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SpaceX capsule splashes down, returning 4 astronauts from Space Station

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The fourth long-duration astronaut team launched by SpaceX to the International Space Station (ISS) safely returned to Earth on Friday, splashing down in the Atlantic Ocean off Florida after nearly six months of research aboard the orbital outpost.

The SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule dubbed Freedom, carrying three U.S. NASA astronauts and an Italian crewmate from the European Space Agency, parachuted into the sea at the conclusion of a five-hour autonomous flight home from the ISS, Reuters reported.

Splashdown under clear skies, at about 4:55 p.m. EDT (2055 GMT), was carried live by a joint NASA-SpaceX webcast.

Freedom began its stay in orbit on April 27. The crew consisted of NASA astronaut Kjell Lindgren, 49, fellow Americans Jessica Watkins, 34, and Bob Hines, 47, as well as Italy's Samantha Cristoforetti, 45, who was commander of their ISS expedition. Watkins became the first African-American woman to join a long-duration ISS mission.

In less than an hour, recovery teams had hoisted the heat-scorched Crew Dragon onto a retrieval vessel before opening the capsule's side hatch and helping the four astronauts out by one for their first breath of fresh air in more than 24 weeks.

Still garbed in their helmeted white-and-black spacesuits, their strength and balance left shaky from 170 days of weightlessness, the four crew were assisted onto special gurneys as they waved and gave thumbs-up for cameras.

Among those greeting them on the deck of the ship was the vessel's namesake, veteran NASA astronaut Megan McArthur.

Each of the returning astronauts was to receive a routine medical checkup aboard the ship before being flown by helicopter back to Florida.

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Russia fines Google more than the world’s total GDP over YouTube bans

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Russia has fined Google $2.5 decillion after the US tech giant took action against pro-Kremlin TV channels on YouTube following Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.

Russia imposed a daily fine four years ago - a fine that has since swelled to an unprecedented level - ($20,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 - a 33-digit figure).

To put this into perspective, global GDP reaches an estimated $110 thousand billion (12-digit figure), according to the IMF.

Speaking to Russia’s TASS news agency, one expert, Roman Yankovsky from the HSE Institute of Education, said Google “clearly will not pay this penalty, and the Russian Federation will not be able to recover this money from the company."

Euronews reported that a short calculation shows that he is right.

Google's holding company, Alphabet, has a market capitalisation of slightly more than $2 trillion. Even with earnings of $80.54 billion from the last quarter, the tech giant doesn’t seem to be able to afford to pay the fine.

Google first barred pro-Moscow channel Tsargrad TV, which is owned by oligarch Konstantin Malofeev, four years ago.

At the time, Google was fined a daily penalty of 100,000 roubles and warned that amount would double every 24 hours if it went unpaid.

The original fine has been compounded by further penalties after Google eventually blocked a total of 17 Russian TV channels as a result of international sanctions, The Telegraph reported.

The tech giant now owes a staggering $2.5 decillion.

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Apple launches new iPad mini with AI features

Apple said it would roll out the first set of AI features in the U.S. version of the English language this month through a software update with iPadOS 18.1.

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Apple on Tuesday launched its new generation of the iPad mini packed with AI features including writing tools and an improved Siri assistant, as the iPhone maker races to boost its devices with artificial-intelligence capabilities, Reuters reported.

The new iPad mini is powered by Apple's A17 Pro chip, which is used in the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max models. With a six-core central processing unit, the A17 Pro would boost CPU performance by 30% compared to the current generation iPad minis and is central to running Apple Intelligence, Apple's AI software.

Apple said it would roll out the first set of AI features in the U.S. version of the English language this month through a software update with iPadOS 18.1.

The features will be available for iPads with A17 Pro or M1 chips and later generations, Apple said, adding it will roll out additional features including image-generation tools, Genmoji and ChatGPT-powered capabilities over the next several months, read the report.

Apple in September unveiled its long-awaited, AI-boosted iPhone 16 lineup, but with the AI features still in test mode, the company failed to excite some investors while early sales data raised some questions around demand.

Still, research firm Canalys on Monday said the iPhone 16 would help Apple's sales in the fourth quarter and drive momentum into the first half of 2025, after Apple reached a record high third-quarter shipments.

The iPad mini, starting at $499, is available for pre-orders starting on Tuesday and will begin arriving to customers and Apple store locations next week, Apple said.

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Iran sends satellites to Russia for rocket launch

In September, Iran carried out its second satellite launch this year using a rocket built by its Revolutionary Guards

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Iran has sent two locally made satellites to Russia to be put into orbit by a Russian space vehicle, the semi-official news agency Tasnim reported on Saturday, in the latest space cooperation between the two U.S.-sanctioned countries.

The development of Kowsar, a high-resolution imaging satellite, and Hodhod, a small communications satellite, is the first substantial effort by Iran's private space sector, the report said.

Russia sent Iranian satellites into orbit in February and in 2022, when U.S. officials voiced concern over space cooperation between Russia and Iran, fearing the satellite will not only help Russia in Ukraine but also help Iran monitor potential military targets in Israel and the wider Middle East, Reuters reported.

Kowsar could be used in agriculture, natural resource management, environmental monitoring, and disaster management, Tasnim said.

Hodhod is designed for satellite-based communications and could be used in remote areas with little access to terrestrial networks.

In September, Iran carried out its second satellite launch, this year using a rocket built by its Revolutionary Guards. 

The launch came as the United States and European countries accuse Tehran of transferring ballistic missiles to Russia that could be used in its war with Ukraine. Iran has denied this.

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