In which regions can drought occur?

Due to a small amount of precipitation in some regions of Russia, a drought may begin in the second half of June. This was reported by the scientific director of the Hydrometeorological Center Roman Vilfand at a press conference on June 2. In addition, the weather forecaster confirmed the recent forecast for the summer:it will be warm, perhaps even warmer than normal.

Where can a drought occur and why?

The risk of drought is primarily in the Sverdlovsk, Chelyabinsk and Kurgan regions. There has been too little rain there in the last two months, only 16-50% of the norm. For example, in the Kurgan region, only 3 mm of precipitation fell.

The second half of June may also be dry in some of the most densely populated regions of the Asian part of Russia.:Omsk, Novosibirsk, Kemerovo regions and Altai Krai.

At the same time, Vilfand clarifies that we are talking only about a high probability of drought, and not about one hundred percent. Meteorologists will continue to analyze the situation for a more accurate forecast.

Where will the summer be the hottest?

Vilfand also named several regions where the temperature in the first summer month is predicted to be the highest. The hottest June is expected in Western Siberia, the Krasnoyarsk Territory and the west of Yakutia. In all of Russia, the temperature in this month is likely to be either within the normal range or higher.

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Kravtsov announced the creation of a “white Internet” for schoolchildren in the Russian Federation

Russian Education Minister Sergei Kravtsov said on the sidelines of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum that Russia is working on creating a “white Internet” for schoolchildren, RIA Novosti reports.

According to the minister, the “white Internet” will also have social networks, but it will have “verified content”.

Kravtsov stressed that the ministry is not following the path of prohibition, but is following the path of the opportunities offered by the digital educational environment.

Earlier, Kravtsov said that Russian schools want to ban access to negative Internet content. According to him, the school Wi-Fi must be configured to access verified content.

He also said that all urban schools in the Russian Federation by the end of this year should be connected to the Internet at a speed of at least 100 megabits per second, and village and rural schools-50 megabits per second.

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With good intentions. In the United States, the production of humane nuclear weapons began

In the United States, a massive modernization of the W76 nuclear warheads, which are equipped with submarine-launched ballistic missiles, has begun. According to the National Nuclear Safety Agency (NNSA), the production of the latest version of the W76-2 warhead is being conducted at the Pantax plant in Texas. found out when it will enter service, if at all, and also how much it will cost the United States to update the nuclear arsenal.

The W76-2 nuclear warheads are equipped with Trident 2 three-stage solid-fuel ballistic missiles (BR), which are in service with the US Navy and are placed on American submarines. Currently, the United States has a program to upgrade the W76 type combat units from version 0 to version 1 and 2. DevelopmentW76-2 was conducted since 2018, its power is 6.5 kilotons, which is half as much as the bomb “Little Boy” (“Kid”), exploded in Hiroshima, Japan. For comparison: the power of the ” W76 ” parent warhead is 100 kilotons, W76-1-90 kilotons. The reduction was achieved by removing the second stage. 

According to the US military, such a low-power thermonuclear weapon will limit the affected areas and significantly reduce civilian casualties. In total, 2 thousand W76 units must pass through the modernization program. At the same time, proponents of non-proliferation of weapons oppose even these low-power warheads, so the modernization program is still in question.

The next major milestone in the nuclear weapons program should be the modernization of existing aircraft bombs to the B61-12 variant. It is planned that within the framework of this program, the first production facility will be launched in the 2022 fiscal year, and production will be completed by 2024. The NNSA estimates that the program will cost between $ 7.3 billion and $ 9.5 billion. 

In general, estimates of the cost of nuclear rearmament for the United States have increased significantly over the past year, as the government prepares to develop and maintain up to nine new nuclear weapons systems over the next 25 years. In this regard, NNSA has to deal with a wide range of issues: from the modernization of aging infrastructure to increasing the production of plutonium quarries and ensuring the safety of facilities.

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Mazhuga: Moscow has created a comfortable environment for students and young scientists

Rector of the Russian State University of Chemical Technology. Mendeleeva Alexander Mazhuga said that Moscow is constantly working to improve the comfortable environment for students, teachers, young and venerable scientists.

In the capital, conditions are created for the development of science, almost half of Russian doctors of science and 38% of candidates of science work, special attention is paid to high standards of education for engineering disciplines, Mazhuga said on the sidelines of the economic forum held in St. Petersburg.

He also noted that Moscow higher education meets the main modern requirement-to train specialists who will be in demand in the labor market.

In 2020, almost 60 universities and scientific organizations of the Russian capital received more than 200 grants, each year the city authorities allocate 2 million rubles for awards for young scientists, the rector of the Russian Academy of Technical Sciences added.

Earlier, he expressed the opinion that Russian education has a high export potential. The scientist believes that it is necessary to simplify the attraction of talented young people from abroad to study in Russian universities.

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For how much will it be possible to hand over a bottle through the fandomat?

Russians will be able to hand over plastic and glass bottles, as well as aluminum cans for a fee. A network of 10 thousand fandomats & mdash; machines for receiving used containers— & nbsp;will appear in the cities of the Russian Federation in 2022. Their on behalf of the president Vladimir Putin will be installed by the Russian Environmental Operator (REO).

“We want to create a new market within a closed-loop economy. Increase the coverage of the population with separate waste collection, increase the percentage of useful secondary resources extracted from waste. And thus reduce the volume of waste disposal, ” said Denis Butsaev, General Director of REO during the presentation of fandomats on June 2 at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF).

How do fandomats work?

In the machine, you need to hand over clean containers without lids.In just a day, it can take up to 600 empty cans and bottles. The device reads them by barcode. After that, specialists can remove the delivered containers from the machine and send them for recycling. Various products for sale will be made from the obtained recycled materials. 

What reward can I get?

Those who hand over bottles or cans will receive special bonuses. They can be used as discounts in stores or converted into points and spent on the purchase of any goods.

The REO is also considering the possibility of providing points to reduce the fee for the removal of solid municipal waste. In addition, in the future, users may be allowed to transfer bonuses in the form of money to a bank card. Fandomats will be equipped with a card reader, adviser to the head of the REO Mikhail Panchenko told RBC.

Which stores will offer discounts and accept points?

The list of stores is still being approved. REO is negotiating with the largest retail chains in Russia. These include the “Crossroads”, “Magnet”, “Pyaterochka”, “Globe” and others. 

How much money will they give you for a bottle or a jar?

According to Panchenko, for one can or bottle handed over to the fandomat, you can get from 1 to 5 rubles.

The exact amount of the discount to the stores is not reported. RBC writes that a pack of milk can be bought for 2 & ndash;3 rubles cheaper

In what places will fandomats be installed?

Fandomats will be placed in residential complexes, shopping centers, and public places. They can be placed outdoors, so the devices can appear at public transport stops. 

In which regions will the vending machines appear?

Fandomats will be installed in cities with a population of more than 100 thousand people.

In 2021, a pilot project will be launched, in which the devices will appear in the Chelyabinsk, Belgorod and Nizhny Novgorod regions. In 2022, it is planned to deliver the machines in seven more regions, in which it is not reported.

According to REO estimates, 150 thousand fandomats may be in demand in Russia. In Germany, for example, 135 thousand such devices for receiving containers are installed, and in Sweden-14 thousand.

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In Russia, the security of schools was checked after the tragedy in Kazan

After the tragedy in Kazan, the security of all schools in the country was checked, the findings will be taken into account in the new anti-terrorist requirements, RIA Novosti reports.

The Minister of Education of the Russian Federation Sergey Kravtsov on the sidelines of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum noted that the requirements that will ensure the maximum safety of students will be adopted. According to him, the security of all schools in the country was checked. 

Recall that on the morning of May 11 in Kazan, 19-year-old Ilnaz Galyaviev opened fire in a gymnasium, as a result of the shooting, nine people were killed, seven of them children. A total of 24 people were hospitalized. In Kazan, over the summer, they plan to repair the school where the shooting occurred, so that it can open by the beginning of the new school year. 

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Because of what machinations at the Vostochny cosmodrome opened criminal cases?

During the construction of the Vostochny cosmodrome, the Investigative Department of the TFR in the Amur region revealed suspicious movements of funds. Two criminal cases have been opened, but no one has been detained yet, Kommersant reported on Thursday, June 3.

Roscosmos told the newspaper that it assists the investigative authorities and interferes in their work.

Who is involved in the cases?

The first organization that is suspected of fraud is JSC “Center for the Operation of Ground-based Space Objects” (CENKI). In 2020, the management of the Vostochny cosmodrome signed a state contract with it to complete the construction of a complex for the production and storage of rocket fuel components located in the Tsiolkovsky district of the Amur Region.

The second person involved in the case — LLC«Respect-SEE & raquo;. With this Moscow construction company, TsENKI signed three agreements for more than 4 billion rubles. And another organization, according to investigators, involved in fraud, ” LLC “Baval”, a subsidiary of “Respect-SM”.

What kind of fraud are contractors suspected of?

From July to November 2020, the management of TsENKI paid the company “Respect-SM” 700 million rubles in total, but the work was completed, according to the investigation, was only 100 million rubles. A criminal case was opened against TsENKI under Article 286 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (abuse of official authority), but it has not yet been established which officials to bring to justice.

At the same time, the Merchant notes that in the database of arbitration courts there are three relatively “fresh” claims filed by TsENKI to “Respect-SM” in the amount of about 100 million rubles. Another interesting fact is that the companies, in addition to the above-mentioned works, jointly built housing for the organizers of space launches in Zvezdny, which has been frozen since 2015.

“Respect-SM” and “Baval”, in turn, provided the local branch of the Federal Treasury with false documents, according to which they performed a number of works. According to these securities, the management of the organizations received 59.8 million rubles from the Treasury. At the same time, in fact, “Baval” did not perform any work, according to the investigation, and “Respect-SM” could not accept them. A criminal case was opened against the company under Part 4 of Article 159 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (fraud on a particularly large scale). Specific officials have not yet been involved either.

Why hasn’t anyone been detained yet?

The investigation has not yet decided on the procedural status of the CEO of “Respect-SEE” Alik Aleksanyan, head of “Baval” Bagrat Mirzoyan and top managers of TsENKI, reports «Kommersant». The publication has not yet received any comments from the companies.

However, these are not all possible participants in the fraud. In the first case, the investigation is considering the involvement of Vladimir Zhuk, the former chief engineer of the CENKI, who was already involved in the case of abuse of official authority in the construction of a water intake on the same Vostochny. Interesting fact – during the entire construction of the cosmodrome, more than 150 criminal cases have already been initiated.
 

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The Minister of Education informed about the progress of the Unified State Exam

The Minister of Education of the Russian Federation Sergey Kravtsov said in an interview on the sidelines of the St. Petersburg Economic Forum that the Unified State Exam is held in normal mode with the fulfillment of all the requirements of Rospotrebnadzor, RIA Novosti reports. 

The minister also added that for Rosobrnadzor and the Ministry of Education, it is important that the rules of passing the exam are observed, and students can show their knowledge.

Earlier it became known that students taking the Unified State Exam will not need a coronavirus test or a certificate of vaccination. To pass to the point of the exam, the participant must be on the list, have a passport with him, and also pass a thermometry at the entrance. The decision on admission is made by the medical worker who is in the examination point.

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What kind of annular eclipse of the Sun will happen on June 10?

In the coming first month of summer, we are waiting for such an astronomical phenomenon as an annular eclipse of the Sun.It has not been seen on the modern territory of Russia for more than 50 years.

The eclipse will begin in America and end in our Far East. According to the Moscow Planetarium, in Russia, the ring-shaped phase will be visible low above the horizon in the evening on the Kolyma Lowland and the eastern slopes of the Chersky Ridge. The center of the band will enter the coast near the mouth of the Indigirka River, and the eclipse will end just north of Magadan. In these areas, an annular eclipse with a phase of 0.94 will last 3 minutes 37 seconds at a height of the Sun above the horizon of 8°.

Partial phases will be observed in North America, Europe, Asia, and many regions of Russia with phases from 0.1 to 0.8. The further north and east, the better this astronomical phenomenon will be seen. In Moscow, the Moon will cover only 0.257 of the Sun’s diameter. 

On June 10, 2021, residents of Russia will have the opportunity to observe an annular solar eclipse. Its visibility band will pass through the territory of Chukotka, ” says the head of the astronomical education sector of the Moscow Planetarium.Alexander Perkhnyak. From the settlements that fall into this band, it will be seen how the Moon will not completely cover the solar disk and a luminous solar ring will form around it.

Why is this happening? The fact is that for an observer from Earth, the apparent (or angular) dimensions of the Sun and Moon are not always the same: the orbit of our natural satellite is not a circle, but an ellipse, so the distance from it to the Earth changes. Accordingly, the apparent size of the Moon in the sky also changes. In a total solar eclipse, the Moon is at this pointits orbit, that its apparent size coincides with the size of the Sun-as a result, the Moon completely covers its disk. If an eclipse occurs when the Moon is at the farthest point of its orbit from the Earth (apogee), then its apparent size will be smaller than the solar one, and then it does not completely cover the Sun’s disk. As a result, we do not observe a total eclipse, but an annular one.

Residents of Moscow will be able to see the private phase of the annular solar eclipse. Its maximum phase will occur at 14 hours 26 minutes 15 seconds Moscow time. 

Please note that to observe the partial and annular phases of a solar eclipse with binoculars or a telescope, it is necessary to use a special filter-it is put on the lens of an optical device. For the naked eye, filters of sufficient density, such as the welder mask filter, are suitable. Thanks to this, the part of the Sun that is not eclipsed will not produce a blinding effect on your vision.

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Under the dome. How Americans want to protect their Military Bases abroad

The US military, stationed around the world, due to the development of a number of weapons systems, are becoming extremely vulnerable to attacks. This conclusion was made in the American Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments (CSBA), which specializes in American defense policy, force planning and budgets. 

The Americans today have more than 800 military bases, which since 1945 have been considered the most protected and safe places on earth. The Pentagon for a long time could not even come up with any threats for them and seriously considered a limited strike with ballistic and cruise missiles of “rogue states”, for example, the DPRK and Iran. However, CSBA experts are forced to state that the world has changed rapidly, and the number of threats has increased significantly.

Do not respond to new calls

CSBA experts believe that the defense system of American foreign bases will not cope not only with a large number of missiles, but also with unmanned aerial vehicles, which are used in large numbers even by militants. Experts have great claims to the air and missile defense systems, created during the Cold War and stopped in development, whilewhile there was a serious progress in the modernization of the strike capabilities of various weapons systems. For example, the Patriot anti-aircraft missile systems in Saudi Arabia were unable to repel the drone attack of the Yemeni Houthis. The Americans themselves were unable to effectively resist Iran’s missile strikes on a base in Iraq in January 2020 after the assassination of a general Qasem Suleimani.

Analysts propose to protect military bases from attacks using the concept of multi-layer missile defense with the use of advanced technologies. To do this, it is proposed to combine into a single network unmanned aerial vehicles with powerful sensors that will cruise offline on possible cruise missile routes, as well as track ballistic targets and transmit data to other platforms.

It is also proposed to use fighter jets and drones with long-range air-to-air interceptor missiles. Their task is to intercept ballistic targets on the upper stages of the trajectory and destroy cruise missiles on the distant approaches to the base. Some of the drones will be equipped with advanced solid-fuel lasers with a power of 100 to 150 kilowatts, which will be able to shoot down aircraft and ammunition in line-of-sight conditions.

Great hopes are pinned on weapons based on new physical principles, which will help secure American bases, complementing the existing air and missile defense systems. According to CSBA analysts, such a configuration of foreign bases will create an insurmountable border with a radius of up to 460 kilometers.

Combat lasers and microwaves

The bet, for example, on ground-based laser installations, as well as microwave weapons, looks logical, but such defensive complexes are still under development. However, according to the plans, by 2022, the Pentagon should receive the first samples of a 300-kilowatt ground-based laser. This is a powerful system that is guaranteed to destroy drones, cruise missiles and manned aircraft. It is important that it is effective from an economic point of view. The cost of the Patriot anti-aircraft missile system is about five million, while one laser salvo will cost $ 100.

By 2024, the US army will receive THOR (Tactical High Power Operational Responder) microwave guns that create a powerful electromagnetic pulse. These weapons will effectively fight flocks of small drones and cruise missiles, disabling their complex electronics. At the last line of defense, it is proposed to use M109 artillery installations, for which a promising hypersonic projectile HVP (Hyper-Velocity Projectile) is being developed. This versatile munition can also be used on air targets, creating dense clouds of metal fragments in front of the missiles. 

Main enemy

As the main threat, American analysts point to China. According to their estimates, the Chinese army has 1,200 short-range ballistic missiles and 200-300 rounds of ammunition capable of reaching the second island chain in the South China Sea, where the disputed territories are located. In addition, Beijing has a thousand land-based cruise missiles with a range of at least 1,500 kilometers. According to the Pentagon, a serious threat to American bases is represented by a fleet of Chinese H-6 strategic bombers, and in the future, H-20 stealth aircraft, which will be able to strike even on the territory of the United States.

Russia is a threat to the Pentagon’s military facilities in Europe, the agency believes. Moscow has a large arsenal of tactical nuclear weapons, short-range ballistic complexes (Iskander-M), and a wide range of ground -, sea -, and air-launched cruise missiles. Washington is particularly concerned about Russia’s latest hypersonic strike systems.

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