Latest news with #Sputnik
Japan Forward
a day ago
- Politics
- Japan Forward
Akie Abe Meets Putin at the Kremlin in Moscow
Akie Abe, widow of the late former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, was invited to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin on May 29 at the Kremlin in Moscow. The Russian presidential office later released footage and details from the meeting. According to the Kremlin, President Putin told Mrs Abe: "Your husband made a tremendous contribution to the advancement of Japan–Russia relations. I had an excellent personal relationship with him. Although his life was tragically ended by an act of terrorism, both his legacy and his work are deeply respected here in Russia." Akie Abe (second from left) and President Vladimir Putin (second from right), in a meeting at the Kremlin in Moscow. May 29 (©Sputnik via Reuters) Akie Abe's response was also released. She reportedly said, "The main purpose of this visit is to express my gratitude for the active dialogue you shared with my husband and your efforts to strengthen Japan–Russia relations." She added, "I'm not a politician and don't intend to speak on political issues." However, she went on to say, "Russia is an important neighbor for Japan. Even in these challenging times, I would be happy to see continued growth in cultural and people-to-people exchanges between our two countries." Akie Abe meets Russian President Putin at the Kremlin in Moscow on May 29. (©Sputnik via Reuters) Referring to Mrs Abe's husband, Putin remarked: "His dream was to conclude a peace treaty between our two nations. We made serious progress toward that goal. While the current circumstances are different and I won't speak to that today, I'm grateful for the opportunity to meet with you." Akie Abe departs from the Kremlin in a limousine after meeting with President Putin. May 29, 2025 (©Sputnik via Reuters) (Read the article in Japanese .) Author: Yuichi Onoda, The Sankei Shimbun
Straits Times
a day ago
- Politics
- Straits Times
Russia's Putin praises Abe, says late Japanese PM wanted peace treaty
Russian President Vladimir Putin meets Akie Abe, wife of former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, May 29, 2025. Sputnik/Vyacheslav Prokofyev/Pool via REUTERS Russian President Vladimir Putin welcomes Akie Abe, wife of former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, May 29, 2025. Sputnik/Vyacheslav Prokofyev/Pool via REUTERS Russian President Vladimir Putin paid tribute to former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Thursday, saying he knew the slain Japanese leader had dreamt of finally concluding a post-World War Two peace treaty. No treaty was ever signed as the two countries could not resolve a dispute over the then-Soviet Union's seizure at the end of the war of four islands in the Southern Kuril chain, known in Japan as the Northern Territories. Russian media said Abe and Putin met altogether 27 times during the nearly nine years the Japanese leader was in office. Abe left office in 2020 and was assassinated two years later while making an election campaign speech. "I know that his dream - and he truly strived to achieve this - was to conclude a peace treaty between our two countries. The situation is different now," the Russian leader said. Putin, whose comments to Abe's widow in the Kremlin were reported by Russian news agencies, also said fulfilling that dream was not possible in the current international situation given the conflict in Ukraine. "Your husband did a great deal for the development of Russian-Japanese relations. We had very good personal relations," Putin was quoted as telling Akie Abe. Russia's relations with Japan have been strained by Tokyo's support for sanctions imposed by Ukraine's Western allies over Moscow's 2022 invasion of Ukraine. All negotiations on clinching a peace treaty have been suspended. Akie Abe told Putin, according to the agencies, that her husband had wanted to meet Putin even after the start of the Ukraine conflict "but unfortunately circumstances were such that he was no longer able to meet you. His life was cut short." REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Jordan News
2 days ago
- Politics
- Jordan News
Russian Army Seizes New Areas in Ukraine - Jordan News
The Russian Ministry of Defense announced on Thursday that Russian forces have taken control of the towns of Shevchenko Pervy and Gnatovka in the Donetsk People's Republic, as well as the town of Stroyevka in the Kharkiv region. اضافة اعلان In an official statement, the ministry said: 'As a result of successful operations, units from the Western Group of Forces liberated the village of Stroyevka in Kharkiv region,' according to the Russian news agency Sputnik. The statement added: 'Following successful operations, units from the Southern Russian Group of Forces liberated the village of Gnatovka in the Donetsk People's Republic. Russian forces targeted Ukrainian armed forces in several areas of the Donetsk People's Republic.' According to the statement, Ukrainian army losses exceeded 240 soldiers and armored vehicles, along with several field artillery pieces. Additionally, two electronic warfare stations, three ammunition depots, and a supply warehouse were destroyed. The statement continued: 'Successful operations by units from the Central Russian Group of Forces led to the liberation of the village of Shevchenko Pervy in the Donetsk People's Republic. Russian forces targeted Ukrainian armed forces in multiple areas of the Donetsk People's Republic, inflicting losses exceeding 390 soldiers, armored vehicles, and several field artillery pieces.' It added: 'Operational tactical aviation, armed drones, rocket forces, and artillery of the Russian forces damaged military airport infrastructure, production factories, drone storage facilities, a fuel station for Ukrainian armed forces, and concentrations of personnel and equipment across 137 locations.'
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First Post
2 days ago
- Politics
- First Post
From blueprint of bases to IT systems, Russia's nuclear secrets revealed online
In an unprecedented leak of around 2 million documents, the expansion of Russian nuclear programme has been revealed online, ranging from the blueprint of missile bases to details of IT systems, power grids, and security arrangements. read more In this pool photograph distributed by Russian state agency Sputnik, Russia's President Vladimir Putin attends a meeting with Chief of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces via videoconference at the Novo-Ogaryovo state residence outside Moscow on April 26, 2025. AP Photo In the barren Russian Ural mountains' Yasny town, Russia built one of the world's most secure military complexes that houses the country's ground-based, long-range nuclear-capable missiles. But that was until yesterday. Today, the complex's insides are on the internet where you can take a virtual tour. In an unprecedented scoop, Danish outlet Danwatch and German magazine Der Spiegel obtained around 2 million documents related to the Russian nuclear programme that reveal in exhaustive details the layout of nuclear weapons' complexes, the expansion of the nuclear weapons programme, and the security features in place at these top-secret sites. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD In the post-Cold War world, it is for the first time that such details have been obtained, according to Hans M Kristensen, the Director of the Nuclear Information Project at the Federation of American Scientists (FAS). 'Until now, we have only been able to monitor these bases from above using satellite imagery. Now, with the help of these unique drawings, we can now for the first time get inside the buildings and all the way underground. It's completely unprecedented,' Kristensen told Danwatch and Der Spiegel. The photograph shows the satellite view of the Russian nuclear weapons complex in the town of Yasny. (Photo: Google Earth) The scoop has been reported at a time when Russian war on Ukraine is in its fourth year. Throughout the war, Russian officials, including President Vladimir Putin and his top aides, have invoked nuclear weapons. Dmitry Medvedev, a former President of Russia and a key ally of Putin, has threatened Western nations with nuclear strikes over continued support of Ukraine. Inside Russia's nuclear weapons complexes — literally While foreign governments as well as researchers can monitor Russian military complexes, or complexes of any country, from satellite images, the documents unearthed by Danwatch and Der Spiegel offer unprecedented inside those structures. While it has been known from satellite images that Russia has been expanding its nuclear weapons capabilities for nearly a decade, exactly how it has been expanding has been revealed in these documents. Consider this: the documents reveal what type of steel is supposed to be used in a nuclear weapons complex, how dense construction material should be, how thick insulation should be, whether ceiling beams should be exposed or concealed, and how long should lightning rods be, and what the quality of hinges on security windows should be. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD The documents have hundreds of original blueprints related to the nuclear warheads and missiles' storage sites. These documents also lay bare the IT systems, electrical installations, and water supply network, and heating and ventilation systems installed in such sites. This is a screenshot of one of the documents that Danwatch has shared on the website as part of the trove of around 2 million part of their discovery. The documents also reveal the multi-layer security arrangements. They show that bases have three layers of electric fences around the outer perimeter, seismic and radioactivity sensors, explosion-proof doors and windows, reinforced concrete buildings, and alarm systems with magnetic contacts and infrared (IR) sensors. The internal layout is described such that it lays bare where soldiers eat, sleep, and relieve themselves. The documents also describe which rooms in the complex store the protective gear and where weapons are kept. Even control rooms of nuclear weapons complexes are mentioned in these documents. 'This is ultimate intelligence' With such details, mounting an attack on such complexes or infiltrating such complexes in times of conflict would become much easier as you would know the weak spots, where weapons are stored, and what security arrangements are in place. Former British intelligence officer Philip Ingram told Danwatch and Der Spiegel that these documents are 'the ultimate intelligence'. 'Material like this is the ultimate intelligence. If you can understand how the electricity is conducted or where the water comes from, and you can see how the different things are connected in the systems, then you can identify strengths and weaknesses and find a weak point to attack,' said Colonel (Retired) Ingram, who served in the Intelligence Corps of the British Army. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD ALSO READ: When Ukraine gave up world's 3rd-largest nuclear arsenal, did it set stage for Russian invasion? Kristensen of the Federation of American Scientists said that the documents are the deepest dive yet into Russia's nuclear weapons programme. 'Your research is the deepest into the structure of these facilities that I have seen in the public domain. And we have to go all the way back to the buildings and systems of the 60s and 70s, where I remember seeing similar blueprints. Seeing it on these new systems, that's a whole new chapter,' Kristensen told Danwatch and Der Spiegel.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
The MAGA War on Science Is Deadly—and It's Just Getting Started
The Trump administration is taking a chain saw to America's scientific research. The proposed 2026 budget calls for a devastating 37 percent cut in funding for biomedical research through the National Institutes of Health; a 56 percent cut in science research funding through the National Science Foundation; and further, major cuts in science budgets at NASA, NOAA, the EPA, the CDC, the Agriculture Department, the Energy Department, the U.S. Geological Survey, the Forest Service, and other smaller agencies. Make no mistake: This is a total war on science in America. If an enemy power wished to demolish one of the pillars of American economic, military, and political strength over the past century, this might be what they would do. At first glance, these moves are so baffling that many observers are tempted to deny that it is happening. Even the MAGA faithful understand that science is part of what has made American great. So why has the administration declared war on science? To start, we should keep in mind that there is probably no master plan. Multiple overlapping agendas and factors are driving the destruction. But there is a deeper motivation at work too. The conservative movement in America—the same movement that decades ago demanded science as the answer to Sputnik—has turned its back on the very idea of science. That's because the conservative movement has become an antidemocratic movement, and it understands at some level that the truth is its enemy. Scientific research is in some respects collateral damage in a wider war on democracy. This anti-rationalist ideology comes in several flavors, not all of them consistent. One wing comes out of the evangelical hard right, which has long argued that science has been turned into a weapon against faith. A large subset of the Christian nationalist movement, for instance, claims climate science is not merely a hoax but a secular plot to undermine religion. This thinking is on vivid display at the little-known Cornwall Alliance for the Stewardship of Creation. Cornwall, an anti-environmental policy initiative, vilifies environmental science as a 'Cult of the Green Dragon.' In the alliance's view, environmentalism is an alternative—and false—theology. The Cornwall Alliance is led by E. Calvin Beisner. Before founding Cornwall, Beisner was a co-founder of the Coalition on Revival, a large network of evangelical and right-wing Christian leaders and theologians that gathers every few years in a different locale. COR members have adopted explicitly dominionist and Reconstructionist ideological positions. They advocate theonomy, the idea that American laws should be based on a reactionary reading of the Old and New Testaments. Think promoting 'corporal discipline of children as a means of teaching Godly behavior' and banning 'deviant activities as acceptable alternative lifestyles,' not Sermon on the Mount. In spite of these positions, many religious right leaders insist that theirs is the scientific view. They believe that what passes as science now is deeply infused with a value judgment—that scientific rhetoric is being deployed to advance the view that humans should subordinate themselves to nature. Then there is a different approach emerging from people in the orbit of far-right think tanks such as the Claremont Institute. They hold the view that science has become part of a 'woke bureaucracy'—Michael Anton, who currently serves as Trump's director of policy planning, has variously defined it as the 'university NGO international busybody complex' and the 'globalist borg' that is intent on pushing undesirable social views and cutting off opportunities for a genuine—and dictatorial—leader of 'the people.' Some New Right representatives say we need a more monarchical form of government, a 'Red Caesar' who can enact his will without facts and reason getting in the way. They see in science an evil directorate, and they simply want to destroy it. A third, much smaller but highly influential group includes the slice of tech bros who have allied with the authoritarian movement. Some believe that AI and other allegedly private-sector forces will soon dominate science; therefore, we don't need the traditional government funding system. They want us instead to put our blind faith behind them, the wizard-founders, who they insist are the absolute best at everything they do and can be therefore counted on to pursue science on behalf of all humanity—or at least on behalf of their own ballooning fortunes. It may seem surprising that the rise of technopolies dovetails with anti-scientific attitudes. But some of these founders are convinced they don't need to do the science; they already know the answers because the answers are whichever technology turns out to be most profitable for them under a misregulated market. If we needed further evidence that some tech ideologues have embraced a profoundly antisocial misrepresentation of the purposes of science, then we need look no further than the billboards that have recently sprouted throughout the San Francisco Bay area: 'Stop Hiring Humans.' The various flavors of irrationalism in the current regime, mixed with unprecedented levels of sheer incompetence, have given us the war on science in its current form. One of the major targets of the administration's aggression, for example, is the university system. Right-wing ideologues have long griped that America's universities are bastions of liberal power that willfully discriminate against conservatives. The Republican base has largely bought into this story. The administration now wants the power to exert control over faculty and curricula, or at least undermine the independence of its academic critics. But how can it do so? This is where the war on science comes in. Over the past century, universities have emerged as key nodes in the scientific establishment that converts public funds into research. On the whole it has been a spectacularly successful system. But it has had the unintended effect of rendering the universities hostage to federal funding. It so happens that a good chunk of that funding goes into biomedical research. In brief: This administration is willing to let people die of cancer if that's what it takes to win the war on supposedly 'woke' universities. Another target of the administration's aggression is this thing called the 'administrative state.' It's hard to say exactly what the administrative state is, other than a catchall for everything that conservative ideologues don't like about government. The trouble is, of course, that the administrative state is really the workings of a functioning democratic government, and the biggest part of the government consists of administering things that are very hard to cut: the Defense Department foremost, but also things like air traffic management, nuclear safety, and so on. Much easier to cut are contracts with outside suppliers, especially those whose benefits accrue to future generations. In short: Science funding has fallen victim to the conservatives' need to perform violence against a demonized bureaucracy. Right now, we are only seeing the short-term consequence of the Republican war on science: Projects are canceled, and funding is denied, individual careers are broken, research institutions are diminished, and scientists drain out of the country for safe havens around the world. The long-term consequences of Trump's war on science are likely to be far more serious. What can we do about it now? Congress could stop this, but of course it won't as long as MAGA holds the Republican majority hostage. The courts are slowing some of it, but they won't change the overall direction alone. Private actors and foundations can step in to cover some gaps, but their efforts are likely to amount to Band-Aids. The biggest problem is that there is a war going on and very few people seem to have noticed. Scientists will need to step forward and help the public understand the value of their work. Historians need to step forward and explain the extraordinary achievements of the American research university system. The rest of us need to get the message out. The true consequences of this equation will show up 10 and 20 years from now, when our once-great democracy faces health, climate, and other crises that might well have been avoided.
