MOSCOW (Reuters) -Russian security agents detained on suspicion of treason the 73-year-old head of a research facility that specialises in hypersonic technology, state news agency TASS said on Thursday, the latest in a series of such cases. The suspect, Alexander Kuranov, who was arrested in Moscow, will appear in court later on Thursday and the Federal Security Service wants him held in custody for two months, TASS cited a law enforcement source as saying. Kuranov, general director of the St Petersburg-based Hypersonic Systems Research Facility, is an expert in hypersonic technology and oversaw work on the concept for a new hypersonic aircraft dubbed Ayaks according to the facility s website. Hypersonic technology allows objects to travel much faster than the speed of sound. Russia, whose ties with the West have deteriorated to post-Cold War lows since 2014, has been developing a number of hypersonic weapons in recent years that President Vladimir Putin has touted as unparalleled. The
August 10, 2021 – Fort Lauderdale, Florida – GA Telesis, LLC (“GAT”) announces the delivery of its second B737-800SF (MSN 28826) passenger-to-freighter (“P2F”) conversion to Compass Cargo Airlines, Bulgaria. The aircraft was delivered from Aeronautical Engineers, Inc.
MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu and his U.S. counterpart Lloyd Austin discussed strategic stability consultations as well as global and regional security issues by phone, Russian defence ministry said, Tass news agency reported on Wednesday. The ministry did not give further details on the talks. In late July, senior U.S. and Russian officials restarted bilateral talks on easing tensions between the world s largest nuclear weapons powers and agreed to reconvene in September after informal consultations. (Reporting by Andrey Ostroukh; Editing by Mark Potter)
BERLIN (Reuters) - Germany will step up efforts to fly to safety local staff who worked for its military in Afghanistan, Finance Minister Olaf Scholz was quoted as saying, as Taliban fighters seize more territory from forces loyal to the government in Kabul. Since 2013, Germany has admitted nearly 800 Afghans in that category and about 2,500 family members over security fears, and calls to accelerate the process for support staff still there have grown louder as the Taliban have advanced. We are discussing whether there are possibilities to speed up the transport in order to fly those concerned out more quickly, Scholz, the centre-left SPD party s candidate for chancellor in next month s federal election, said in an interview with the Neue Osnabruecker Zeitung published on Tuesday. We are responsible for the locals who supported us on the ground. Refugee organisation Pro Asyl said there were at least 1,000 local staff who supported German troops still in Afghanistan. Violence has escal