Day: June 23, 2024

For Some In Russia’s Far-Flung Provinces, Ukraine War Is A Ticket To Prosperity  Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty

MOSCOW — More than 15 policemen and several civilians, including an Orthodox priest, were killed by armed militants in Russia’s southern republic of Dagestan on Sunday, its governor Sergei Melikov said in a video statement early Monday.

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The gunmen opened fire on two Orthodox churches, a synagogue and a police post in two cities, according to the authorities.

Russia’s National Anti-Terrorist Committee described the attacks in the predominantly Muslim region with a history of armed insurgency as terrorist acts.

Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday were declared days of mourning in the region.

Dagestan’s Interior Ministry said a group of armed men shot at a synagogue and a church in the city of Derbent, located on the Caspian Sea. Both the church and the synagogue caught fire, according to state media. Almost simultaneously, reports appeared about an attack on a church and a traffic police post in the Dagestan capital, Makhachkala.

Authorities announced a counter-terrorist operation in the region. The Anti-Terrorist Committee said five gunmen were “eliminated.” The governor said six “bandits” had been “liquidated.” The conflicting numbers couldn’t be immediately reconciled and it wasn’t clear how many militants were involved in the attacks.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attacks. The authorities launched a criminal probe on the charge of a terrorist act.

Russian state news agency Tass cited law enforcement sources as saying that a Dagestani official was detained over his sons’ involvement in the attacks.

Melikov said in the video statement that the situation in the region was under control of the law enforcement and local authorities, and vowed that the investigation of the attacks will continue until “all the sleeping cells” of the militants are uncovered.

He claimed, without providing evidence, that the attacks might have been prepared from abroad, and referenced what the Kremlin calls “the special military operation” in Ukraine in an apparent attempt to link the attacks to it.

In March, gunmen opened fire on a crowd at a concert hall in suburban Moscow, killing 145 people. An affiliate of the Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the attack, but Russian officials also sought to link Ukraine to the attack without providing any evidence. Kyiv has vehemently denied any involvement.

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(NewsNation) — Americans will soon be able to make their trip to the post office a true daily double with an Alex Trebek Forever Stamp.

The stamp is formatted like a “Jeopardy!” clue square, with ““THIS NATURALIZED U.S. CITIZEN HOSTED THE QUIZ SHOW ‘JEOPARDY!’ FOR 37 SEASONS” written on it. The answer, “Who is Alex Trebek?”, is written upside down underneath the prompt.

The late longtime host of classic quiz show “Jeopardy!”, will be honored for his decades of on-air wit and charm as the show celebrates its 60th Diamond Celebration.

The postage will be available at offices across the country starting July 22. The stamps will sell in panes of 20.

(NewsNation) — Helium leaks and thruster malfunctions have again combined to keep two Boeing Starliner astronauts aboard the International Space Station for a few more days. But exactly how many more days remains a mystery.

NASA delayed the return of Starliner’s Calypso capsule for a third time Sunday and said the next possible return date, this Wednesday, won’t happen. NASA and Boeing now face a 45-day window to bring the astronauts back.

Commander Butch Wilmore and pilot Suni Williams were scheduled to come home on June 13th after spending just a week at ISS. But trouble arose as the Calypso capsule made the 25-hour trip from liftoff to the space station.

That’s when five of the craft’s 28 thrusters failed and five helium leaks were detected. Space expert Jonathan McDowell told The New York Post the situation may not seem as perilous as some believe.

“You can lose a few thrusters and still be OK because there are many of them but still this is the propulsion system and you want to understand everything that’`’s going on,” he said. “They want to be sure these smaller issues aren’t masking bigger ones.”

“We are taking our time and following our standard mission management team process,” said Steve Stich, manager of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program, in a Boeing mission update.

“We are letting the data drive our decision-making relative to managing the small helium system leaks and thruster performance we observed during rendezvous and docking,” he said.

That statement is “perplexing” to former astronaut Leroy Chiao.

“That raises more questions than it answers,” Chiao told “NewsNation Prime.” “Did you miss some data before? Are there new data to look at? And why is it (the postponement) ‘indefinite?’ NASA is kinda doing itself a disservice by not disclosing more about what’s going on.”

The indefinite delay also removes a possible distraction for the ISS crew, which is preparing for spacewalks on Monday and again a week later.

Stich also told reporters last week that Calypso “remains cleared for return in case of an emergency on the space station that required the crew to leave orbit and come back to Earth.”

Major failures by Minnesota’s Education Department helped lead to largest Covid fraud scheme in the nation, audit says  NBC News

18-Year-Old Girl Fatally Shot by Iran’s Police During Arbitrary Raid  ایران اینترنشنال

NPR News: 06-23-2024 10PM EDT

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Azerbaijan’s AZAL leases A320neo with LEAP engines  ch-aviation