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China to send first woman, 2 men into space in most ambitious mission yet
• JIUQUAN, China (AP) -- Three Chinese astronauts -- including the first Chinese woman to be sent into space -- have arrived at a launch site for the country's most ambitious space mission. • State-run China Central Television is to broadcast live the liftoff of Shenzhou 9, scheduled for Saturday evening. • Female astronaut Liu Yang, 33, and two male crew members -- veteran astronaut Jing Haipeng and newcomer Liu Wang -- are to dock the spacecraft with a space module in a key step toward building a space station. They will work there for about a week. • The chairman of the National People's Congress standing committee, Wu Bangguo, told the crew in a sending-off ceremony that "The country and people await your victorious return." • Two of the astronauts will live and work inside the module to test its life-support systems while the third will remain in the capsule to deal with any unexpected emergencies. • ___
Japan OKs restart of 1st nuclear reactors since last year's tsunami forced nationwide shutdown
• TOKYO (AP) -- Japan's government on Saturday approved bringing the coun (Continued on page 21)
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