The exchange, reportedly captured in screenshots that rocketed across social media, began when a user identified as Naomi H. (@NaomiH_official) made an announcement to the world:

“Everyone shut the f— up,” she tweeted, Newsweek and Buzzfeed News report, citing images of since-removed tweets. “I got accepted for a NASA internship.”

The online reported that after a Twitter user notes Naomi’s “language,” Naomi replies with a sexually vulgar tweet not at all suitable for publication. “I’m working at NASA,” Naomi concludes.

The user Naomi told off is Homer Hickam, the former NASA engineer and inspiration of the 1999 film “October Sky,” based on his memoir.

“And I am on the National Space Council that oversees NASA,” Hickam replies, referencing his appointment to the advisory group earlier this year.

“Later, I learned she had lost her offer for an internship with NASA,” Hickam said Tuesday in a post on his blog, according to Newsweek. (The post appeared to be deleted as of Wednesday, though it still appeared archived on Google.)

In the post, Hickam said he takes no offense at the ‘f-word,’ but sought to warn her that NASA might. And while Hickam did not seek to influence the internship and had no authority to do so, according to the post, use of the NASA hashtag later alerted the agency to the irreverent tweets.

Naomi and Hickam later exchanged apologies, according to the blog, and Hickam, citing her resume, is now doing “all I can” to secure her a role in the aerospace industry.

Hickam declined to comment on the matter in an email to USA TODAY, and Naomi had made her tweets private as of Wednesday. Her bio: “Taking a break from Twitter for a while.”

NASA was not immediately available to offer comment.

For Chinese visitors, key reasons for feeling welcomed in Thailand is due to the widespread acceptance of Chinese mobile wallets (64 per cent), sufficient translations/signage (41 per cent), and ease of information (40 per cent).

The survey conducted by Hotels.com showed that the new generation of Chinese travellers’ needs and preferences have changed.

Tour groups have grown to be outdated as Chinese travellers are growing to enjoy independent travel in Thailand.

They are more likely to travel on a free-and-easy basis, thanks to Thailand’s local delicacies, ease of visa application, quality of accommodation, and shopping paradise that greatly attracted Chinese travelers.

Thailand is still one of the destinations where they prefer to travel; with its famous local craft and products that Chinese travelers could shop (56 per cent) as well as number of unique and remarkable places to visit – such the Royal Palace is the number one landmark for Chinese visitors.

With a 12-per cent increase from 2017, Chinese travelers are important for Thailand tourism industry. A better understanding of evolving Chinese travelers’ need should put Thailand tourism industry on the pulse of the country’s biggest group of customers. Thailand tourism industry should maximize the benefits of understanding the changing taste of Chinese travelers, according to Hotels.com’s statement.

According to the research from Hotels.com, new and distant locations are on the agenda for Chinese travelers.  While more than one third (37 per cent) of travelers still intend to visit countries they have been to before, they will go to different cities.  Key locations in Asia are top of the list for these travelers such as Singapore, Japan and South Korea.

Chinese millennials born after 1990 are pushing the boundaries of international travel, increasing their travel expenditure in the past year by a staggering 80 per cent to fund social media-influenced trips full of edgy experiences, high tech accommodation, exotic delicacies and taboo ticket-items.

Keen to get down with authentic experiences, Chinese travelers are putting their money where their mouth is when it comes to spending choice – tasting exotic local delicacies (69 per cent) and scouring the streets for authentic local items (43 per cent) over shopping for luxury items (38 per cent).

Star-struck by global pop-culture, film and television (62 per cent) are now the main sources of inspiration for Chinese millennial travelers, playing a key role in attracting them away from Asian destinations, and to more far flung parts of the world for their thrills and frills.

Long-haul destinations will be this year’s trend for Chinese travelers.  While Asia continues to be a popular destination, with 49 per cent planning to travel to Asian destinations during the next 12 months, far-flung destinations in Europe, Africa and the Middle East are the top new destinations for more than half of travelers for future travel.

Government and hoteliers can fill in the gap to improve any other important factors that Chinese travelers are looking for such as; advancement of QR code scan via WeChat, improvement of accommodation facilities; local transport arrangements, high speed Wi-Fi and customer services, and reservation methods for local experiences and activities. Those are key considerations that Chinese travelers expect when they are travelling to other countries.

Travel brag moments and selfies were a huge part of the Chinese millennial travel experience in 2017, with 65 per cent using the reverse camera angle to boost those likes and build their social brand. More than half (56 per cent) of travelers said they used selfies to express feelings. Social media (52 per cent) and video sharing (51 per cent) are also important to all age groups when deciding where to travel.

Nelson Allen, General Manager, Asia Pacific of the Hotels.com brand, comments: “While millennials were at the helm of social media influence and trends, the report found no generation was free from social networking’s undeniable draw.

“52 per cent of Chinese travelers overall were wooed by the power of the news feed, and a third of the older generation reported their travel decisions and behavior were influenced by their digitally-connected children”.

Johan Svanstrom, President of the Hotels.com brand, comments: “Every globe-trotter likes to feel welcome in a new country – it’s no secret we all crave human connection which is especially true when we’re in a new environment. We know from the CITM report Chinese travelers feel comfortable and most welcome in destinations when shop assistants speak Mandarin, Chinese mobile wallet is accepted, and there is signage they can understand.

Xuecheng, a Communist Party member and abbot of Beijing’s Longquan Monastery, is one of the most prominent figures to face accusations in China’s growing #MeToo movement.

He stepped down earlier this month after a report by fellow monks accused him of sexual and financial improprieties.

In the 95-page report that circulated online late last month, two monks accused Xuecheng of sending explicit text messages to at least six women, threatening or cajoling them to have sex with him, claiming it was a part of their Buddhist studies.

The National Religious Affairs Authority said it had confirmed Xuecheng had sent “harassing messages”, adding that authorities had begun a criminal investigation into the report’s charges of sexual assault.

Investigators had also uncovered evidence that the Longquan Monastery had violated national financial regulations, it added in a statement on its web site.

Xuecheng, 51, stepped down at a meeting of the Buddhist Association of China earlier this month following the allegations.

The abbot is also a member of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, a top advisory board.

A prominent personality in Chinese Buddhist life with a social media following of millions, Xuecheng’s Weibo account has been silent since August 1, when he posted a statement rejecting allegations of sexual misconduct.

In their report, the two monks, who are no longer members of the monastery, said four women gave in to Xuecheng’s demands.

One of the authors said on social media that he was compelled to speak out after the victims were ignored by authorities who said they could not investigate the matter.

There is no legal definition of sexual harassment in China and no national regulations on how to handle sexual assault cases in schools and workplaces.

The report and posts about it have been taken down or censored on social media. Both men were also asked to leave the monastery after news of the report broke.

Located on the outskirts of Beijing, Longquan Monastery has made headlines for combining Buddhism with modern technology, launching last year a two-foot high robot monk that dispenses mantras and karmic advice.

The #MeToo movement ignited in China earlier this year with more women starting to open up about sexual assaults, especially on university campuses.

Unlike in the West, where #MeToo has forced resignations and sparked widespread public debate, authorities in China have sought to control the discussion, sometimes allowing and at other times censoring social media commentary.

“We are concerned about the entry of any and all nuclear weapons into the Philippine territory because our Constitution provides that we are a nuclear-free zone,” Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said on Thursday.

Roque also cited that there is an Asean treaty declaring the whole Asean as a nuclear-free zone.

“We are concerned about the possibility that any foreign power be it American, Russian, Chinese may bring nuclear warheads into our territory and into Asean, which is declared as a nuclear-free zone,” he said.

A  United States’ Department of Defense had earlier warned that China may deploy nuclear weapons in the South China Sea, where the Asian superpower has a sweeping claim.

While Roque said that the warning was a mere “US observation,” he said the Philippines was against any deployment of nuclear weapons in areas declared as nuclear-free zones.

“The important point to underscore is we have a nuclear-free policy and that should be applied to all countries, including the Americans, because the Americans have been using nuclear-powered [weapons] and have been stationing warships with nuclear capability as well,” he said.

“So the concern is against all possible nuclear-carrying vessels from all countries,” he said.

Asked if the government would verify the US warning, he said, “That’s a US observation. We are not in the position to verify that. And as we correctly said it is even in the nature of speculation. It is a possibility according to American sources so we leave it at that.”

“You know, if we could, we will try verifying it, try approaching any of these suspected nuclear warheads,” he added with hesitation, saying “I don’t think they can be boarded.”

They also arrested four men during the four raids at several locations on the island on Tuesday (Aug 21).  Bukit Aman NCID deputy director Deputy Comm Datuk Kang Chez Chiang said the raids were conducted by police officers from Bukit Aman and Penang with cooperation from the Thailand Narcotics Operations Bureau and the Thailand Office of Narcotics Control Board.

“We found 506kg of methamphetamine packed as tea leaves in 473 packages, and 26,000 ecstasy pills in 13 packages,” he said at a press conference at the Penang police headquarters on Thursday (Aug 23). “All four suspects have criminal records, while two of them tested positive for drugs,” he said.

“The suspects have been remanded for six days ending Aug 27,” he said.