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India's lunar probe released from the orbiter circling the moon is diverted from its expected path in the last 20 minutes before a landing on the lunar surface. As it reached 2.1 kilometers from the moon's surface communication with the ISRO satellite center in Bengaluru was lost. Landing on the moon is a difficult task because it lacks atmosphere, the distance preventing landing control in real time, and landers depending on thrusters to set down at the lowest speed in the right place away from craters and rocks. As a result a lander module is programmed to scan the surface and make the landing on its own. A similar Israeli mission recently failed for the same reasons. China landed a rover on the far side of the moon in January, and plans a Mars mission in 2020. The plans to build a space station orbiting the moon in 2023, and make a moon landing that year, land a person on Mars in 2033. President Trump has accelerated the space program after it was stalled under the administrations of Bush and Obama. ...

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The Biden Xi meeting was a momentous event, of great importance and significance setting the tone for next 3 decades of US- China relations. Here is how China's Xinhua agency covered it. Xi's speech emphasized the world and the US and China's need to work on climate change, inclusiveness for benefits to reach all parts of the people. Biden's efforts to support the labor movement are part of the US efforts in this direction, Xi's to bring the benefits to the regions of China and rural parts left behind in three decades of development. Openness and innovation Xi emphasized, on which the US is working to say openness but as China does to support its own solar and EV industries, and for innovation to protect its own technologies. In this way the US is saying we will work with you but without the illusions of the past in which free market thinking was an hindrance and support its own new technologies and industries as China is doing, and protecting its technologies from being transferred. ...

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Thomas Frank writing about the public outrage about executive compensation quotes Bill Black, a Professor of economics and law at the University of Missouri-Kansas City, who makes an important point. Beyond the size of this compensation there was something else happening that was perverse in its design and in its effects. Black says that at each point in the development of the disaster of mortgage securitization, it was the pay for performance systems that sent the wrong signals to loan officers, real estate appraisers, accountants, and bond rating agencies. The compensation or reward systems actually encouraged wrong, unethical and ultimately disastrous behaviours for the companies and the economy. Another way to look at it, the way it happened on Wall Street- especially at Merrill Lynch and some other financial institutions- the bonuses and other compensation was a way for executives to recklessly milk (loot is the other word) the companies for all they could yield regardless of the results afterwards. And as Black says, to do this through normal corporate mechanisms. A whole range of behaviours of this type took place in the final years of the boom. See other articles by Thomas Frank. ...

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2G+ concept in Bundesliga means that football stadiums in Germany are filling up to capacity with fans who are double vaccinated or tested not required to wear masks. Small groups of fans not fully vaccinated are separated in separate locations in the stadium requiring masks and social distancing. German states are experimenting with this new concept after some 570 days when stadiums were closed.

Political messages and protest messages are rampant in stadiums as they reopen says DW.com

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The strike at Royal Mail in the UK as workers reject a 2% raise not enough to cover inflation, higher costs for food and energy. Royal Mail has 140,000 workers. A similar strike over a 2% raise is affecting Britain's transportation sector with rail employees on strike on certain days. This is the result of Tory Conservative policies. In France there is a cap on energy costs, no such cap exits in Britain which has inflation exceeding 10%, and workers struggling after years of austerity cuts.

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This report in the WSJ says Silicon Valley Bank grew too fast on borrowed money and its risks were lurking in plain sight. The Guardian reports that the bank lobbied heavily spending half a million dollars to avoid regulation. The lobbying worked says the Guardian leaving huge gaps in regulation even after the 2009 financial crisis.

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The Editorial Board of the WSJ says in this editorial that president Trump showed his negotiating skills to arrange the oil deal with the Saudis and Russia for cuts in production of 9.7 million barrels a day, including cuts by non OPEC G20 countries. The drop in U.S. production, cuts by Canada and the effects of sanctions on Venezuela and Iran should take out about 20 million barrels a day. Demand has fallen by 30 million barrels a day from the pandemic. This should help 11 million workers in the U.S. oil industry.

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The world mourns the death of Queen Elizabeth.

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The BBC shows old black and white pictures from the early years.

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Inflation is likely to drop further in the months ahead. Rent increases have dropped, so have airline fares and prices of used cars. Food prices are also moderating.

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How to travel solo in US national parks and immerse in nature is shown here by Emily Edwards in The Washington Post.