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Russia

This Happened - April 12: Yuri Gagarin's Historic Flight To Outer Space

Yuri Gagarin, a Soviet Air Force pilot and cosmonaut became the first human ever to travel into outer space on this day in 1961.

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How long was Yuri Gagarin's space flight?

Yuri Gagarin's space flight on Vostok 1 lasted 108 minutes from launch to landing. During his flight, he orbited the Earth once, reaching a maximum altitude of about 200 miles (327 kilometers) above the Earth's surface.

How did Yuri Gagarin become the first human to travel into outer space?

Yuri Gagarin was born on March 9, 1934, in the village of Klushino, Russia. He was selected as a cosmonaut candidate in 1960 and underwent rigorous training, including centrifuge tests, weightlessness simulations, and parachute jumps. On April 12, 1961, he was launched into space aboard Vostok 1 and orbited the Earth once before re-entering the atmosphere and parachuting to the ground. He died in a plane crash on March 27, 1968, during a routine training flight.

What were the reactions to Yuri Gagarin's historic space flight?

Yuri Gagarin's space flight was a major propaganda victory for the Soviet Union, which was engaged in a Cold War space race with the United States. The achievement was celebrated worldwide, and Gagarin became an international celebrity. His flight also inspired a generation of young people to pursue careers in science and engineering.

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Society

Italy's Right-Wing Government Turns Up The Heat On 'Gastronationalism'

Rome has been strongly opposed to synthetic foods, insect-based flours and health warnings on alcohol, and aggressive lobbying by Giorgia Meloni's right-wing government against nutritional labeling has prompted accusations in Brussels of "gastronationalism."

Dough is run through a press to make pasta

Creation of home made pasta

Karl De Meyer et Olivier Tosseri

ROME — On March 23, the Italian Minister of Agriculture and Food Sovereignty, Francesco Lollobrigida, announced that Rome would ask UNESCO to recognize Italian cuisine as a piece of intangible cultural heritage.

On March 28, Lollobrigida, who is also Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's brother-in-law, promised that Italy would ban the production, import and marketing of food made in labs, especially artificial meat — despite the fact that there is still no official request to market it in Europe.

Days later, Italian Eurodeputy Alessandra Mussolini, granddaughter of fascist leader Benito Mussolini and member of the Forza Italia party, which is part of the governing coalition in Rome, caused a sensation in the European Parliament. On the sidelines of the plenary session, Sophia Loren's niece organized a wine tasting, under the slogan "In Vino Veritas," to show her strong opposition (and that of her government) to an Irish proposal to put health warnings on alcohol bottles. At the end of the press conference, around 11am, she showed her determination by drinking from the neck of a bottle of wine, to great applause.

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