In brief: Astronauts arrive at ISS for yearlong stay

BAIKONUR, Kazakhstan – Two Russians and an American floated into the International Space Station on Saturday, beginning what is to be a year away from Earth for two of them.

Mikhail Kornienko and Scott Kelly are to spend 342 days aboard the orbiting laboratory, about twice as long as a standard mission on the station. Russia’s Gennady Padalka is beginning a six-month stay.

The three astronauts entered the station about eight hours after launching from Russia’s manned space facility in Kazakhstan. They were embraced by American Terry Virts and Russia’s Anton Shkaplerov, who along with Italian Samantha Cristoforetti have been aboard since late November.

The trip is NASA’s first attempt at a one-year spaceflight; four Russians have spent a year or more in space, all on the Soviet-built Mir space station.

Singapore bids fond farewell to Lee

SINGAPORE – Thousands of Singaporeans lined a 9-mile route through the Southeast Asian city-state to witness an elaborate funeral procession today for longtime leader Lee Kuan Yew.

People began gathering shortly after dawn for the funeral cortege, which would begin early in the afternoon. As they waited, some sang a patriotic national song, handed out national flags and sheltered under umbrellas from downpours of rain.

During a week of national mourning that began Monday after Lee’s death at age 91, some 450,000 people queued for hours for a glimpse of the statesman’s coffin at Parliament House. A million people visited tribute sites at community centers across the city.