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(NEW YORK) — Japan launched a rocket to the moon Wednesday in an attempt to become the fifth country to land on the lunar surface, according to the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA).

The H-IIA rocket lifted off at 7:42 p.m. ET from Tanegashma Space Center — located on one of Japan’s southern islands — after weather conditions led to the launch being postponed three times between Aug. 25 and Sept. 1.

Onboard the rocket were the Smart Lander for Investigating Moon (SLIM) — which is a lunar lander — and the X-ray Imaging and Spectroscopy Mission (XRISM), both of which successfully separated after launch, according to the agency.

SLIM is attempting to land with pinpoint precision on the moon — within 100 meters (328 feet) from its target — rather than “somewhere on the moon,” according to JAXA.

The agency hopes that this demonstration will pave the way for a new type of landing in future moon missions and even on other planets.

“In anticipation of future solar system science exploration, we will realize weight reduction for landing on planets with severe resource constraints and mounting higher performance observation equipment,” JAXA said. “We humans will achieve a qualitative shift from the traditional landing, where it is easy to land, to landing where we want to land.”

Because of the fuel-efficient route it is taking, SLIM is not expected to land until early 2024.

If the mission is successful, Japan will become the fifth country to land on the moon after the United States, Russia, China and India

India took its place as the fourth country to reach the lunar surface when its spacecraft landed on the moon on Aug. 23, and the first to do so in the lunar south pole region, where it is scheduled to remain for two weeks, conducting experiments and gathering data.

Russia had attempted to perform a similar mission to India, but its Luna-25 spacecraft crashed into the surface of the moon on Aug. 19 after Russia’s space agency lost contact. NASA later published images showing a 33-foot crater left by Luna 25.

Meanwhile, XRISM — complete with a telescope, an X-ray imager and a spectrometer, which detects electromagnetic radiation — is described by JAXA as a space observatory.

It plans to measure the elements contained in stars and galaxies as well as space plasma, which is ionized gasses and the fourth state of matter.

XRISM will also examine “the formation of large-scale structures formed by stars, galaxies, and groups of galaxies will be clarified in unprecedented detail,” the agency said.

This is not Japan’s first attempt at landing on the moon. The country launched the OMOTENASHI (Outstanding MOon exploration TEchnologies demonstrated by NAno Semi-Hard Impactor) alongside NASA’s Artemis I mission in November 2022.

Weighing just 30 pounds, it would have been the smallest lunar lander to ever reach the surface of the moon. However, within one day, JAXA lost communication and had to scrub recovery operations.

Additionally, in December 2022, a private lunar landing mission — Hakuto-R Mission 1 — was launched with an attempt to land in April 2023, but communication was lost, and it ended up crashing.

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(LONDON) — Archaeologists have discovered a 1,000-year-old mummy — believed to be of an adult individual — in Peru’s capital, Lima.

The mummy, which was discovered at the Huaca Pucllana archaeological site in the upscale Miraflores neighborhood, was found alongside two ceramic vessels and textiles.

The discovery becomes the latest in a string of ancient discoveries made in Peru this year.

“I find it quite interesting that right in the heart of Miraflores, in the middle of the city, surrounded by modern buildings and constructions, an important site is still preserved,” said lead archaeologist, Mirella Ganoza.

Ganoza noted that the mummy had long hair and was found seated with bent legs. The remains of the ancient figure were also found with its jaw and long hair still preserved.

The mummy is thought to date back to 1,000 A.D, belonging to the Yschsma culture, inhabitants of whom lived south of Peru’s capital Lima.

“This discovery helps to complement the information we know about the Ychsma culture so far,” said Ganoza.

The discovery is the latest in string of century-old discoveries of mummies and pre-Hispanic remains made in Lima, including the recent discovery in June on a hilltop of a mummy found surrounded by cocoa leaves.

In March, a Peruvian man was arrested and charged for illegal possession of historical patrimony after he was found in a possession of a mummy believed to be 600–800-year-old in his cooler delivery bag.

The Huaca Pucllana site is viewed as a Pandora’s Box and archaeologists anticipate that many more artifacts could be found.

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(LONDON) — Gabon’s ousted President Ali Bongo Ondimba has been released from house arrest a week after a group of mutinous soldiers seized power.

The country’s new military leaders, who call themselves the Committee for the Transition and Restoration of Institutions (CTRI), announced on state television Wednesday evening that, “given his state of health,” Bongo “is free to move about” and “travel abroad for medical check-ups.”

Bongo’s condition was not immediately clear. Video shared on social media by local TV channel Gabon24 on Wednesday showed the 64-year-old deposed president limping as he met with Abdou Barry, head of the United Nations Regional Office for Central Africa.

The military junta declared a coup d’état on Aug. 30, hours after Bongo won reelection for a third term in a vote that was criticized by international observers. The coup leaders described the election as fraudulent and said the results were “canceled,” all borders “closed until further notice” and state institutions “dissolved.” They also announced that the president was under house arrest in his residence in the Gabonese capital of Libreville.

Bongo, 64, became president of Gabon in 2009 following the death of his father, who had ruled the oil-rich Central African nation since 1967.

The junta has since appointed Gen. Brice Oligui Nguema as chairman of the CTRI and president of the transitional government. Nguema met with local and regional officials earlier this week, pledging to improve infrastructure and shepherd the country through a peaceful transition back to civilian rule.

Gabon’s coup marked the eighth to occur in West and Central Africa since 2020. It came about a month after a military junta in Niger ousted the West African nation’s democratically elected government.

Gabon, home to more than two million people, is located on the western coast of Central Africa, sharing borders with Equatorial Guinea, Cameroon and the Republic of Congo. The country is a member of OPEC, with a production of 181,000 barrels of crude oil per day.

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(KYIV, Ukraine) — Ukrainian first lady Olena Zelenska is “afraid” the world’s attention is turning away from the war, more than 18 months since Russia launched a full-scale invasion of her country.

Speaking with ABC News in an interview in Kyiv, Zelenska said, “sometimes people become reluctant, people talk about Ukraine fatigue.”

“This is the topic of our existence. We can’t stop fighting for ourselves. So my message is, please don’t stop to help us fight,” Zelenska said.

Zelenska is hosting The Summit of First Ladies and Gentlemen on Wednesday in Kyiv, an international association of spouses of the world’s top leaders. Founded by Zelenska in 2021, this year the attendees include former U.S. first lady and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. The summit places a strong emphasis on mental health.

Zelenska said, “It’s a pressing issue around the world, but obviously it becomes a burning issue in a country that’s at war, when every Ukrainian is dealing with the consequences of events that we’re all witnessing.”

When asked about the mental health of her husband, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the first lady said it’s something she’d like to discuss with him more often.

“He belongs to the category of people who would try to deal with things on their own. Until the end. Actually he’s a very tough man with high resilience. But everyone needs a rest sometimes. He does a lot of sport when he gets the opportunity. It helps him a lot,” she said.

Since the beginning of the war, the first lady has spoken out about the psychological impacts of this war on children and helped implement programs to rehabilitate Ukraine’s most vulnerable.

“Extra hours are being added to the school curriculum to teach the kids about their mental health, and every teacher will have a special course on providing psychological help and support,” Zelenska said. “The aim is to wrap every child with an armour of mental resilience.”

Ukrainian children returned to school on Sept. 1 and Zelenska said her son sometimes has to learn from the school shelter, while her daughter is starting her second year of university.

“This year they’re trying to study completely offline. And for her it’s a novelty because for many years they were studying in a mixed format. She has never seen all her fellow pupils and friends together in person, so she’s very happy,” she said.

Only one third of primary children in second and third grade children will be learning in person, according to UNICEF. In the city of Kharkiv, subway stations have been turned into classrooms. In other cases, bunkers are refurbished so that lessons aren’t interrupted when the air raid sirens go off.

Damian Rance, chief of communications for UNICEF Ukraine based in Kyiv, said this is having “significant mental health effects for children because schools are not just about formal education, it’s about social and emotional development as well.”

“We’re going to see significant issues unless we collectively address education as one of the major priorities,” Rance said.

A study by UNESCO found that 75% of Ukrainian schoolchildren experienced some degree of stress, while around a third of Ukrainian teenagers have been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder.

Zelenska is also worried about children being indoctrinated by Russia.

The Ukrainian government now says Russians have deported or forcibly relocated more than 19,500 Ukrainian children since the war began. United Nations investigators say it amounts to a war crime.

Zelenska said she believes this is part of a long term strategy to brainwash children in the country.

“This is indeed a conscious policy,” she said. “Because all the children we’ve managed to return say that the first thing that was done with them was so-called ‘patriotic re-education.’ That is, they were taught that they are no longer Ukrainians, that they are Russians, which they’re told is the country they should love.”

The first lady also addressed questions about women who encourage their partners to avoid the military, saying it is not her position to decide for them when it comes to matters of life and the fear of death, but that they should work within the framework of the law.

“The only thing I can advise now,” she said, “Is how you will look into the eyes of the people who will live around you? What will you say to them? How will you make excuses?”

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(LONDON) — The hottest three months on record have just been recorded on Earth, according to the Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S).

The European-Union funded agency said that “Global sea surface temperatures are at unprecedented highs for the third consecutive month and Antarctic sea ice extent remains at a record low for the time of year,” in a press release published on Wednesday.

“It was the hottest August on record – by a large margin – and the second hottest ever month after July 2023, according to the Copernicus Climate Change Service ERA 5 dataset,” C3S said on Wednesday. “August as a whole is estimated to have been around 1.5°C warmer than the preindustrial average for 1850-1900, according to C3S.”

From January to August of 2023, the agency said it has been the second warmest year on record — only behind 2016 — when there was a powerful warming El Niño event, C3S said.

“August as a whole saw the highest global monthly average sea surface temperatures on record across all months, at 20.98°C. Temperatures exceeded the previous record (March 2016) every single day in August,” according to C3S.

Meanwhile, Antarctic sea ice extent remained at a record low level for the time of year, according to the agency, with a monthly value 12% below average, which is the “largest negative anomaly for August since satellite observations began in the late 1970s.”

“A report in May from WMO (World Meteorolgical Organization) and the UK’s Met Office predicted that there is a 98% likelihood that at least one of the next five years will be the warmest on record and a 66% chance of temporarily exceeding 1.5°C above the 1850-1900 average for at least one of the five years,” C3S continued. “This does not mean that we will permanently exceed the 1.5°C level specified in the Paris Agreement which refers to long-term warming over many years.”

“Our planet has just endured a season of simmering — the hottest summer on record. Climate breakdown has begun. Scientists have long warned what our fossil fuel addiction will unleash. Surging temperatures demand a surge in action. Leaders must turn up the heat now for climate solutions. We can still avoid the worst of climate chaos – and we don’t have a moment to lose,“ said UN Secretary-General António Guterres.

C3S, implemented by the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) on behalf of the European Commission, routinely monitors climate and has also been closely following recent development of global air and sea surface temperatures.

“The northern hemisphere just had a summer of extremes – with repeated heatwaves fuelling devastating wildfires, harming health, disrupting daily lives and wreaking a lasting toll on the environment. In the southern hemisphere Antarctic sea ice extent was literally off the charts, and the global sea surface temperature was once again at a new record. It is worth noting that this is happening BEFORE we see the full warming impact of the El Niño event, which typically plays out in the second year after it develops,” said World Meteorological Organization Secretary-General Prof. Petteri Taalas.

Said Carlo Buontempo, director of the Copernicus Climate Change Service, ECMWF: “Eight months into 2023, so far we are experiencing the second warmest year to date, only fractionally cooler than 2016, and August was estimated to be around 1.5°C warmer than pre-industrial levels. What we are observing, not only new extremes but the persistence of these record-breaking conditions, and the impacts these have on both people and planet, are a clear consequence of the warming of the climate system.”

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(NEW YORK) — Three people were rescued from the Coral Sea after “multiple shark attacks” damaged their catamaran.

Following an alert from a Russian-registered emergency position-indicating radio beacon, the Australian Maritime Safety Authority responded to the distress call early Wednesday morning at around 1:30 a.m. Australian Eastern Standard Time.

The beacon came from a nine-meter (29 feet) inflatable catamaran Tion with three people aboard — two Russian citizens and one French citizen.

The sailing party had departed from Vanuatu, in the South Pacific, and was traveling to Cairns, a coastal city in Queensland, Australia. While details are slim, the stranded people were in their catamaran 835 km (519 miles) off the coast of Cairns in the Coral Sea, per the AMSA. Both hulls of the catamaran had been “damaged following several shark attacks,” the AMSA confirmed in a release.

After receiving the beacon’s signal, AMSA sent a Cairns-based Challenger Rescue Aircraft to the catamaran’s location and secured the assistance of the Dugong Ace, a vehicle carrier sailing under a Panama flag.

The three people were rescued and are expected to arrive in Brisbane, Australia on Thursday morning.

No further information was immediately available.

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(NEW YORK) — Five asteroids will fly past Earth beginning Wednesday, but aren’t expected to threaten the planet, NASA said.

Between Sept. 6 and Sept. 12, one asteroid the size of a house, three the size of a plane and one asteroid the size of a bus will make way near Earth, according to NASA’s Asteroid Watch dashboard.

The asteroid named JA5 will fly within 3.17 million miles from Earth on Wednesday, NASA said. JA5, the house-sized asteroid first discovered in 2021, is approximately 59 feet.

On Sept. 8, two asteroids, QC5 and GE, will whiz within 2.53 million and 3.56 million miles, respectively, of the planet. QC5 is around 84 feet and the size of a plane and was discovered this year, while GE is the size of a bus at 26 feet and was detected in 2022, according to NASA Asteroid Watch data.

The two other airplane-sized asteroids are expected to fly past Earth on Sept. 10, according to NASA. Asteroid QF6 is passing within 1.65 million miles of the planet and is 68 feet in size and QE8 is passing within 945,000 miles of Earth and is 170 feet, according to NASA. Both asteroids were discovered this year.

The average distance between Earth and the moon is around 239,000 miles, according to NASA.

The asteroids do not pose a threat to Earth, despite traveling within 4.6 million miles of the planet because none of them are over 150 meters, or 492 feet, according to NASA.

NASA did not immediately respond to ABC News’ request for comment.

An asteroid between 140 and 310 feet in size safely passed by Earth in March, according to NASA Asteroid Watch. An asteroid of this size only goes by Earth about once every decade, the agency said.

NASA has discovered more than 32,000 asteroids near Earth as of Aug. 31. The space agency has discovered 853 asteroids larger than 1 kilometer, or 0.62 miles, and 10,541 asteroids larger than 140 meters, or 459 feet.

Three asteroids have passed closer to Earth than the moon, in the last 30 days. In the last 365 days, 10 asteroids passed closer to Earth than the moon, according to NASA.

The Asteroid Watch dashboard monitors comets and asteroids that make “relatively close approaches to Earth,” NASA said.

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(LONDON) — Dozens of world leaders and heads of state are gathered in Kenya’s capital, Nairobi, as the Africa Climate Summit 2023 — the continent’s first-ever climate summit — gets underway.

African Heads of State, high-profile dignitaries and thousands of delegates are set to debate over continent’s pressing climate change challenges and forge a path to a more resilient and sustainable future for the continent.

Launching the inaugural three-day summit on Monday, Kenyan President William Ruto, stressed that “this is no ordinary summit.”

“The time has come for us to break out of the shackles of low ambition. We must now begin to aim higher and strive for more, and better outcomes,” said Ruto.

The president made his way to the summit by driving himself there in a small electric vehicle.

“For a very long time, we have looked at this as a problem. There are immense opportunities as well,” he continued.

Ruto also added that the continent holds the potential to transform into a global hub in the green industrial supply chain.

“The continent has enough potential to be entirely self-sufficient with the mix of wind, solar, geothermal, sustainable biomass and hydropower,” he said. “Our ambition is audacious yet achievable: 100% renewable by 2030.”

The Kenyan leader called on increased climate investment as his call was heeded with millions of dollars in investment pledged as the summit enters its second day.

The UAE, which us due to host COP28, announced the biggest pledge so far with $4.5 billion towards clean energy initiatives.

Speaking at the inaugural summit, U.S. Climate envoy John Kerry reflected on the “acute and unfair debt” of the climate crisis on the continent.

“Of the 20 countries most affected by the climate crisis, 17 are here in Africa,” said Kerry.

According to the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP), Africa contributes just 3.8% to global greenhouse gas emissions. However, the continent has so far taken the brunt of the effects of the global warming crisis, according to many experts, and has experienced various climate-related disasters.

At least 4,000 people have been killed, and 19 million more have been affected by extreme weather events in Africa since the beginning of 2022, according to research published by Science Direct.

“Twenty countries produce 80% of all the emissions, mine is one of them,” said Kerry. “Twenty countries. And it is critical for all those 20 countries to immediately take steps to get on the path to the Paris agreement [to] keep 1.5 degrees alive.”

Kerry on Tuesday announced the U.S. intends to provide an additional $30 million in food security and climate resilience efforts across the continent.

“I’m convinced that Africa can be at the heart of a renewable future,” said UN Chief Antonio Guterres. “From the Greater Horn of Africa, where over 85% of electricity generation comes from renewables, including massive hydropower projects in Ethiopia, Kenya and Sudan. To wind and solar projects in Egypt, Algeria, Tunisia, and Morocco. To Mozambique, which gets nearly 100% of its energy from green and sustainable sources.”

“Now is the time for all countries to stand as one in defense of our only home,” Guterres added.

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(NEW YORK) –Russia has continued a nearly 19-month-long invasion of neighboring Ukraine. Recently, though, the Ukrainians have gone on a counteroffensive, fighting to reclaim occupied territory.

Here’s how the news is developing. All times Eastern:

Sep 05, 6:30 AM EDT
Cuba uncovers human trafficking for Russia’s war in Ukraine

Cuban officials announced Monday that they have “detected” and are “working on the neutralization and dismantling of a human trafficking network that operates from Russia to incorporate Cuban citizens living there, and even some from Cuba, into the military forces participating in war operations in Ukraine.”

“Attempts of this nature have been neutralized and criminal proceedings have been initiated against people involved in these activities,” the Cuban Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement.

The ministry noted that “Cuba has a firm and clear historical position against mercenarism and plays an active role in the United Nations in repudiation of this practice.”

“Cuba is not part of the war in Ukraine,” the ministry added. “It is acting and will act energetically against anyone, from the national territory, who participates in any form of human trafficking for the purpose of recruitment or mercenarism for Cuban citizens to use arms against any country.”

Sep 03, 5:22 PM EDT
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy expects to replace defense minister

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has asked the country’s parliament to replace the country’s current Minister of Defense.

In a Sunday address, Zelenskyy told the Ukrainian people they need new approaches for the military and Rustem Umerov is the person he wants in the minister job. Current minister Oleksiy Reznikov has served throughout the conflict with Russia.

Additionally, Zelenskyy announced he had reached an agreement with French President Emmanuel Macron. Though he did not go into details, Zelenskyy mentioned the agreement is related to training Ukrainian pilots in France.

-ABC News’ Ellie Kaufman

Aug 31, 11:08 AM EDT
Russia hit with barrage of drones for 2nd straight night

Russian officials are claiming a drone attack on the Bryansk region by Ukraine, the second such attack in the country in as many nights. Two drones were allegedly shot down by air defense in the city, according to local officials.

One of the Ukrainian kamikaze drones that attacked Bryansk fell on the hotel of the Department of Affairs of the regional government, about 100 meters from the building of the regional administration, according to multiple local officials.

Meanwhile, Russia claimed it repelled a drone attack on the Moscow region. The drone attack Thursday morning caused no casualties or destruction in the Voskresensk district of the Moscow region, the district’s head, Alexei Malkin, said.

“No traces of destruction have been discovered thus far. No one was injured. All emergency services are working at the scene,” Malkin said on his Telegram channel.

“On-duty air defenses destroyed the unmanned aerial vehicle over the Voskresensk district of the Moscow region,” the ministry said.

-ABC News’ Will Gretsky

Aug 30, 2:19 PM EDT
Prigozhin plane may have been downed on purpose: Kremlin

The Kremlin on Wednesday acknowledged for the first time that a plane carrying Yevgeny Prigozhin, mercenary chief of the paramilitary Wagner Group, was possibly downed on purpose.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters that investigators are looking into the possibility that the 62-year-old Prigozhin was assassinated.

“It is obvious that different versions are being considered, including the version — you know what we are talking about — let’s say, a deliberate atrocity,” Peskov said when asked about the investigation.

The plane carrying Prigozhin and nine others crashed in Russia’s Tver region on Aug. 23, killing everyone aboard, according to the press service of Russia’s Federal Air Transport Agency.

The crash came about a month after Prigozhin led a chaotic armed rebellion that threatened the longstanding leadership of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

On Friday, Peskov denied speculation that the Kremlin was involved in the plane crash, calling the allegation an “absolute lie.”

The crash investigation is being conducted by the Russian Investigative Committee as a domestic incident and Peskov said that allowing in international investigators “is out of the question.”

-ABC News’ Will Gretsky

Aug 25, 12:08 PM EDT
Ukraine carries out drone attack in Crimea

Ukraine conducted a massive drone attack in Crimea Thursday night into Friday morning, Ukraine Defense Intelligence spokesman Andrii Yusov told ABC News.

An attack was made on the Russian 126th Separate Guards Coastal Defense Brigade of the Black Sea Fleet in the village of Perevalne, Yusov said.

“We are still calculating enemy losses at the moment,” Yusov said.

-ABC News’ Ellie Kaufman

Aug 25, 11:39 AM EDT
Bomb likely cause of explosion that downed Prigozhin’s plane, US officials say

The explosion that downed a plane carrying Wagner Group leader Yevgeny Prigozhin and nine others in Russia was likely caused by a bomb, two U.S. officials told ABC News on Friday.

A senior U.S. official said the preliminary belief is that the private jet was downed Wednesday by an explosion on board, potentially caused by a well-placed bomb.

Another U.S official said the United States believes that a bomb was very likely the cause of the explosion.

-ABC News’ Josh Margolin and Luis Martinez

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(NEW YORK) — The United States has “information” that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un expects to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Russia over arms negotiations discussions, a White House spokesperson said.

National Security Council Spokesperson Adrienne Watson did not confirm a New York Times report published on Monday that the two leaders plan to meet in Russia next week, but when asked about the trip, she said in a statement to ABC News that arms talks between Russia and North Korea “are actively advancing.”

“We have information that Kim Jong Un expects these discussions to continue, to include leader-level diplomatic engagement in Russia,” Watson said.

A State Department spokesperson on Monday also warned that any arms deal would violate several UN Security Council resolutions.

“In part due to the success of U.S. sanctions and export controls, Russia has been forced to turn to rogue regimes like the DPRK to try to obtain weapons and equipmentt to support its military operations against Ukraine,” the spokesperson said in a statement to ABC News, using the acronym for North Korea’s official name.

“We urge the DPRK to cease its arms negotiations with Russia and abide by the public commitments that Pyongyang has made to not provide or sell arms to Russia,” the statement said.

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