NASA reversed that order roughly two hours later and told the astronauts they could return to the station as the agency and its Russian counterparts examined the rate of leaking air

International News via Reuters:

A worsening air leak aboard the International Space Station prompted five astronauts to take shelter and prepare for evacuation for roughly two hours on Friday as Russia attempted to fix a crack on its portion of the orbital laboratory, NASA said.

The four astronauts of NASA’s Crew‑12 mission aboard the station — two Americans, a French astronaut and a Russian cosmonaut — along with another U.S. astronaut were ordered by NASA mission control at 9:04 a.m. ET (1304 GMT) on Friday to enter their SpaceX‑built Crew Dragon spacecraft docked to the station, NASA spokesperson Bethany Stevens said.

NASA reversed that order roughly two hours later and told the astronauts they could return to the station as the agency and its Russian counterparts examined the rate of leaking air.

NASA and Russia’s space agency Roscosmos, the station’s two primary operators, have debated for months over the cause and potential fixes of small air leaks aboard Russia’s Zvezda service module, a key structure of the ISS, a football field-size orbital laboratory where astronauts live and work in space.

Roscosmos said on Friday that its experts had detected two leaks aboard the ISS but that there was no immediate threat to the crew. The first leak was quickly sealed, and preparations were underway to seal the second one, Roscosmos said, adding that there was no threat to the spacecraft’s systems.

The air leaks have been relatively minor in recent months but escalated on Friday from a pound of air per day to two pounds, according to a senior NASA official who asked not to be named.

The ISS is currently home to seven astronauts from two missions, including the Crew‑12 team — NASA astronauts Jessica Meir and Jack Hathaway, European Space Agency astronaut Sophie Adenot, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev — who arrived in February.

The other crew of one U.S. astronaut, Christopher Williams, and two cosmonauts, Sergey Kud-Sverchkov and Sergei Mikayev, arrived in November.

 Kud-Sverchkov and Mikayev, who did not execute evacuation procedures, were planning to use a saw to break into an area where they believe they can access the crack leaking air, the NASA official said. NASA officials disagreed with this method, the NASA official said, prompting mission control in Houston to order safe-haven procedures.

Stevens said NASA reversed the safe-haven order and told astronauts they could return the space station once Roscosmos paused its efforts to repair the crack. “We look forward to working with Roscosmos on a collaborative approach to address the leaks,” she said.

 Safe-haven orders are rare on the International Space Station, though pieces of space debris that risk colliding with the ISS and smaller changes in air leak rates have triggered the process in recent years. Astronauts have never had to evacuate the ISS in its 27 year history.

Reporting by Joey Roulette; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama, Joe Brock and Nick Zieminski

The proposal would be part of a broader review of EU trade defences due by the third quarter, including steps to speed up anti-dumping and anti-subsidy cases and potential new measures to tackle overcapacity

International News via Reuters:

The European Commission is weighing legislation that could force companies in sensitive sectors to cut reliance on single suppliers – notably in China – and diversify to at least three sources, European Trade Commissioner Maros Sefcovic said on Friday.

The proposal would be part of a broader review of EU trade defences due by the third quarter, including steps to speed up anti-dumping and anti-subsidy cases and potential new measures to tackle overcapacity.

“Diversification now requires a dedicated instrument,” Sefcovic told a conference of the European Policy Centre think tank in Brussels. “We understand the urgency for critical minerals, but every high-risk sector must be weaned off single supplier dependence.”

Sefcovic said that by having at least three different sources of ‘critical supplies’, companies would be shielded from general supply chain disruptions and government policies such as the export restrictions that China has imposed on certain rare earths. He did not specify what sectors or suppliers would be high-risk or critical.

Sefcovic said EU leaders meeting in Brussels for a summit on June 18 to 19 would discuss economic security and likely provide guidance regarding what tools the Commission should focus on. 

Five EU countries issued a paper last month urging the EU to revamp trade measures to defend itself more effectively against cheap imports.

The trade commissioner noted there were already EU policies encouraging companies to diversify if they relied on one source for 40% of certain supplies.

“Should this need to be reinforced and made more concrete? I think this is what we will look at,” he said.

Sefcovic also said any measure would need to be coordinated with industry and include a transition period.

“I know that times are hard and the economic situation is very challenging, but we need to work with them (industry) on how they would integrate this risk premium into their business operations. It was not needed before… this has changed,” he said.

Reporting by Philip Blenkinsop;Editing by Elaine Hardcastle

The strategy aims to help the Democratic Republic of Congo and neighbouring Uganda contain their outbreaks, while assisting other countries to prepare for possible cases

International News via Reuters:

The World Health Organization chief announced a $518 million six-month joint plan to fight Ebola on Friday, calling for money and political commitment to halt the spread of an outbreak that is already the fourth biggest on record. 

The strategy aims to help the Democratic Republic of Congo and neighbouring Uganda contain their outbreaks, while assisting other countries to prepare for possible cases through measures including enhanced border screening, the WHO and Africa Centres for Disease ​Control and Prevention said.

“The outbreak is moving fast and we are still playing catch-up,” WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said. 

“Containing Ebola requires political commitment, sustained finances and trust in engaging the communities,” he added.

MANY CHALLENGES

The epidemic went undetected for weeks, the Africa CDC said at the same briefing, leaving health authorities behind the curve and struggling to bring it under control.

So far there have been 381 confirmed cases in Congo and 62 confirmed deaths, according to Africa CDC. Uganda has recorded 19 cases and two deaths.

The outbreak involves the rare Bundibugyo strain of Ebola, for which there is no approved treatment or vaccine.

“This outbreak is very serious. If you compare with previous Bundibugyo outbreaks this is the most serious Bundibugyo outbreak we have,” Africa CDC Director-General Jean Kaseya said.

He said donors have so far pledged $315.8 million towards the response, down from an initial $498 million after he said some had “corrected” their figures, without giving details.

The Africa CDC announced Congo’s 17th Ebola outbreak on May 15, and the WHO soon after declared it a public health emergency of international concern.

Testing has been a challenge, as commonly used Ebola tests initially failed to detect the Bundibugyo strain, while delays persist in obtaining results.

“It’s taking several days to a week or more. And that’s frustrating,” said Franklin Graham, president of Christian aid group Samaritan’s Purse, which is working in Congo’s Ituri province.

Mistrust and resistance have also hampered the response, with attacks on burial teams and treatment centres reported.

Highlighting security risks, the WHO said on Friday it had received three armoured vehicles from the U.N. peacekeeping mission in Congo.

Reporting by Anait Miridzhanian and Emma Farge. Editing by Alex Richardson and Mark Potter