade, was executed on Friday in Guiyang, southwest China’s Guizhou province. Yu Huaying, 62, was accused of conspiring with others to traffic children across multiple regions, including Guizhou, Chongqing, and Yunnan between 1993 and 2003. The execution was conducted by the Guiyang Intermediate People’s Court in Guizhou province after the death sentence was approved by the Supreme People’s Court, state-run Xinhua news agency reported. (PTI)
Strong quake shakes Kathmandu, 4 injured
Kathmandu, Feb 28: At least four people were injured in Kathmandu and elsewhere due to a strong earthquake in the neighbouring Sindhupalchowk district early Friday morning. The quake measuring 6.1 magnitude was recorded at 2.51 am with its epicentre at Bhairabkunda, Sindhupalchowk district, 65 km east of Kathmandu, according to the National Earthquake Monitoring and Research Centre. Some houses in Sindhupalchowk district developed cracks after the tremor hit the district. Besides Kathmandu valley, the earthquake was also felt by people in southern and eastern Nepal, according to officials. The earthquake prompted many people in Kathmandu and nearby areas to come out of their houses in panic. Two people were injured in Kathmandu while an inmate of Chautara prison was injured as he tried to escape following the earthquake. An elderly man was injured in a village in Sindhupalchowk district as he tried to exit his house soon after the earthquake, officials said. (PTI)