
China planning a nuclear power plant on the Moon
Eduardo Baptista
©Reuters
Today at 21:30
China is considering building a nuclear plant on the Moon to power the International Lunar Research Station (ILRS) it is planning with Russia, a presentation by a senior official showed yesterday.
China is aiming to become a major space power and land astronauts on the Moon by 2030, and its Chang'e-8 mission aims to lay the groundwork for the construction of a permanent manned lunar base.

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The Irish Sun
an hour ago
- The Irish Sun
Fears new Russia-Ukraine talks are ALREADY doomed to fail as bleak Kremlin assessment risks ‘p****d off' Trump's wrath
RUSSIA and Ukraine will hold peace talks in Istanbul tomorrow following Donald Trump's stern warning to warmonger Vladimir Putin. Any hopes for a breakthrough continue to appear bleak as Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov warned the enemies remained "diametrically opposed". Advertisement 8 An explosion of a drone lights up the sky over Kyiv during a Russian drone and missile strike Credit: Reuters 8 Cars set on fire in Odesa, Ukraine after relentless Russian attacks Credit: Reuters 8 This will be the third round of peace talks held in Istanbul between Russia and Ukraine Credit: Reuters And fears still linger that Putin may - yet again - make impossible demands and play for time while continuing his 'meatgrinder' assaults and attacks on civilians. Trump has given the Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced a new round of negotiations will take place in Turkey involving envoys from both sides. Zelensky said he had authorised his security council chief Rustem Umerov to stage the third crucial meeting following failed attempts at peace in May and June. Advertisement read more in Ukraine war He said discussions would centre on 'preparations for a prisoner exchange and another meeting in Turkey with the Russian side". A senior Ukrainian source said talks could also begin working towards a possible historic meeting between Zelensky and Putin. But Kremlin spokesman Peskov downplayed the likelihood of reaching any concrete outcome anytime soon. Peskov said: "A lot of diplomatic work lies ahead." Advertisement Most read in The US Sun Last week, US president Trump vented his frustration with Putin, declaring he was He imposed a US general threatens 'faster than ever' attack on Russia as Kremlin hits back Instead of agreeing, a snarling Putin declined and ramped up his ground and aerial offensives across Ukraine. A child was killed early today when a Russian glide bomb hit an apartment block in the eastern city of Kramatorsk, local officials said. Advertisement Six areas of the capital Kyiv also came under a combined drone and missile attack. Ukrainian forces said they had pushed back more than 50 attacks in the besieged city of Pokrovsk on the eastern frontline . Russian sabotage squads have already tried to enter the city but had been driven out, Ukraine 's military commander, Oleksandr Syrskyi said. Late on Monday, Advertisement The missile slammed into the building in Kyiv — leaving a gaping crater where toddlers once played and naptime beds buried under dust. The that saw 426 drones and 24 missiles hurled across Ukraine overnight. 8 Last week, US President Trump vented his frustration with Putin, declaring he was 'disappointed' but 'not done' with the Russian tyrant Credit: AP 8 A serviceman from the 115th Separate Mechanized Brigade of the Ukrainian Armed Forces fires an anti-aircraft machine gun towards a Russian drone Credit: Reuters Advertisement 8 Ukraine has been valiantly fighting back against Russia as Putin ramps up his attacks Credit: Reuters And it marked the second time in three days that NATO fighter jets were scrambled in response to the bombardments. Ukrainian officials said at least 15 people were injured, including a 12-year-old boy, in the barrage. The strikes came amid growing fears that Advertisement According to German Major General Christian Freuding, Moscow is plotting a mass drone assault involving 2,000 Shahed drones, in a bid to overwhelm Ukraine's already strained air defences. The general warned: 'We have uncovered worrying intelligence… [Russia is] significantly expanding its weapons production capacity.' Chilling footage aired on Russian state TV showed teenagers working in a so-called 'drone death factory,' with Moscow boasting about the 'huge, bright workshops' churning out kamikaze drones by the hundreds. A valiant Ukraine has hit back at the constant Russian aggression. Advertisement Kyiv's own drone army wreaking havoc at major airports and delaying over 400 flights as Russia's defences scrambled to respond. 8 The crater from a falling Russian attack drone in the ground outside a nursery and kindergarten Credit: Cover Images 8 A man removes glass shards from a windowsill as the building's walls are covered in holes from the missile impact Credit: Cover Images


RTÉ News
2 hours ago
- RTÉ News
UK borrowing climbs as inflation pushes up debt costs
Britain borrowed more than expected in June as high inflation pushed up the government's debt costs, according to data that is likely to add to speculation about the need for fresh tax increases by finance minister Rachel Reeves. Public sector net borrowing totalled £20.7 billion last month, the data showed, higher than a median forecast of £16.5 billion in a Reuters poll of economists,and the second highest for June on record. The borrowing was also higher than expected by Britain's budget watchdog, the Office for Budget Responsibility, which forecast borrowing of £17.1 billion in June when it published its outlook in March. That was before a strong inflation reading in April had the effect of pushing up inflation-linked government bond payments. The data from the Office for National Statistics showed interest payable on central government debt was £16.4 billion in June, the third highest since monthly records began in 1997. Reeves is expected to raise taxes in a budget statement towards the end of 2025 in order to remain on track to meet her targets for fixing the public finances. That job was made harder by the UK government dropping its plans to save money from the welfare bill due to stiff opposition from within Prime Minister Keir Starmer's Labour Party. Slow economic growth is also adding to Reeves' problems. "Recent U-turns on welfare and persistent growth headwinds could open a gap against fiscal targets, which could require further tax rises or spending cuts in the Autumn Budget," Dennis Tatarkov, senior economist at KPMG UK, said. Darren Jones, a deputy to Reeves at the Treasury, said the UK government remained committed to its fiscal rules, chief among them a promise to cover day-to-day spending with tax revenues by the end of the decade. Over the first three months of the fiscal year which began in April, Britain borrowed £57.8 billion, 15% more than in the same time last year and the third-highest April-to-June deficit on record. However, the figure was in line with the three-month forecast by the Office for Budget Responsibility, offering some comfort to Reeves. The public finances have been bolstered by her increase in social security contributions paid by employers. Compulsory social contributions - mostly National Insurance Contributions - jumped by 18% in the April-to-June period to £48 billion.


The Irish Sun
a day ago
- The Irish Sun
Top Ukrainian ex-official found DEAD in pool at same Spain complex as assassinated Putin defector pilot who fled Russia
A FORMER Ukrainian official has been found dead at the same spot where a defected Russian chopper pilot was assassinated. Igor Hrushevsky, an ex-employee of Ukraine's Ministry of Internal Affairs, was mysteriously Spain . 8 Maxim Kuzminov was a Russian who defected to Ukraine Credit: Wikipedia 8 A swimming pool in the residential area of La Cala de Villajoyosa, where both Hrushevsky and Kuzminov were found dead Credit: Darren Fletcher 8 The chopper pilot is said to have been assassinated by thr Russians 8 Kuzminov was on Putin's most-wanted list after being paid a reported £400,000 to steal his Russian military chopper and defect to Ukraine Credit: Wikipedia Ihor was swimming in the pool of a residential complex called Cala Alta in Villajoyosa, south of It is the same building where was apparently shot dead after he defected to Ukraine in an Mi-8 helicopter. The Kremlin was accused of carrying out Hrushevsky was found face down in the water, with no signs of life. more on Russia Though he was bleeding from one ear. Locals rushed to pull him out of the water and performed CPR, but failed to save his life, according to local media outlet The cause of death has not been revealed yet. Hrushevsky's death comes just 18 months after Russian defector Kuzminov was killed inside a garage allegedly by Putin's hitmen. Most read in The US Sun Ruben, a local worker, told The Sun he discovered the army captain, 28, in a pool of blood soon after what is believed to have been a brazen Kremlin-ordered hit job. The ruthless despot's hitmen are said to have Ukraine in August 2023. From 'moving' corpse & corruption scandal to quick 'suicide' story: 5 glaring questions in gun death of Putin minister The Sun was given access to the eerie murder scene yesterday, where He was dispatched in cold blood by six shots from a pistol believed to have been fitted with a silencer just a 10 minute drive from Benidorm's party strip. We walked his final steps around 50 metres to the spot where his body was found just short of the parking garage's electrically-operated metal doors. Kuzminov was on Putin's most-wanted list after being paid a reported £400,000 to steal his Russian military chopper in a major propaganda coup for Ukraine . He had been given a new identity and joined a large community of Russian speakers living in and around Benidorm using a Ukrainian passport with the name Igor Shevchenko. Ukraine's military intelligence later confirmed it had courted him to defect, as Kuzimov appealed to other pilots to follow his lead. In an interview broadcast by Ukraine's authorities, Kuzimov said: "I contacted representatives of Ukrainian intelligence, explained my situation, to which they offered this option: 'Come on, we guarantee your safety, guarantee new documents, guarantee monetary compensation, a reward.'" 8 The garage where Kuzminov was found dead Credit: Darren Fletcher 8 Cops at the scene where the pilot was found dead Credit: Reuters 8 Kuzminov fled Russia in a £15million helicopter after killing his two co-pilots, according to Russian media Credit: East2West The defector is believed to have moved to a flat which he was renovating and hoped to start a new life in the Benidorm suburb of Villajoyosa. Despite the continuing carnage between their nations in Eastern Europe , Russians and Ukrainians live side-by-side in Spain alongside British ex-pats and trippers. But Spanish police believed a Kremlin death squad had infiltrated the community and is standing by to liquidate more Putin enemies. Russian state media sensationally claimed Kuzminov shot and killed two of his crewmates who did not support him before he touched down in Ukraine. Their names were Nikita Kiryanov, 28, and Khushbat Tursunov, 35. Reports also alleged Putin's GRU military intelligence agents had orders to 'eliminate' him, no matter how long it took. The same GRU unit was allegedly behind the botched nerve agent attacks on 8 Russia's threats to Kuzminov's life were aired on Russian TV Credit: East2West