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☆ Unexplained leak from docked Soyuz spacecraft cancels Russian ISS spacewalk
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-15 | by ( Steve Gorman | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Dec 14 (Reuters) - A routine spacewalk by two Russian cosmonauts aboard the International Space Station (ISS) was called off as it was about to begin after flight controllers noticed a stream of particles spewing from a docked Soyuz spacecraft, a NASA webcast showed. NASA said none of the seven members of the current International Space Station (ISS) crew - three Russian cosmonauts, three U.S. NASA astronauts and a Japanese astronaut - were thought to be in any danger. The spacewalk planned for Wednesday was postponed once before, in late November, because of faulty cooling pumps in the cosmonauts' spacesuits, Navias said. The spacewalk was to be the 12th this year at the ISS and the 257th in the history of the 20-year-old platform. Spacewalks are typically done for space station assembly, maintenance and upgrades, according to NASA.

☆ Inside Sergey Brin's Busy Social Schedule: Parties, Festivals, Burning Man
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-15 | by ( Rob Price | Hugh Langley | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

In late August this year, Sergey Brin headed to Burning Man. The 49-year-old tech titan traveled to the festival in style, island-hopping across the Pacific Ocean in a modified seaplane. Brin has been spotted more than once at house parties at NeoGenesis, a coliving space for entrepreneurs in the Bay Area. As for the bigger psychedelic party, when Burning Man reopened in August after its pandemic hiatus, Brin stayed at First Camp, a VIP community frequented by festival organizers and their friends. Rob Price is a correspondent at Insider, writing features and investigations about the technology industry.

☆ Google cofounders Larry Page and Sergey Brin gave $438 million to charities through their foundations last year. Here's where the tech gurus' huge donations went.
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-14 | by ( Rob Price | Hugh Langley | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

In 2021, Google's cofounders, Larry Page and Sergey Brin, collectively gave away nearly half a billion dollars from their philanthropic foundations. 2 moguls, 2 different approaches to charitiesBrin's personal foundation, the Sergey Brin Family Foundation, disbursed roughly $250 million in both 2020 and 2021. The Sergey Brin Family Foundation lists three key officers. Brin's and Page's philanthropic donations, while extensive, represent a fraction of their net worths. Brin donates directly to the Sergey Brin Family Foundation, while Page's contributions to the Carl Victor Page Memorial Foundation are routed through a limited-liability company named Florida LLC.

☆ US lawmakers want answers on FTX's collapse. Sam Bankman-Fried may not have them.
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-12 | by ( Dan Defrancesco | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

But first, we are going to hear more from Sam Bankman-Fried this week, even if you think we've already heard quite enough from him. Sam Bankman-Fried testifies during a hearing before the House Financial Services Committee on December 8, 2021 in Washington, DC. Disgraced FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried, who said he once considered himself a "model CEO," tweeted last week that he would testify before tomorrow's House Financial Services committee hearing focused on his firm's blowup. FTX's new CEO, John J. Ray III, who oversaw the bankruptcy of Enron, will testify in the first part of the hearing. A private lunch with the billionaire is on the table if you're willing to pony up the cash.

☆ Drone strikes leave more than a million without power in southern Ukraine, officials say
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-11 | by ( Mithil Aggarwal | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +5 min

Russia used Iranian-made drones to target energy infrastructure in and around the port city of Odesa, leaving more than 1.5 million people without power, Ukrainian officials said Saturday. “The situation in Odesa region is very difficult,” President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in his nightly video address posted to his Telegram channel. People watch the soccer World Cup in a restaurant powered by a generator after a drone attack knocked out power in Odessa, Ukraine, on Saturday. The strikes were launched by the U.S.-supplied HIMARS missiles, Yevgeny Balitsky, the Russian-appointed governor of the region, said on his own Telegram. He added that that it would help Ukrainian forces cut supplies to Crimea, which Russia has been using as a launchpad for its offensives and missile strikes.

CNN —Multiple explosions have been reported in the Russian-occupied city of Melitopol in southern Ukraine, in the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic and in annexed Crimea – including at a Russian military barracks. Federov last month said Russia had turned Melitopol into “one giant military base.”“The Russian military is settling in local houses they seized, schools and kindergartens. The Ukrainian military has not yet confirmed or commented on the attack. The unofficial Crimean media portal “Krymskyi veter” said an explosion at a Russian military barracks in Sovietske had set the barracks on fire and there were dead and wounded. “In total, Russian terrorists used 15 Shahed drones against Odesa,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said during his daily address on Saturday.

☆ Larry Page, Sergey Brin Post-Google Lives: Investments, Yachts, Islands
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-11 | by ( Hugh Langley | Rob Price | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +33 min

Even before their retirement from Google, Page and Brin relied heavily on their respective family offices to bring order to their worlds. The Bay Area headquarters of Koop, Larry Page's family office, is nondescript and gives little indication of the billionaire's empire. Insider; Marianne Ayala/Insider Show less Bayshore Global Management, Sergey Brin's family office, is based in Palo Alto and has a bit more of a public face. Insider; Marianne Ayala/Insider Show lessThe difference in styles holds true for Brin's family office, Bayshore Global Management. The CEO of Page's family office is Wayne Osborne, a former elder in the Presbyterian Church who attended Princeton Theological Seminary.

☆ Ukraine keeps patching up its power grid. But Russia’s barrage could force more Ukrainians to flee as winter bites
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-10 | by ( Tim Lister Olga Voitovych Victoria Butenko | Tim Lister | Olga Voitovych | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

The result is a grinding battle of attrition: Barrages of Russian missiles fly across Ukraine, and Ukrainian power engineers work for days in freezing temperatures to restore power. “By the nature of the attacks we see that Russian missiles are directed by Russian power engineers,” says Tymoshenko. 15 gigawatts of Ukraine’s power capacity have been taken out, compared to the pre-war capacity of 56 gigawatts (GW) of power, according to Ukrenergo. Tymoshenko told CNN that Ukraine’s power system has been part of the continental network since March after synchronization of the systems. “And this, of course, will encourage us to further technological development of the power system after victory,” he says.

The US was unable to deliver on the request for the ex-colonel, Vadim Krasikov, because he is serving out a life sentence for murder in Germany. The US made several other offers to the Russians, sources said, to try to get them to agree to include Whelan in the swap. The US also offered to trade Roman Seleznev, a convicted Russian cyber-criminal currently serving a 14-year sentence in the US, sources said. But Bélot said he could see Vinnik being part of prisoner swap negotiations in the future. “They [Vinnik and Whelan] make part of the possible ‘candidates’ for the next swap,” Bélot said in a text message to CNN.

☆ The 5 best leadership books I read this year — and what they taught me about running a company
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-06 | by ( David Siegel | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

For a roadmap for effective, kind leadership and smart decision-making, he shares 5 book recommendations. Publishing a leadership book gave me a newfound perspective on the genre. Here are the top five leadership books I read in 2022 and why I found each one particularly enriching. After reading The Promise of a Pencil, I learned how seemingly small acts can make a world of difference in communities. For anyone considering executive coaching or looking to find a coach, this book is a must-read.

☆ Moscow and other Russian cities are scaling back or canceling New Year parties to spend the money attacking Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-06 | by ( Sophia Ankel | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Russia's military is still struggling with a number of problems on the frontlines in Ukraine. As a result, some Russian cities have canceled or scaled down their New Year's celebrations. Moscow is still holding a New Year celebration — but it will not include fireworks, its mayor said. In Moscow, Mayor Sergey Sobyanin said the capital would hold a toned-down celebration, forgoing the usual firework show and mass concert. Some Russian activists last week accused him of spending billions on Russia's military while many of them freeze back home, The Daily Beast reported.

☆ Russian regional deputies urge Putin to issue decree ending mobilisation
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/2] Russian reservists recruited during the partial mobilisation of troops attend a ceremony before departing to the zone of Russia-Ukraine conflict, in the Rostov region, Russia October 31, 2022. The Kremlin said at the time that no formal decree to cancel the mobilisation was needed. Courts were siding with commanders, citing the fact that Putin's September mobilisation decree still had legal force. Reuters saw similar appeals from opposition deputies in the Moscow, St. Petersburg, Pskov and Veliky Novgorod regions. He said this was because the "legal lacuna" created by the absence of the decree "opens up opportunities for legal mayhem".

☆ Dutch prosecutors won't appeal in MH17 case, making verdicts final
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

AMSTERDAM, Dec 1 (Reuters) - Dutch prosecutors said on Thursday they would not file an appeal regarding the outcome in the trial over the 2014 downing of Flight MH17 in eastern Ukraine, making the verdicts final although the suspects remain at large. A Dutch court last month convicted three men and sentenced them to life in prison for the shooting-down of the Malaysian airliner as it flew over eastern Ukraine on its way from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur on July 17, 2014. The three convicted were former Russian intelligence agents Igor Girkin and Sergey Dubinskiy, and Leonid Kharchenko, a Ukrainian separatist leader. Prosecutors said on Thursday they were satisfied with the "clarity" the case had brought to relatives of the victims about what had happened to MH17. Reporting by Bart Meijer Editing by Mark Heinrich and Alistair BellOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Chainlink says transparency is at the core of what the blockchain industry is about
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-30 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailChainlink says transparency is at the core of what the blockchain industry is aboutSergey Nazarov of the company says, however, that "certain entities are already beyond saving."

☆ Snow to blanket Kyiv from Sunday as power still in short supply
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/3] Local residents stand in line to fill up bottles with fresh drinking water after critical civil infrastructure was hit by Russian missile attacks in Kyiv, Ukraine November 24, 2022. Sergey Kovalenko, chief operating officer of YASNO, which provides energy to Kyiv, said the situation in the city has improved but still remained "quite difficult." He indicated that residents should have at least four hours of power per day. read moreUkrenergo said that blackouts will continue and urged limited use of power. Snow is expected to continue in Kyiv, a city that had 2.8 million residents before the war, until midweek while temperatures are forecast to stay below freezing.

☆ Ukraine nuclear boss says he sees signs Russia may leave occupied plant
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

KYIV, Nov 27 (Reuters) - The head of Ukraine's state-run nuclear energy firm said on Sunday there were signs that Russian forces might be preparing to leave the vast Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant which they seized in March soon after their invasion. Repeated shelling around the plant has spurred fears of a nuclear catastrophe. "In recent weeks we are effectively receiving information that signs have appeared that they are possibly preparing to leave the (plant)," Petro Kotin, head of Energoatom, said on national television. Asked if it was too early to talk about Russian troops leaving the plant, Kotin said on television: "It's too early. On Friday, the U.N. nuclear watchdog said Ukraine's three nuclear plants on government-held territory had been reconnected to the grid, two days after a Russian missile barrage forced them to shut for the first time in 40 years.

☆ How Russian ally Kazakhstan is taking a stand against the Ukraine war
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-27 | by ( Alia Shoaib | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Russian ally Kazakhstan has been subtle but firm in its opposition to the Ukraine war. Kazakhstan's official position on the war is to call for a ceasefire and a diplomatic solution, Magzhan Ilyassov, Kazakhstan's new ambassador to the UK, said in a press briefing attended by Insider. Following the invasion of Ukraine, fears have also been stoked that Russia could turn its sights to Kazakhstan next. Dursun Aydemir/Anadolu Agency via Getty ImagesAlthough it has not outright criticized Russia for invading Ukraine, Kazakhstan has made its position clear. Ilyassov said that Russian troops were there among others from all member states and left after nearly two weeks without being involved in any action.

☆ Here are the 7 richest people in the world who haven’t signed the Giving Pledge—Jeff Bezos is No. 3
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-27 | by ( Tom Huddleston Jr. | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

But Bezos, whose recent announcement followed years of criticism over his relative lack of philanthropic giving, isn't the only billionaire who hasn't signed the pledge. Arnault has not signed the Giving Pledge, nor has he commented on the pledge publicly. Jeff Bezos: $116 billion net worthBezos has donated more than $2.4 billion in his lifetime, according to a Forbes estimate. But the billionaire has skirted questions about the Giving Pledge for years, especially after his ex-wife, Scott, signed it shortly after their 2019 divorce. Sergey Brin: $84.9 billion net worthLike fellow Google co-founder Page, Sergey Brin has not signed the Giving Pledge.

☆ Ancient anti-aircraft guns are taking on a new mission amid Russia's war in Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-23 | by ( Michael Peck | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Russia and Ukraine have both turned to older anti-aircraft guns to bolster their air defenses. During World War II, half of the Allied bombers shot down over Germany may have victims of "flak" — a shortened version of a German word for 1930s-era anti-aircraft guns. SERGEY BOBOK/AFP via Getty ImagesRussia and Ukraine are both using Soviet-made S-60 anti-aircraft guns that date to the 1940s. Older anti-aircraft guns also offer a political advantage. Even as more sophisticated anti-aircraft weapons have been deployed, anti-aircraft guns have remained useful, albeit in more limited roles.

☆ Evoking Castro, Putin and Cuban leader pledge to deepen ties
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/3] Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel and Russian President Vladimir Putin attend an unveiling ceremony of a monument to late Cuban leader Fidel Castro in Moscow, Russia November 22, 2022. MOSCOW, Nov 22 (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Cuban counterpart Miguel Diaz-Canel unveiled a monument in a north Moscow square on Tuesday to Cuban revolutionary leader Fidel Castro, pledging to deepen their friendship in the face of U.S. sanctions against both countries. It creates the image of a fighter," Putin said of the statue, which portrays Castro gazing into the distance with hands on hips. "The reasons for the current conflict in this zone must be sought in the aggressive policy of the United States and the expansion of NATO towards Russia's borders," he said. The resulting standoff, known as the Cuban Missile Crisis, brought the United States and the Soviet Union close to the brink of nuclear war.

☆ Ukraine promises shelters for its people as harsh winter looms
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

[1/8] People wait in line to get food, water and aid after Russia's military retreat from Kherson, outside the Church of Christ the Savior in Kherson, Ukraine November 22, 2022. Russian attacks have knocked out power for long periods for up to 10 million consumers at a time. The Donetsk region was the scene of fierce attacks and constant shelling over the last 24 hours, Zelenskiy said on Tuesday. Moscow says it is carrying out a "special military operation" to rid Ukraine of nationalists and protect Russian-speaking communities. Ukraine and the West describe Russia's actions as an unprovoked, imperialist land grab in the neighbouring state it once dominated within the former Soviet Union.

☆ 'Pronatalism' explained: Why tech titans like Elon Musk want to have tons of kids to save the world
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-18 | by ( Julia Black | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Tech titans like Elon Musk want to counteract the effects of population decline by having lots of children. Elon Musk, who has fathered 10 known children with three women (including twins last year with one of his employees), is the highest-profile figure currently associated with this movement. So some are turning to the next best thing: having lots of children, and funding new fertility technologies that one founder said are "reinventing reproduction." "The person of this subculture really sees the pathway to immortality as being through having children," said Simone Collins, a VC and co-founder of the nonprofit initiative Pronatalist.org. Read Insider's full feature, "Billionaires like Elon Musk want to save civilization by having tons of genetically superior kids.

☆ MH17 verdict: 2 Russians, 1 Ukrainian convicted of murders
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-17 | by ( Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +4 min

A Dutch court on Thursday convicted two Russians and a pro-Moscow Ukrainian separatist in absentia of the murders of 298 people who died in the 2014 downing of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 over Ukraine. None of the defendants appeared for the trial that began in March 2020 and if they are convicted, it’s unlikely they will serve any sentence anytime soon. “The truth on the table — that is the most important thing,” said Anton Kotte, who lost his son, daughter-in-law and his 6-year-old grandson when MH17 was shot down. The most senior defendant convicted is Igor Girkin, a 51-year-old former colonel in Russia’s Federal Security Service, or FSB. Oleg Pulatovis the only one of the suspects who was acquited represented by defense lawyers at the trial.

☆ Billionaires like Elon Musk want to save civilization by having tons of genetically superior kids. Inside the movement to take 'control of human evolution.'
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-17 | by ( Julia Black | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +40 min

"We are the Underground Railroad of 'Gattaca' babies and people who want to do genetic stuff with their kids," Malcolm told me. Ellison, meanwhile, who has two children in their 30s, has reportedly resumed having kids — with his 31-year-old girlfriend. "The person of this subculture really sees the pathway to immortality as being through having children," Simone said. The person of this subculture really sees the pathway to immortality as being through having children. Before she met Malcolm, Simone was convinced she wanted to live her life single and child-free.

☆ A former economic advisor to the Russian government breaks down the telltale signs that a recent anti-America rally in Moscow was staged by Russian authorities
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-17 | by ( Matthew Loh | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

A Russia expert described what he said were telltale signs the rally was staged by the Kremlin. Russian media dubbed the rally "the March on Washington," highlighting the display of pro-war sentiment in Russia. Unlike at the recent rally, the Russian police previously arrested over a thousand people protesting Putin's mobilization of reservists. Previous demonstrations in Moscow in October also featured protesters clamoring for Sarmat strikes on the US. They paraded a black rocket on the streets, which appears to have been reused in the most recent staged rally.

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