Saudi Arabia set to send its first woman astronaut to space
Riyadh: Saudi Arabia will send its first woman astronaut on a space mission this year, continuing the effort to change the ultra-conservative image of the Kingdom, as reported by the state media.
Rayyana Barnawi will join Ali Al-Qarni, her fellow Saudi astronaut, on a mission on the International Space Station (ISS), during the second quarter of 2023, the official Saudi Press Agency said on Sunday.
The agency added that the astronauts will join the crew of the AX-2 space mission and the space flight will launch from the US.
Saudi Arabia had an earlier space enthusiast in Prince Sultan bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, who was an air force pilot and participated in a US-organized space mission in 1985, becoming the first Arab to travel into space.
With the heads of state in the Gulf striving to diversify their economies through a variety of projects, the official leader of Saudi Arabia Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has been trying to get his Kingdom to shake off its austere image.
Pushing for reforms since his rise to power in 2017, women have been permitted to drive and also to travel abroad without a male guardian. The proportion of women in the workforce too has more than doubled since 2016, from 17 percent to 37 percent.
In 2018, Saudi Arabia set up a space program and in 2022 launched another program to send its astronauts into space. All of these have been a part of Prince Salman’s ‘Vision 2030’ agenda for economic diversification.
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Kerala tourist found dead in Sanapur Lake in Gangavathi taluk
Gangavathi, Koppal: A 34-year-old tourist from Kerala was found dead in a lake near Sanapur in Gangavathi taluk on Friday. The police have identified the deceased as Cyril Jose.
According to the police, Jose was staying at Basapur and had gone out on December 17 to explore nearby places. When he failed to return, a missing complaint was lodged the next day. A search operation was launched following the complaint.
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After two days of efforts, Jose’s body was recovered floating in Sanapur lake. Preliminary findings suggest that he drowned, though the exact circumstances are yet to be ascertained, as reported by Deccan Herald.
