themoscowtimes--2020-07-22--Moscow Metro to Equip 1,500 Train Cars With Facial Recognition By 2021

A public contract posted earlier in July states that the metro system will spend 1.4 billion rubles ( $ 20 million ) on the controversial cameras and software .
The Moscow metro announced trials of facial recognition cameras on trains and in stations in 2018 .
The Moscow metro plans to equip around 1,500 subway cars with facial recognition technology by the end of 2020 , BBC Russia reported Tuesday .
Around one-quarter of all Moscow metro cars will each be equipped with eight facial recognition cameras by year-end , according to BBC Russia .
Each of the 12,300 cameras @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to identify 15 faces per second , according to the Kommersant business daily .
Cameras with neural network image processing capacities are currently installed at entrance turnstiles at metro stations , but not inside the subway cars themselves .
Authorities in Moscow have already deployed facial recognition technology across a network of almost 200,000 surveillance cameras to identify criminal suspects .
The Russian capital deployed its “ Safe City ” facial recognition surveillance program earlier this year to track and order into self-isolation potential carriers of the coronavirus .
Critics have accused the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the technology and have staged protests by painting their faces to throw off the cameras .
Research published by human rights activists last week suggested that Russia ’ s massive surveillance campaign rolled out during the pandemic could remain in use long after the outbreak ends .

A public contract posted earlier in July states that the metro system will spend 1.4 billion rubles ($20 million) on the controversial cameras and software. The Moscow metro announced trials of facial recognition cameras on trains and in stations in 2018.
The Moscow metro plans to equip around 1,500 subway cars with facial recognition technology by the end of 2020, BBC Russia reported Tuesday.
Around one-quarter of all Moscow metro cars will each be equipped with eight facial recognition cameras by year-end, according to BBC Russia.
Each of the 12,300 cameras linked to 398 servers will be able to identify 15 faces per second, according to the Kommersant business daily.
Cameras with neural network image processing capacities are currently installed at entrance turnstiles at metro stations, but not inside the subway cars themselves.
Authorities in Moscow have already deployed facial recognition technology across a network of almost 200,000 surveillance cameras to identify criminal suspects.
The Russian capital deployed its “Safe City” facial recognition surveillance program earlier this year to track and order into self-isolation potential carriers of the coronavirus.
Critics have accused the authorities of violating citizens' privacy with the technology and have staged protests by painting their faces to throw off the cameras.
Research published by human rights activists last week suggested that Russia’s massive surveillance campaign rolled out during the pandemic could remain in use long after the outbreak ends.


themoscowtimes--2020-07-22--Gunman Arrested, Hostages Freed After Ukraine President's Call

Ukrainian police freed 13 hostages and arrested an armed man who held them on a bus for more than 12 hours on Tuesday , after the country 's president agreed to his demand to post a movie recommendation on social media .
The SBU security service said a joint operation had resulted in all the hostages being released unharmed after a police stand-off in the western city Lutsk with the man , who threatened to detonate an explosive device unless his strange requests were met .
The tense hostage situation seemed to be resolved swiftly after the man spoke on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , who then recorded a short video , apparently meeting one of the man 's demands .
Three hostages were quickly let go , followed by the rest about an hour later .
Footage published by Ukrainian officials showed police escorting people as armed special forces stood over a man lying face down on the pavement near the bus with his hands behind his back .
The hostage-taker had earlier fired shots and thrown an explosive package into the street in the center of Lutsk , a city of over 200,000 some 400 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Kiev .
The man initially made contact with the police identifying himself as Maksym Plokhoy , a pseudonym which translates to `` Bad Maxim , '' police said .
He was identified as Maksym Kryvosh , 44 , who had previously spent around 10 years in prison on various charges .
An account which was later suspended by Twitter had posts under Kryvosh 's name claiming he was armed , including with bombs , and demanding top Ukrainian personalities convey anti-establishment messages on social media .
President Zelensky apparently carried out one of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ he recorded a Facebook video calling on people to watch the 2005 documentary film `` Earthlings . ''
Narrated by Joaquin Phoenix , the film chronicles the harsh treatment of animals at the hands of humans .
Zelensky spoke with Kryvosh after a phone was handed to him , deputy head of Zelensky 's administration Kyrylo Tymoshenko told a briefing in Lutsk .
`` He had a telephone conversation , speaking with him for 15 minutes , he convinced him to release three hostages , '' Tymoshenko said .
The president later deleted @ @ @ @ @ @ @ `` Today loved ones can hug everybody who languished all day on the bus with a gun pointed at them , '' Zelensky wrote after the crisis was over .
`` We did not lose a single person , '' added the president , a former television comedian before his 2019 election win .
Interior Minister Arsen Avakov said Kryvosh came out of the bus following the negotiations .
`` He really had a functioning pistol , an automatic rifle , he really had a grenade .
There was a threat .
But @ @ @ @ @ @ @ '' Avakov said .
`` A lengthy prison sentence awaits him , '' he said , calling Kryvosh an `` unstable man . ''
Earlier footage showed the blue and white bus with several windows shattered and curtains drawn , surrounded by a heavy police presence .
Police earlier said there were 20 hostages , but it turned out there were only 13 .
While a heavy security presence including armoured vehicles were around the immediate area , people walked the streets beyond the perimeter and shops were open , an AFP correspondent @ @ @ @ @ @ @ bus from around 9 a.m. ( 06:00 GMT ) with no access to food or a toilet .
They were given access to water many hours later .
The SBU security service pronounced the situation an `` act of terror '' and launched a probe .
Ukraine , which has been fighting Russia-backed separatists since 2014 , has been struggling with a proliferation of illegal weapons .
Police in late 2017 stormed a post office in the eastern city of Kharkiv , where an armed man claiming to be strapped with explosives captured @ @ @

Ukrainian police freed 13 hostages and arrested an armed man who held them on a bus for more than 12 hours on Tuesday, after the country's president agreed to his demand to post a movie recommendation on social media. The SBU security service said a joint operation had resulted in all the hostages being released unharmed after a police stand-off in the western city Lutsk with the man, who threatened to detonate an explosive device unless his strange requests were met. The tense hostage situation seemed to be resolved swiftly after the man spoke on the phone with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who then recorded a short video, apparently meeting one of the man's demands. Three hostages were quickly let go, followed by the rest about an hour later.
With all hostages free and the hostage-taker in custody, President Zelensky has deleted the Facebook video of himself complying with the armed man's demand to promote the 2005 film Earthlings featuring narration by Joaquin Phoenix. But here it is for posterity. pic.twitter.com/lPcHB8XD3H — Christopher Miller (@ChristopherJM) July 21, 2020
Footage published by Ukrainian officials showed police escorting people as armed special forces stood over a man lying face down on the pavement near the bus with his hands behind his back. The hostage-taker had earlier fired shots and thrown an explosive package into the street in the center of Lutsk, a city of over 200,000 some 400 kilometers (250 miles) from capital Kiev. 'He convinced him' The man initially made contact with the police identifying himself as Maksym Plokhoy, a pseudonym which translates to "Bad Maxim," police said. He was identified as Maksym Kryvosh, 44, who had previously spent around 10 years in prison on various charges. An account which was later suspended by Twitter had posts under Kryvosh's name claiming he was armed, including with bombs, and demanding top Ukrainian personalities convey anti-establishment messages on social media.


themoscowtimes--2020-07-22--Russia Seeks 10-Year Jail Terms for Calls to Cede Territory Under New Constitution

The current law , adopted after Moscow seized Crimea from Ukraine in 2014 , jails Russians for similar calls to relinquish territory for up to five years .
Russian lawmakers have approved legislation in line with President Vladimir Putin ’ s new Constitution which will give lengthy prison terms for calling to cede territory in what is believed to be a warning to those who question Russia ’ s annexation of Crimea .
Russia ’ s lower house of parliament adopted the package of so-called “ territorial integrity ” bills in its second and third readings Wednesday , two weeks @ @ @ @ @ @ @ bills label Russians who repeatedly “ violate Russia ’ s territorial integrity , including alienating part of its territory ” as “ extremists ” and jails them to between six and 10 years in prison .
Under Putin ’ s amendments that passed in a nationwide vote on July 1 , it is now unconstitutional to give any part of Russian territory away to a foreign power .
In addition to annexing Crimea from Ukraine in 2014 , Russia has been involved in a decades-long territorial dispute with Japan over a chain of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ II .
Russia ’ s upper house of parliament , which meets for the last time Friday before taking a summer break , needs to back the “ territorial integrity ” legislation in a single round of voting before Putin can sign it into law .
Legal experts have warned that the legislation risks further eroding freedom of speech in Russia .

The current law, adopted after Moscow seized Crimea from Ukraine in 2014, jails Russians for similar calls to relinquish territory for up to five years.
Russian lawmakers have approved legislation in line with President Vladimir Putin’s new Constitution which will give lengthy prison terms for calling to cede territory in what is believed to be a warning to those who question Russia’s annexation of Crimea.
Russia’s lower house of parliament adopted the package of so-called “territorial integrity” bills in its second and third readings Wednesday, two weeks after it was first submitted.
The bills label Russians who repeatedly “violate Russia’s territorial integrity, including alienating part of its territory” as “extremists” and jails them to between six and 10 years in prison.
Under Putin’s amendments that passed in a nationwide vote on July 1, it is now unconstitutional to give any part of Russian territory away to a foreign power.
In addition to annexing Crimea from Ukraine in 2014, Russia has been involved in a decades-long territorial dispute with Japan over a chain of Pacific islands it seized after World War II.
Russia’s upper house of parliament, which meets for the last time Friday before taking a summer break, needs to back the “territorial integrity” legislation in a single round of voting before Putin can sign it into law.
Legal experts have warned that the legislation risks further eroding freedom of speech in Russia.


themoscowtimes--2020-07-22--Russian News Crew Attacked Amid U.S. Govt Crackdown on Portland Protests

Russia ’ s Channel One broadcaster said it believes federal agents ripped off its journalist ’ s helmet and knocked down its cameraman with a baton , the state-run RIA Novosti news agency reported Wednesday .
Camouflaged men attacked a Russian news crew during a crackdown on anti-racism protesters in the western U.S. city of Portland , Russian state-run television said Wednesday .
“ It looks like our group suffered at the hands of the security services , ” Channel One presenter and head of news programming Kirill Kleimenov told RIA Novosti .
Channel One journalist Yulia Olkhovskaya and cameraman @ @ @ @ @ @ @ equipment was destroyed , Kleimenov said .
Protests have swept across the United States following the death of African-American man George Floyd at the hands of a white police officer in late May .
Portland became the latest flashpoint after the U.S. Department of Homeland Security ( DHS ) deployed Border Patrol troops and federal marshals to quell the protests and clashes broke out between the troops and protesters .
President Donald Trump has threatened to send federal officers to more U.S. cities to restore order , describing the protesters in Portland as @ @ @ @ @ @ @ accuse Trump of painting their largely peaceful movement as violent for political gain .
The Russian Foreign Ministry called on U.S. authorities to stop attacks on members of the press following the incident .
Russia ’ s mission to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe said “ we strongly condemn the police attack ” on the Channel One news crew .

Russia’s Channel One broadcaster said it believes federal agents ripped off its journalist’s helmet and knocked down its cameraman with a baton, the state-run RIA Novosti news agency reported Wednesday.
Camouflaged men attacked a Russian news crew during a crackdown on anti-racism protesters in the western U.S. city of Portland, Russian state-run television said Wednesday.
“It looks like our group suffered at the hands of the security services,” Channel One presenter and head of news programming Kirill Kleimenov told RIA Novosti.
Channel One journalist Yulia Olkhovskaya and cameraman Vyacheslav Arkhipov received minor injuries and their equipment was destroyed, Kleimenov said.
Protests have swept across the United States following the death of African-American man George Floyd at the hands of a white police officer in late May. Portland became the latest flashpoint after the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) deployed Border Patrol troops and federal marshals to quell the protests and clashes broke out between the troops and protesters.
President Donald Trump has threatened to send federal officers to more U.S. cities to restore order, describing the protesters in Portland as "anarchists and agitators." Protesters accuse Trump of painting their largely peaceful movement as violent for political gain.
The Russian Foreign Ministry called on U.S. authorities to stop attacks on members of the press following the incident.
Russia’s mission to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe said “we strongly condemn the police attack” on the Channel One news crew.
AFP contributed reporting to this article.


themoscowtimes--2020-07-23--Russian Moviegoers ‘Not Ready for Dramas’ Amid Pandemic, Culture Ministry Says

Russia closed down movie theaters , museums and other cultural establishments after the outbreak first hit the country in late March .
Russia ’ s Culture Ministry lifted the nationwide ban last week , leaving it up to individual regions to decide when it would be safe to allow people to gather in confined spaces again .
Russian cinemas will delay premiering heavy dramas after reopening because viewers “ aren ’ t ready ” for heavy dramas amid the coronavirus pandemic , authorities said Wednesday .
Russia ’ s Culture Minister Olga Lyubimova said she spoke with producers who have @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” movies in the early stages of reopening , according to the state-run RIA Novosti news agency .
Lyubimova said she expects young people who “ want simple interactions and dates in the movies ” to be the first to flock to movie theaters .
“ I think we ’ ll introduce dramas closer to the winter of 2021 , ” Lyubimova said .
Authorities in Moscow and the Moscow region gave movie theaters the green light to reopen starting Aug. 1 .
The Culture Ministry ’ s guidelines advise cinemas to sell @ @ @ @ @ @ @ social distancing rules and require staffers to regularly change protective equipment .
Museums in Russia started gradually reopening in June , while theaters and concert halls are expected to reopen this fall .

Russia closed down movie theaters, museums and other cultural establishments after the outbreak first hit the country in late March. Russia’s Culture Ministry lifted the nationwide ban last week, leaving it up to individual regions to decide when it would be safe to allow people to gather in confined spaces again.
Russian cinemas will delay premiering heavy dramas after reopening because viewers “aren’t ready” for heavy dramas amid the coronavirus pandemic, authorities said Wednesday.
Russia’s Culture Minister Olga Lyubimova said she spoke with producers who have decided to screen “light-hearted and simple” movies in the early stages of reopening, according to the state-run RIA Novosti news agency.
Lyubimova said she expects young people who “want simple interactions and dates in the movies” to be the first to flock to movie theaters.
“I think we’ll introduce dramas closer to the winter of 2021,” Lyubimova said.
Authorities in Moscow and the Moscow region gave movie theaters the green light to reopen starting Aug. 1.
The Culture Ministry’s guidelines advise cinemas to sell tickets that would allow viewers to maintain social distancing rules and require staffers to regularly change protective equipment.
Museums in Russia started gradually reopening in June, while theaters and concert halls are expected to reopen this fall.