Makes its first flight

Russia is celebrating the 60th anniversary of Yuri Gagarin, the cosmonaut who was the first person in space. Gagarin's 108-minute mission on 12 April 1961 took the Space Age to a new level and marked a historic achievement for the then Soviet Union. His history-making Vostok 1 space flight and single orbit of the Earth made him a national hero - and an international celebrity - with the United States beaten in the tight race to launch a man beyond the planet's atmosphere. Sixty years on, he remains a symbol of bravery, success and pride in Russia. The anniversary of his voyage is marked every year by Cosmonautics Day and sees Russians lay flowers at monuments dedicated to Gagarin's achievement. Advertisement Over the years, he has been immortalised in murals across Russia , with a 138ft (42m) statue on Moscow's Leninsky Avenue. Born on 9 March 1934 in the village of Klushino, more than 100 miles west of Moscow, Gagarin had a humble … [Read more...] about Yuri Gagarin: Russia celebrates 60th anniversary of historic first human space flight

SPACEX has filled every seat on a launch into orbit planned later this year billed as the world's first all-civilian spaceflight. A college science professor and an aerospace data analyst were named on Tuesday to round out the four-member crew. They'll join a healthcare worker as well as billionaire Jared Isaacman, who conceived the mission in part as a charity drive. The civilian astronauts will lift off no earlier than September 15 aboard a SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule that will orbit the Earth. The flight is expected to last three to four days from launch to splashdown. The two latest crew additions were introduced at a news briefing livestreamed from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida by Isaacman. The founder and CEO of e-commerce giant Shift4 Payments is forking over an unspecified but presumably exorbitant sum for the trip to SpaceX, which is owned by fellow billionaire Elon Musk. "When this mission is complete, people are going to look at it and say this was … [Read more...] about Elon Musk reveals world’s first ‘all-civilian’ spaceflight crew as seats filled on private SpaceX trip

North Korea was one of the first countries in the world to effectively seal its borders with the outside world in January 2020, as the COVID-19 pandemic spread around the world. Now more than a year later, while the coronavirus situation in North Korea remains unclear, various media reports outside the country indicate the North Korean people are suffering both from the economic impact of lockdown measures , and from the virus itself. Reporting on North Korea involves a necessary piecing together of bits of information from which a clearer depiction of reality may be drawn. Pyongyang does not permit free speech, so it is tough to find out what exactly is happening in the country. Regarding the current circumstances, "The truth is we don't know … there aren't sources — independent sources — inside the country such as humanitarian or embassy workers," as before the outbreak, Colin Zwirko, of the Korea Risk Group and NK News, told DW. In reports to the World Health Organization, … [Read more...] about Coronavirus: How the pandemic is hitting North Korea hard

A woman who used Gorilla Glue on her hair is donating £14,000 ($20,000) to charity after a doctor removed the adhesive from her hair for free. Tessica Brown, 40, used the glue when she ran out of hairspray one morning and quickly went viral when it would not wash out. In a bid to remove the glue, Tessica hacked off her ponytail and baffled medics in Louisiana USA used solvent acetone on her head which made the Gorilla Glue sticky again and burnt the influencer's scalp. After going viral on TikTok Tessica set up a GoFundMe page that was overwhelmed with donations for the wigs she was expecting to wear. The mum-of-five now plans to donate the money to charity after Los Angles-based Dr Michael Obeng offered to remove the Gorilla Glue without charge in a four-hour procedure. After raising more than £16,000 ($23,000)in donations, Tessica's manager told TMZ the influencer will give £14,000 ($20,000) to the Restore Foundation, a charity which is the brainchild of Dr Obeng … [Read more...] about Mum who sprayed hair with Gorilla Glue to donate £14,000 GoFundMe money to charity

A woman says she endured the "worst date ever" after she jumped into the river to save her Tinder match's dog while "he just stood there" watching on. Lizzy Johnson had met the man with a "cute" boxer dog on the app and suggested going for a socially-distanced stroll along the River Mole in Walton-on-Thames. Not long into the walk, her date mentioned that the dog had "never seen water before" just as it excitedly jumped off the bank and into the river. Lizzie claimed that while the man was "too busy flapping" she darted down the bank and into the chest-deep water to rescue it, saying she was left struggling to climb back out while the man "made useless suggestions". After five minutes in the water, the mum-of-two eventually made it out having rescued the dog and all three began the "awkward" 10-minute walk back to the car where they quickly said their goodbyes. When she got back home and into the warm, Lizzie recorded a hilarious video showing her jeans, top and face … [Read more...] about Woman endures ‘worst Tinder date ever’ as she ends up in river rescuing his dog