In brief: Water found in astronaut’s helmet after ISS spacewalk

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – A spacewalking astronaut ended up with unwanted water in his helmet Wednesday after breezing through a cable and lube job outside the International Space Station.

The leak was scarily reminiscent of a near-drowning outside the orbiting complex nearly two years ago.

This time, the amount of water was relatively small – essentially a big blob of water floating inside Terry Virts’ helmet. In the summer of 2013, another spacewalking astronaut’s helmet actually flooded. He barely made it back inside.

Virts, a 47-year-old Air Force colonel, was never in any danger, Mission Control stressed, and he never reported any water during his 6 1/2 hours outside.

This was the second spacewalk in five days for NASA astronauts Virts and Butch Wilmore, who encountered no trouble while routing cables for future American crew capsules, due to arrive in a couple years.

Three spacewalks had been planned, with the next one Sunday, but its status was uncertain given Wednesday’s mishap. Managers will meet Friday, as planned, to discuss the situation.

The water – cold to the touch with a chemical taste – most likely came from the suit’s cooling system, the source of the leak in 2013. Mission Control described the amount of water as “minor.”

India city bans large gatherings to halt spread of swine flu

AHMEDABAD, India – A west Indian city has banned most public gatherings in an attempt to halt the spread of swine flu, which has claimed at least 926 lives nationwide in 11 weeks.

Officials prohibited gatherings of five or more people in Ahmedabad, the capital of Gujarat state, starting Wednesday. Marriages and funerals are exempt from the ban, but participants will need to wear protective masks, officials said.

The law invoked for the ban is generally used to maintain law and order, not health, and officials said they would be flexible in interpreting which public events would be prohibited.

Among the thousands in Gujarat testing positive for H1N1, the virus which causes swine flu, were its assembly speaker and state health minister.

Doctors said the death toll was high because many patients delayed going to hospitals.

Board clears morbidly obese Guantanamo inmate for release

MIAMI – A prisoner with multiple medical conditions including morbid obesity has been cleared for release from the U.S. base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

The Pentagon says a review board determined it is no longer necessary to hold Tarek El-Sawah. The 57-year-old Egyptian has been held for nearly 13 years.

El-Sawah had admitted being an explosives trainer for al-Qaida and, at one point, faced charges of conspiracy and providing material support for terrorism. But the government withdrew the charges and decided not to pursue new ones for reasons that have not been made public.

El-Sawah’s weight doubled to more than 400 pounds while in custody and he suffered from diabetes and other ailments.

A Pentagon spokesman said Friday that 55 of the 122 prisoners at Guantanamo are now cleared for release.