Paraguay opens embassy in Jerusalem
JERUSALEM -- Paraguay opened its new embassy in Jerusalem on Monday, following in the footsteps of the United States and Guatemala.
President Horacio Cartes dedicated the embassy, making Paraguay the third country to transfer its diplomatic mission in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.
Romania, the Czech Republic and Honduras have said they are also considering doing the same.
President Donald Trump's announcement on Jerusalem in December was welcomed by the Israeli government. But it infuriated the Palestinians, who claim Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem as their future capital.
The entrance to Jerusalem was lined with the flags of Paraguay, and Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said at the ceremony that he was there to "salute" a great friend.
Afghanistan attack kills 5 de-miners
KABUL, Afghanistan -- An Afghan official said the Taliban killed at least five members of a de-mining team in southern Kandahar province.
Zia Durrani, spokesman for the provincial police chief, said a sixth worker was missing and his fate is unknown after the attack on Monday morning in Maiwand district.
Durrani said the de-miners were working for the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India national project, clearing a segment for a planned gas pipeline through the four countries.
Meanwhile, Karim Yuresh, police spokesman in northern Faryab province, said the Taliban attacked a district headquarters on Sunday night, burning down about 50 shops in Khuaja Sabz Posh district. He said reinforcements repelled the attackers. Six insurgents were killed and 10 were wounded.
The Taliban haven't claimed responsibility for either attack.
China launches craft for moon mission
BEIJING -- China launched a relay satellite on Monday as part of a program to be the first to land a spacecraft on the far side of the moon later this year.
The satellite, lofted into space aboard a Long March-4C rocket, will facilitate communication between controllers on Earth and the Chang'e 4 mission, the China National Space Administration said on its website.
China hopes to become the first country to soft-land a probe on the moon's far side, also known as the dark side because it faces away from Earth and is comparatively unknown.
The satellite, named Queqiao, or "Magpie Bridge," after an ancient Chinese folk tale, was launched from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in the southwestern province of Sichuan, the Space Administration said.
Without such a communications relay link, spacecraft on the far side would have to "send their signals through the moon's rocky bulk," space.com said.
China previously landed its Jade Rabbit rover on the moon and plans to land its Chang'e 5 probe there next year and have it return to Earth with samples -- the first time that has been done since 1976.
Indonesians flee from belching volcano
JAKARTA, Indonesia -- Indonesian authorities raised the alert for the country's most volatile volcano, located on the densely populated island of Java, and ordered people within 2 miles to evacuate.
Mount Merapi has erupted four times since Monday, sending out a 11,483-foot column of volcanic material and dusting the surrounding region in ash.
Sutopo Purwo Nugroho, the national disaster mitigation agency's spokesman, said some 660 people living in the exclusion zone have evacuated since early today.
Nugroho said climbing on Merapi is prohibited and only authorized personnel should enter the restricted area.
A Section on 05/22/2018