Space trio end 199 days in orbit

CAPE CANAVERAL: An international space trio climbed into a Russian Soyuz spacecraft yesterday and left the International Space Station after 199 full days in orbit to begin their delayed return to Earth, Nasa Television showed.

Expedition 43 Commander Terry Virts of Nasa, Samantha Cristoforetti of the European Space Agency, and Russian cosmonaut Anton Shkaplerov gave a hearty hug to three crewmen remaining aboard the ISS before sealing themselves into the Soyuz TMA-15M spacecraft shortly after 7am.

Three hours later the Soyuz undocked from the Rassvet module at the $100 billion space outpost, aiming to land in central Kazakhstan at 7.43pm.

The launch of the station’s next crewwas postponed for two months due to questions about the Russian Soyuz rocket used to carry the passenger capsule into orbit. – Reuters EU lawmakers called on Fifa president Sepp Blatter yesterday to step down immediately, saying that his failure to do so would stall urgent reforms to rid soccer’s governing body of its “rampant, systemic and deep-rooted” corruption.

The European parliament voted by a clear show of hands in favour of an eight-page resolution with a series of demands to clean up the sport.

The resolution said that the parliament welcomed Blatter’s decision to resign last week, but expressed “serious concern” that he might stay on for nine months before a new leader is appointed.

Urgent reforms to root out corruption and restore Fifa’s credibility could not begin in earnest until then, it said.

“The European Parliament... therefore calls on Fifa to select, in a transparent and inclusive way, an appropriate interim leader to replace Joseph Blatter forthwith.”

The parliament said that corruption within Fifa had seriously damaged the integrity of global football, with a “devastating impact” from the top level of professional soccer to amateur grass-roots clubs.