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☆ Russian Soyuz spacecraft docks at ISS to bring back stranded crew
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/2] The Soyuz MS-23 spacecraft blasts off from the launchpad at the Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan February 24, 2023, in this still image taken from video. Roscosmos/Handout via REUTERSFeb 26 (Reuters) - A Russian spacecraft on a mission to bring back to Earth a crew stranded on the International Space Station (ISS) has docked at the station, Russian space agency Roscosmos said early on Sunday. The Soyuz MS-23, which lifted off from Baikonour space centre in Kazakhstan on Friday, is to bring back Russian cosmonauts Sergey Prokopyev and Dmitry Petelin, and U.S. astronaut Francisco Rubio in September. "Today at 03:58 Moscow time (00:58 GMT), the Soyuz MS-23 unmanned spacecraft docked to the Poisk module of the International Space Station in automatic mode," Roscosmos said on the Telegram messaging platform. The Soyuz MS-23 ship carried 429 kilograms (946 lb) of additional cargo to the station, needed to extend the astronauts' mission, Russian agencies reported.

☆ Mark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk have been publicly criticizing each other for years — but now Meta is mirroring Twitter
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-25 | by ( Hallam Bullock | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

With the launch of Meta Verified, Mark Zuckerberg is appearing more like Elon Musk by the day. Now, let's look at why people are starting to say that Zuckerberg "idolizes Elon Musk." With the announcement of Meta Verified, Meta's new verification subscription service for Facebook and Instagram, many have drawn comparisons between Mark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk. Schilsky added: "I think it's clear that Mark Zuckerberg idolizes Elon Musk." Black VCs like Beta Boom's Kimmy Paluch are addressing long-standing diversity, equity, and inclusion issues in the industry head-on.

☆ Russian Soyuz spacecraft starts mission to return crew stranded on ISS
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Roscosmos/Handout via REUTERSFeb 23 (Reuters) - A Russian Soyuz spacecraft blasted off on Friday on a mission to bring back to Earth a crew stranded on the International Space Station (ISS) by a leak in the cooling system of their original return capsule, Russian news agencies reported. They were left stuck in space after the cooling system of their Soyuz MS-22 capsule started leaking two months ago. Russian space agency Roscosmos said this week the trio would now return to Earth aboard Soyuz MS-23 in September. The damaged MS-22 spacecraft is now scheduled to land without a crew in March. Tass quoted a Russian space official as saying the amount of food sent was three times the amount normally dispatched for such missions.

☆ Former Google staffer says she's gone from viewing the company culture as 'paradise' to 'quite grim'
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-23 | by ( Grace Kay | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Ex-Googler Claire Stapleton said her perspective on Google's culture has shifted dramatically over the years. Stapleton said she was once a "cheerleader" for Google, but now she sees its culture as "quite grim." In 2018, Stapleton, organized a protest, walking off the job along with about 20,000 Google workers in response to the company's handling of sexual harassment allegations. Now nearly four years later, Stapleton says she sees Google's culture as "quite grim," especially since the company laid off about 12,000 employees in February. Stapleton is one of several former Google workers to speak out against the company in recent months.

☆ Wagner boss drops gruesome photo of war dead while blasting top Russian military leaders for getting them killed
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-23 | by ( Jake Epstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Yevgeny Prigozhin, who founded the Kremlin-linked Wagner Group, shared a graphic photograph of dead Russian mercenaries earlier this week and criticized the country's military leadership for getting them killed. Prigozhin shared the gruesome image, which shows dozens of corpses placed in multiple rows on the ground, to his Telegram channel on Tuesday. Russia's defense ministry denied the claims and said any statements about munitions shortages are "absolutely untrue," Russian state media TASS reported. A pedestrian walks past a mural depicting the logo of the Russian mercenary 'Group Wagner' and a slogan in Russian on January 20, 2023 in Belgrade, Serbia. "Wagner is becoming a rival power center to the Russian military and other Russian ministries."

☆ Russia’s economy is hurting despite Putin’s bluster
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-22 | by ( Julia Horowitz | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

Russia’s economy did weaken as a result. “The Russian economy and system of government have turned out to be much stronger than the West believed,” Putin said in a speech to Russia’s parliament Tuesday. The bloc, which dramatically reduced its dependence on Russian natural gas last year, officially banned most imports of Russian crude oil by sea in December. Russia’s oil problemIn fact, Russia’s export revenue from oil rose last year. On the declineThe International Monetary Fund still expects Russia’s economy to expand by 0.3% this year and 2.1% the next.

☆ Russia should have 'whacked' Biden when he was in Kyiv, one of its leading propagandists suggested
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-21 | by ( Sinéad Baker | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Russia should have killed Biden when he visited Ukraine, a Russian state media host suggested. She was critical of Russia potentially giving Biden security guarantees for the trip. Biden visited Kyiv in a surprise trip on Monday, where air sirens sounded but no threat was seen. Skabeeva criticized Russia for deciding not to take action against Biden, even though the US had notified Russia in advance that he was visiting the city. Russian state TV host Sergey Mardan called Biden's visit a "demonstrative humiliation of Russia" in a Telegram post.

☆ Russia says stranded astronauts to return from ISS in September
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Feb 21 (Reuters) - Russia said on Tuesday that three astronauts left stranded on the International Space Station (ISS) by a leak on their return capsule last year would land back on Earth in a Soyuz MS-23 replacement capsule in September. "(Their return flight) is now scheduled to take place on Soyuz MS-23 in September 2023," Russian space agency Roscosmos said. The Soyuz MS-23 replacement capsule will launch on Feb. 24 and will dock with the ISS on Feb. 26, it said. The damaged MS-22 spacecraft is planned to land without a crew in March. "Micrometeoroid impacts on a spacecraft or orbital station have happened before, but unlike with the Soyuz MS-22, they have never had such serious consequences."

☆ Pro-Putin pundits are furious Biden made a surprise trip to Kyiv, calling it a 'humiliation' for Russia
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-20 | by ( Natalie Musumeci | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Pro-Kremlin pundits are livid that US President Joe Biden made a surprise trip to Ukraine's capital. One Russian state TV host called Biden's visit to Kyiv a "demonstrative humiliation of Russia." Biden met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in a show of support as Ukraine fights against Putin's forces. Russian state TV host Sergey Mardan called Biden's visit a "demonstrative humiliation of Russia" in a Telegram post to his more than 231,000 subscribers. "Kremlin propagandists call Biden's visit to Kyiv 'a demonstrative humiliation,'" Gerashchenko noted in another tweet, adding, "Get used to it."

☆ Russia proposes Feb. 24 launch of relief ship after space station leak, reports say
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Feb 18 (Reuters) - Russia's space agency on Saturday proposed the launch of a ship on Feb. 24 to bring two Russian cosmonauts and an American astronaut back from the International Space Station (ISS), news agencies reported. Investigations into a pressure loss in the Progress MS-21 space cargo ship delayed the launch of the Soyuz MS-23 ship to bring back Sergey Prokopyev, Dmitry Petelin and Frank Rubio, who had previously been due to return to Earth on Feb. 20. Russian news agencies quoted Roscosmos as saying a decision had been made to bring the Progress MS-21 cargo ship out of orbit on Sunday, paving the way for the Soyuz launch to follow. Roscosmos proposed Feb. 24 as the new launch date of the Soyuz from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Despite tense relations due to the conflict in Ukraine, Russia and the United States still collaborate closely on the ISS.

☆ YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki says she's stepping down
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-16 | by ( Jennifer Elias | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki speaks during the opening keynote address at the Google I/O 2017 Conference at Shoreline Amphitheater on May 17, 2017 in Mountain View, California. YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki said Thursday that she's stepping down. Wojcicki, 54, joined YouTube as the CEO in 2014. Wojcicki said she agreed with Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai to, in the longer term, take on an advisory role across Google and Alphabet. "When I joined YouTube nine years ago, one of my first priorities was bringing in an incredible leadership team."

The bloc's highly-anticipated AI Act is widely expected to be put to a vote at the European Parliament at the end of March, at which point individual nations will begin negotiating final terms of the legislation. Following a crunch five-hour meeting in Brussels on Wednesday, however, MEPs had yet to agree to a set of basic principles. One of the most controversial areas of debate is deciding which AI systems would be categorised as "high risk", such as those affecting a person's safety or infringing fundamental rights. “The obvious tension here is between the focus on fundamental rights, on the one hand, and those who say these necessarily conflict with innovation,” said Greens MEP Sergey Lagodinsky. A source at the European Parliament said negotiations were ongoing with a view to agreeing a strong text.

☆ British embassy guard who spied for Russia filmed "secret" letter to PM, London court told
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-13 | by ( Sam Tobin | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Morgan said Smith sent a letter containing "highly sensitive information about the British embassy and those who worked within it" to General Major Sergey Chukhrov, the Russian military attaché to Berlin, in November 2020. She added that the discovery of Smith's letter to Chukhrov prompted a joint investigation between British and German authorities. Covertly recorded footage was played in court showing Smith filming CCTV footage of "Dmitry" from within the embassy's security kiosk. Smith was later approached by "Irina", who told him that she needed assistance as someone had "passed information to the British and the information could be damaging to Russia". In hidden camera footage played to the court, "Irina" asks if Smith can help and he replies: "Well, like what?"

☆ Russia delays launch of relief ship to keep investigating space station leak
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] The International Space Station (ISS) is photographed by Expedition 66 crew member Roscosmos cosmonaut Pyotr Dubrov from the Soyuz MS-19 spacecraft, in this image released April 20, 2022. Pyotr Dubrov/Roscosmos/Handout via REUTERS/File PhotoFeb 13 (Reuters) - Russia is delaying the launch of a ship to bring two Russian cosmonauts and an American astronaut back from the International Space Station (ISS) while it investigates a pressure loss in another module, its space agency said on Monday. Roscosmos and the U.S. space agency NASA had said that a Soyuz MS-23 ship would be launched on Feb. 20 to bring back Sergey Prokopyev, Dmitry Petelin and Frank Rubio. Despite tense relations due to the Ukraine war, Russia and the United States still collaborate closely on the ISS. The Soyuz craft are used to ferry crew to and from the station, while the Progress vessels deliver equipment and supplies.

☆ Sergey Brin appears to make first request in years to access Google code as AI battle heats up, report says
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-12 | by ( Sam Tabahriti | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Sergey Brin last month appeared to make his first request in years to access code, Forbes reported. The Google cofounder made the request on January 24 following the release of ChatGPT. It follows reports of Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai asking Larry Page and Brin for help in the AI battle. In December, Pichai called Larry Page and Brin following a "code red" following the release of ChatGPT. While Brin's code access was followed by a small technical change, some employees didn't welcome his request, Forbes reported.

☆ Russia reports pressure glitch on cargo ship docked to ISS
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-11 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Feb 11 (Reuters) - Russia's space agency reported an unexplained loss of pressure on Saturday in a cargo craft docked to the International Space Station but said there was no threat to the crew. It was the latest glitch to affect the ageing ISS after a coolant leak in December on a Soyuz MS-22 spacecraft docked to the station. "Officials are monitoring all International Space Station systems and are not tracking any other issues," it said in a blog post. The Soyuz craft are used to ferry crew to and from the station, while the Progress vessels deliver equipment and supplies. Another Progress craft, MS-22, docked successfully with the ISS earlier on Saturday.

☆ 'Not so rosy': Russian athletes face prospect of Olympics ban
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/3] Olympic Rings are pictured in front of The Olympic House, headquarters of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) at the opening of the executive board meeting of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), in Lausanne, Switzerland September 8, 2022. Since the International Olympic Committee (IOC) opened the door for Russian and Belarusian athletes to compete as neutrals at the 2024 Paris Games, calls to have them excluded have snowballed. At an indoor track in northeastern Moscow on Friday, hurdler Sergey Shubenkov said he was avoiding reading the news about Russia's Olympic prospects. The measure was taken as part of wider sanctions against the Russian athletics federation, which has been suspended since 2015 over doping offences. "I think those who don't support (Russia's special military operation in Ukraine) have already left.

"Judging by the customs statistics, some of the benefit was captured by refiners in India and China, but the main beneficiaries must be oil shippers, intermediaries and the Russian oil companies," he added. As a further complication, some Russian oil grades, including Pacific grade ESPO, are also worth more than Urals. After decades of low profits or losses, sections of the global shipping industry are enjoying a financial boom from moving Russian oil. A year ago, a similar journey would have cost a seller of Russian oil $0.5-$1.0 million depending on shipping rates. Nayara is 49%-owned by Russian state oil major Rosneft, run by Putin's ally Igor Sechin, meaning some of the profits are indirectly captured by Russia.

☆ Putin likely supplied the missile that downed flight MH17 over Ukraine in 2014, investigators say
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-08 | by ( Sinéad Baker | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Putin likely gave separatists the missile that hit flight MH17, investigators said on Wednesday. The team has been investigating the crash since August 2014, and said in a statement that there are "strong indications" that the Russian president decided on supplying the missile system to separatists in Ukraine. Investigators have previously said that the Malaysia Airlines plane was shot down by a Buk missile brought from Russia to a field in Ukraine. But, they added, it's not known whether their request explicitly mentioned the missile system that was later used to shoot down MH17. It was shot down over eastern Ukraine, where pro-Russian separatists had taken over parts of the country.

☆ Alphabet shares fall 7% following Google's A.I. event
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-08 | by ( Ashley Capoot | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

During the event Wednesday, which was livestreamed from Paris, Google executives discussed some of Bard's capabilities. Shares of Alphabet slid during the event, suggesting that investors were hoping for more in light of growing competition from Microsoft. Google's event took place just one day after Microsoft hosted its own AI event at its headquarters in Redmond, Washington. Microsoft's event centered around new AI-powered updates to the company's Bing search engine and Edge browser. Though Microsoft's latest AI investments increase the pressure on Google search, some analysts say it will take time for Microsoft to see any significant gains.

☆ ChatGPT's founder blasts Google as a 'lethargic search monopoly' as the tech giant's AI war with Microsoft heats up
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-08 | by ( Grace Kay | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman called Google a "lethargic search monopoly" in an interview on Tuesday. Google has said it's own ChatGPT rival, Bard, will be coming to the public in a matter of weeks. Altman said he sees tremendous upside to Microsoft's decision to incorporate OpenAI's technology into its search engine. Microsoft announced the integration of an AI language model into its "new Bing" search engine on Tuesday. Google's search engine represented over 91% of the global search market in the past 12 months, while Bing accounted for about 3%, according to data from SimilarWeb.

☆ Exclusive: The FBI's McGonigal labyrinth
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-08 | by ( Mattathias Schwartz | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +28 min

She never saw McGonigal pay. "The notion that Mr. Deripaska is some proxy for the Russian state is a blatant lie," Ruben Bunyatyan, a spokesperson for Deripaska, told Insider by email. McGonigal was not charged with espionage, and although there is currently no evidence that McGonigal committed espionage, an FBI source told Insider that the investigation is ongoing. At the FBI, McGonigal racked up a string of big cases and promotions. "He said he needed to make more money," Guerriero told Insider.

☆ 'Phishing-as-a-service' kits are driving an uptick in theft: What you can learn from one business owner's story
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-06 | by ( Dawn Giel | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +11 min

While Christmas shopping for his young daughter, he received a call from a person claiming to be from the Chase fraud department and asking to verify a suspicious transaction. Unfortunately, for victim of these schemes, the bank isn't always required to repay the stolen funds. CNBC has reviewed Mullenaux's cellular records, bank account information, as well as images of the text message and link he was sent. He immediately drove to his local Chase bank branch where he was told he had likely been the victim of fraud. Legally, banks do not have to reimburse stolen funds when a customer is tricked into sending money to a cybercriminal.

☆ Putin promised he would not to kill Zelenskyy, according to former Israeli prime minster who secretly met with the Russian leader
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-05 | by ( Bethany Dawson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Former Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett shared details of his mediations with Putin. Bennett says he made President Putin promise not to kill Ukraine's president. The former prime minister said he directly asked Putin if he planned to harm Zelenskyy. "He said, 'I won't kill Zelenskyy.' I then said to him, 'I have to understand that you're giving me your word that you won't kill Zelenskyy.'

☆ U.S. sweep Uzbekistan in Davis Cup qualifiers, Sweden and France through
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

With 24 nations competing in the qualifiers this weekend, the 12 winning teams will qualify for the Davis Cup Finals group stage in September alongside 2022 champions Canada and runners-up Australia. Denis Kudla then stepped on court for his Davis Cup debut in the third singles rubber to beat Amir Milushev 6-4 6-4 to seal a 4-0 victory for the record 32-times Davis Cup winners in Tashkent. And I'm already looking forward to the finals," Mikael said. Playing in Davis Cup means a lot for me because it's an unbelievable competition and I'm very proud of myself today," said debutant Humbert, who had also won his first singles rubber on Friday. Serbia also qualified after Nikola Cacic and Filip Krajinovic won their doubles match 6-4 3-6 6-3 against Norway to give their team a 3-0 lead.

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