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☆ California superbloom: Hillsides are exploding with wildflowers. Here's what it looks like from space
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-20 | by ( Stephanie Elam | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

Kyle Grillot/Bloomberg/Getty ImagesVisitors walk through a field of wildflowers at the Antelope Valley Poppy Reserve in Lancaster, California on April 14. Hillsides are covered in colorful wildflowers, seen here in a satellite image in Palmdale, California, on April 10. Kyle Grillot/Bloomberg/Getty ImagesWildflowers bloom at the Antelope Valley Poppy Reserve in Lancaster, California, on April 14. Kyle Grillot/Bloomberg/Getty ImagesWhile California hasn’t closed state parks because of the superbloom, at least one town is demanding that tourists stay away. The Antelope Valley Poppy Preserve in Lancaster, California, on March 30.

CNN —China is making “significant progress” building the country’s fifth research facility in Antarctica after a several years-long lull in construction, according to a report by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). The site – a research station China has hailed as a means to expand its scientific investigation in the Antarctic – could also be used to enhance the country’s intelligence collection, according to CSIS. In February 2020, a team of US inspectors visited the station, where they were hosted by station leader Wang Zhechao of the Polar Research Institute of China. China has established four scientific research bases in Antarctica since 1984, according to the Chinese Academy of Sciences. Under the 1959 treaty Antarctic Treaty, to which China is party, activities on the continent are restricted to “peaceful purposes.”Military personnel are allowed to conduct scientific research, but may not set up bases, test weapons of carry out maneuvers.

The regular army and the rival paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) issued statements accusing each other of failing to respect the ceasefire. "We have not received any indications here that there's been a halt in the fighting," United Nations spokesman Stephane Dujarric told a news briefing in New York. The fighting has triggered what the United Nations has described as a humanitarian catastrophe, including the near collapse of the health system. Fighting also raged in the west of the country, the United Nations said. [1/7] Satellite image shows a closer view of a burning building at the Merowe Airbase, Sudan, April 18, 2023.

☆ Heavy gunfire quickly shatters Sudan truce deal pushed by U.S.
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-18 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

"We have not received any indications here that there's been a halt in the fighting," United Nations spokesman Stephane Dujarric told a news briefing in New York. The ceasefire deal will not extend beyond the agreed 24 hours, Army General Shams El Din Kabbashi, a member of Sudan's ruling military council, said earlier on al Arabiya TV. A Reuters reporter in Khartoum said he heard tanks firing shortly after the truce was due to take hold. In video verified by Reuters, RSF fighters could be seen inside a section of the army headquarters in Khartoum. Maxar satellite imagery of destroyed fuel trucks at fuel depot in Khartoum, Sudan.

☆ China ramps up construction on new Antarctic station, report says
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-18 | by ( Michael Martina | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/3] A satellite view with overlays shows areas to be developed at the new Chinese station under construction, on Inexpressible Island, Antarctica, January 2, 2023. CSIS told Reuters that while the U.S. still maintains a larger research presence in Antarctica – including the biggest facility in its McMurdo station – China's footprint is growing faster. China's fifth station will be 200 miles (320 km) from the McMurdo station, it said. Under the 1959 Antarctic Treaty, to which China is party, activities on the continent are restricted to "peaceful purposes." A 2022 Pentagon report said China's new Antarctic infrastructure was likely intended in part to strengthen its future claims to natural resources and maritime access and improve PLA capabilities.

☆ China ramps up construction on new Antarctic station –report
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-18 | by ( Michael Martina | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

☆ Top US diplomat says fighters opened fire on a clearly marked US Embassy convoy during a bloody battle in Sudan that has left nearly 200 people dead
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-18 | by ( Jake Epstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

An American diplomatic convoy was fired on during intense fighting in Sudan this week. No one was hurt during the attack, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken told reporters Tuesday. But this action was reckless, it was irresponsible, and of course unsafe — a diplomatic convoy with diplomatic plates, a US flag, being fired upon." "This particular incident is still being investigated in terms of understanding exactly what happened," Blinken told reporters. People walk past shuttered shops in Khartoum, Sudan, Monday, April 17, 2023.

Many other hospitals were also reported to have come under attack on Monday, the third day of fighting in Sudan. Russia has also been trying to make inroads in Sudan, and members of the Kremlin-affiliated Wagner private military company are posted there. Leaders from around the world called for a cease-fire, but it was not clear who, if anyone, was in control of Sudan, Africa’s third-largest country, by area. “Everyone is afraid,” said Ahmed Abuhurira, a 28-year-old mechanical engineer who went out to try to charge his cellphone. “The humanitarian situation in Sudan was already precarious and is now catastrophic,” he said.

Stringer/ReutersThe RSF denied those reports, telling CNN in a statement that it “will never assault any UN staff or employees. Meanwhile, tense efforts to establish a ceasefire have ramped up, with the UN calling for rival factions to end their hostilities. Satellite imagery of the smoke plume at Khartoum International Airport on Sunday. The Sudanese Armed Forces later issued conflicting statements on a proposed 24-hour ceasefire, intended to go into effect later on Tuesday. Both sides had previously agreed to a three-hour ceasefire on Sunday, and again on Monday, with fighting resuming afterward, Perthes said.

☆ Meet the brothers building massive spacecraft to leverage SpaceX’s Starship
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-10 | by ( Michael Sheetz | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

What we're finding is that, with the new launch capabilities of vehicles like Starship, there's actually an interesting opportunity to go the opposite direction," Karan Kunjur told CNBC. Los Angeles-based startup K2 Space, co-founded by CEO Karan Kunjur and CTO Neel Kunjur, is setting out to build satellite buses — the physical structure of a spacecraft that provides power, movement and more. A pair of brothers is aiming to challenge the way spacecraft are built, by going against the industry trend and designing massive satellites in a bet that towering rockets such as SpaceX's Starship are the way forward. K2 Space, a play on the brothers' surname and a nod to astronomer Nikolai Kardashev's scales of civilization, marks Karan and Neel's first venture together and fuses their previously divergent careers. For K2, the company is targeting prices that would be unheard of for satellite buses of these sizes.

☆ M&A bankers trip over their cracked crystal balls
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-08 | by ( Liam Proud | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

The M&A pipeline generally has three components: announced deals that are almost certain to happen; announced deals that may not get over the line; and deals that have neither been announced or perhaps even conceived. Reuters GraphicsThere’s a much tighter relationship between equity markets and M&A, implying that CEOs pursue corporate marriages when their share prices are high. One common way to get around this problem is to look at the value of announced deals as a percentage of total worldwide market capitalisation. WEAKNESS IN NUMBERSUnsurprisingly, given all the uncertainty, some bankers take their pipeline estimates with an appropriately large pinch of salt. Reuters GraphicsFollow @liamwardproud on TwitterCONTEXT NEWSCompanies announced $3.6 trillion of mergers and acquisitions in 2022, according to Refinitiv, compared with $5.7 trillion in 2021.

☆ Before-and-after photos show how Russia's invasion reduced a Ukrainian city to a post-apocalyptic wasteland
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-07 | by ( Sophia Ankel | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Drone footage showed how a city in Ukraine's eastern Donetsk region was reduced to rubble. download the app Email address By clicking ‘Sign up’, you agree to receive marketing emails from Insider as well as other partner offers and accept our Terms of Service and Privacy PolicyBefore-and-after photos show how Russia's invasion reduced a Ukrainian city to a post-apocalyptic wasteland. Located around 80 miles from Bakhmut, Marinka has recently found itself at the center of renewed battles between Ukrainian and Russian forces. It used to be…until Russia's war criminals razed it to the ground," the Ministry of Foreign Affairs captioned the photos. At the time of writing, the territory was roughly split between Russian and Ukrainian control, the Associated Press reported.

☆ As space junk threat grows, government and investors seek solutions
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-03 | by ( Joey Roulette | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

And with no set norms for military space behavior, some fear a potential space weapon attack that could generate far more debris. U.S. Space Command on Friday released a formal list of what it views as responsible space behaviors, in a bid to steer military norms in orbit. The wide-ranging report includes a section on space debris that urges space players to dispose safely of their defunct satellites and notify other operators if any problems with their spacecraft might pose a debris hazard. Another part of the space debris mitigation equation is in-space satellite servicing, concepts in development by dozens of firms including Astroscale, Northrop Grumman (NOC.N), Maxar (MAXR.N) and Airbus (AIR.PA). Australia-based Neumann Space, for instance, is developing a technology that could help recycle old, defunct satellites into fuel - using the scrap metal to generate plasma thrust for new satellites.

☆ A year after Russia’s invasion: How Ukraine endured
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +21 min

REUTERS/Valentyn OgirenkoIn the early hours of Feb. 24, 2022, tens of thousands of Russian soldiers entered Ukraine. By seizing the city of three million people, and capturing or killing Zelenskiy, Russia’s hope appeared to be that Ukraine would quickly surrender. By March 23, Russia’s advance had captured regions of Ukraine along the Belarus border but Ukraine’s forces had begun reclaiming territory near Kyiv. Satellite imagery of Russia’s military convoy near Invankiv, Ukraine, Feb. 28, 2022. The two sit on a bed, with a radio and teddy bears nearby., image Ukrainian civilians have endured The will of the people of Ukraine continues to be that they remain free.

☆ Satellite photos show carnage in Vuhledar where Russian losses are mounting amid Ukrainian defense
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-14 | by ( Erin Snodgrass | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Russia continues to face failure and losses in the Donetsk region near the town of Vuhledar. Satellite images show what three months of fighting in the region have done to the land. Satellite image ©2023 Maxar TechnologiesPetrivka: AfterAn aerial shot of Petrivka on Feb. 10, 2023. Satellite image ©2023 Maxar Technologies PetrivkaUkrainian forces continue to push back against Russia's head-on attacks near Vuhledar. Armored vehicles near the treeline of VuhledarArmored vehicles deployed along tree line southeast of Vuhledar on Feb. 8, 2023.

☆ North Korea shows off possible solid-fuel ICBM at nighttime parade - analysts
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-09 | by ( Josh Smith | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/3] A general view of missile launchers during parade to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the Korean People's Army at Kim Il Sung Square in Pyongyang, North Korea February 8, 2023. Maxar Technology/Handout via REUTERSSEOUL, Feb 9 (Reuters) - Nuclear-armed North Korea unveiled what could be a new, solid-fuel intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) during a nighttime parade, analysts said on Thursday, citing commercial satellite imagery. North Korea held the widely anticipated nighttime military parade on Wednesday, an event expected to showcase the country's latest weapons to mark the founding anniversary of its army. Among the systems on display were the country's largest-yet ICBM, the Hwasong-17, followed by what some analysts said could be a new solid-fuel ICBM. North Korea has sometimes displayed mockups at the parades.

The Wall Street Journal identified major collapses (tagged in yellow). The photo was taken on Monday, Feb. 6, just hours after the earthquake. Maxar Technologies/WSJ

☆ Russia was making big plans for Ukraine's nuclear power plants before its invasion fell apart
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-29 | by ( Stavros Atlamazoglou | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Those plans depended in part on seizing Ukraine's nuclear power plants and using them for leverage. Dmytro Smolyenko/Future Publishing via Getty ImagesAccording to the RUSI report, Russia's war plans viewed Ukraine's nuclear power plants as a means to achieve Moscow's larger aims. The Kremlin's plan envisioned three uses for the Ukrainian nuclear power facilities once the invasion was underway. Moscow also incorporated Ukraine's nuclear power facilities into its information operations. Fighting in a nuclear plantThe Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant on August 29.

☆ For the 2nd year in a row, Iran is sailing its biggest warship around the world to show off its growing navy
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-27 | by ( Constantine Atlamazoglou | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Iranian warships left Iran in September on what one official said was a journey around the world. Visiting far off landsIranian navy Makran near the Strait of Hormuz in May 2021. They have repeatedly seized Iranian arms shipments bound for Yemen and have often had tense encounters with Iranian warships. Iran has also started an indigenous shipbuilding program to grow its navy, which is designed to defend the Persian Gulf. "Yet the focus of Iran will continue to be the Persian Gulf, the Gulf of Oman, and the Indian ocean.

☆ A Russian graveyard reveals Wagner’s prisoner army
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +18 min

The resting places were adorned with simple wooden crosses and brightly coloured wreaths that bore the insignia of Russia’s Wagner Group - a feared and secretive private army. The news agency matched the names of at least 39 of the dead here and at three other nearby cemeteries to Russian court records, publicly available databases and social media accounts. He said gravediggers told him the bodies had come from the Russian city of Rostov-on-Don, close to Russia’s border with Donetsk region. According to Russian court documents, Kochas and another man burst into the apartment of an acquaintance while drunk in an attempted robbery. But he refused, so he’s a fool.”A Russian graveyard reveals Wagner’s prisoner army By Felix Light and Filipp Lebedev in Tbilisi and Reade Levinson in London Photo editing: Simon Newman Graphics: Fielding Cage Art direction: Eve Watling Edited by Janet McBride

☆ Satellite images hint at scale of Russian mercenary group's losses in Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-25 | by ( Aina J. Khan | Aina Is A Freelance Reporter With Nbc News. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +3 min

The number of graves at a cemetery used by Russia's notorious mercenary Wagner Group has dramatically grown over the last two months, satellite images show. Satellite images show an increase in graves at a cemetery in Bakinskaya, Russia, from Nov. 24, 2022, to Jan. 24, 2023. The Wagner Group previously provided assistance to the Russian military during conflicts in Syria and Libya. The U.S. government said last week that it will designate Wagner Group as a “significant transnational criminal organization” and impose further sanctions against the organization and its support network. The Wagner Group did not comment on the satellite images and video footage.

☆ Putin's favorite mercenary leader may be preparing to justify a failure in Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-23 | by ( Stavros Atlamazoglou | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

A rivalry between Russia's military and Wagner Group mercenaries has come to the fore in Ukraine. Indeed, with curses and excuses, Yevgeny Prigozhin, leader of the Wagner Group and President Vladimir Putin's favorite mercenary leader, may be preparing to justify a failure in one of the fiercest battles of the war: Bakhmut. Rivalry exposedA mural in Belgrade that praises the Wagner group and its mercenaries fighting in Ukraine. Prigozhin was quick to criticize them — another instance of the mercenary leader's long-running challenge to Russia's military leadership. But with tens of thousands of fighters in Ukraine, Prigozhin doesn't seem phased.

☆ Russia's troops are tied down in Ukraine, but some of its best subs are still holding the US 'at risk,' top US commanders say
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-18 | by ( Christopher Woody | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

US military leaders have warned that Russia's Severodvinsk-class subs are operating near US coasts. Severodvinsk-class subs have a mix of stealth and striking power that worries US and NATO navies. Russia plans to build nine Severodvinsk-class subs, which it calls the Yasen class, and may add more in the future. In addition to nuclear propulsion, Severodvinsk-class subs have advanced quieting technology and are built with low-magnetic steel, making them harder to detect. They demonstrated it in the mid-2010s by firing Kalibr cruise missiles at ISIS targets in Syria, surprising some US officials.

Seen from space, the war is carved into Ukraine's earth. As battles rage in and around the city of Bakhmut, a strategically important city near the war’s front lines, satellite images released by Maxar Technologies, a U.S. defense contractor headquartered in Colorado, show the devastation by comparing the same areas pictured in August and then earlier this week. Buildings lie in ruins and bomb craters pockmark the ground: The destruction caused by months of fierce fighting is clear.

☆ JPMorgan names Anu Aiyengar sole head of global M&A
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-12 | by ( Anirban Sen | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] Signage is seen at the JPMorgan Chase & Co. New York Head Quarters in Manhattan, New York City, U.S., June 30, 2022. REUTERS/Andrew KellyNEW YORK, Jan 12 (Reuters) - JPMorgan Chase & Co (JPM.N) on Thursday named Anu Aiyengar as the sole head of its global mergers and acquisitions (M&A) franchise after co-head Dirk Albersmeier stepped down from the role, cementing her status as the only female executive leading global M&A on Wall Street. Albersmeier will take on a new "wholly client and transaction-focused role" within JPMorgan, according to the memo. "Going forward, Anu will be the sole head of our global M&A business and Dirk will focus exclusively on providing our clients with first-class M&A advice and continuing to mentor the next generation of M&A leaders," the memo said. Aiyengar, a JPMorgan veteran of more than two decades, has led the bank's M&A franchise since she was promoted to the role alongside Albersmeier in 2020.

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