BEIJING (Reuters) -It is China's "priority" to stop Taiwan's vice president and presidential frontrunner William Lai from visiting the United

When NASA’s Perseverance Rover observed an image from Mars of its moon Phobos eclipsing the Sun, it was a reminder that the astronomical body is doomed to crash into the planet. Phobos is the closest of Mars’ two moons and it is due to fall out of orbit relatively soon. When it does, it will either crash into the surface of the planet or break up completely. Before it does, it will drift ever closer to Mars at a relatively rapid rate. "Phobos is nearing Mars at a rate of six feet (1.8 meters) every hundred years; at that rate, it will either crash into Mars in 50 million years or break up into a ring," NASA says about the moon. Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter A statement about the recently recorded eclipse states: "Scientists already know that Phobos is doomed. “The moon is getting closer to the Martian surface and is destined to crash into the planet in tens of millions of years. But eclipse observations from the surface of Mars over the last two decades have also allowed scientists to refine their understanding of Phobos’ slow death spiral." NASA's Perseverance Rover Sees Solar Eclipse on Mars www.youtube.com Mars is the subject of much scientific interest right now, especially after Nasa discovered “diverse organic matter” on the surface of the planet, which could change our understanding of the red planet and the search for life in the universe. The Perseverance rover made the discovery in the Jezero Crater on Mars and a number of different explanations for the existence of the material have been posited. The materials could have been formed when water and dust interacted, or was dropped onto the planet by dust or meteors. Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

A former MI6 spy chief has said “all indications” suggest Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin was “taken out” by Vladimir Putin, two months after staging a mutiny that dented the Russian president’s authority. Russia's civil aviation agency said that Mr Prigozhin, leader of the private mercenary group, and six top lieutenants were among 10 killed when a jet crashed soon after taking off from Moscow on Wednesday. Mr Prigozhin’s supporters claimed on pro-Wagner messaging channels that the plane was deliberately downed. Numerous opponents and critics of Mr Putin have been killed or gravely sickened in apparent assassination attempts. The Wagner group chief had mounted a short-lived mutiny against Russia’s military leadership in June and marched on Moscow with his mercenary fighters, with Mr Putin denouncing the rebellion as “treason” and vowing to punish those behind it. Sir John Sawers, head of the MI6 between 2009 and 2014, said on Thursday that all signs suggest the Russian president had “taken him out”, making it clear to Russians he was not going to “brook any challenge”. Former intelligence officer Christopher Steele also claimed it was an “inside job” and suggested a bomb inside a “wine crate” could have caused the explosion. Speaking on BBC Radio 4, Sir John said: “All the indications point to the fact Putin has taken him out. He has reasserted his control. “He’s making clear to everyone inside and outside of Russia that he’s not going to brook any challenge. If there’s a slim chance that he’s not dead and he wasn’t on that plane, he will be soon.” The plane carrying three pilots and seven passengers was travelling from Moscow to St Petersburg, according to officials cited by Russia’s state news agency Tass. Footage shows the flaming wreckage after a private jet came down. Sir John explained the MI6 “wouldn’t have any extra information’ on Prigozhin’s death yet, but said it was likely there would have been “some device” on board that took the jet down. He said: “If there had been some air defence missile that took him out then there would be traces of that which would be detectable through satellite means. But I would have thought there would have been some device on board that brought the plane down suddenly and killed all those on board. “Of course, those on board were not only Prigozhin but those around him like his military commander Dmitry Utkin, some other long-standing aides, so it’s a way of taking out the entire Wagner leadership all in one go.” Meanwhile, Mr Steele, who was with the Secret Intelligence Service and ran the MI6 Russia desk, claimed a bomb inside a “wine crate” could have caused the explosion. He added that the crash looked like part of a “pattern of state-backed activity” by FSB or GRU forces. He told Sky News: “I think it is unlikely that Wagner commanders were actually behind this ultimately. I would suspect very much that it was an FSB or GRU operation. “Certainly it’s an inside job, the suggestion is that it’s a bomb in a wine crate. That’s a kind of ironic end for Putin’s former caterer.” He added: “[The crash] followed the day after General (Sergei) Surovikin, who you will remember was the commander first of all in Syria and later in Ukraine, was sacked from his job which was to be in charge of the security over the Russian homeland. “He was seen as somebody that was one of the generals who was supporting Prigozhin and was an ally of his. For him to have been removed a day before does rather suggest a pattern of state-backed activity here.” So far, the Kremlin has not commented on the crash. Mr Putin did not mention the incident during a speech in Moscow to mark the 80th anniversary of the victory in the Battle of Kursk during the Second World War. Read More Ukraine war - live: Wagner chief Prigozhin and co-founder ‘killed’ in Russia plane crash as Putin at concert Minister warns against jumping to conclusions over Wagner chief’s reported death Plane crash believed to have killed Russian mercenary chief seen as Kremlin's revenge The Body in the Woods | An Independent TV Original Documentary The harrowing discovery at centre of The Independent’s new documentary

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