Japan became the fifth country to reach the moon after its spacecraft landed on the lunar surface
PM Modi congratulates Japanese counterpart, space agency on lunar landing
New Delhi, Jan 20: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday congratulated his Japanese counterpart Fumio Kishida and the country's aerospace agency for landing a spacecraft on the Moon, and said India looks to cooperation in space exploration.
He was responding to a post on X by Kishida announcing the successful moon landing.
Modi said, "Congratulations Prime Minister @Kishida230 and everyone at JAXA on achieving Japan's first soft Moon landing. India looks forward to our cooperation in space exploration between @isro and JAXA."
JAXA is short form of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency.
Japan became the fifth country in history to reach the moon when its spacecraft landed on the lunar surface early Saturday, officials said. But an issue with the power supply means that the mission could be in jeopardy.
Japanese officials also said they needed more time to analyse whether the spacecraft, which wasn't carrying astronauts, made a pinpoint landing one of the priorities of the mission.
India had last year successfully completed its lunar mission.
Congratulations Prime Minister @Kishida230 and everyone at JAXA on achieving Japan’s first soft Moon landing. India looks forward to our cooperation in space exploration between @isro and JAXA. https://t.co/lvQ99iltDH
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) January 20, 2024
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Trump’s fresh threat to bomb Iran amid reports of deal to end war
Washington (PTI): US President Donald Trump on Wednesday threatened Iran with more bombing if it doesn't reopen the Strait of Hormuz, amid a report that the warring sides were nearing an agreement to end the war.
US media outlet Axios reported, quoting US officials and two other sources, that the US and Iran were getting close to a one-page memorandum of understanding to end the war and set a framework for more detailed nuclear negotiations.
The US expects Iranian responses on several key points over the next 48 hours, Axios reported, adding that nothing has been agreed yet. This was the closest the parties had been to an agreement since the war began.
"Assuming Iran agrees to give what has been agreed to, which is, perhaps, a big assumption, the already legendary Epic Fury will be at an end, and the highly effective Blockade will allow the Hormuz Strait to be OPEN TO ALL, including Iran," Trump said in a post on Truth Social.
"If they don’t agree, the bombing starts, and it will be, sadly, at a much higher level and intensity than it was before," Trump said.
According to Axios, the deal would involve Iran committing to a moratorium on nuclear enrichment, the US agreeing to lift its sanctions and release billions in frozen Iranian funds, and both sides lifting restrictions around transit through the Strait of Hormuz.
It said many of the terms laid out in the memo would be contingent on a final agreement being reached, leaving the possibility of renewed war or an extended limbo in which the hot war has stopped, but nothing is truly resolved.
