JAXA says the probe swept within a few hundred metres of the rocky asteroid, capturing data that could aid origin studies and planetary defence.

THE rough hands of veteran ferry driver Chalin Cheableam steer a small boat up the river to the Khon Phee Lhong rapids on the Mekong River. In his late 50s and having navigated boats on the Mekong River since he was teenager, Chalin has many stories about the geographical signatures of the river and connections to local lore.