Latest news with #Belarus-based
Yahoo
27-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Investigators find out how luxury goods banned for import from EU get to Russia
Despite the ban on importing luxury goods worth more than €300 from the European Union to Russia, investigative journalists have found a delivery organiser among Belarusian companies. He is connected to a former assistant to the son of the president of Belarus. Source: Belarusian Investigative Centre Details: The company involved in the import of luxury goods is Belcargo. One of the investigators, claiming to be a client, contacted the company and tried to place an order to send a batch of jackets from Italy to Russia. In response, they offered a simple scheme: they would buy the items, send them to Lithuania, and then deliver them to Russia via Belarus. It was about ten luxury jackets with a market value of €6,450, but the investigators indicated a fictitious value of €1,730 in the order. Belcargo ignored this and issued an invoice for US$255 for delivery with customs clearance. "With such an underpricing, the Belarusian budget loses most of its revenues in the form of duties and taxes," the journalist said. The Belarus-based company Torgovyi Dom Exporttorg (Trade House) is a key link in this scheme. In one of the Lithuanian export documents, it is listed as the recipient of a consignment of clothing from Italy and as the sender in Russian customs declarations. Torgovyi Dom Exporttorg is linked to Alexander Zaitsev, a former aide to Viktor Lukashenko (son of Belarusian self-proclaimed President Alexander Lukashenko). The company has repeatedly participated in schemes to circumvent sanctions by supplying microcircuits and sanctioned tyres to Russia. Despite all this, the company is still not under sanctions from either the European Union or the United States. This allows it to use international logistics and banking services. Background: The European Union banned the export of luxury goods worth more than €300 to Russia in the spring of 2022. For example, items from Louis Vuitton, Balenciaga and Brunello Cucinelli, among others. For the first time, Georgia's largest bank, Bank of Georgia (BoG), has banned its Russian customers from making purchases in luxury stores worldwide for more than €300. Support Ukrainska Pravda on Patreon!
Yahoo
31-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Russia completes development of 30-year-old outdated lithography tool
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. Zelenograd Nanotechnology Center (ZNTC) and Planar have concluded developing Russia's first lithography system capable of supporting 350nm-class process technologies (0.35 micron). The development was assisted by Belarus-based Planar company. The machine has cleared official inspections and is undergoing integration trials in Zelenograd. Despite its symbolic significance, the system's design has been outdated by several decades, and whether ZNTC can produce these in volume is unclear. The ZNTC lithography tool — which was officially introduced a year ago — is a 200-mm litho machine based on a solid-state laser with an exposure field size of 22mm × 22mm (484 mm^2). ZNTC and Planar do not disclose critical technical details about the tool, including the wavelength of the laser it uses or the power that the laser can emit. However, it says it uses an energy-efficient 'solid-state' laser with a 'tighter' emission range and longer operational life. The use of a solid-state light source seems to be an important detail that not only differentiates the tool from those designed by leading fab tool makers but could also give a hint about the company's plans going forward. Considering that ZNTC makes rather vague announcements (perhaps to keep its progress and the progress of its partners under wraps), it makes sense to examine the so-called best-known production tools from ASML to put ZNTC's achievements into context. ASML's lithography tools designed for 200-mm wafers used for process technologies ranging from 350nm down to 130nm traditionally utilized one of two main types of ultraviolet (UV) illumination sources, depending on the exact lithography model and process node requirements: mercury arc lamps, KrF (krypton fluoride), or ArF (argon fluoride) laser. For process technologies of 350nm and less advanced, ASML's i-line steppers used mercury arc lamps with a wavelength of 365nm(405nm and 436nm were less common). For nodes of 250nm and more advanced, ASML used a KrF (krypton fluoride) laser with a 248nm wavelength. Starting from 130nm nodes, ASML's deep ultraviolet lithography systems have used ArF (argon fluoride) lasers with a 193nm wavelength. An avid reader would ask, "What is a solid-state laser in semiconductor production?" Solid-state lasers are widely used in semiconductor manufacturing, yet not for the primary lithographic exposure at advanced nodes. Instead, they are used in supporting roles, such as wafer inspection, defect analysis, marking, and micromachining processes, including wafer dicing or trimming components. Solid-state lasers operating at around a 365nm wavelength (frequency-tripled Nd:YAG lasers) can also be employed for lithography at mature nodes (e.g., ≥250nm), as they are stable, efficient, and reliable. However, as noted above, ASML has used gas-based excimer lasers (KrF at 248nm, ArF at 193nm) or mercury lamps (365nm i-line) since the late 1990s. This gets interesting as ZNTC said it is working on a lithography system capable of a 130nm-class process technology, though its development is expected to be finalized sometime in 2026. While a 350nm-class process technology is used for some devices, it is obsolete by today's standards. In the mid-1990s, Intel used this node for its Pentium MMX, Pentium Pro, and early Pentium II CPUs, while AMD produced its K6 processor using the same technology around 1997. Nowadays, advanced chips are made at 5nm-class process technologies or better. Even Russian chipmakers like Angstrem and Mikron do not manufacture at 350 nm. Both companies operate at resolutions between 250 nm and 90 nm. As such, the new scanner does not match the existing production nodes of major Russian foundries, limiting its immediate commercial relevance to non-critical layers at domestic producers, which will continue to use ASML's PAS 5500-series lithography tools, which are smuggled into Russia. Still, ZNTC's tool may find limited use in specific sectors. Some automotive and power management ICs are produced using mature processes. Military applications could also benefit from this kind of tool, as cutting-edge performance is not always a requirement for them. Still, it appears that the new machine's primary aim is to serve as a base for developing more capable versions. ZNTC is currently working on a new model targeting 130nm-class process technologies. Completion is expected in 2026. This version is part of a longer-term roadmap set by the Russian government, which aims for domestic production at 90nm by the end of 2025, 28nm by 2027, and 14nm by 2030. ZNTC and its peers in Russia are well behind the plan.
Yahoo
27-02-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
French-Born Ex-Wing, Hab Signs Contract Extension In KHL
French-born Canadian defenseman Xavier Ouellet, 31, has signed a two-year contract extension with Dinamo Minsk, the KHL website announced on Tuesday. Ouellet was born in Bayonne, France while his father, Canadian Robert Ouellet, played professionally in the Ligue Magnus. He was raised in Terrebonne, Que. and played junior hockey for the Montreal Juniors and the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada of the QMJHL. Ouellet was chosen in the second round, 48th overall, by the Detroit Red Wings in the 2011 NHL Entry Draft. From 2013 to 2021, Ouellet played 178 NHL regular-season games for the Wings and Montreal Canadiens, recording 28 points and 82 penalty minutes. He also added an assist in 11 playoff games – 10 of which were with Montreal in the 2020 Eastern Conference bubble in Toronto. Ouellet played in the AHL for the Grand Rapids Griffins and was captain of the Laval Rocket. He also played two seasons for the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins while under contract with the Pittsburgh Penguins. Internationally, Ouellet represented Canada at the 2013 IIHF World Junior Championship. A dual citizen of France and Canada, he has never played for either country at the senior level. The 2024-25 season is Ouellet's first in Europe. Through his first 57 KHL games, Ouellet has 24 points and 28 penalty minutes for the Belarus-based Minsk club, which sits sixth out of 11 teams in the Western Conference. Dinamo's roster includes fellow ex-NHLers Jordan Gross, Alexander Volkov, Tanner Fritz and Vadim Shipachyov. NHL-drafted prospects on the roster include 21-year-old goaltender Yegor Velmakin (Carolina Hurricanes) and 20-year-old forward Vadim Moroz (Utah HC). Jordan Gross signs with KHL club Dinamo Minsk American defenseman Jordan Gross, 29, has signed a one-year contract with Dinamo Minsk, the Belarusian-based KHL club announced on Friday. The Nashville Predators retain his NHL rights.
