Iran sends 2nd rocket with monkey into space
TEHRAN, Iran – Iran said Saturday it has successfully sent a monkey into space for a second time, part of an ambitious program aimed at manned space flight.
Iran’s state TV said that the launch of the rocket dubbed Pajohesh, or Research in Farsi, was Iran’s first use of liquid fuel. It reached a height of 72 miles. It said the monkey, named Fargam or Auspicious, was returned to Earth safely.
TV footage showed the rocket blasting off and then showed the monkey, strapped snugly into a seat. The report said Fargam’s capsule parachuted safely to earth after detaching from the rocket in a mission that lasted 15 minutes.
Iran frequently claims technological breakthroughs that are impossible to independently verify. The Islamic Republic has said it aims to send an astronaut into space.
Egypt to vote on amended constitution
CAIRO – A key referendum on Egypt’s amended constitution will be held next month, the interim president said Saturday, calling on citizens to vote “yes” for a document that will be a major test for the country’s military-backed government and political transition plan.
Adly Mansour said the vote, set for Jan. 14-15, would be a first step toward building a modern democratic state.
The amended draft constitution, finalized earlier in December by a 50-member panel Mansour appointed, is a key step in the political road map activated by the military after it removed Islamist President Mohammed Morsi from power in July.
It replaces the constitution drafted by an Islamist-led panel, approved in a referendum last year, and suspended after Morsi’s ouster.
Explosion inside Kenya minibus kills at least 4
NAIROBI, Kenya – At least four people were killed Saturday after a device exploded inside a passenger van in the capital, Kenyan police said, in what appears to be the first attack inside Nairobi since the deadly terrorist assault on an upscale mall in September.
The explosion happened as the minibus was traveling from Eastleigh neighborhood of Nairobi to the city center, said Benson Kibue, chief of police in Nairobi. Investigators believe an improvised explosive device was used in the Saturday attack that injured at least 25 others, he said.
Sometimes called Kenya’s “Little Mogadishu,” Eastleigh is known for its large population of ethnic Somalis. The neighborhood came under fresh scrutiny by investigators following the Sept. 21 attack on Nairobi’s Westgate Mall, a bloody four-day siege in which at least 67 people were killed. A Western official familiar with the Westgate attack investigation told The Associated Press last month that all four attackers were ethnic Somalis who had spent time in Eastleigh.
Worker dies from fall at World Cup stadium site
SAO PAULO – A construction worker fell to his death Saturday from the roof of a World Cup stadium being built in the jungle city of Manaus, marking the latest setback to hit Brazil before it hosts football’s showcase event next year.
It was the second death at the Arena Amazonia in less than a year, and the third fatality in a World Cup stadium in less than a month.
Two workers were killed in late November when a crane collapsed as it was hoisting a 500-ton piece of roofing at the Sao Paulo stadium that will host the tournament’s June 12 opener. Last year, a worker died at the construction site of the stadium in the nation’s capital, Brasilia.
Another worker died in April at the new Palmeiras stadium, which may be used for teams training for games in Sao Paulo.
4 Ukraine officials under investigation
KIEV, Ukraine – Ukrainian authorities on Saturday moved to appease the thousands of demonstrators who have been barricaded in the center of the Ukrainian capital for weeks by opening investigations against four top officials over the violent police response to a small anti-government demonstration last month. But the opposition said the move was a half-measure that will not get them off the street.
The brutal police raid in the early hours of Nov. 30 galvanized the pro-Western protests sparked by President Viktor Yanukovych’s decision to back away from signing a key integration treaty with the European Union, and instead turned toward Russia. Since that day’s violence, protesters have also been demanding Yanukovych’s ouster and early elections.
Associated Press
