SPACE FORCE TO REMAIN IN COLORADO

CNN: President Joe Biden has decided that the headquarters of US Space Command will remain in Colorado and not move to Alabama, two US officials told CNN on Monday, reversing a decision by then-President Donald Trump.

US Space Command, which is a joint command and separate from the US Space Force military branch, is currently housed in Colorado Springs, but the Air Force recommended near the end of Trump’s presidency that the command be moved to Huntsville, Alabama.

Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall recently recommended to Biden that the headquarters be moved to Alabama in line with the initial Air Force recommendation, according to two US officials. Former Air Force Secretary Barbara Barrett also chose Huntsville as the preferred location for SPACECOM headquarters in 2021.

But Biden ultimately followed the advice of the head of Space Command, Gen. James Dickinson, who argued that the headquarters should remain in Colorado because it will be fully operational in August and moving it now would jeopardize military readiness, one official said.

Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin did not make a recommendation, but presented Biden with both Kendall and Dickinson’s advice.

The move is sure to anger Republican Sen. Tommy Tuberville of Alabama, who is continuing a hold on senior military nominations that is now impacting more than 300 flag and general officers over the Pentagon’s abortion policy. Tuberville has been an outspoken proponent of moving SPACECOM to Alabama. But US officials have previously told CNN that they had concerns about Alabama’s reproductive health policies and what it would mean for servicemembers there if SPACECOM were moved to Huntsville.

The US official said that several issues factored into Biden’s decision, including “quality-of-life for servicemembers and families, including quality of schools and military housing.” But the official said “the most significant factor considered was impact to operational readiness to confront space-enabled threats during a critical time in this dynamic security environment.”

Huntsville is currently the home of the Army’s Redstone Arsenal, which includes the service’s Space and Missile Defense Command. Colorado Springs is home to Peterson Space Force Base, previously known as Peterson Air Force Base.

The Associated Press first reported the news Monday.

Explosion at Russian uranium enrichment plant cause radiation concerns.

An explosion at a uranium enrichment plant in Russia's Urals region on Friday prompted Russia's state nuclear corporation to publish a statement to ease fears.

At around 9 a.m. local time, a cylinder with depleted uranium hexafluoride "depressurized" in a workshop at the Ural Electrochemical Combine in Novouralsk, the statement from Rosatom, which owns the plant—the largest uranium enrichment plant in the world—said.

Uranium hexafluoride is a chemical used during the uranium enrichment process.
Russian media outlets often use euphemisms such as "loud bang" or "depressurized" instead of "blast" or "explosion," allegedly to avoid sowing panic and to maintain a "favorable information landscape.
Russia's state-run news agency RIA Novosti cited a source in emergency services as saying that one person had died and that radiation levels at the facility were normal.

"The workshop is being sanitized. The rest are operating normally," the company said. "Measurements of background radiation were carried out at the site. It amounted to 0.17 microsieverts, which corresponds to natural values."

One person, a 65-year-old "dedicated equipment maintenance technician" was killed in the "tragic incident" at the plant, Rosatom told Newsweek in a statement.

"The General Director of Ural Electrochemical Plant, Alexander Dudin, together with the entire plant collective and the State Corporation 'Rosatom,' express heartfelt condolences to the family and loved ones of the deceased for their devastating loss," it said.

More than 100 workers from the plant were being taken to a nearby hospital for examination and are likely not injured, according to the Russian news outlet E1, which added that doctors who were on vacation and not working were called in "urgently." 

Rosatom said workers present at the time of the incident "underwent medical examination at the Central Clinical Hospital No. 31 of the Federal Medical-Biological Agency of Russia in Novouralsk."

"We are relieved to report that most workers have been discharged after undergoing decontamination procedures, and their lives and health are not at risk," the statement said.

Rosatom said it has formed a "dedicated commission" to conduct a thorough investigation into the incident.

"Our priority is to identify the root causes and implement robust preventive measures to eliminate any chance of recurrence," it said.

Vyacheslav Tyumentsev, the head of Novouralsk, asked residents not to panic and said the situation "is under control," Russian media reported.

"There is no danger of any kind for residents of the city of Novouralsk or the staff of the plant," said the plant's deputy production manager, Yuri Mineyev, adding that the factory was working normally.

"Diverse organic matter" found on Mars by Nasa rover

 

THE INDEPENDENT: 

Diverse types of organic molecules have been found on Mars by a Nasa rover.

The material was detected by the Perseverance rover in the Jezero Crater on Mars, scientists said.

Researchers are unable to rule out that the materials have a “biotic” origin, or are the result of life on the planet. But they might also be formed in other ways, such as interactions between water and dust or having been dropped onto the planet by dust or meteors.

The findings suggest that Mars may have had a far more active past than we realised – and could have significant implications for the search for alien life.

According to the study, understanding more about Martian organic matter could shed light on the availability of carbon sources, with implications for the search for potential signs of life.

Cuba calls US nuclear submarine in Guantanamo Bay 'provocative escalation'

Cuba calls US nuclear submarine in Guantanamo Bay 'provocative escalation'
By Nelson AcostaJuly 11, 202312:21 PM CDTUpdated an hour ago

HAVANA, July 11 (Reuters) - Cuban authorities on Tuesday said the U.S. recently had a nuclear-powered submarine at its military base at Guantanamo Bay and called the action a "provocative escalation" of tensions weeks after Washington alleged that there was a Chinese spy base on the island.

"The presence of a nuclear submarine there at this moment makes it imperative to wonder what is the military reason behind this action in this peaceful region of the world," Cuba's foreign ministry said in a statement. Washington did not confirm that there was a submarine at the naval base.

The ministry did not specify whether the submarine was armed. It said it was at the base from July 5 to July 8.

The U.S. State Department declined to give information about movements of military assets. It said Cuba was looking to distract from the two-year anniversary of largest street protests seen in Cuba since Fidel Castro's 1959 revolution. On Monday, Cuba had accused the U.S. of inciting that unrest.

Overall this is an incident that is really a symptom of the fact that Cuba has once again become caught between superpowers in what appears to be the emergence of a new Cold War," he said.

Cuba has long called for the U.S. to close its 121-year-old naval base on the eastern part of the island, along with the military prison Washington established there in 2002.

Critics have said the Guantanamo Bay prison has been used for arbitrary detention and torture of people suspected of terrorism.

In June, Havana and Beijing rejected reports citing U.S. officials alleging that China was using Cuba as a spy base. The United States has presented no evidence of such a base.

Tuesday's ministry statement warned of the dangers of circulating nuclear submarines and armed forces across the Caribbean, adding that a history of U.S. military bases across the region threatened its peoples' sovereignty.

The ministry also reiterated calls for the United States to end its military presence on the island, saying this served only to "outrage Cuba's sovereign rights" and carry out acts of detention, torture and the systemic violation of human rights.

It added that U.S. military leaders have made public plans to use their "war capabilities" to realize U.S. ambitions over the region's natural resources.