August 11, Friday, 2023

1. Russia has launched its first lunar probe in nearly half a century, with the aim of becoming the first country to make a landing on the Moon’s south pole. Russia’s space agency Roscosmos said the Luna-25 lifted off on Friday from the Vostochny cosmodrome in the Far East. It said the unmanned spacecraft entered its scheduled flight path. 2. The number of people in Japan heading off to their hometowns, vacation spots and other destinations for the “Bon” holiday period appeared to have peaked on Friday. This is the first summer holiday in Japan since the government lifted all coronavirus pandemic restrictions. 3. The operator of the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant has found leaks in a hose used to transfer treated water. Tokyo Electric Power Company conducted a probe after higher-than-usual levels of radioactive material were detected in rainwater in the dike around a storage tank.