A bomb ripped through a vocal anti-Syrian lawmaker’s car near the waterfront in Beirut Wednesday, killing him and nine other people in the latest assassination of a Lebanese opponent of Damascus. The blast, a new blow to the stability of this conflict-torn nation, comes days after the government began putting together a tribunal ordered by the United Nations to try suspects in the killing of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri in Beirut two years ago – a move strongly opposed by Syria.
Japan: Lunar orbiter scheduled
All systems are go for Japan’s first lunar orbiter, which is scheduled for launch on Aug. 16, officials said Wednesday. Japan’s space agency announced the Selenological and Engineering Explorer – or SELENE – probe will be launched aboard an H-2A rocket, the mainstay of Japan’s space program, from a space center on the island of Tanegashima. The $269 million SELENE is four years behind schedule. Japan launched a moon probe in 1990, but that was a flyby mission, unlike SELENE, which will orbit the moon.
Iran: Death for pornographers
Iran’s parliament on Wednesday voted in favor of a bill that could lead to the death penalty for persons convicted of working in the production of pornographic movies. In a 148-5 vote, lawmakers approved a measure saying “producers of pornographic works and main elements in their production are considered corruptors of the world and could be sentenced to punishment as corruptors of the world.” The term “corruptor of the world” carries a death penalty.
From Herald news services
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