DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

☆ Polish president to announce new PM on Monday - aide
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Polish President Andrzej Duda speaks as he attends the military parade on Armed Forces Day, celebrated annually on August 15 to commemorate Poland's victory over the Soviet Union's Red Army in 1920, in Warsaw, Poland, August 15, 2023. President Andrzej Duda, an ally of PiS, said before the election he would give the first shot at forming a government to the largest single party. "After consultations and deep consideration, President Andrzej Duda has made a decision regarding the so-called first step (of appointing a government). Despite all the other parties in parliament ruling out a coalition with PiS, Morawiecki has said he still intends to try and form a government. If Morawiecki were tasked by Duda with forming a government but proved unable to win a vote of confidence in parliament, the chamber would then appoint another prime minister.

Persons: Andrzej Duda, Kacper, PiS, Marcin Mastalerek, Duda, Donald Tusk, Marcin Kierwinski, PiS's Mateusz, Tusk, Morawiecki, Pawel Jablonski, Anna Wlodarczak, Alan Charlish, Pawel, Gareth Jones Organizations: Armed Forces, Soviet Union's Red Army, REUTERS, Rights, Justice, Union, Civic Coalition, European Council, Radio Zet, PiS, RMF, Thomson Locations: Warsaw, Poland, Polish

☆ Fact Check: Video does not show Putin announcing Russian support for Palestinians
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-03 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

A video clip of Russian President Vladimir Putin giving a speech at a military parade in 2021 has been misleadingly captioned to suggest it shows Putin stating his support for Palestinians amid the Israel-Hamas war in 2023. The snippet of Putin’s speech was shared on Facebook and X social media with the caption, “Vladimir putin announced Russia will openly help to Palestine. Uraaaaaaaaaaa.”The video and the speech, however, are unrelated to the 2023 Israeli-Palestinian conflict, which began after Hamas’ surprise attack on Israel on Oct. 7. A Reuters translation of Putin’s comments in Russian in the video clip is: “Glory to the Victorious Nation! A video shows Vladimir Putin making a speech in 2021 where he did not mention Palestine or the Israel-Hamas conflict.

Persons: Vladimir Putin, Putin, “ Vladimir putin, ”, Read Organizations: Facebook, YouTube, Komsomolskaya Pravda, Reuters, Nazi, Putin’s, Thomson Locations: Israel, Russia, Palestine, Soviet, Nazi Germany, Putin’s Russia, Russian, Ukraine, Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria

☆ Russia's worker shortage is so bad the economy is leaning on the Soviet-era practice of using prison labor, think tank says
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-25 | by ( Jennifer Sor | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Russia is leaning more on prison labor amid a dearth of available workers. AdvertisementAdvertisementRussia's worker shortage is so bad, the nation is increasingly leaning on prison labor to prop up its ailing industries and make up for a lack of manpower. That exceeded estimates that Russia made the year prior, when budget makers anticipated bringing in just 15.8 billion roubles from forced prison labor. "The Kremlin has sought to integrate prison labor with certain sectors of the domestic economy to solve this issue." "The recent uptick in the use of forced prison labor in Russia is not merely the transient trend of a post-COVID, economically troubled, or war-hurt Russia.

Persons: —, Sergey Sukhankin, Sukhankin, Vladimir Putin Organizations: Service, Moscow Times, Russia's Federal, Jamestown Foundation, Jamestown, Soviet Locations: Russia, Soviet, Ukraine

Summary Russia moving fast to de-ratify nuclear test ban treatyAccuses US of nuclear testing site activitySays it won't test itself unless Washington doesSays it will keep sharing monitoring dataOct 10 (Reuters) - Russia accused the United States on Tuesday of carrying out preparatory work at a nuclear testing site in Nevada but said that Moscow would not restart its own nuclear testing programme unless Washington did. A nuclear test by the United States or Russia could encourage others such as China to follow suit, starting a new nuclear arms race between the big powers, which stopped nuclear testing in the years after the Soviet Union's collapse in 1991. The United States last tested in 1992 and the Soviet Union in 1990. Ryabkov's comments also came days after President Vladimir Putin held out the possibility of resuming nuclear testing. Ryabkov was cited by Russian news agencies as saying that Russia felt it had no choice but to align itself with Washington's nuclear testing stance.

Persons: Sergei Ryabkov, Ryabkov, Vladimir Putin, Putin, We're, Robert Floyd, Andrew Osborn, Alexander Marrow, Gareth Jones Organizations: Washington, TASS, United, Russian Federation, West, Comprehensive, Treaty Organization, Thomson Locations: Russia, United States, Nevada, Moscow, China, Soviet, Soviet Union, Russian, Washington, Ukraine

☆ Two top Polish army commanders quit 5 days ahead of election
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Polish President Andrzej Duda and Chief of the General Staff of the Polish Armed Forces General Rajmund Andrzejczak attend the military parade on Armed Forces Day, celebrated annually on August 15 to commemorate Poland's victory over the Soviet Union's Red Army in 1920, in Warsaw, Poland, August 15, 2023. REUTERS/Kacper... Acquire Licensing Rights Read moreWARSAW, Oct 10 (Reuters) - Two top Polish army commanders resigned on Tuesday, spokespeople said, days before an election in which the ruling Law and Justice (PiS) party has made national security a key issue in its bid for an unprecedented third term in power. On Tuesday, the armed forces operational commander, Lieutenant General Tomasz Piotrowski, and the chief of staff, General Rajmund Andrzejczak, submitted their resignations, spokespeople for the respective services confirmed to Reuters. National Security Bureau chief Jacek Siewiera said the president had accepted their resignations and new commanders would be appointed later in the day. "(It is) a complete disgrace for Minister Blaszczak, who has long crossed over the line into using the Polish army in a partisan way," Tomasz Siemoniak, a former defence minister from the opposition Civic Platform, wrote on social media platform X.

Persons: Andrzej Duda, Rajmund Andrzejczak, spokespeople, Mariusz Blaszczak, Tomasz Piotrowski, General Rajmund Andrzejczak, Jacek Siewiera, Blaszczak, Tomasz Siemoniak, Donald Tusk, Karol Badohal, Pawel Florkiewicz, Anna Wlodarczak, Gareth Jones, Mark Heinrich Our Organizations: Staff, Polish Armed Forces, Armed Forces, Soviet Union's Red Army, REUTERS, Justice, Defence, Reuters, National Security Bureau, Rzeczpospolita, Thomson Locations: Warsaw, Poland, WARSAW, Russian, Ukraine, Belarus, Moscow

☆ Russian parliament bosses to discuss revoking ratification of nuclear test ban treaty
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Russian lawmakers attend a session of the State Duma, the lower house of parliament, in Moscow, Russia January 16, 2020. The Kremlin chief said Russia could look at revoking ratification of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) as the United States had signed, but not ratified, it. On Friday, Russia's envoy to the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO) said Moscow would revoke its ratification of the pact, a move that Washington denounced as endangering "the global norm" against nuclear test blasts. Last month CNN said satellite images showed growing activity at nuclear test sites in Russia, China and the United States. In 2020, the Washington Post said the then-Trump administration had discussed whether to hold a nuclear test.

Persons: Evgenia, Vladimir Putin, Putin, Russia's, Vyacheslav Volodin, Washington, Lidia Kelly, Guy Faulconbridge, Gerry Doyle, Clarence Fernandez Organizations: State Duma, REUTERS, Putin, Kremlin, Comprehensive, Duma, Treaty Organization, Cuban Missile, United, The Soviet Union, CNN, Washington Post, Trump, United Nations, Thomson Locations: Moscow, Russia, States, MOSCOW, Russian, United States, China, Soviet, Ukraine, Washington, Egypt, Iran, Israel, India, North Korea, Pakistan, Melbourne

☆ Poland to evacuate its citizens from Israel
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

REUTERS/Kacper Pempel/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsWARSAW, Oct 8 (Reuters) - Poland will send military planes to evacuate its citizens from Israel, Polish President Andrzej Duda said on Sunday, a day after Hamas launched a surprise attack on Israel. "We are sending air force transport planes to carry out the evacuation of Poles currently staying in Israel. Soldiers from our special forces will ensure loading protection and safety on board," Duda wrote on X social media platform. Defence Minister Mariusz Blaszczak said Poland was sending two C-130 Hercules planes to evacuate some 200 Poles from Ben Gurion Airport. It would add more planes if necessary or liaise with Greece to ferry Polish citizens to the Mediterranean country before bringing them home on Casa transport planes.

Persons: Andrzej Duda, Kacper, Duda, Mariusz Blaszczak, Blaszczak, Ben Gurion, Karol Badohal, Toby Chopra Organizations: Armed Forces, Soviet Union's Red Army, REUTERS, Rights, Hamas, Defence, Ben Gurion, Thomson Locations: Warsaw, Poland, Israel, Polish, Ben, Greece

Putin on Thursday said Russia's nuclear doctrine did not need updating but that he was not yet ready to say whether or not Russia needed to resume nuclear tests. The Kremlin chief said that Russia should look at revoking ratification of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) as the United States had signed it but not ratified. Just hours after Putin's words, Russia's top lawmaker, Vyacheslav Volodin, said the legislature's bosses would swiftly consider the need to revoke Russia's ratification for the treaty. "At the next meeting of the State Duma Council, we will definitely discuss the issue of revoking the ratification of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty," Volodin said. Putin's words, followed by Volodin's, indicate that Russia is almost certain to revoke ratification of the treaty, which bans nuclear explosions by everyone, everywhere.

Persons: Vyacheslav Volodin, Maxim Shemetov, Putin, Vladimir Putin, peaker Volodin, Volodin, Volodin's, Guy Faulconbridge, Sonali Paul, Stephen Coates Organizations: Nazi, REUTERS, Soviet Union, Comprehensive, Cuban Missile Crisis, Kremlin, State Duma Council, Soviet, United Nations, United, United States Air Force's National Air and Space Intelligence Center, Thomson Locations: Russia's, Nazi Germany, Red, Moscow, Russia, MOSCOW, United States, Washington, Brussels, State, Ban, Soviet Union, India, Pakistan, North Korea

President Vladimir Putin, who rules the world's biggest nuclear power, has repeatedly cautioned the West that any attack on Russia could provoke a nuclear response. The Soviet Union's last nuclear test took place in 1990. The United States' last nuclear test took place in 1992 and France and China conducted their last nuclear tests in 1996, according to the United Nations. Simonyan said the Ukraine crisis was moving towards a nuclear ultimatum and that the West would not stop until Russia sent a nuclear message. He also cautioned that if the United States returned to nuclear testing, then Russia would resume too.

Persons: Vladimir Putin, Margarita Simonyan, Dmitry Peskov, Peskov, Simonyan, Putin, Russia's, Guy Faulconbridge, Kevin Liffey, Nick Macfie, Gareth Jones Organizations: Donetsk, Kremlin, New York Times, Soviet, United, United Nations, RT, Soviet Union, Washington, Thomson Locations: Russian, Luhansk, Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, Kyiv, Siberia Kremlin, MOSCOW, Russia, Moscow, Siberia, United States, France, China, Ukraine, Alamogordo , New Mexico, Hiroshima, Nagasaki, Soviet, Ban, Soviet Union

[1/3] Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev arrives for a meeting of the Supreme Eurasian Economic Council in Moscow, Russia May 25, 2023. "The stars aligned for certain reasons and President Aliyev saw the alignment," said Suleymanov, who previously worked in Aliyev's office. "President Aliyev is completing something that his father could not do because he ran out of time," said one of the sources, who requested anonymity because they were not authorised to give comments to the media. Aliyev's father, then President Heydar Aliyev, was forced to agree to a ceasefire that cemented Armenia's victory. "President Aliyev has delivered the testament of his father," said Suleymanov, the ambassador to Britain.

Persons: Ilham Aliyev, Ilya Pitalev, Aliyev, Elin Suleymanov, Suleymanov, Hikmet Hajiyev, Hajiyev, Nikol Pashinyan, Pashinyan, Aliyev's, Heydar Aliyev, Ilham, Heydar, Vladimir Putin, Putin, David Babayan, Babayan, Andrew Osborn, Frank Jack Daniel Our Organizations: Economic Council, Sputnik, REUTERS, Reuters, Reuters Graphics, Kremlin, Russia, Karabakh, Baku, Armenian, European Commission, Armenia, West, Moscow, Karabakh Armenian, Thomson Locations: Moscow, Russia, Kremlin, Azerbaijan, Karabakh, Armenia, West, Britain, Baku, Caucasus, Iran, Turkey, Ukraine, Russian, Washington, Soviet, Stepanakert

☆ How hydrogen bombs compare to atomic bombs, and how scientists created the most destructive weapon ever
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-24 | by ( Adam Barnes | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +11 min

Hydrogen bombs and atomic bombs are both nuclear weapons that can cause mass destruction. But just seven years later an even more destructive nuclear bomb was built — the hydrogen bomb. Whereas hydrogen bombs get their power from a combination of fission and its opposite — nuclear fusion — the binding of atoms. Hydrogen vs. atomic bombs: damage and destructionWhile atomic bomb blasts are measured in kilotons — 1 kt is equivalent to the explosive force of 1,000 tons of TNT — hydrogen bombs are often measured in megatons. AdvertisementAdvertisementBoth atomic and hydrogen bombs are nuclear weapons and therefore create long-lasting, dangerous nuclear fallout.

Persons: Otto Hahn, Fritz Strassman, Hahn, Lisa Meitner, Otto Frisch, Meitner, Frisch, Alex Wellerstein, Wellerstein, Little, Amanda Macias, Tsar, Soviet Union —, Bomba, it's Organizations: Service, Trinity, Stevens Institute of Technology, Little Boy, Lions, TNT, Little, Bravo, US, Hanford , Washington . Department of Locations: Wall, Silicon, United States, Japan, Austrian, Nagasaki, Hiroshima, megatons, Soviet Union, Soviet, Manhattan, Los Angeles, Hanford , Washington

☆ Amid imports dispute, Poland tells Ukraine to remember its help
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Polish President Andrzej Duda speaks as he attends the military parade on Armed Forces Day, celebrated annually on August 15 to commemorate Poland's victory over the Soviet Union's Red Army in 1920, in Warsaw, Poland, August 15, 2023. REUTERS/Kacper Pempel/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsWARSAW, Sept 19 (Reuters) - Ukraine should remember that it receives help from Poland, the Polish president said on Tuesday, amid a deepening dispute between the countries over agricultural imports. The ban was introduced after the countries saw a flood of cheap imports from Ukraine as it struggled to ship grain further afield. Duda said that if Ukraine filed the complaint, Poland would explain the situation before the tribunal. He underscored that the ban regarded imports but not transit of Ukrainian grain.

Persons: Andrzej Duda, Kacper, Duda, Alan Charlish, Karol Badohal, William Maclean, Mark Potter Organizations: Armed Forces, Soviet Union's Red Army, REUTERS, Rights, United Nations General Assembly, European Commission, World Trade Organization, Kyiv, Thomson Locations: Warsaw, Poland, Ukraine, New York, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria

☆ Mysterious flashes of light on Venus aren't what scientists thought, according to a new study. And it could mean safer missions to the planet in the future.
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-14 | by ( Sonam Sheth | Jenny Mcgrath | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

For years, scientists have observed flashes of light on Venus and thought they were lightning. That's good news for future missions to Venus since lightning would pose a threat to spacecraft. One reason the researchers don't think it's lightning is because of Venus' radio silence. AdvertisementAdvertisementThat's good news for future missions to Venus; if the flashes were lightning, it could pose a threat to probes entering the planet's atmosphere, according to NASA. AdvertisementAdvertisementNASA plans to send the DAVINCI probe to study Venus' clouds and geology in 2031 and hopefully retrieve other data when its atmospheric descent probe makes contact with the surface.

Persons: Venus Organizations: Service, NASA, of Geophysical Research, Cassini, Parker Solar Probe, Arizona State University, Steward, Venus Locations: Wall, Silicon, Soviet

☆ Putin: Sending Soviet Tanks Into Hungary and Czechoslovakia Was a Mistake
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-12 | by ( Sept. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +1 min

VLADIVOSTOK, Russia (Reuters) -Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday that the Soviet Union's decision to send tanks into Hungary and Czechoslovakia to crush mass protests during the Cold War was a mistake. "It was a mistake," Putin said when asked about perceptions of Russia as a colonial power due to Moscow's decision to send tanks into Budapest in 1956 and into Prague in 1968. Putin said the United States was making the same mistakes as the Soviet Union. The 1956 Hungarian Uprising was crushed by Soviet tanks and troops. At least 2,600 Hungarians and 600 Soviet troops were killed in the fighting.

Persons: Vladimir Putin, Putin, Washington, Guy Faulconbridge, Mark Trevelyan Organizations: Soviet, Czechoslovak Locations: VLADIVOSTOK, Russia, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, Budapest, Prague, Ukraine, Europe, United States, Soviet Union, Soviet, Warsaw, Czechoslovak Socialist Republic, Czech

☆ Putin: sending Soviet tanks into Hungary and Czechoslovakia was a mistake
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-12 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Russian President Vladimir Putin listens to a report presentation on the development of Russia's far eastern regions held via a video link in Vladivostok, Russia, September 11, 2023. Sputnik/Vyacheslav Prokofyev/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsVLADIVOSTOK, Russia, Sept 12 (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday that the Soviet Union's decision to send tanks into Hungary and Czechoslovakia to crush mass protests during the Cold War was a mistake. "It was a mistake," Putin said when asked about perceptions of Russia as a colonial power due to Moscow's decision to send tanks into Budapest in 1956 and into Prague in 1968. The 1956 Hungarian Uprising was crushed by Soviet tanks and troops. At least 2,600 Hungarians and 600 Soviet troops were killed in the fighting.

Persons: Vladimir Putin, Vyacheslav Prokofyev, Putin, Washington, Guy Faulconbridge, Mark Trevelyan Organizations: Rights, Soviet, Czechoslovak, Thomson Locations: Vladivostok, Russia, Rights VLADIVOSTOK, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, Budapest, Prague, Ukraine, Europe, United States, Soviet Union, Soviet, Warsaw, Czechoslovak Socialist Republic, Czech

☆ Pope, quoting Buddha, urges religious dialogue to fight fundamentalism
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-03 | by ( Philip Pullella | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/2] Pope Francis speaks during an ecumenical and interreligious meeting at the Hun Theatre, during his Apostolic Journey in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia September 3, 2023. REUTERS/Remo Casilli Acquire Licensing RightsULAANBAATAR, Sept 3 (Reuters) - Calling himself one of the "humble heirs" of ancient schools of wisdom and quoting the Buddha, Pope Francis on Sunday urged all religions to live in harmony and shun ideological fundamentalism that foments violence. But the pope repeated on Sunday that he put great importance in "ecumenical, inter-religious and cultural dialogue". "There can be no mixing, then, of religious beliefs and violence, of holiness and oppression, of religious traditions and sectarianism," Francis said. Several of the leaders, including the rabbi and the shaman, imparted a special blessing from their religions on the pope, wishing him health and a long life.

Persons: Pope Francis, Remo Casilli, Francis, Jesus, Bishop Athanasius Schneider, Philip Pullella, Lincoln Organizations: Hun, REUTERS, Sunday, Catholic, Mongolian, Conservative, Thomson Locations: Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, ULAANBAATAR, Mongolian, China, Beijing, Soviet, Kazakhstan

☆ Putin's old spy agency is a prime suspect for taking out Prigozhin's plane
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-24 | by ( Sinéad Baker | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Russia's FSB appears the most likely party in the apparent death of Prigozhin. UK sources told the BBC the agency probably targeted the plane Prigozhin was apparently on. Putin once ran the FSB himself, and had a long career in its Soviet precursor, the KGB. Germany's foreign minister said the crash seemed to fit "this pattern in Putin's Russia: deaths, dubious suicides, falls from windows, all which remain unclarified – that underlines a dictatorial power system that is built on violence." AdvertisementAdvertisementWhite House National Security Spokesperson Adrienne Watson said that if Prigozhin's death is confirmed "no one should be surprised."

Persons: Prigozhin, Putin, Vladimir Putin, Wagner, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Alexei Navalny, Alexander Litvinenko, it's, Adrienne Watson, Flightradar24 Organizations: FSB, BBC, KGB, Service, Wednesday, Soviet Union's KGB, Kremlin, CIA, Guardian, National, Reuters Locations: Wall, Silicon, Russia's Tver, Moscow, Russia, Ukraine

In one extraordinary video, he shouted and cursed at Shoigu and Gerasimov, demanding ammunition so his men could keep fighting as he stood in a field littered with the corpses of Wagner fighters. Prigozhin performed a U-turn and Wagner fought on, eventually capturing the city in late May. But a turning point came weeks later when he rejected an order for Wagner fighters to sign contracts placing them under the control of the defence ministry. Two weeks later, a video appeared to show Prigozhin welcoming his fighters to Belarus. Taking advantage of his political connections, Prigozhin was awarded major state contracts, becoming known as "Putin's chef" after catering for Kremlin events.

Persons: Wagner, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Marina Lystseva, Vladimir Putin, Sergei Shoigu, Staff Valery Gerasimov, Prigozhin, Putin, Christo Grozev, Bellingcat, Donald Trump, Stanislav Belkovsky, Mark Trevelyan, Cynthia Osterman, Nick Macfie Organizations: REUTERS, Marina, Defence, Staff, Kremlin, Financial Times, St, Thomson Locations: wreckages, Tver, Russia, Ukraine, Moscow, Ukrainian, Bakhmut, Rostov, Belarus, St Petersburg, Africa, St Petersburg's, U.S, Niger, Prigozhin

☆ India's moon landing made history at a low cost
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-23 | by ( Michael Sheetz | In Michaeljsheetz | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

ISROThe list is grim reading: Stuck, failed, missed, failed, failed, stuck, failed, crashed, missed, crashed, crashed. Even in the modern era — with nine lunar landing attempts since 2013 — the track record is still shaky. Before India's success Wednesday, missions by China, India, Israel, Japan and Russia were three for eight in the past decade. School students watching the live telecast of Chandrayaan-3 landing on the Moon at Sector 20 Brahmananda Public School on August 23, 2023 in Noida, India. Perhaps the most remarkable aspect of India's moon landing is the shoestring budget — by government standards — with which the country achieved the mission.

Persons: Jonathan McDowell, Sunil Ghosh, Jim Bridenstine, Bridenstine, They've, who's Organizations: ISRO, Soviet Union's, Harvard - Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, Gravity, India, School, Hindustan Times, NASA, CNBC, Indian Space Research Organization, U.S, Payload Services, Space Foundation Locations: China, India, Israel, Japan, Russia, Noida, U.S, India's, United States

REUTERS/Yulia Morozova/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsAug 23 (Reuters) - Here are some key facts about Yevgeny Prigozhin, founder of Russia's Wagner Group mercenary force, who Russia's civil aviation authority said was on the passenger list of a plane that crashed north of Moscow on Thursday. Prigozhin used social media to trumpet Wagner's successes and wage a feud with the military establishment, accusing it of incompetence and even treason. But in late July, Prigozhin was photographed in St Petersburg while a Russia-Africa summit was taking place in the city. - Born in St Petersburg on June 1, 1961, Prigozhin spent nine years in Soviet prisons for crimes including robbery and fraud. - In 2014, Prigozhin founded Wagner, a private military company whose fighters have deployed in support of Moscow's allies in countries including Syria, Libya and the Central African Republic.

Persons: Wagner, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Maxim Fomin, Vladlen Tatarsky, Yulia Morozova, Russia's Wagner, Prigozhin, Vladimir Putin, Putin, Mark Trevelyan, Lisa Shumaker Organizations: REUTERS, Russia's Wagner Group, Kremlin, St, Central African, United, Internet Research Agency, Thomson Locations: St Petersburg, Moscow, Russia, Ukraine, Bakhmut, Rostov, Belarus, Africa, St Petersburg's, Syria, Libya, Central African Republic, United States, Washington

☆ Factbox: Russia's Luna-25 moon mission fails: what you need to know
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

LUNA-25It was Russia's first moon mission since the Soviet Union's Luna-24 returned with samples from the moon in 1976. The lander was boosted out of Earth's orbit toward the moon a little over an hour later. Russia had not attempted a moon mission since Luna-24 in 1976, when Leonid Brezhnev ruled the Kremlin. Luna-25 was supposed to execute a soft landing on the south pole of the moon on Aug. 21, according to Russian space officials. Eventually, in the early 2010s, Russia settled upon the idea of the Luna-25 mission to the south pole of the moon.

Persons: Luna, Roskosmos, Yuri Gagarin, Leonid Brezhnev, Vladimir Putin, Guy Faulconbridge, Philippa Fletcher, Christina Fincher Organizations: 2.1b, Vostochny, REUTERS Acquire, Rights, Soyuz, Luna, Kremlin, Thomson Locations: Amur, Russia, Soviet, Vostochny cosmodrome, Moscow, RUSSIA, Soviet Union

☆ Russia's Luna-25 spacecraft enters lunar orbit
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] A Soyuz-2.1b rocket booster with a Fregat upper stage and the lunar landing spacecraft Luna-25 blasts off from a launchpad at the Vostochny Cosmodrome in the far eastern Amur region, Russia, August 11, 2023. The Luna-25 entered the moon's orbit at 11:57 a.m. (0857 GMT), Russia's space corporate Roskosmos said. India's Chandrayaan-3 entered the moon's orbit earlier this month ahead of a planned touchdown on the south pole of the moon later this month. No Russian spacecraft has entered lunar orbit since Luna-24, the Soviet Union's 1976 moon mission, according to Anatoly Zak, the creator and publisher of www.RussianSpaceWeb.com which tracks Russian space programmes. "Entering lunar orbit is absolutely critical for the success of this project," Zak told Reuters.

Persons: Luna, India's, Anatoly Zak, Zak, Guy Faulconbridge, Andrew Cawthorne, Bernadette Baum Organizations: 2.1b, Vostochny, REUTERS, Rights, NASA, Thomson Locations: Amur, Russia, Soviet

☆ Russia's Luna-25 spacecraft enters lunar orbit -space agency
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Roscosmos/Vostochny Space Centre/Handout via REUTERS/File photo Acquire Licensing RightsMOSCOW, Aug 16 (Reuters) - Russia's lunar spacecraft entered the moon's orbit on Wednesday, a major step towards the country's ambition of being the first to land on the moon's south pole in the search for frozen water. The Luna-25 entered the moon's orbit at 11:57 a.m. (0857 GMT), Russia's space corporate Roskosmos said. India's Chandrayaan-3 entered the moon's orbit earlier this month ahead of a planned touchdown on the south pole of the moon later this month. No Russian spacecraft has entered lunar orbit since Luna-24, the Soviet Union's 1976 moon mission, according to Anatoly Zak, the creator and publisher of www.RussianSpaceWeb.com which tracks Russian space programmes. "Entering lunar orbit is absolutely critical for the success of this project," Zak told Reuters.

Roscosmos/Vostochny Space Centre/Handout via REUTERS/File photoMOSCOW, Aug 13 (Reuters) - Russia on Sunday switched on the scientific instruments aboard its lunar lander and scientists began processing its first data as the space craft sped towards the moon in a bid to be first to find ice on the Earth's only natural satellite. As it hurtles towards the moon, which is 384,400 km (238,855 miles) from our planet, the scientific instruments were switched on with the first data on the flight measured, Russia's space agency said. "The first measurement data on the flight to the Moon has been obtained, and the project's scientific team has begun processing it," Roscosmos said. There is much riding on the Luna-25 mission for Russia: if it succeeds, Russia is likely to say it shows that the West's sanctions over the Ukraine war cannot hold Russia back. But failure would again raise questions over Russia's space ambitions after the decades of superpower space competition with the United States during the Cold War.

Persons: Russian Luna, Roscosmos, Luna, Neil Armstrong, Guy Faulconbridge, Ros Russell Organizations: 2.1b, Vostochny, REUTERS, Sunday, India, Soyuz, Luna, Moscow, NASA, United States, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Amur, Russia, MOSCOW, Russian, Russia's, Ukraine, United States, Soviet, Moscow, Soviet Union, China

The Russian lunar mission, the first since 1976, is racing against India, which launched its Chandrayaan-3 lunar lander last month, and more broadly with the United States and China, both of which have advanced lunar exploration programs targeting the lunar south pole. The lander is expected to touch down on the moon on Aug. 21, Russia's space chief Yuri Borisov told Interfax on Friday. I hope that a highly precise soft landing on the moon will happen," Borisov told workers at the Vostochny cosmodrome after the launch, according to Interfax. A Japanese lunar landing failed last year and an Israeli mission failed in 2019. No country has made a soft landing on the south pole.

Persons: Roscosmos, Yuri Borisov, Borisov, Luna, Asif Siddiqi, Neil Armstrong, Maxim Litvak, Guy Faulconbridge, Joey Roulette, Leslie Adler, Gerry Doyle Organizations: India, Soyuz, Luna, Vostochny, NASA, Kremlin, Space, European Space Agency, Fordham University, Reuters, 2.1b, REUTERS U.S, European Union, Thomson Locations: MOSCOW, Russia, United States, China, Vostochny cosmodrome, Moscow, Ukraine, Russian, Amur, Handout, Soviet, Soviet Union, India, Japan, Washington

Search resuls for: "Soviet Union's"

25 mentions found