Mike Pence ignores Nasa 'do not touch' sign

US Vice-President Mike Pence has made a tongue-in-cheek apology to Nasa after a photo of him touching a piece of space flight equipment went viral.

Mr Pence was visiting the Kennedy Space Center in Florida when he placed his hand on a piece of hardware - despite a large sign that read "do not touch".

He later apologised to Nasa on Twitter, joking that Florida Senator Marco Rubio "dared" him to do it.

Nasa has assured Mr Pence the equipment was in need of a clean anyway.

The vice-president, who addressed Nasa staff at Cape Canaveral on Thursday, sparked a social media storm after a photo emerged of him touching a cover for the Orion spacecraft, which was labelled as a piece of "critical space flight hardware".

On Friday, Mr Pence apologised to the space agency - while pointing the finger at his colleague

Nasa replied that it was OK, and said in a statement that "procedures require the hardware to be cleaned before tiles are bonded to the spacecraft, so touching the surface is absolutely okay."

If the hardware was not OK to touch, it "would have had a protective cover over it", Nasa added.

Mr Pence later posted a further tweet mocking the incident, replacing the Nasa hardware in the photo with a porcupine.

The original photo had gone viral within hours - with some social media users criticising Mr Pence for ignoring the sign.

"Good to know our vice president has the self control of a sugar-charged third grader on a field trip," wrote Twitter user @KentoTFH.

Others said those criticising Mr Pence were taking the matter far too seriously, and injected a little humour into their tweets.

"After six months at Trump's side, Mike Pence quietly envies the capsule for its journey to the cold, tranquil emptiness of space," wrote @KevinMKruse.

Twitter user @Michael_Bell_, in reference to the administration's previous viral photo involving US President Donald Trump on a visit to Saudi Arabia, said: "Now, on to the orb of destiny!"

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Ghana launches its first satellite into space

Ghana has successfully launched its first satellite into space.

GhanaSat-1, which was developed by students at All Nations University in Koforidua, was sent into orbit from the International Space Centre.

Cheers erupted as 400 people, including the engineers, gathered in the southern Ghanaian city to watch live pictures of the launch. The first signal was received shortly afterwards.

It is the culmination of a two-year project, costing $50,000 (£40,000).

It received support from the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA).

The satellite will be used to monitor Ghana's coastline for mapping purposes, and to build capacity in space science and technology.

Project coordinator Dr Richard Damoah said it marked a new beginning for the country.

"It has opened the door for us to do a lot of activities from space," he told the BBC.

He said it would "also help us train the upcoming generation on how to apply satellites in different activities around our region.

"For instance, [monitoring] illegal mining is one of the things we are looking to accomplish."

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US lifts visa restrictions on Gambian robotics students

Gambian students who were twice denied visas to travel to the US for a robotics competition are celebrating after permission was granted.

The team will now go to Washington DC and show off their invention.

The reasons for the initial rejections are unclear.

Gambia is a Muslim majority country but it is not on the US's six-country travel ban, which was introduced by President Donald Trump.

One of the participants, Fatoumata Ceesay, 17, told BBC Newsday, the team was pleased to be able to travel.

"We are excited and happy, but also disheartened, because we are not going with our mentor because he is a government official," she said.

• Trump travel ban comes into effect
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Mucktarr Darboe is a director at the ministry of higher education, and the US has a ban on granting visas to employees of the Gambian government after a deportation row last year.

Earlier this week, an all-girl team of roboticists from Afghanistan were denied US visas to travel to the same competition.

The Gambian robot has been devised to clean contaminated rivers.

It was designed for the First Global competition, which has seen teams from 164 countries compete in a series of robotic games.

The culminating three-day US event starts on 16 July.

The non-profit organisation aims to promote Stem subjects (science, technology, engineering and maths).

"I hope to come back with knowledge and inspiration to give young Gambians, especially the girls," said Ms Ceesay.

She said many people her age aspired to careers in medicine and "engineering is lagging behind". She hopes success stories like that of her team will highlight Gambia's potential to innovate.

Neither Afghanistan nor Gambia is part of the US's so-called travel ban, which affects people from Syria, Sudan, Iran, Somalia, Libya and Yemen.

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Syria crisis: US, Russia and Jordan agree ceasefire deal

The US, Russia and Jordan have agreed to put in place a ceasefire across south-western Syria, which is due to begin on Sunday.

Jordan has said it will take place along a line agreed by both Syrian government forces and rebels.

The ceasefire was announced after the US and Russians leader met in person for the first time.

During their meeting Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin discussed a wide range of topics - including the war in Syria.

Their face to face was held on the sidelines of the G20 summit in the German city of Hamburg.

• Trump and Putin hail first meeting
• Six decisive points that changed Syria's war
• Donald and Vladimir: How do they compare?

More than 300,000 people have lost their lives in the Syrian war, which began with anti-government protests in 2011, with another 5.5 million people having left the country and 6.3 million internally displaced, according to UN's refugee agency.

Russia and the US have backed opposing sides, with Moscow supporting the Syrian regime with its armed forces while Washington has called for the removal of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

This agreement, which Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said would cover the regions of Daraa, Quneitra and Sweida, is reported to be the result of several months of undisclosed meetings between Russia and the US on Syria.

Mr Lavrov said Russia and the USA would coordinate with Jordan to act "as guarantors of the observance of this [ceasefire] by all groups".

Speaking after the meeting in Hamburg, US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said: "I think this is our first indication of the US and Russia being able to work together in Syria, and as a result of that we had a very lengthy discussion regarding other areas in Syria that we can continue to work together on to de-escalate the areas."

Mr Tillerson said the meeting also showed the two countries eventual aims for Syria "are exactly the same" - but they differed on how they should be achieved.

BBC NEWS

El Salvador fire at finance ministry kills at least two

A fire has destroyed one of the buildings of El Salvador's Finance Ministry, killing at least two people.

The fire began on Friday afternoon on one of the lower storeys and spread to higher floors, where a number of people were trapped for nearly two hours.

Firefighters eventually controlled the blaze in the building.

Some 25 people have been taken to hospitals in the capital, San Salvador to be treated for smoke inhalation and burn injuries. Some are seriously hurt.

At least 50 people were evacuated from the building, according to emergency services spokesman Carlos Fuentes.

Video footage showed one person falling from the top of the building - it is not clear if they survived.

Others fell or jumped from the fifth and sixth floors but survived, said Mr Fuentes.

The fire may have been caused by an electric fault in the building's air conditioning system, local media reported.

BBC NEWS

Venus Williams 'drove lawfully' in fatal car crash in Florida

Footage has emerged showing that US tennis star Venus Williams was driving lawfully during a car crash that led to the death of a 78-year-old, police say.

Surveillance video obtained by Palm Beach Gardens police in Florida shows Ms Williams' vehicle entering an intersection on a green traffic signal.

An earlier police report had said Ms Williams was at fault and "violated the right of way of [the other driver]".

Ms Williams' lawyer said the fatal crash on 9 June was an accident.

The family of Jerome Barson, the man who died in the collision, have filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Ms Williams.

New video evidence has revealed that the Grand Slam champion had the right of way as she entered the intersection of Northlake Boulevard in the city of Palm Beach Gardens, according to the police report.

However as she proceeded, the report says, Ms Williams was forced to brake to avoid a collision with an oncoming vehicle, which delayed her from clearing the junction.

As she then began to move forwards, a second vehicle - travelling in a different direction - entered the intersection on a green traffic signal, and the two cars collided.

"This updated information, based upon new evidence, is still under investigation," the police statement said.

• Watch: Venus Williams breaks down in news conference

Mr Barson had been travelling with his wife who was driving their vehicle at the time. He was taken to hospital but died two weeks later from his injuries.

Mrs Barson was also taken to hospital but survived.

The initial police report, obtained by US media, said that no other factors such as drugs, alcohol or mobile phone distractions were being investigated.

Ms Williams, the 37-year-old seven-time Grand Slam champion, reportedly told police she did not see the couple's car and she was driving slowly. She was not arrested in connection with the crash.

On Monday, when questioned by reporters about the crash, Ms Williams broke down in tears, and said: "There are no words to describe how devastating [it is]. I'm completely speechless."

Ms Williams' lawyer Malcolm Cunningham told CNN in a statement: "Ms Williams entered the intersection on a green light. The police report estimates that Ms Williams was travelling at 5mph when Mrs Barson crashed into her.

"Authorities did not issue Ms Williams with any citations or traffic violations. This is an unfortunate accident and Venus expresses her deepest condolences to the family who lost a loved one."

Ms Williams is currently playing her 20th Wimbledon tournament in London, where she is seeded 10th.

Ms Williams and her sister Serena have dominated the women's game for two decades.

BBC NEWS

Hackers breached a dozen US nuclear plants, reports say

Hackers breached at least a dozen US power plants in attacks in May and June, US media report, citing intelligence officials.

The targets included the Wolf Creek nuclear facility in Kansas, according to several reports.

An urgent Department of Homeland Security (DHS) report indicated a foreign power, possibly Russia, was responsible, the New York Times said.

The DHS document carried the second-highest threat rating, the Times said.

Wolf Creek Nuclear Operating Corp declined to say if the plant was hacked but said there had been "no operational impact" at the plant.

"The reason that is true is because the operational computer systems are completely separate from the corporate network," spokeswoman Jenny Hageman told Reuters.

In a joint statement with the FBI, a spokesman for the Department of Homeland Security said there was "no indication of a threat to public safety".

• The anatomy of a nation-state hack attack

The hackers appeared to be attempting to map out computer networks for future attacks, according to the DHS report seen by the Times.

They sent highly targeted emails to senior engineers at operating firms behind the nuclear plants, mimicking job applications but laced with malicious code, the newspaper said.

Officials told the Times that the techniques resembles those used by Russian specialists linked to previous attacks on energy facilities.

US investigators accused Russia-based hackers of being behind a 2015 attack that caused blackouts across Ukraine.

Hacking is a tool increasingly deployed by nation states to infiltrate foreign industrial networks. The US and Israel reportedly used the now-infamous Stuxnet worm in an attempt to damage an Iranian nuclear facility.

The worm attacked the facility's nuclear centrifuges by overriding the system and instructing them to spin much faster than intended, reportedly causing severe physical damage.

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