MOSCOW (AP) — Russia’s space agency says another attempt by its specialists to establish contact with an orbiting radio telescope has failed.

The Spektr-R satellite is continuing to transmit signals, but scientists have been unable to control the satellite since Friday.

Alexander Bloshenko, an adviser to the Roscosmos space agency, was quoted by the state news agency Tass as saying that Sunday’s attempt to restore contact had failed. Another attempt is expected on Monday.

Jan 13, 2018; AP: A winter storm that contributed to at least five deaths in the Midwest pummeled the mid-Atlantic region for a second day Sunday, bringing with it an icy mix that knocked out power, cancelled flights and contributed to hundreds of car accidents.

Virginia State Police said the driver of a military surplus vehicle was killed late Saturday after he lost control on Interstate 81 because of slick road conditions.

WASHINGTON, Jan. 13 (Xinhua) -- Nobel laureate Dr. James Watson, co-discoverer of the DNA helix and father of the Human Genome Project, has been stripped of honors by his laboratory following "reprehensible" remarks on race and ethnicity.

The Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL), the New York facility where Watson worked for nearly four decades and which has a school named after him, said that it was acting in response to his remarks made in a television documentary which aired earlier this month.

ADEN, Yemen, Jan. 13 (Xinhua) -- Chief of Yemen's military intelligence agency Brigadier General Saleh Tamah injured in a Houthi drone strike against an army parade died of his wounds on Sunday, a government official told Xinhua.

The Iranian-backed Shiite Houthi group targeted the strategic military air base of Anad three days ago, leaving six soldiers killed and injuring 20 others including high-ranking army commanders.

13 Jan 2019; AFP: A possible land swap between Serbia and Kosovo, suggested by their leaders to end one of Europe's most volatile territorial disputes, has sparked concerns that the border could be redrawn along ethnic lines and reignite festering communal ethnic animosities.

With few details yet made public, media reports say that the Serb majority northern border region around the city of Mitrovica would be incorporated into Serbia under the plan, which would also see Belgrade hand over a mainly ethnic Albanian region in Serbia.

WARSAW, Jan. 13 (Xinhua) -- The mayor of northern Polish city of Gdansk, Pawel Adamowicz, was stabbed by a man while he was on stage of a charity event held in the Baltic city of Gdansk on Sunday evening, local media reported.

According to the Polish Press Agency (PAP), Adamowicz was attacked during the Great Orchestra of Christmas Charity. He was immediately taken to hospital and is in serious condition. The suspect was arrested at the scene.

Tehran, Jan 13, IRNA - Iran's Foreign Ministry Spokesman Bahram Qasemi while denouncing the Polish authorities for hosting an anti-Iran summit reminded them to pay a visit to Iran-Poland Friendship Symbol in Warsaw.

CAIRO; 13 Jan 2019; AA: Egyptian parliament on Sunday approved a presidential decree to extend the nationwide state of emergency for another three months, according to the official gazette.

This is the seventh time the state of emergency is being renewed for three months since April 2017.

The decision will be valid as of the early hours of Tuesday.

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi first declared a three-month state of emergency in April 2017 after twin bomb attacks killed 45 people in northern Egypt.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The House Republican leader said Sunday he will meet with Rep. Steve King this week to discuss King’s future and role in the party and promised action following the Iowa congressman’s recent comments in defense of white supremacy.

“That language has no place in America. That is not the America I know and it’s most definitely not the party of Lincoln,” said House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif. “Action will be taken. I’m having a serious conversation with congressman Steve King.”

JERUSALEM; 13 Jan 2019; AA: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has admitted attacks on Iranian and Hezbollah positions in Syrian capital Damascus. 

“The Israel Defense Forces has attacked hundreds of Iranian and Hezbollah targets,” Netanyahu said during a weekly government meeting on Sunday. 

“Just in the past 36 hours, the air force attacked Iranian depots full of Iranian weapons in the Damascus International Airport,” he was quoted as saying by The Times of Israel newspaper.  

LOS ANGELES, Jan. 13 (Xinhua) -- U.S. space technology firm SpaceX, led by Elon Musk, will lay off about 10 percent of its more than 6,000 employees, according to media reports.

The cuts were cited in an email sent to employees.

In a statement, a company spokesman confirmed the layoff without specifying how many employees will be released.

"To continue delivering for our customers and to succeed in developing interplanetary spacecraft and a global space-based Internet, SpaceX must become a leaner company," said the statement of the company.

PARIS, Jan. 13 (Xinhua) -- A woman who was reported missing was found lifeless, a day after a gas explosion blew up a building in the center of Paris, a state radio reported on Sunday.

French rescuers have found the victim's body buried under the rubble earlier on Sunday, France info said, citing a source from Paris prosecutor office.

The death of the 28-year-old woman, who lived in the exploded building, brought the death toll to four. Two firefighters and a Spanish tourist were confirmed dead on Saturday.