Day: August 7, 2020
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Russian Virologist Questions Safety of Country’s Coronavirus Vaccine
A Russian virologist has questioned the country’s swiftly developed coronavirus vaccine, warning that it could be dangerous for people who have antibodies against the virus. Russia is one of several countries racing to develop a vaccine to halt the disease that has killed more than 700,000 people and slammed the global economy. One vaccine, developed…
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Russia Wants to Return to Venus, Build Reusable Rocket
The head of Russia’s space agency said Friday that Roscosmos wants to return to Venus and bring back soil samples and build spacecraft that will surpass Elon Musk’s rockets. Last week America’s first crewed spaceship to fly to the International Space Station in nearly a decade returned safely to Earth, splashing down in the Gulf…
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Belarus Fuels First Nuclear Plant Ahead of Presidential Poll
Belarus on Friday announced it had loaded fuel into its Russian-built nuclear power station as strongman Alexander Lukashenko prepares to contest a presidential poll on Sunday. The country is launching its first ever nuclear plant to gain cheaper energy despite suffering severe radiation from the 1986 Chernobyl disaster and against strong opposition from neighboring Lithuania.…
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Putin Says Russia Wants ‘Stable’ Belarus Ahead of Poll
Russian President Vladimir Putin said Friday he wants ex-Soviet neighbor Belarus to remain stable ahead of a presidential vote on Sunday, after Minsk accused Moscow of sending mercenaries to foment riots. The Kremlin released a statement after a phone call between Putin and Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko to discuss ties as Belarus ramped up tensions…
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Russian Indigenous Groups Call on Elon Musk to Boycott Company Behind Arctic Disasters
Indigenous groups in Siberia and the Russian Far East have asked Elon Musk to boycott a mining giant linked to several recent environmental disasters in the Arctic. Last month, the Tesla CEO urged global mining companies to ramp up nickel production as current costs of the metal, a key ingredient in electric car batteries, were…
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U.S. Spams Russians With Texts Offering Rewards for Election Meddling Info
Russians are receiving spam text messages offering huge rewards in exchange for information about their country’s efforts to interfere in the United States’ presidential election. News of the SMS messages came after U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced the $10 million reward in an attempt to prevent foreign interference in the November vote, pointing…
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Twitter, Facebook Take Fresh Steps to Curb Election Manipulation
Twitter and Facebook on Thursday announced moves to thwart efforts to deceive or divide voters as the U.S. nears a contentious presidential election. Twitter unveiled new steps to prevent the spread of content from “state-affiliated media” used to advance a government’s political agenda — a move affecting key outlets from Russia and China. Facebook, meanwhile, said it…
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Tom Sawyer Fest: From the Mississippi to the Volga
If you’ve read the book “The Adventures of Tom Sawyer” by Mark Twain, you remember how Tom Sawyer’s aunt made him paint the fence as punishment. But Tom made it seem like so much fun that his friends wanted to paint it for him while he went off and played. Inspired by this episode, the…
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Fuel Loading Begins at Belorussian NPP Unit 1
On August 7, fuel loading began at the Belarusian NPP Unit 1. Rosatom Engineering Division is the general designer and general contractor of the NPP. At 11:45 the first fuel assembly was loaded into the reactor of Unit 1. A total of 163 assemblies will be loaded before the end of the month. Following the…
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Lukashenko: Soviet-Style Autocrat on Europe’s Doorstep
Strongman Alexander Lukashenko, who has ruled over ex-Soviet Belarus for nearly three decades, is facing down the greatest challenge to his rule yet ahead of presidential elections on Sunday. In the run-up to the vote in which Lukashenko will seek a sixth term, protests have erupted across the country straddling Russia and Europe, with 37-year-old…
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15-Year-Old Girl Dies in Monastery Captured By Rogue Priest
A 15-year-old girl living in a Russian Orthodox monastery controlled by a defrocked coronavirus-denying priest has died, Interfax reported Wednesday. The Sredneuralsk women’s monastery near Russia’s fourth-largest city of Yekaterinburg has been under the control of Father Sergei Romanov since he forced out its mother superior in June. Since then, Russian media outlets have reported…
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Rising Star Shakes up Belarus Strongman’s Re-Election Bid
Belarus holds presidential polls on Sunday with a novice opposition candidate posing the greatest challenge in years to long-ruling strongman Alexander Lukashenko. The 65-year-old authoritarian leader has headed the ex-Soviet country bordering Russia since 1994 and Sunday’s polls could hand him his sixth term. After appearing to guarantee himself a smooth path to victory by…
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Moscow City Workers, Medics to Have Early Coronavirus Vaccine Access – Bloomberg
Moscow city government employees and healthcare workers are being offered early access to Russia’s coronavirus vaccine as the country rushes to approve what it says is the world’s first Covid-19 vaccine, Bloomberg reported Wednesday. Officials in recent weeks have said Russia aims to launch mass production of a coronavirus vaccine next month and produce “several…