AFP, Singapore
Singapore’s ruling People’s Action Party (PAP) extended 56 years in power on Saturday after a lopsided snap election that dashed hopes of a two-party system in the city-state.
Friday’s vote, which saw the party take 83 of 89 seats and nearly 70 percent of the ballots cast, stunned opponents and reversed a plunge in the PAP’s share of the popular vote in 2011.
High uranium reserve found in Iran
Reuters, Dubai
Iran has discovered an unexpectedly high reserve of uranium and will soon begin extracting the radioactive element at a new mine, the head of Iran’s Atomic Energy Organisation said on Saturday.
The comments cast doubt on previous assessments from some Western analysts who said the country had a low supply and would sooner or later would need to import uranium, the raw material needed for its nuclear program.
3 space station astronauts safely return to Earth
AP, Moscow
A Russian space capsule landed safely in Kazakhstan, bringing home a three-person crew from the International Space Station, including a record-breaking Russian cosmonaut.
Russia’s Gennady Padalka, Andreas Mogensen of the European Space Agency and Aidyn Aimbetov of Kazakhstan landed on the steppe just two minutes before sunrise and were feeling fine. Their Soyuz TMA-16M capsule touched down on schedule at 0651 local time (0051 GMT) Saturday, 146 kilometers (90 miles) southeast of Dzhezkazgan, in what a NASA commentator called a “bull’s-eye landing.”
Cuba, US launch normalisation process
AP, Havana
Cuban and U.S. diplomats formally launched the process of normalising the relationship between the two countries, meeting Friday to set the agenda for talks on topics ranging from environmental cooperation to compensation for American properties confiscated by Cuba.
Cuba’s top diplomat for U.S. affairs hinted that a visit by President Barack Obama to Cuba could take place if the negotiations were successful.
5 killed as train hits car in Germany
AP, Berlin
Police say five young men were killed when a train hit their car at a crossing in western Germany.
The victims were aged between 17 and 21. It wasn’t immediately clear why the car was on the crossing and whether barriers on the road were working.
The dpa news agency quoted police as saying the accident happened Saturday morning in the small town of Monzingen. The train hit the car side-on.
Kuwait to purchase 28 warplanes
AFP, Berlin
Kuwait has agreed to buy 28 Typhoon warplanes, becoming the third country in the Gulf region to order the combat aircraft, the Eurofighter consortium said Friday.
Its statement did not give financial details about the deal, which was struck between the governments of Kuwait and Italy.
