Xinhua world news summary at 0100 GMT, Feb. 12
Xinhua, February 12, 2017 Adjust font size:
After more than five years, the historic launch pad has a rocket on it again. SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket has gone vertical at U.S. space agency NASA's historic Launch Complex 39A (LC-39A) for the first time.
"Falcon 9 rocket now vertical at Cape Canaveral on launch complex 39-A. This is the same launch pad used by the Saturn V rocket that first took people to the moon in 1969. We are honored to be allowed to use it," SpaceX founder and CEO Elon Musk posted on Instagram Friday, along with a photo of the Falcon 9 on LC-39A, which is part of NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. (US-Space)
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BERLIN -- European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker expressed his concerns whether the European Union will remain united during Brexit negotiations, Germany's Deutschlandfunk radio reported on Saturday.
In the radio program set to air on Sunday, Junker said he fears the coming Brexit talks might easily "divide the other 27 member states without great effort". (EU-Brexit-Junker)
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BAGHDAD -- Three Katyusha rockets landed in Baghdad's Green Zone on Saturday night, just hours after fierce clashes between demonstrators and the security forces that resulted in the killing of four protesters and one security members, an Interior Ministry source said.
The rocket are believed to be launched from Baghdad eastern neighborhoods of Baladiyat and Palestine Street, which both are strongholds of followers the influential Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, the source told Xinhua on condition of anonymity. (Baghdad-Rocket)
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WASHINGTON -- Hundreds of undocumented immigrants from a dozen Latin American countries have been arrested in at least six U.S. states this week, following President Donald Trump's executive order to broaden the scope of immigration enforcement targets.
They were netted in Los Angeles, Atlanta, Chicago, New York, North Carolina and South Carolina, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials confirmed Saturday.(US-Immigrants)
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BAGHDAD -- A massive rally on Saturday against corruption in the Iraqi capital of Baghdad turned violent as fierce clashes erupted between demonstrators and security forces, leaving at least four protesters and one security member killed.
The protests began before noon when thousands of people, mainly followers of the influential Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, rallied in Tahrir Square on the eastern bank of the Tigris River, which bisects Baghdad, demanding a change in the Independent High Electoral Commission, and arguing that the electoral body is under the influence of leading parties. (Iraq-Roundup) Endi