watch the land

India’s historic Moon mission lifts off successfully

14/07/202321/04/2025dansa

India has launched its third Moon mission, aiming to be the first to land near its little-explored south pole.

The Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft with an orbiter, lander and a rover lifted off at 14:35 on Friday (09:05 GMT) from Sriharikota space centre.

The lander is due to reach the Moon on August 23-24.

If successful, India will be only the fourth country to achieve a soft landing on the Moon, following the US, the former Soviet Union and China.

Thousands of people watched the launch from the viewer’s gallery and commentators described the sight of the rocket “soaring in the sky” as “majestic”. The lift off was greeted with cheers and loud applause from the crowds and scientists.

“Chandrayaan-3 has started its journey towards the Moon,” Indian Space Research Organization (Isro) chief Sreedhara Panicker Somanath said.

The third in India’s program of lunar exploration, Chandrayaan-3 is expected to build on the success of its earlier Moon missions.

It comes 13 years after the country’s first Moon mission in 2008, which carried out “the first and most detailed search for water on the lunar surface and established the Moon has an atmosphere during daytime”, said Mylswamy Annadurai, project director of Chandrayaan-1 .

Lawyer hired for land program at UAPB

10/07/202321/04/2025dansa

Amy Pritchard has been hired as a consultant attorney in a program that provides educational resources and technical assistance to Black forest landowners to protect and to retain their family land for future generations.

She will work for the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff Keeping it in the Family (KIITF) Sustainable Forestry and African American Land Retention Program.

Pritchard has served as a partner for the KIITF Program since its inception in 2016. In that capacity, she has helped educate Arkansas forest landowners through the program’s in-person and virtual outreach meetings.

“As a legal consultant, my main responsibility is to provide legal education and information to family landowners and help family landowners to address and prevent problems associated with heirs’ property,” she said. “I started hearing about heirs’ property when I was a legal aid attorney and law professor nearly a decade ago. This type of property leaves families without the clear titles that allow for active management of the land, thereby limiting any economic returns.”

Challenges associated with heirs’ property status are the leading cause of involuntary land loss among Black farmers, Pritchard said. Heirs’ property refers to family-owned land passed down without a will and held by

From the Archives: 1913 California law prohibits Asian immigrants from owning land

19/05/202321/04/2025dansa

On May 19, 1913, California Gov. Hiram Johnson signed the Webb-Hartley Law prohibiting “aliens ineligible to citizenship” from owning farm land, a measure targeting Asian immigrants, particularly Japanese farmers who were perceived as a threat by some in the agricultural industry. Seven years later, the state barred anyone with Japanese ancestry from buying farmland.

The Alien Land Laws were invalidated in 1952 by the Supreme Court of California.

From the Evening Tribune, Monday, May 19, 1913:

ALIEN LAND BILL IS SIGNED BY GOV. JOHNSON

REPLY TO JAPANESE PROTEST TO BE MADE BY BRYAN LATE TODAY

California Executive Makes Brief Statement After affixing Signature to Measure Passed by State Legislature; Secretary of State, Upon Receipt of News, Sends communication to Ambassador Chinda, Asking Him to Call at Department; Loses No Time in Holding conference With President Wilson; Movement for Referendum viewed with Satisfaction in Washington

Associated Press

SACRAMENTO, My 19.—Governor Johnson signed today the alien land bill, against which Japan protests, and which the California legislature passed by an overwhelming majority over the remonstrances of President Wilson and Secretary Bryan. The act will go into effect 90 days from date, or August 17.

Governor Johnson, in signing the bill, gave out

Iran’s President Holds Rare Meeting With Assad in Syria

03/05/202321/04/2025dansa

DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) — Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi Wednesday met Syrian President Bashar Assad in Damascus in a bid to boost cooperation between the two allies, state media reported.

Tehran has been a main backer of Assad’s government since an uprising turned into a full-blown war in March 2011 and has played an instrumental role in turning the tide in his favour.

Iran has sent scores of military advisers and thousands of Iran-backed fighters from around the Middle East to fight on Assad’s side. With the help of Russia and Iran, Syrian government forces have controlled large parts of the country in recent years.

In an interview with the pan-Arab television channel Al-Mayadeen, Raisi called for reconstruction efforts and for refugees who fled the country’s war to return to the country.

Raisi, who is a leading high-ranking political and economic delegation in a two-day visit to Syria, was received on arrival at Damascus International Airport Wednesday by Syrian Economy Minister Samer al-Khalil.

Political Cartoons on World Leaders

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“Syria’s government and people have gone through great hardship,” Syrian state media quoted Raisi telling Assad during the meeting. “Today, we can now say that you have overcome all these problems

Startup attempts the world’s first commercial lunar touch down

25/04/202321/04/2025dansa

A photo of the Moon taken from the ispace lander’s onboard camera from an altitude of 100km above the lunar surface (ispace)

A Japanese startup will attempt the first commercial lunar landing in history on Tuesday.

Tokyo-based ispace plans to land a robotic spacecraft on the Moon as part of the Hakuto-R Mission 1, which launched on 11 December 2022 aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket.

The lander has been in lunar orbit since 21 March, with the touchdown expected to take place at 5.40pm BST.

A live stream of the Moon landing will be broadcast on ispace’s YouTube channel at 4pm, offering people around the world to follow its progress.

You can follow all the latest news and updates in our live coverage below. The live stream will also be available as soon as it launches.

Alternative landing dates have been set for 26 April, 1 May and 3 May, depending on the operational status of the mission. Different landing sites have also been proposed by ispace, with the primary target being the Atlas Crater.

Moon landing live: ispace shares photos from the lander

11:49 a.m , Anthony Cuthbertson

With ispace’s lunar lander still in orbit, the startup has

Detroit council OKs land transfer with owners of Ambassador Bridge

22/02/2023dansa

Amid intense public scrutiny, the Detroit City Council voted to approve a land transfer deal with the Detroit International Bridge Co., despite fears from residents that it would lead to the decision of the surrounding community.

The land in question, 3085 W. Jefferson Ave., is the final piece of a 2015 agreement with the bridge company that included funds for improvements and upgrades to Riverside Park, among other conditions. Residents of the neighborhood surrounding the embed ground, called Hubbard Richard, urged city leaders to hold off on finalizing the agreement until a Community Benefits plan has been established and to prioritize the livelihood of the neighborhood over corporate greed.

In 2015, the city entered a land exchange agreement with the bridge company that was predicated on a number of requirements from each party, including a transfer of approximately 4.8 acres of waterfront property west of Riverside Park from the company to the city and a $5 million donation from the bridge company for enhancements to the park, $3 million of which has been given. The remaining $2 million for the park is conditioned upon the transfer of the final parcel of approximately 3.8 acres of land on Jefferson Avenue, this

Regional partnership reunites Stswecem’c Xget’tem First Nation with land

20/02/2023dansa

Nearly 7,800 hectares of ranch lands, along with grazing licenses for 56,000 hectares of land, are being returned to Stswecem’c Xget’tem First Nation (SXFN) as part of treaty with the Northern Secwepemc te Qelmucw (NStQ).

“Our ancestors would be pleased with the acquisition of the BC Cattle Company,” Kukpi7 Hillary Adam, Stswecem’c Xget’tem First Nation. “Our Elders brought the land issue forward to governments many times over the years, but it always fell on deaf ears. Our resolve to acquire this land has never wavered, even after we learned the ranch sold earlier this year to a private purchaser. We never gave up hope that it would be ours someday and today with Stswecem’c Xget’tem as the new owners, we have something to celebrate.”

Kukpi7 Adam continued: “The concept of acquiring a fee for simple lands like ranch lands is not new to us. In 2008, Stswecem’c Xget’tem pursued the Circle S Ranch as part of the treaty land package, but at that time fee-simple lands were off the table, non-existent in the government’s mandate. Fast forward to 2022. Times have changed. Today, we’re witnessing a giant step in reconciliation with the provincial government, reconciling past injustices by returning land

BrightStone works to raise a final million of $20 million campus for adults with special needs

10/02/2023dansa

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WSMV) – The Franklin-based non-profit BrightStone is working to raise the final million dollars of a $20 million goal for its new Land of Dreams, a 144-acre campus where adults with special needs can live full-time, while learning life skills and working together.

For more than 20 years the program for adults with autism, brain injuries, and other intellectual challenges has learned computer and life skills, nutrition and exercise classes, and arts and crafts, which they create and sell to help support BrightStone’s mission.

The first phase of the Land of Dreams project opened November 2022.

Two residential homes are currently under construction.

Future plans for the campus include an equestrian center, gym, and a chapel.

On Thursday, a BrightStone student taught News4 evening anchor Tracy Kornet how to box brownies, as part of a video project to help share BrightStone’s story with the community.

To help support or learn more about BrightStone, go to brightstone.org

For past stories on BrightStone, go to https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kRbBVodbfVs

Property Crisis Pressures Vietnam to Act Before It’s Too Late

06/02/2023dansa

(Bloomberg) — Time is running short for Vietnam to prevent a worsening property-sector credit crunch from derailing one of the world’s fastest economic expansions.

With about $4.6 billion of property developer notes tracked by Vietnam’s bond association coming due next year, firms will struggle to meet obligations without government support, according to local real estate executives and analysts. Funding has all but dried up after an anti-graft campaign spooked investors and authorities froze new bond issuances across the industry.

The looming maturity wall risks triggering a wave of defaults that could turn the property woes into a wider crisis for the banking sector and the economy. While the absolute scale of Vietnam’s property debt is tiny compared to that of China, the industry still makes up about 11% of economic activity. Mounting worries of a China-style hit to growth are prompting calls for Vietnam’s government to act before it’s too late.

“The real estate sector is undergoing a major crisis,” said Tran Xuan Ngoc, chief executive at property developer Nam Long Group. “We don’t know when the crisis may pass as it depends on the government’s actions.”

At stake is an economic expansion projected by the International Monetary Fund to

Six Nations land defenders permanently barred from site

30/01/2023dansa

It was a legal victory for developers looking to build on a Caledonia property occupied by Indigenous land defenders since July 2020.

On Tuesday, Superior Court Justice Paul Sweeny granted Foxgate Developments a permanent injunction barring unauthorized personnel from the 25-acre property on McKenzie Road, which was to be a 218-unit subdivision but became known internationally as 1492 Land Back Lane after being taken over by a group from Six Nations.

“Foxgate has legal title of the lands. Once the title is established, the owner has the right to prevent others from trespassing,” Sweeny said in a 26-page written decision.

“The conduct of the defendants, including the destruction of property and the continuing trespass, supports the need for a permanent injunction.”

Sweeny was unconvinced by legal arguments put forth by lawyers for 1492 Land Back Lane spokesperson Skyler Williams that the Crown failed in its duty to consult with Indigenous communities before granting Foxgate permission to build.

That duty to consult, Sweeny said, is owed to representative bodies, not individuals such as Williams and his fellow land defenders.

A Mohawk warrior flag still flying at 1492 Land Back Lane. A judge has granted the developer of this property a permanent injunction barring land defenders from the site.

The judge noted Foxgate did consult with the Six Nations Elected Council — which agreed not to oppose the build in exchange