The space shuttle Discovery has re-entered the Earth's atmosphere as it heads toward a landing in (the western U.S. state of) California. The U.S. space agency, NASA, says Discovery is scheduled to make a rare pre-dawn landing at 1212 Universal time at Edwards Air Force Base in California's Mojave (pron: MO-hav-EE) Desert. Bad weather earlier today (Tuesday) and Monday made it hazardous for Discovery to land at its base at Kennedy Space Center in (the eastern U.S. state of) Florida.
The International Atomic Energy Agency holds an emergency
meeting today (Tuesday) in Vienna to discuss Iran's resumption of nuclear fuel cycle activity. Iran resumed low-level uranium conversion at its Isfahan nuclear plant Monday, after rejecting a European incentive package aimed at convincing Tehran not to produce weapons-grade material. But diplomats say the IAEA is not likely to refer Iran to the U.N. Security Council immediately. Instead it is expected to issue a final ultimatum after today's meeting.
Iraqi authorities say at least 10 policemen were killed in a series of attacks across Baghdad today (Tuesday). Officials say the attacks took place between seven-thirty and nine in the morning local time).
They say in one attack, four policemen were killed when insurgents with automatic weapons fired on a police patrol on a major highway.
The United States says it believes good progress has been made in talks aimed at convincing North Korea to give up its nuclear ambitions. White House spokesman Trent Duffy noted that all six nations agreed during the negotiations that the Korean peninsula should be free of nuclear weapons.
Vietnamese health officials say a 35-year-old man from the southern Mekong Delta has died from the lethal strain of bird flu. The officials said (Tuesday) the man died on July 31st, a day after he was admitted to a provincial hospital. The man is said to have become ill slaughtering and eating two chickens infected with the H5N1 strain of bird flu.
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