Ø Germany’s Nobel-winning author, Gunter Grass, who acted as a moral
compass for many in the post-war nation but later provoked criticism over his
own World War II past, died Monday aged 87.
Ø After finding strong evidence supporting the presence of lake, river and
glacier once upon a time on Mars, scientists have now found indirect evidence
to support the presence of transient liquid water brine (very salty water) on
Mars. The brine is likely to be present in the uppermost 5 cm of the Mars soil
from sunset to sunrise during winter and for shorter windows of time during
other seasons. At night, some of the water vapour in the atmosphere condenses
as frost. Calcium perchlorate salt, which is globally present on Mars, absorbs
the frost and forms brine by reducing the freezing temperature of water. The
inference of transient liquid water on the red planet was based on the analysis
of relative humidity, air temperature, and ground temperature data collected by
Curiosity from the Gale Crater over one full Martian year. The results were
published on April 13, 2015 in the journal Nature
Geoscience .
Ø Cross-strait frictions remerged on Monday as China said Taiwan won’t be
among the charter members of the Chinese-led Asian Infrastructure Investment
Bank, apparently because of a dispute over what name the island should use in
the institution. Spokesman Ma Xiaoguang also confirmed a Hong Kong media
report that quoted a bank official as saying Taiwan would not be among the
bank’s charter members, which are to be announced on Wednesday.
Ø President Vladimir Putin on Monday opened the way for Russia’s delivery
of a sophisticated air defence missile system to Iran, a move that would
significantly bolster the Islamic republic’s military capability. Russia
signed the $800 million contract to sell Iran the S-300 missile system in 2007,
but suspended their delivery three years later because of strong objections
from the United States and Israel. MR. Putin on Monday lifted that ban.
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