A violation of Russia’s airspace was averted, but several projectiles made it through, Bryansk Region Governor Aleksandr Bogomaz says
Russia’s Bryansk Region has sustained yet another attack from Ukraine, Governor Aleksandr Bogomaz has said.
Early on Saturday, Russian air defenses detected an attempt by a Ukrainian military plane to violate the country’s airspace, Bogomaz wrote on Telegram.
The aircraft was prevented from making it into Russia, but managed to fire two projectiles, which landed in the village of Zhecha, not far from the border with Ukraine, he said.
Fatalities and injuries were avoided during the attack, but the facilities of the local oil loading terminal suffered minor damage from shockwaves.
The governor attached images of a large shell crater and damaged buildings in his post.
Bryansk Region became the scene of the first major Ukrainian attack on Russian soil during the ongoing conflict. According to the Investigative Committee, two Ukrainian helicopters struck the village of Klimovo on April 14, injuring six people, including a two-year-old boy and his pregnant mother.
Ukrainian shelling in Bryansk and neighboring Belgorod and Kursk Regions have intensified since then. They have mainly targeted oil refineries and other infrastructure, but residential areas are also being hit.
Moscow has warned that it will strike “decision-making centers in Kiev” if such attacks continue.
Russia sent troops into Ukraine on February 24, following Kiev’s failure to implement the terms of the Minsk agreements, first signed in 2014, and Moscow’s eventual recognition of the Donbass republics of Donetsk and Lugansk. The German- and French-brokered Minsk Protocol was designed to give the breakaway regions special status within the Ukrainian state.
The Kremlin has since demanded that Ukraine officially declare itself a neutral country that will never join NATO. Kiev insists the Russian offensive was completely unprovoked and has denied claims it was planning to retake the two republics by force.
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April 29, 2022 at 11:17PM
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The Twitter spat followed the actor's call for young Brazilians to vote in the upcoming election and help save the Amazon rainforest
Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro has given a sarcastic reply to movie star and eco-activist Leonardo DiCaprio, who called on the country's young people to cast their ballots in the October 2 election, implying they could help remove the controversial head of state from office.
DiCaprio, a long-standing critic of Bolsonaro's environmental record, took to Twitter on Thursday to point out that “Brazil is home to the Amazon and other ecosystems critical to climate change.”
“What happens there matters to us all and youth voting is key in driving change for a healthy planet,” he wrote, attaching a link to a website with explanations on how to register in the election.
Bolsonaro responded on Friday with an ironic message, suggesting the Hollywood star was actually backing him.
“Thanks for your support, Leo! It's really important to have every Brazilian voting in the coming elections. Our people will decide if they want to keep our sovereignty on the Amazon or to be ruled by crooks who serve foreign special interests,” he wrote.
- Thanks for your support, Leo! It's really important to have every Brazilian voting in the coming elections. Our people will decide if they want to keep our sovereignty on the Amazon or to be ruled by crooks who serve foreign special interest. Good job in The Revenant! 👍 https://t.co/kg3b6rmPCw
The right-wing president then delivered another jab, publishing a screenshot of one of DiCaprio's posts on Instagram and insisting that the actor had used an old 2003 photo to illustrate the wildfires that ripped through the Amazon in 2019.
“There are people who want to arrest Brazilian citizens who make this kind of mistake here in our country. But I'm against this tyrannical idea. So I forgive you. Hugs from Brazil!” the 67-year-old wrote.
- By the way, the picture you posted to talk about the wildfires in the Amazon in 2019 is from 2003. There are people who want to arrest Brazilian citizens who make this kind of mistake here in our country. But I'm against this tyrannical idea. So I forgive you. Hugs from Brazil! pic.twitter.com/pSJBOjVSB7
According to official figures, deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon has spiked by more than 75% compared to the previous decade, since Bolsonaro took office in 2019.
DiCaprio has previously backed calls from environmental groups demanding that all investment in Brazil be conditioned on the government's firm commitment to preserve the Amazon rainforest, often described as “the lungs of the planet.”
However, those attempts have been largely fruitless, with Bolsonaro rejecting them as an infringement on Brazilian sovereignty.
The president's approval ratings tumbled after the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, with Brazil becoming one of the worst-hit countries in the world.
He has managed to win back the sympathies of some voters in recent months, but polls show he still trails his left-wing rival Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.
A survey from pollster FSB Pesquisa earlier this week suggested that Lula, who was Brazil's president during a period of strong economic growth between 2003 and 2010, is on course to defeat Bolsonaro by 41% to 32% in the first round of the election.
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April 29, 2022 at 11:03PM
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Shortage of semiconductors in the US cost American economy $240 billion in 2021
US chip-making giant Intel has warned that the ongoing chip shortage will linger until 2024 and possibly beyond.
“The chip shortage cost the US economy $240 billion last year, and we expect the industry will continue to see challenges until at least 2024 in areas of foundry capacity and tool availability,” Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger said in a Thursday earnings call.
Gelsinger also said Intel had been working to “mitigate” any disruptions from the current lockdowns in Shanghai, along with the Russia-Ukraine military conflict, adding that manufacturing conditions may worsen if the Covid-19 lockdowns in China persist.
The company also reported that demand for PCs has been falling over the past several months. In the first quarter of the current year, Intel’s revenue for PCs dropped 13% year-over-year to $9.3 billion due to inflationary pressures, component concerns, and sagging sales.
Overall, Intel reported net income of $8.1 billion, which grew by a staggering 141% versus a year ago. Revenue dipped by 7 percent to $18.4 billion, however.
The chip shortage severely hit global producers during the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020-21 after remote work and mobility restrictions triggered an acceleration of digitization across the world. The crisis was seriously aggravated by the current conflict in Eastern Europe, as Ukraine and Russia provide the bulk of the world’s supplies of neon and palladium, vital for the production of microchips.
