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China, Thailand Sign Pacts on Outer Space, Lunar Outposts

FILE PHOTO: A photo taken by NASA astronaut Randy Bresnik from the International Space Station on August 3, 2017. NASA/Handout via REUTERS
FILE PHOTO: A photo taken by NASA astronaut Randy Bresnik from the International Space Station on August 3, 2017. NASA/Handout via REUTERS
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China, Thailand Sign Pacts on Outer Space, Lunar Outposts

FILE PHOTO: A photo taken by NASA astronaut Randy Bresnik from the International Space Station on August 3, 2017. NASA/Handout via REUTERS
FILE PHOTO: A photo taken by NASA astronaut Randy Bresnik from the International Space Station on August 3, 2017. NASA/Handout via REUTERS

China and Thailand signed initial pacts on Friday to co-operate on peaceful use of outer space and international lunar research stations, the Chinese space agency said.
The countries aim to form a joint working group on space exploration and applications, encompassing data exchanges and personnel training, according to the memorandums of understanding.
They also agreed to co-operate on plans for appraising, engineering and managing lunar research stations, the China National Space Administration (CNSA) said in a statement.
In 2023, China selected a space weather monitor developed by Thailand for its Chang'e-7 lunar probe mission, the agency added, according to Reuters.
To be launched around 2026, the Chang'e-7 mission will explore resources on the moon's south pole, looking to sustain long-term human habitation. China aims to land astronauts on the moon by 2030.

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Australia’s New South Wales Sweats through Heatwave, Faces ‘Extreme’ Bushfire Risk

A view of the Anzac Bridge and Sydney Tower Eye at sunrise in Sydney, Australia, March 14, 2025. (Reuters)
A view of the Anzac Bridge and Sydney Tower Eye at sunrise in Sydney, Australia, March 14, 2025. (Reuters)
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Australia’s New South Wales Sweats through Heatwave, Faces ‘Extreme’ Bushfire Risk

A view of the Anzac Bridge and Sydney Tower Eye at sunrise in Sydney, Australia, March 14, 2025. (Reuters)
A view of the Anzac Bridge and Sydney Tower Eye at sunrise in Sydney, Australia, March 14, 2025. (Reuters)

Australia's New South Wales on Sunday sweated in a heat wave that raised the risk of bushfires and prompted authorities to issue a total fire ban for state capital Sydney.

New South Wales, coming to the end of a high-risk bushfire season that runs until the end of March, was a focus of a catastrophic 2019-2020 "Black Summer" of wildfires that destroyed an area the size of Turkey and killed 33 people.

On Sunday, the nation's weather forecaster said temperatures would be up to 12 degrees Celsius (21.6 degrees Fahrenheit) above average in some areas of the state, with temperatures in Sydney, Australia's most populous city, set to hit 37C (98.6F).

At Sydney Airport, the temperature was already 29.3C (84.7 F) at 9:30 a.m. local time, more than three degrees above the March mean maximum temperature, according to forecaster data.

Gusty winds, "hot conditions and low relative humidity will result in extreme fire danger over the greater Sydney region," the forecaster said on its website.

The state's Rural Fire Service said on X that a total fire ban was in place for large swaths of the state including Sydney due to the forecast of "hot, dry and windy conditions".

In neighboring Victoria state, a home was destroyed in a bushfire on the outskirts of Melbourne that was being battled by around 200 firefighters, Country Fire Authority official Bernard Barbetti told the Australian Broadcasting Corp on Sunday.

Climate change is causing extreme heat and fire weather to become more common in Australia, a bushfire-prone country of around 27 million, the country's science agency said last year.