Izvestia: Crew Dragon’s success might change the space industry, but cost Russia
The takeoff and successful docking of the SpaceX manned spacecraft became the final stage of testing before its regular operation. Experts believe that this launch will usher in a new era in space. Roscosmos will lose its monopoly on delivering crews to the station, and the United States will engage in commercial activities in this area. Meanwhile, Russian cosmonauts will use the places that American astronauts used before the launch of Crew Dragon, Roscosmos told Izvestia. The Russian corporation remains optimistic and is sticking to its plans.
“The flight equalizes the space power of Roscosmos and SpaceX, whereas Elon Musk employs 6,000 people, Roscosmos employs 240,000. I think that as a result, Russia will lose the money that it was receiving for transporting Americans to the ISS – in the best years, this amount ranged from $300 mln to $500 mln at today’s prices,” Head of the Space Policy Institute Ivan Moiseev told Izvestia.
Roscosmos’ press service told Izvestia that the pricing policy for sending astronauts from other countries to the ISS is a commercial secret. “Regarding vacant space on ships, it will be used to implement the Russian research program. Russian cosmonauts will take the space occupied by the Americans,” the state corporation said.
“With the example of the United States, we see that private investment plays an increasing role in the development of space and not the state. Russia could not create such system,” corresponding member of the Russian Academy of Cosmonautics Andrey Ionin told Izvestia.
General Director of Cosmocurs Pavel Pushkin believes that now the US will begin their own commercial activities to send crews to the ISS. “Of course, we will remain leaders in this market. But the United States will become more independent from us in terms of delivering astronauts,” he told the newspaper.
Meanwhile, Roscosmos welcomed the successful launch of Crew Dragon and noted the importance of having two transport systems capable of sending crews to the ISS. The corporation also announced new space projects. In 2020, tests of two latest missiles are planned and its lunar program will be resumed in 2021.
Kommersant: Donald Trump urges Vladimir Putin to discuss China’s fate
The Trump administration is laying the groundwork for the annual G7 summit, which will be the most unpredictable in its history. Due to the pandemic, the summit was postponed till September, and it is still unclear whether its members will be able to assemble in full force. However, the most intriguing thing was a proposal to discuss the “future of China,” inviting a number of non-G7 states, including Russia, expelled from the club in 2014. According to Kommersant, despite Trump’s conciliatory gesture, Moscow’s participation in the summit is unlikely, given the anti-Chinese focus of Washington’s initiative. However, experts interviewed by the newspaper do not rule out that if Trump is re-elected, Russia could become an intermediary between the US and China.
Chairman of the Federation Council’s Committee on International Affairs Konstantin Kosachev reacted first to Trump’s statements, saying that the White House’s proposal needed clarification. According to him, despite the willingness to communicate in all formats, Moscow is not satisfied with the role of an observer, and resuming interaction within the G7 would be possible if all participants are equal and have the same opportunities to impact decisions.
Meanwhile, experts interviewed by Kommersant believe that Russia is unlikely to participate in the G7 summit. Vladimir Batyuk, a researcher at the RAS’ Institute for US and Canadian Studies told Kommersant that Moscow would have good reason to reject Trump’s invitation. “First, this proposal does not mean restoring Russia’s status as a full member of the G8. …
Accepting such an invitation would be demonstrating willingness to undergo any sort of humiliation, just to be able to contact Western leaders. Second, Beijing would look down on any acceptance of this proposal. In the context of the new US-Chinese Cold War, this summit would be perceived by the Chinese leadership as an anti-Chinese conspiracy with Moscow, no matter what statements the Russian leader makes publicly,” the expert said.
Director General of the Russian Council on Foreign Affairs Andrey Kortunov told Kommersant that this is an attempt to pull Russia away from China. “However, it’s inappropriate to even talk about a hypothetical bargain between Moscow and Washington around China, given that Donald Trump is only waiting for steps from Russia, but he can’t offer anything in return – neither in Ukraine, nor in Syria, nor in other areas,” he noted.
However, according to the expert, if Trump was re-elected for a second term, “under certain circumstances, Moscow could become an intermediary between Washington and Beijing.”
Vedomosti: Date of Russia’s constitutional vote may be announced this week
Early this week, Russian President Vladimir Putin may announce the date of the nationwide vote on the anticipated constitutional amendments, four people close to the presidential administration and Moscow City Hall told Vedomosti. Two of them believe that the vote will be held on July 1, but one said that the option from July 8is still under consideration.
According to a source close to the Kremlin, the referendum could occur on July 1, but early voting would begin a week before, on June 25, the day after the Victory Day parade scheduled for June 24. “They are counting on the mobilization effect of the Victory Day parade, its inspiration and positive emotions,” the source explained. Earlier, another person close to the presidential administration said that the authorities wanted to celebrate “the victory over the virus,” and against this background organize the vote.
On May 26, Putin ordered Defense Minister Sergey Shoygu to begin preparations for the parade, rescheduled from May 9 to June 24. At first, it was planned to have the vote on the constitutional amendments on the same say, sources told Vedomosti. However, June 24 not yet been publicly announced as the definitive date. Sources told the newspaper that the date has not yet been announced because the epidemiological situation has still not stabilized in the Russian regions. Whereas the mortality rate from coronavirus infection has been on the decline in Moscow, it was growing in other regions, Vedomosti wrote.
Izvestia: Russia’s antimonopoly service questions Microsoft’s anti-crisis offer
The Russian Federal Antimonopoly Service has questioned the legitimacy of Microsoft’s recent offer, seeking to give Russian authorities six months of free access to their software products and services. If government agencies accept the proposal, such a decision can be regarded as a violation of the law in the field of competition and import substitution of software, Deputy Head of FAS Anatoly Golomolzin told Izvestia. Market participants support the position of the antitrust authority and warn that there is a risk of becoming dependent on Microsoft’s services, and this would harm Russian products.
“Support should be based on competitive principles and not lead to a violation of antitrust laws and the monopolization of product markets,” Golomolzin explained to the newspaper.
At the end of April, the US-based tech monolith suggested that the Russian government use the corporation’s products for work amid the pandemic, including cloud services, solutions in the field of medicine, and cybersecurity. In particular, the management of the Russian office of Microsoft turned to the Ministry of Communications with an initiative to organize a free six-month access to the Office 365 package with Microsoft Teams for Russian government agencies.
Microsoft’s press service in Russia informed Izvestia that in this way the corporation took practical measures to help states, companies, and public organizations that are struggling with the adverse effects of the pandemic.
The Russian Association of Software Developers considers Microsoft’s anti-crisis proposals to be unacceptable, since the storage of personal and user data of the corporation on servers in the US and Europe contradicts Russia’s federal law “On Personal Data”.
Kommersant: Russia tightens screws on cryptocurrency market
Russia’s authorities have presented market participants with a new bill on digital currencies and changes to liability for violations. These works directly prohibit the circulation of cryptocurrencies not issued under internal regulation in Russia, as well as mining and even advertising. Experts told Kommersant that the market may move abroad due to the overly tough approach not only due to the circulation of major world cryptocurrencies, such as bitcoin and ether, but also participation in mining.
“We turned away from the topic of cryptocurrencies in the bill on digital financial assets, but decided to nevertheless define digital currency and hammer out regulation for this phenomenon,” Head of the State Duma’s financial market committee Anatoly Aksakov told Kommersant. He added that now the bill reflects the rather tough position of Russia’s regulators regarding the restriction of cryptocurrencies in the Russian legal field. At the same time, Aksakov noted that if a citizen wants to work with cryptocurrency, they are free to do so on foreign platforms. The project could be approved in the fall.
According to newspaper, excluding only one sector – mining – from the economy will mean a loss for the country of over $2 bln per year.
Market players and experts were outraged at the tough approach of the state, Kommersant wrote. According to Taxology partner Mikhail Uspensky, the worst thing is that the bill completely blocks the legal sale of the world’s major cryptocurrencies in Russia, primarily bitcoin and ether.
A compromise decision for the industry could be an experimental legal regime, the so-called sandbox, attorney Alexander Zhuravlev told the newspaper.
TASS is not responsible for the material quoted in these press reviews
NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — The body of Ugandan Olympic athlete Rebecca Cheptegei — who died after being set on fire by her partner in Kenya — was received Friday by family and anti-femicide crusaders, ahead of her burial a day later.
Cheptegei’s family met with dozens of activists Friday who had marched to the Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital’s morgue in the western city of Eldoret while chanting anti-femicide slogans.
She is the fourth female athlete to have been killed by her partner in Kenya in yet another case of gender-based violence in recent years.
Viola Cheptoo, the founder of Tirop Angels – an organization that was formed in honor of athlete Agnes Tirop, who was stabbed to death in 2021, said stakeholders need to ensure this is the last death of an athlete due to gender-based violence.
“We are here to say that enough is enough, we are tired of burying our sisters due to GBV,” she said.
It was a somber mood at the morgue as athletes and family members viewed Cheptegei’s body which sustained 80% of burns after she was doused with gasoline by her partner Dickson Ndiema. Ndiema sustained 30% burns on his body and later succumbed.
Ndiema and Cheptegei were said to have quarreled over a piece of land that the athlete bought in Kenya, according to a report filed by the local chief.
Cheptegei competed in the women’s marathon at the Paris Olympics less than a month before the attack. She finished in 44th place.
Cheptegei’s father, Joseph, said that the body will make a brief stop at their home in the Endebess area before proceeding to Bukwo in eastern Uganda for a night vigil and burial on Saturday.
“We are in the final part of giving my daughter the last respect,” a visibly distraught Joseph said.
He told reporters last week that Ndiema was stalking and threatening Cheptegei and the family had informed police.
Four in 10 women or an estimated 41% of dating or married Kenyan women have experienced physical or sexual violence perpetrated by their current or most recent partner, according to the Kenya Demographic and Health Survey 2022.
TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — A rare Bronze-Era jar accidentally smashed by a 4-year-old visiting a museum was back on display Wednesday after restoration experts were able to carefully piece the artifact back together.
Last month, a family from northern Israel was visiting the museum when their youngest son tipped over the jar, which smashed into pieces.
Alex Geller, the boy’s father, said his son — the youngest of three — is exceptionally curious, and that the moment he heard the crash, “please let that not be my child” was the first thought that raced through his head.
The jar has been on display at the Hecht Museum in Haifa for 35 years. It was one of the only containers of its size and from that period still complete when it was discovered.
The Bronze Age jar is one of many artifacts exhibited out in the open, part of the Hecht Museum’s vision of letting visitors explore history without glass barriers, said Inbal Rivlin, the director of the museum, which is associated with Haifa University in northern Israel.
It was likely used to hold wine or oil, and dates back to between 2200 and 1500 B.C.
Rivlin and the museum decided to turn the moment, which captured international attention, into a teaching moment, inviting the Geller family back for a special visit and hands-on activity to illustrate the restoration process.
Rivlin added that the incident provided a welcome distraction from the ongoing war in Gaza. “Well, he’s just a kid. So I think that somehow it touches the heart of the people in Israel and around the world,“ said Rivlin.
Roee Shafir, a restoration expert at the museum, said the repairs would be fairly simple, as the pieces were from a single, complete jar. Archaeologists often face the more daunting task of sifting through piles of shards from multiple objects and trying to piece them together.
Experts used 3D technology, hi-resolution videos, and special glue to painstakingly reconstruct the large jar.
Less than two weeks after it broke, the jar went back on display at the museum. The gluing process left small hairline cracks, and a few pieces are missing, but the jar’s impressive size remains.
The only noticeable difference in the exhibit was a new sign reading “please don’t touch.”
VICTORIA – The British Columbia government is partnering with a bear welfare group to reduce the number of bears being euthanized in the province.
Nicholas Scapillati, executive director of Grizzly Bear Foundation, said Monday that it comes after months-long discussions with the province on how to protect bears, with the goal to give the animals a “better and second chance at life in the wild.”
Scapillati said what’s exciting about the project is that the government is open to working with outside experts and the public.
“So, they’ll be working through Indigenous knowledge and scientific understanding, bringing in the latest techniques and training expertise from leading experts,” he said in an interview.
B.C. government data show conservation officers destroyed 603 black bears and 23 grizzly bears in 2023, while 154 black bears were killed by officers in the first six months of this year.
Scapillati said the group will publish a report with recommendations by next spring, while an independent oversight committee will be set up to review all bear encounters with conservation officers to provide advice to the government.
Environment Minister George Heyman said in a statement that they are looking for new ways to ensure conservation officers “have the trust of the communities they serve,” and the panel will make recommendations to enhance officer training and improve policies.
Lesley Fox, with the wildlife protection group The Fur-Bearers, said they’ve been calling for such a committee for decades.
“This move demonstrates the government is listening,” said Fox. “I suspect, because of the impending election, their listening skills are potentially a little sharper than they normally are.”
Fox said the partnership came from “a place of long frustration” as provincial conservation officers kill more than 500 black bears every year on average, and the public is “no longer tolerating this kind of approach.”
“I think that the conservation officer service and the B.C. government are aware they need to change, and certainly the public has been asking for it,” said Fox.
Fox said there’s a lot of optimism about the new partnership, but, as with any government, there will likely be a lot of red tape to get through.
“I think speed is going to be important, whether or not the committee has the ability to make change and make change relatively quickly without having to study an issue to death, ” said Fox.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 9, 2024.
