Friday 6 March 2015

Dunya TV

Dunya TV

IS attack on Libyan oilfield kills 8: security source

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BENGHAZI (AFP) - Islamic State group jihadists killed eight guards on Friday in an attack on the southern Libyan oilfield of Al-Ghani, a spokesman for the unit tasked with guarding oil installations said.Extremists from the Libyan subsidiary of IS mounted a surprise attack on the oilfield, killing eight soldiers, Ali al-Hassi said.Libyas National Oil Company also confirmed the attack.A statement from the NOC said that unidentified gunmen rampaged through buildings and other infrastructure and set fires, adding that staff were unharmed as they had fled.Columns of smoke from the burning oilfield could be seen as far as the town of Zela, 60 kilometres (40 miles) away, the statement said.Hassi said government forces later recaptured the oil installation, and that reinforcements were sent from nearby oilfields.On Tuesday, Islamist militants seized Al-Bahi and Al-Mabrouk fields south of the city of Sirte, prompting the NOC to declare force majeure at all 11 oilfields in the North African nation.The legal measure means that due to unforceable circumstances the NOC can be exonerated from fulfilling oil contracts.The company also threatened on Wednesday to close all fields and ports if the security situation does not improve.Violence and a slowdown at export terminals had already forced most oilfields to shut down for the past several weeks.In February, 11 people were killed in an assault on Al-Mabrouk. No one claimed responsibility for that attack.Oil is Libyas main natural resource, with a pre-revolution output of about 1.6 million barrels per day (bpd), accounting for more than 95 percent of exports and 75 percent of budget revenues.But production fell to around 350,000 bpd in December when the Fajr Libya coalition of militias, including Islamist groups, attacked oil terminals in the east.Libya has been awash with weapons since the 2011 uprising that toppled and killed Kadhafi, and opposing militias have since been battling to control its cities and oil wealth.There are two rival governments and parliaments -- those recognised by the international community sitting in the far east and the others in the capital backed by Fajr Libya.

One killed in bomb blast in Egypt textile hub

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CAIRO (AFP) - A bomb blast in front of a mobile phone service store in Egypts textile town of Mahallah killed one person and wounded another 11 people on Friday, police said.Militants have regularly set off bombs in Egyptian cities, mostly targeting police, since the 2013 military overthrow of Islamist president Mohamed Morsi unleashed a deadly government crackdown on his supporters.Fridays bomb was set off late at night on the main street of Mahallah, a textile hub 115 kilometres (70 miles) north of Cairo.The explosion went off in front of a mobile phone service store and a bank, police said.One person was killed and 11 people were wounded, a police officer said.Health ministry official Khalid al-Khateb confirmed that at least seven people were wounded in the bombing.In recent weeks bombs have been set off near mobile phone service outlets in Cairo, although they have been rudimentary.Mahallah, a town in the Nile Delta, has been a site of regular labour strikes for years.A massive strike there in 2008 is seen as a precusor to the 2011 uprising against former president Hosni Mubarak.The town has not seen militant attacks as in some other cities including Cairo, Alexandria and even in the Nile Delta.A massive bombing in the city of Mansoura in the Nile Delta in December 2013 killed scores of policemen.Militants have mainly targeted security forces since the ouster of Morsi by then army chief and now President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi in July 2013.They said their attacks are in retaliation to a government crackdown against supporters of Morsi that has left hundreds dead.

12 die, thousands evacuated in Argentine flooding

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BUENOS AIRES (AP) - Flooding from heavy rains has left 12 people dead in Argentina, officials said on FridaySwollen rivers in the past weeks have also forced the evacuation of thousands of people.The civil defense agency of the northern province of Cordoba said Friday that 10 victims have been found there, the most recent of them a farmworker who was caught in a swollen creek in El Fortin, some 430 miles (700 kilometers) north of the Argentine capital.A total of 1,434 people have been evacuated in Cordoba, where it rained as much in the past few weeks as all of last year. Those evacuees include all 1,000 people in the town of Idiazabal, which is completely flooded.Improved weather is expected in the coming days, according to the provincial civil defense.The state news agency Telam also reported that two victims died in the province of Santiago del Estero, some 700 miles (1,150 kilometers) north of Buenos Aires. About 3,000 people have so far been evacuated in that province.

UN chief: IS destruction of Iraq's Nimrud a war crime

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UNITED NATIONS (AFP) - UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon on Friday strongly condemned the Islamic State groups bulldozing of the ancient Iraqi city of Nimrud, describing it as a war crime.Ban urged political and religious leaders in the region to speak out in condemnation of these unacceptable attacks.The deliberate destruction of our common cultural heritage constitutes a war crime and represents an attack on humanity as a whole, Ban said in a statement.After rampaging through Mosuls museum with sledgehammers and torching its library last month, IS bulldozed the nearby ruins of Nimrud on Thursday, the Iraqi tourism and antiquities ministry said.Ban was due to meet the director of the UN cultural agency UNESCO, Irina Bokova, later in the day to discuss the destruction of Nimrud.

Live - Pakistan vs South Africa - Cricket World Cup 2015

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AUCKLAND (Dunya News) - South Africa won the toss and elected to field first.South African Dale Steyn opens the bowling attack while Pakistan sent Sarfaraz Ahmed and Ahmed Shehzad as openers.24 overs: Pakistan look steady at 115 for 2. Younas Khan at 31 runs, Misbah-ul-Haq at 14 runs.Pakistani fans with mixed feelings of amazement and sarcasm as Pakistan achieves 100.100 up in the 19th over.. am I dreaming??? PakVsSA— N. Hasan (@tubzhoney) March 7, 2015 Teams:Pakistan: Ahmed Shehzad, Sarfraz Ahmed (wk), Younis Khan, Misbah-ul-Haq (capt), Sohaib Maqsood, Umar Akmal, Shahid Afridi, Wahab Riaz, Sohail Khan, Rahat Ali, Mohammad Irfan.South Africa: HM Amla, Q de Kock (wk), F du Plessis, AB de Villiers (capt), RR Rossouw, DA Miller, JP Duminy, DW Steyn, KJ Abbott, M Morkel, Imran Tahir.

South Africa won the toss and elected to field

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LAHORE (WebDesk) - South Africa on Saturday won the toss and elected to field first in the Pakistan vs South Africa Pool B International World Cup match.South African team captain AB De Villiers while talking after the toss, stated that Pakistan is a worthy opponent. AB De Villiers also stated that he was hoping that the weather holds up.

Aussies, Sri Lanka out to avoid knockout collision with Proteas

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SYDNEY (AFP) - Australia and Sri Lanka will be angling to avoid a potential World Cup quarter-final collision with South Africa as they face off in a crucial Pool A showdown on Sunday.The 1996 winners Sri Lanka lead the Aussies by one point in the group standings and a win would clinch second spot in the pool behind leaders New Zealand.But a defeat for either nation at the Sydney Cricket Ground would increase the possibility of finishing third in the group and thereby the likelihood of encountering the AB de Villiers-charged Proteas in the knockout round.The heat is on Michael Clarkes Australians to defuse Sri Lankas batting arsenal after going down by one wicket to New Zealand last weekend.A side that has won every one of their games, maybe they dont have to worry too much, Sri Lankas batting leviathan Kumar Sangakkara said.But when youre not in that situation, you might start thinking about who youll face in the quarter-finals and whether these wins have any bearing on what happens there.For us as well as Australia, itll be a very important game.Australia, coming off a record 275-run thrashing of Afghanistan in Perth on Wednesday, will be favourites at the SCG to extend their World Cup dominance over Sri Lanka.The Australians have beaten Sri Lanka six times in eight matches, including victory in the 2007 final in Barbados, while the Sri Lankans beat them in the 1996 tournament decider in Lahore.I think Sri Lanka are going to be a really tough team to beat, Clarke said.They like the SCG and theyre playing some really good cricket. Theyve got experience and I think thats always an important part of a good team in major tournaments.Sri Lanka smashed the third-highest run chase in tournament history to clinch a nine-wicket win over England in Wellington last Sunday.Centuries by Sangakkara and Lahiru Thirimanne ensured Sri Lanka reeled in the 310-run target, scoring 312-1 with 16 balls to spare.Sangakkaras 117 was his second successive century and his 23rd century in 401 one-day internationals. He will bid farewell to limited-overs cricket after the World Cup.Australia, vying to win their fifth World Cup, dropped out-of-form veteran Shane Watson for returning all-rounder James Faulkner, promoted Steve Smith to No.3 and hit the highest World Cup score of 417-6 against the hapless Afghans.Theyre one of the top teams in the tournament ... we will play as the underdogs, Sangakkara admitted.They had a poor game against New Zealand, but bounced back strongly. Every side has got weaknesses and strengths, but Australia are a very strong side.Australia have a strong record at the SCG, but Sri Lanka have beaten them four times in 13 encounters at the famous ground and possess the formidable batting of Sangakkara, Mahela Jayawardene, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Angelo Mathews and Thirimanne to trouble any bowling attack.Sri Lanka have confirmed spinner Rangana Herath will miss the game with a finger injury while batsman Dimuth Karunaratne suffered a tournament-ending broken finger batting in the nets.Legendary spinner Muttiah Muralitharan, who worked as a spin consultant for Australia last year, said Sri Lanka have nothing to fear from Australia.The team has had a full week to rest up and prepare for the match against Australia while, for Michael Clarkes side, it will be a third game in nine days, he said.Sri Lanka have three wins in a row, two of them with outstanding batting displays, should make the dressing room a good place to be and once again Sri Lanka are set to be a threat at the business end of a major event.

Black Caps to keep focus against Afghanistan

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NAPIER (AFP) - After being flattened by an Australian freight train this week, Afghanistan face the unenviable task of picking themselves up to face New Zealands World Cup juggernaut at McLean Park on Sunday.Black Caps paceman Tim Southee said the New Zealanders were intent on maintaining momentum against Afghanistan, who slumped to a tournament record 275-defeat against Australia in Perth on Wednesday.He said the Afghans should expect no mercy as New Zealand seek to extend their perfect 4-0 winning record at this years tournament.The minnows have performed strongly at times in this tournament and you cant afford to ease off because theyre not a more recognised opponent, Southee told reporters.Weve still got to stick to our game plan and our brand of cricket, so nothing changes from our point of view.New Zealand have already qualified for the quarter-finals and wrap up their Pool A matches against Afghanistan and then Bangladesh (in Hamilton on March 13).These two games are important to try to win because it takes us to the top of the pool to give ourselves, hopefully, a better run into the final, all rounder Corey Anderson said.Anderson has likened New Zealands campaign to a juggernaut, while Afghanistan coach Andy Moles said his side ran into a freight train against Australia.Ill be doing my best to make sure they dont go into their shells, said Englishman Moles, who is familiar with New Zealand conditions after a brief stint coaching the Black Caps in 2008-09.Ill keep telling them to express themselves and play with the freedom Afghanistan cricket has been known for.Afghanistan may have stumbled against Australia, but the non-Test playing nation has enjoyed a successful debut at the World Cup after just six years playing one-day internationals (ODIs).They defeated fellow minnows Scotland and came close to an upset against Sri Lanka before a Mahela Jayawardene century spared the former world champions blushes.New Zealand and Afghanistan have never played an ODI and Black Caps coach Mike Hesson said he would not be underestimating Moles team.Its a mantra repeated every time a Test-nation plays an associate but has a ring of truth coming from Hesson, who saw Afghanistans pace attack first-hand when he coached Kenya in 2011-12.They have three guys who bowl over 140km/h and they can swing it, he said of quicks Shapoor Zadran, Dawlat Zadran and Hamid Hassan.Generally, their batsmen dont die wondering. It should be a good contest. We have to show them due respect and make sure we put in a good performance.Hesson said in-form skipper Brendon McCullum was fit to play after a nasty knock from a Mitchell Johnson delivery against Australia resulted in his forearm swelling up like Popeye.New Zealand have fielded the same team for all of their four wins do far leaving remaining squad players, Tom Latham, Nathan McCullum, Mitchell McClenaghan and Kyle Mills, kicking their heels.The Afghanistan match would appear an ideal opportunity to give them some game time but Hesson was cagey about whether he plans to rotate his squad, saying his first-choice team was well rested.When you have a week between games, if you leave out some of your key players, it can be two weeks before they play again, which is a long time, he said.

Holder 'prepared' to disband Ferguson police

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WASHINGTON (AFP) - Attorney General Eric Holder warned Friday that he was prepared to dismantle the Ferguson police department after an official report unearthed damning evidence that officers in the St. Louis suburb targeted African Americans.The Justice Department also uncovered a cache of racist emails and proof of multiple rights violations in the Missouri town where a white policeman shot dead an unarmed black teenager on August 9, 2014, sparking civil unrest and a national outcry.We are prepared to use all the powers that we have, all the power that we have, to ensure that the situation changes there. That means everything from working with them to coming up with an entirely new structure, Holder said.Asked if that included taking apart the Ferguson force, he replied: If thats whats necessary, were prepared to do that.Holder said he was shocked by the official findings into practices in Ferguson, a majority black town with a mostly white police force, and had a warning for police departments across the United States.I hope theyre listening to these comments and understand the intensity with which the feelings are felt at the federal government level to ensure that we use all the tools that we can to make sure that what happened in Ferguson is uncovered and simply does not happen in any other part of the country, he said.Separately, Barack Obama, the first black president of the US, said he believed the deep racism unearthed in the Ferguson force was not common, but could exist elsewhere in the country.I dont think that is typical of what happens across the country, but its not an isolated incident, Obama told Sirius XM radio in an interview broadcast Friday.There are circumstances in which trust between communities and law enforcement have broken down, Obama added.Individuals or entire departments may not have the training or the accountability to make sure that they are protecting and serving all people and not just some.Despite what Holder has called a searing report into Fergusons police department, the government will not prosecute the policeman, Darren Wilson, responsible for killing teenager Michael Brown.Browns family are planning to sue in a civil case.The death prompted weeks of sometimes violent protests, and ignited a national debate about race relations and law enforcement in the United States.Obama convened a task force which issued almost 60 recommendations to police that are designed to rebuild trust.The measures include introducing external investigations in cases of police use of force resulting in death, officer-involved shootings resulting in injury or death, or in-custody deaths.

US woman kidnapped in central Nigeria is free: police

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LOKOJA (AFP) - An American woman kidnapped by masked gunmen in central Nigeria last month was released on Friday and handed over to US government officials, police told AFP.Phyllis Sortor, a missionary with the Free Methodist Church, was seized on February 23 in the village of Emiworo in Kogi state.She has been rescued and given to the American authorities, Kogi state police spokesman Collins Sola Adebayo said, adding that no ransom was paid as far as police are concerned.An AFP journalist at the handover in the state capital Lokoja said the 71-year-old Sortor appeared unharmed with no visible signs of abuse.Kogis police chief Adeyemi Ogunjemilusi said she was dropped by her captors in the bushlands outside the village of Eru and raised an alarm which attracted the villagers.Police deployed to the area and brought Sortor to Lokoja.Her church confirmed the release but declined to provide details on the circumstances.As a matter of sound policy, and to help protect the many, many people who helped secure Phyllis freedom, we will have no comment concerning the efforts that were undertaken to secure her release, Bishop David Kendall said in a statement.US embassy officials in Abuja were not immediately available to comment.Sortor had spent years living in Africa, including Mozambique -- where she spent much of her childhood -- later working in Rwanda and, since 2005, Nigeria, Kendall saidHer work in Kogi was focused primarily on educational development and conflict resolution between nomadic herdsmen and farming communities who frequently clash in central Nigerias Middle Belt region, the church statement further said.Foreign nationals have often been kidnapped in Nigeria by local gangs who typically release hostages following a ransom payment.Such abductions are especially common in the southern, oil-producing Niger Delta, where expatriates working with large oil companies have been a frequent target.A number of foreigners have also been kidnapped in the north of the country, but those attacks claimed by Boko Haram or the associated Islamist group Ansaru are considered a different phenomenon, and not necessarily motivated by a desire for ransom.Boko Haram has been blamed for previous attacks in Kogi, including two raids targeting the same prison in 2012 and 2014.Nigerias extremist groups have in the past publicly claimed the abduction of expatriates and the lack of such a claim following Sortors kidnapping led many to believe that Boko Haram and its affiliates were not involved.

Dollar soars on strong US jobs report

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NEW YORK (AFP) - The dollar soared Friday after a surprisingly strong US jobs report lifted expectations the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates as early as June.Despite bad winter weather in February, the worlds largest economy added 295,000 jobs, and the unemployment rate fell two-tenths to 5.5 percent, the lowest level since May 2008.Wall Street stocks tumbled and Treasury yields jumped, confirming that the focus for investors across the financial markets is now on tightening in June instead of September, said Kathy Lien of BK Asset Management.The dollar surged to its highest level against the euro in 11 and a half years. The greenback traded at $1.0842 per euro around 2200 GMT, compared with $1.1028 a day earlier.The starkly different outlooks for monetary policy in Europe compared to the US have increasingly weighed on the euro to the benefit of the dollar, said Joe Manimbo of Western Union Business Solutions.The Feds policy arm, the Federal Open Market Committee, next meets on March 17-18, and could deliver a broad hint at that meeting that an increase in the Fed funds rate is forthcoming.The central banks goal in March is to provide themselves with as much flexibility as possible without committing to a move, Lien said.2200 GMT Friday ThursdayEUR/USD 1.0842 1.1028EUR/JPY 130.95 132.50EUR/CHF 1.0695 1.0744EUR/GBP 0.7208 0.7236USD/JPY 120.78 120.14USD/CHF 0.9864 0.9742GBP/USD 1.5042 1.5241

UN chief urges South Sudan leaders to continue talks

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UNITED NATIONS (AFP) - UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said Friday he was profoundly disappointed with the failure of South Sudans warring factions to reach a peace deal but said talks should continue.President Salva Kiir and rebel leader Riek Machar missed a deadline imposed by regional mediators to reach a power-sharing deal that could end the 14-month conflict.Ban said the leaders failed to display statesmanship but he nevertheless called for the continuation of the negotiations.The UN Security Council on Tuesday adopted a resolution to set up a sanctions regime that would punish those who block peace efforts with an assets freeze and global travel ban.Fighting broke out in South Sudan, the worlds youngest nation, in December 2013 when Kiir accused his sacked deputy Machar of attempting a coup.More than 1.5 million people have been displaced in the conflict and 2.5 million are in dire need of food aid in the country, which declared independence from Sudan in 2011.At least 113,000 civilians have fled to UN bases for protection as government troops and fighters are accused of waging terror campaigns of rape and killing.

France pledges 8.0 billion euros to Juncker growth plan

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LUXEMBOURG (AFP) - France will commit 8.0 billion euros ($8.7 billion) as part of European Commission President Jean-Claude Junckers plan to boost economic growth, President Francois Hollande said on Friday.To create an effect of leverage, the Juncker plan must attract other contributions -- public contributions and private contributions -- and I have announced that France, through the Caisse des depots and the Public Investment Bank, will put in eight billion euros, Hollande said on a visit to Luxembourg.EU leaders last December approved the broad outline of Junckers 315 billion euro investment plan, intended to kick-start growth in Europe by financing hundreds of projects.Germany has committed 15 billion euros to the plan and Spain 1.5 billion, but other EU member states have been slower to react.But European Commission Vice-President Jyrki Katainen welcomed the French contribution and said: The plan is progressing fast with the commitment of Member States, and we are confident that the results will start to be visible this summer.

FATA members demand withdrawal of Senate election's presidential decree

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ISLAMABAD (Dunya news) — Members of Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) on Friday demanded that the presidential decree regarding Senate elections be withdrawn immediately. The members demanded that the elections should be held in FATA immediately after the withdrawal of the decree.6 members of the FATA Assembly led by Ghazi Ghulab Jamal met with Pakistan Muslim League’s (PML-N) leader Captain Safdar and Ameer Mukam in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK) house in Islamabad. The members discussed about presidential ordinance in the meeting. They questioned that why the govermnet issued a presidential decree on the night of the election. They also questioned why they were not taken into confidence before issuing the decree.Registering a protest in KP house, the members said that the government had made the Senate elections controversial by issuing the decree.

NASA space probe 'Dawn' enters orbit of dwarf planet

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WASHINGTON (AFP) - The US space probe Dawn began orbiting the dwarf planet Ceres on Friday on a voyage of discovery into the solar systems main asteroid belt, where it will collect a trove of data and photos, NASA said. The probe -- the first to orbit a dwarf planet -- will stay over the mysterious body for 16 months to study its structure and gather clues to help mankind better understand how Earth and the other planets were created.It took Dawn seven-and-a-half years and 3.1 billion miles to reach Ceress orbit, after leaving Earth and stopping off at the Vesta asteroid for its previous exploration mission. Dawn was captured by the dwarf planets gravity at 1239 GMT, some 38,000 miles (61,000 kilometers) from Ceress surface. About an hour after reaching Ceres, Dawn sent a signal to mission controllers at NASAs Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California to say it was healthy and thrusting with its ion engine, the space agency said.Ceres reached out and tenderly took Dawn into its permanent gravitational embrace, so the spacecraft is in orbit and it will spend the rest of its operational life there, said Dawn chief engineer Marc Rayman, who is also mission director at JPL.We feel exhilarated, said Dawn principal investigator Chris Russell from the University of California, Los Angeles.We have much to do over the next year and a half, but we are now on station with ample reserves, and a robust plan to obtain our science objectives.Over the next several months Dawn will spiral down toward the surface of Ceres to conduct four science orbits, collecting pictures and data on its geologic features, mineral makeup and gravity field. By November, the probe will be as near as 230 miles to Ceress surface, and eventually scientists hope to build a topographic map of Ceres, also called a proto-planet. Researchers said the mission will provide valuable data about the building blocks of the solar system -- including how our own planet Earth came into being -- and about the possibility of life on Ceres.Ceres, that proto-planet, that beginning seed of a planet, now allows us to look back in time to see how terrestrial planets are put together, said Jim Green, director of NASAs Planetary Science Division.We know extensively about its ice shell, but we need to know more about it, Green added, calling Ceres a beautiful example of our dwarf planets.Scientists are also intrigued by two bright spots on Ceres and water vapor plumes that were spotted by European Space Agency telescopes in 2014. By the time we finish in mid-2016, we are going to know Ceres in exquisite detail, were going to understand why it has very, very bright spots, said Dawn mission deputy principal investigator Carol Raymond.Were going to understand what Ceres means in terms of planets in our solar systems.NASA scientists also hope to capture new photos of Ceres once Dawn emerges from the planets dark side in April. The last images of Ceres show a slim, pockmarked silver crescent, with most of the dwarf planet shrouded in darkness. Space buffs are eager for fresh images. Ceres was discovered in 1801 by Sicilian astronomer Father Giuseppe Piazzi and was classified as a planet, only to be reclassified later as an asteroid and then a dwarf planet.It has an average diameter of 590 miles and makes a full rotation every nine hours.Though this is the first mission to orbit a dwarf planet, Dawn explored the giant Vesta asteroid in 2011 and 2012 before it set off for Ceres. Ceres and Vesta are the two largest bodies in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. They vary in composition, with Ceres mostly rock and ice compared to the dry Vesta asteroid, and scientists said together the missions will provide valuable data to contrast. Launched in 2007, the $473 million Dawn mission is equipped with a high-definition camera and has an ion propulsion engine that allows it to reach high speeds and also make a slow approach for an easy drop into orbit.
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