Also on today’s menu:
Crew Returns From International Space Station
Kim May Meet With Putin This Month
Cuba Distances Itself From Russian Human Trafficking
Donald Estes, 89, of Bridgewater was killed when a northbound 2003 Subaru Legacy went into the breakdown lane and struck him as walked along Route 3-A on September 4 at about 9:43 a.m.
The Bridgewater Police Department has not released the identity of the 16-year-old driver. Estes was pronounced dead at the scene of the crash.
The State Police Collision Analysis & Reconstruction unit has assumed the lead in the investigation into the collision. Assisting at the scene were the Bridgewater Fire Department and Bristol EMS.
Crew Returns From International Space Station
Mission Commander Stephen Bowen and pilot Woody Hoburg of the United States, along with Sultan AlNevadi of the United Arab Emirates and Russian cosmonaut Andry Fedyaev, returned to earth on September 4 after a six-month stint in space in which they conducted more than 200 science experiments, including research on human health such as how monoclonal antibodies behave in microgravity, and how wave turbulence in space affects fuel in satellites.
The SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule Endeavour re-entered the atmosphere at 17,000 mph with its heat shield enduring temperatures higher than 3,500 degrees Fahrenheit before deploying parachutes that slowed the fall to 15 mph for a gentle touchdown in the Atlantic Ocean off Jacksonville, Florida.
The crew was relieved by the next four members who arrived at the International Space Station in late August. The new crew also will spend six months aboard the space station before returning in February 2024.
Kim May Meet With Putin This Month
While neither North Korea nor Russia have confirmed plans for Kim Jong Un to meet with Vladimir Putin later this month, the BBC reports that an official in the United States has said the two leaders will get together to discuss the possibility of North Korea providing Moscow with weapons to support its war in Ukraine.
National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said Russia’s Defense Minister, Sergei Shoigu, had tried to “convince Pyongyang to sell artillery ammunition” to Russia during a recent visit to North Korea.
Sources told the New York Times that Kim was most likely to travel by armored train.
South Korea’s intelligence service said Russia, China, and North Korea may hold joint naval drills, similar to those carried out by the U.S., South Korea, and Japan, and there are concerns about what North Korea would get in return for an arms deal with Russia. Russia could agree to supply North Korea with weapons in the future.
Cuba Distances Itself From Russian Human Trafficking
The Cuban foreign ministry says it has uncovered a human trafficking ring aimed at recruiting Cubans to fight for Russia in its war in Ukraine. Last August, Putin ordered the Russian military to increase its number of soldiers, and Russian newspaper Ryazan Gazette has reported that Cubans living in Russia had joined the combat forces in exchange for a promise to receive Russian citizenship.
Cuba says that Cubans living in Russia and “even some in Cuba” had been “incorporated into the military forces taking part in the war in Ukraine” but, although Cuba is a close ally of Russia, it stressed in its statement “it does not form part of the conflict in Ukraine”.
In a statement posted on X, the Cuban foreign ministry said, “We will act decisively against those who ... engage in human trafficking with the aim of recruiting Cuban citizens to bear arms in any country.”
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