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☆ Wagner boss Prigozhin is going off the rails in Ukraine, and Putin may not have much choice but to let him, war expert says
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-13 | by ( Ryan Pickrell | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +12 min

Though he strikes hardest at the defense ministry, he has seemingly aimed his frustrations at Putin as well. During the intense fighting in Bakhmut, where the mercenaries have suffered tremendous losses, simmering tensions between the Russian defense ministry and the Wagner boss have boiled over. With the replacement of Gen. Sergei Surovikin, an infamous Russian leader pushed by ultranationalists like Prigozhin, in January, the Russian defense ministry retook control. The situation got so bad for Wagner at one point that expert observers speculated that the Russian military was purposefully decimating the group. Prigozhin said he was threatened with treason over his assertions that Wagner forces would pull out of Bakhmut.

BRUSSELS, May 12 (Reuters) - Turkey's elections on Sunday are a key moment not just for the country itself but also for its European neighbours. Its internationally recognised government, composed of Greek Cypriots, is an EU member, while the breakaway Turkish Cypriot state is recognised only by Ankara. However, EU officials see little sign that Kilicdaroglu would change much on Cyprus. EU leaders designated Turkey as a candidate to join the bloc in 2004 but the talks ground to a halt years ago. There is already a lot of European money that has made its way to Turkey," said a European diplomat.

ApartmentComplex Before dawn on Feb. 6, a powerful earthquake in southern Turkey destroyed an upscale apartment complex, killing hundreds. The main building in the Renaissance complex toppled over, evidence that the building had major vulnerabilities on the lower level and the south side. Tall column Recreational space on ground floor Antis Yapi via Facebook The most vulnerable part of Renaissance was the ground floor, which had an open layout. 3-D model highlights the ground floor columns and recreational spaces. The horizontal forces could have weakened the ground floor columns and possibly torn them apart.

☆ Russia's Kinzhal was never an unstoppable hypersonic missile, but the Patriot shot that killed one is still 'impressive,' expert says
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-11 | by ( Ryan Pickrell | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

Ukraine shot down a Russian Kinzhal missile described as a hypersonic weapon with a US-made Patriot interceptor. Still, a missile defense expert told Insider the missile is tough target, making it an "impressive" kill. A missile defense expert called the intercept by a Patriot missile "impressive," for both the advanced American-made missile defense system and its Ukrainian operators. A general view of a mobile defence surface-to-air missile system, Patriot, before it is transported to Poland from Gnoien, Germany January 23, 2023. Gen. Pat Ryder said that he could "confirm that they did down a Russian missile by employing the Patriot missile defense system."

☆ Watch the moment a cosmonaut tossed a bag of parts into space but NASA said the space litter is harmless
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-10 | by ( Jessica Orwig | Morgan Mcfall-Johnsen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Technically, it's space littering. About 6.5 hours into the spacewalk, Prokopyev tossed an 11-pound bag of leftover equipment into space. Basically, space littering is like if someone came along after the electrician, burned the bag, and discarded the ashes. —International Space Station (@Space_Station) May 4, 2023We're not saying that space junk, in general, isn't a problem. In fact, multiple times a year the space station fires its booster to push itself out of the path of incoming orbital debris — and for good reason.

☆ Ukraine launched more than 10 attack drones on Crimea in an overnight barrage, a Russian-installed official says
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-07 | by ( Alia Shoaib | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

A Russian-installed official claimed that Ukraine launched more than 10 attack drones against Crimea. The Moscow-installed governor of Sevastopol said air defense systems had repelled the attacks. Occupation authorities claimed its air defense forces shot down Ukrainian Hrim-2 ballistic missiles. The 12-mile bridge, the longest in Europe, was built after Russia annexed Crimea in 2014. The alleged attacks on Crimea occurred as air raid alerts sounded across two-thirds of Ukraine overnight into Sunday as air defense systems shot down several drones, Ukrainian officials said.

But a new audio message posted Sunday on Telegram suggests he has changed his mind after concessions from the Russian government. The Russian Ministry of Defense did not immediately comment on Prigozhin’s latest claim. Yulia Morozova/ReutersBakhmut has been the site of a months-long assault by Russian forces that has driven thousands from their homes and left the area devastated. Prigozhin’s blunt and brutal tactics in Bakhmut have long been likened to a “meat grinder.” But, in his repeated threats to withdraw from Bakhmut, Prigozhin claimed this approach was no longer viable. The Wagner boss had said Wagner positions in and around Bakhmut would be transferred to Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov’s forces from May 10.

☆ Ukraine war live updates: Wagner leader says his forces will leave Bakhmut; Bill Clinton says he foreshadowed Russian invasion
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-05 | by ( Natasha Turak | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Prigozhin lambasted Russian defense officials in a video where he stood surrounded by the dead bodies of Russian troops, blaming the officials for the deaths of the men. Sergey Lavrov once again pinned Wednesday's attempted drone attack on the Kremlin on the United States and Kyiv, saying that any self-respecting country should stop communicating with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at this point. Ukraine says the drone attack was staged by Russia. Meanwhile, Russian officials have warned that high water levels at a dam near the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant could threaten the plant, which is Europe's largest of its kind. A rupture of the dam would create "functional problems for the operation of the plant and risks for nuclear safety," a Russian nuclear energy advisor said.

☆ Judge says Google co-founder Larry Page can be served with legal papers in Jeffrey Epstein suit
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-04 | by ( Dan Mangan | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

A federal judge said that Google co-founder Larry Page can be served with legal papers by the government of the U.S. Virgin Islands for its civil lawsuit against JPMorgan Chase related to sex trafficking by the bank's long-time customer Jeffrey Epstein. A docket entry on Thursday did not disclose the nature of the legal papers the USVI wants to serve Page in the suit, which is pending in U.S. District Court in Manhattan. Page was CEO of Google's parent Alphabet from 2015 through 2019, after previously serving as Google's chief executive officer. The USVI and a woman who says she was sexually abused by Epstein are separately suing JPMorgan, claiming the bank was complicit in his sex trafficking of multiple women. JPMorgan, whose CEO Jamie Dimon is due to be deposed in the case in late May, denies wrongdoing.

☆ Ancient DNA extracted from 25,000-year-old pendant reveals intriguing details about its wearer
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-03 | by ( Katie Hunt | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

CNN —Traces of ancient DNA contained in old bones have spilled fascinating secrets about the past. The research, published in the journal Nature on Wednesday, revealed intriguing details about its ancient wearer and is the first time scientists have successfully isolated ancient human DNA from a Stone Age artifact. Shown here is the ancient DNA extraction lab at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology. Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary AnthropologyTypically, researchers would use a small drill to extract bone powder from an artifact or bone. The pierced deer tooth discovered in Denisova Cave in southern Siberia yielded ancient human DNA.

CNN —Venezuela’s former opposition leader Juan Guaidó is visiting Washington this week, where he hopes to meet with the Biden administration, he told reporters on Tuesday during a surprise appearance at the Washington Conference on the Americas. Asked if he sought political asylum in the US, he said, “I am currently visiting. Guaidó landed in Miami the following day, after accusing Colombia of forcing him out of the country – a claim Colombian officials refuted. “We also hope to meet with the Biden administration – obviously it’s a critical moment for the region, especially Venezuela, a moment in which we are pressing to achieve a free election,” he said. The Biden administration loosened some sanctions against the Maduro government in 2022, and last November, it granted Chevron limited authorization to resume pumping oil from Venezuela.

☆ Chess-China's Ding Liren defies odds to become world champion
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-30 | by ( Alessandro Parodi | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

April 30 (Reuters) - China's Ding Liren was crowned on Sunday as the 17th world chess champion in a tense match against Russian-born Ian Nepomniachtchi in Astana, Kazakhstan, in the last chapter of an odds-defying sequence of events. "One Ding to rule em all," fellow grandmaster Anish Giri wrote on Twitter in honour of the new champion. Ding's triumph means China holds both the men's and women's world titles, with current women's champion Ju Wenjun set to defend her title against compatriot Lei Tingjie in July. "The moment Ian resigned the game was a very emotional moment, I cannot control my feelings," the new world champion said in a press conference. Carlsen said he was not motivated to play shortly after Nepomniachtchi won the Candidates tournament, the prestigious qualifier to the match.

☆ Opinion | Ted Lasso, Holy Fool
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-30 | by ( Tish Harrison Warren | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

Each Wednesday night my husband and I tune in to watch “Ted Lasso,” the Emmy award-winning Apple TV+ comedy series. They climb into an impossibly small car, and Ted calls out to Rebecca, his serious, conniving new boss, “Look! Holy fools dwell in ordinary, secular life, but they approach it with completely different values. Rejecting respectability and embracing humility and love, holy fools are so profoundly out of step with the broader world that they appear to be ridiculous or even insane and often invite ridicule. Early in the series, Ted tells a reporter named Trent Crimm: “For me, success is not about the wins and losses.

☆ U.S. Asks Brazil to Hand Over Russian Accused of Spying
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-29 | by ( Luciana Magalhaes | Samantha Pearson | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

A criminal complaint released by the Justice Department identifies Sergey Cherkasov in this photograph from over a decade ago. Photo: Department of JusticeSÃO PAULO—Brazil’s foreign ministry said the U.S. has requested the extradition of an alleged Russian spy, Sergey Cherkasov, who is accused by U.S. and Brazilian authorities of posing as a Brazilian student in Washington while carrying out espionage operations against the West. Mr. Cherkasov, 37 years old, originally from the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad, was arrested in São Paulo in October last year and sentenced to 15 years in jail for forging Brazilian identity documents. Russia’s government has demanded his extradition to Russia, accusing him of drug trafficking.

☆ Ukraine could launch its offensive against Russia any moment now. Here's what's waiting
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-29 | by ( Tim Lister | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

The defenses continue for hundreds of miles across the meandering southern front – where Ukrainian forces are expected to concentrate their counter-offensive in the coming weeks. This area will be critical should Ukrainian forces try to advance towards the city of Melitopol and split Russian forces in the south. It’s unclear where the equipment went but likely that it was sent north to reinforce Russian defensive lines. Russian-appointed officials in Zaporizhzhia claim there is already a large build-up of Ukrainian forces in the area. Ukrainian officials do not disclose the movement of units.

☆ The world's 12 wealthiest people got richer by $36 billion in a day - and have now gained $264 billion in net worth this year
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-28 | by ( Theron Mohamed | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, and their peers have added $264 billion to their fortunes this year. The surge in their companies' stock prices this year has added $46 billion and $42 billion to their respective fortunes. Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, Tesla CEO Elon Musk, and L'Oreal heiress Francoise Bettencourt-Myers have gained around $27 billion, $25 billion and $23 billion each. The billionaire best friends have added $13 billion and $7 billion to their respective fortunes since the start of January. Meanwhile, the $36 billion of wealth they gained on Thursday rivals the the market values of grocery giant Kroger and Taco Bell-owner Yum!

☆ Russia's foreign minister joins Tucker Carlson's Kremlin fanbase, blasting the TV host's ousting as an offense to freedom of speech
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-27 | by ( Matthew Loh | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov spoke out in support of the now-ousted Tucker Carlson. He cited Carlson leaving Fox News as an example of poor press standards in the US. "I heard that Tucker Carlson has left Fox News. Lavrov's comments about Carlson were brief, but he isn't alone in the Kremlin's praise for the right-wing TV figure. Fox News announced that it parted ways with Tucker Carlson on Monday without specifying why the host was ousted.

☆ Colombia's Gustavo Petro finds his opening in Washington
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-27 | by ( Stefano Pozzebon | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

So what was the most solid common ground President Biden, as host, could find for his guest? Leaders from the region tend to see the climate issue as their platform in international summits. Like many countries in Latin America, Colombia has received considerable investments from Chinese companies in recent years, mostly in the transport and mining sectors. “Petro has the aspiration of leading the new phase of Latin America’s geopolitics. And Biden can also tout a considerable concession from his meeting with Petro, who had always refused to condemn Russia’s actions in Ukraine – until now.

UNITED NATIONS – The basic food security of tens of millions across the globe is hanging by a thread as Russia mulls whether it will preserve a deal that has permitted Ukrainian grain to move through the Black Sea. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Tuesday renewed threats of abandoning the Black Sea Grain Initiative, an agreement that allows the safe wartime export of agricultural products from besieged Ukrainian ports. Lavrov also said that the deal is currently one-sided since Russian fertilizers have not been able to transit the same way Ukrainian grain has. "It was not called the grain deal it was called the Black Sea Initiative and in the text itself the agreement stated that this applies to the expansion of opportunities to export grain and fertilizer," Lavrov told reporters during a press conference. Lavrov said there are dozens of Russian cargo vessels carrying some 200,000 tons of fertilizer stuck at European ports.

☆ Jeff Bezos, accidental style icon, was spotted at Coachella in a butterfly-print button-down shirt
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-25 | by ( Cheryl Teh | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Amazon founder Jeff Bezos showed up at Coachella in a butterfly-print button-down shirt. "Looks like a low budget Fast and Furious scene," wrote Redditor RuckOver3 in a post that was upvoted more than 34,000 times as of press time. Bezos was spotted at the festival with his partner Lauren Sanchez, Kardashian matriarch Kris Jenner, and Jenner's partner, Corey Gamble, per TMZ. wrote Redditor BarfJello, in a comment that had been upvoted more than 13,000 times as of press time. "Looks like the average Coachella attendee," wrote Reddit user electricman420.

☆ The Russian foreign minister hints of a possible prisoner swap for Gershkovich.
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-25 | by ( Farnaz Fassihi | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Russia’s foreign minister, Sergey V. Lavrov, hinted on Tuesday at the possibility of a prisoner swap involving two Americans detained in Russia, Paul Whelan and the Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich. Speaking at a wide-ranging news conference at the United Nations, Mr. Lavrov said the channel to discuss detained American and Russian citizens was created when President Biden and Russia’s president, Vladimir V. Putin, met in Geneva in 2021. Back then, Mr. Lavrov said, the channel did not provide “for the involvement of journalists.”“This is work that is not public in nature and publicity here will only complicate the process,” Mr. Lavrov said at the U.N., where Russia is wrapping up a contentious monthlong stint as president of the Security Council, a rotating position. Mr. Lavrov said that several American citizens were serving prison sentences in Russia for various crimes, but that Mr. Whelan and Mr. Gershkovich had been detained “when they were committing a crime, receiving material” that he maintained consisted of state secrets.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov holds a press conference during the 77th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) at U.N. headquarters on September 24, 2022 in New York City. Stephanie Keith | Getty ImagesUNITED NATIONS — When Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov takes the helm of the United Nations Security Council on Monday it will be against a backdrop of mounting allegations of Russian war crimes reported across Ukraine. Since then, the war has claimed the lives of more than 8,500 civilians, led to nearly 14,000 injuries and displaced more than 8 million people, according to United Nations' own estimates. Lvova-Belova told the Security Council on April 5 that the transfer of Ukrainian children to Russia was part of a humanitarian campaign. In some cases, the commission found that Ukrainian forces committed war crimes against Russian troops, though those incidents were less frequent.

Lavrov, who flew from Moscow to New York to preside over the Security Council, defended his country's "special military operation" in Ukraine in opening remarks before the international forum. Lavrov then blamed the United States for exacerbating geopolitical challenges around the world, including tensions between China and Taiwan. "Today it's Ukraine, but tomorrow it could be another country, another small nation that is invaded by its larger neighbor," she added. In direct remarks to Lavrov, Thomas-Greenfield reiterated calls for the immediate release of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich and former U.S. Marine Paul Whelan, whose sister attended the meeting. "I want minister Lavrov to look into her eyes and see her suffering.

☆ Brazil’s Lula pitches ‘peace coalition’ for Ukraine, but he treads a thin line
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-24 | by ( Julia Jones | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

He says he aims to form a coalition of countries willing to intervene and lead efforts for peace in Ukraine, though in the process is finding himself treading a thin line with the world’s biggest powers. When he launched his political comeback in 2022, Lula told Time magazine that he thought both Russia and Ukraine were responsible for the conflict. Lula condemned Russia’s decision to invade its neighbor, but controversially claimed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky could have done more to avoid the conflict. Lula could not contemplate sending weapons – a step that would go far beyond Brazil’s traditional foreign policy, suggested the analyst. But he couldn’t do nothing, either – after all, Lula had promised to bring Brazil “back” to the world stage.

☆ Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai earned $226 million last year, making him one of the world's best-paid bosses
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-22 | by ( Sam Tabahriti | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Sundar Pichai, CEO of Google owner Alphabet, was paid a total of $226 million in 2022. Alphabet also spent almost $6 million on personal security for Pichai, according to a filing. Alphabet's Sundar Pichai was paid a total of $226 million last year after he was awarded a big tranche of shares, making him one of America's best-paid CEOs. The chief executive of Google's owner was given worth more than $218 million, according to filings published Friday. Alphabet also spent almost $6 million on personal security for Pichai, according to the filing.

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