1+ week, 6+ day ago (172+ words) MOSCOW, November 17. /TASS/. TASS is seeking to expand its presence in Africa as it plans to open bureaus in Nigeria, Cameroon, Angola and Madagascar soon, director general of Russia's state-owned news agency, Andrey Kondrashov, announced. According to him, the agency's "strategic development strategy" envisages a broader African presence, among other areas. "In the near future alone, we are planning to open news bureaus in Nigeria, Cameroon and Madagascar," he said at a news conference devoted to an international press tour for reporters with African news agencies titled, TASS-Africa: The Way of Friendship, that began on Sunday. The TASS chief recalled that the agency currently has offices in Egypt, Tunisia, Kenya, Morocco, Zimbabwe and South Africa. The international press tour is running in Moscow, Kazan and St. Petersburg from November 16 - November 24. Employees with media outlets from 10 Francophone African countries accompanied by…...

1+ week, 6+ day ago (223+ words) Andrey Kondrashov added that the agency is ready to exchange information with its African counterparts - Russian Politics & Diplomacy Russian Politics & DiplomacyInto section "- Business & Economy Business & EconomyInto section " - Military & Defense Military & DefenseInto section " - Science & Space Science & SpaceInto section " - Society & Culture Society & CultureInto section " TASS aims to open news bureaus in all African countries, says Director General MOSCOW, November 17./TASS/. The TASS news agency intends to establish news bureaus in all African countries, replicating its presence during the Soviet era, TASS Director General Andrey Kondrashov said. "We must recall a time when the Soviet Union had correspondent news bureaus in every African country without exception. It is this level of presence we are committed to restoring," he told a news conference ahead of the beginning of a media tour for journalists from African news agencies titled "TASS - Africa: A Path of Friendship....

1+ week, 6+ day ago (208+ words) Andrey Kondrashov pointed out that the GFCN, which was founded jointly with the Dialogue NGO, offers free access to an AI-based "smart browser" that is capable of identifying "any fake news" - Russian Politics & Diplomacy Russian Politics & DiplomacyInto section "- Business & Economy Business & EconomyInto section " - Military & Defense Military & DefenseInto section " - Science & Space Science & SpaceInto section " - Society & Culture Society & CultureInto section " TASS chief calls on African media to joint Global Fact-checking Network MOSCOW, November 17. /TASS/. TASS Director General Andrey Kondrashov has invited news agencies from African countries to join the Global Fact-checking Network, or GFCN. "I call on the media outlets you represent to join this organization, which now unites around 100 media outlets from 50 countries. I would like to see African countries added to this list of our friends participating in this organization," he told a news conference ahead of the beginning of…...

3+ week, 2+ day ago (123+ words) "Any major media outlet that fails to become expert at integrating video, text, and photos, that doesn't find its way into the little box called a smartphone, doesn't stand a chance," Andrey Kondrashov said MOSCOW, November 7. /TASS/. The way people consume news content is fundamentally changing, putting the onus on news agencies to adapt, TASS Director General Andrey Kondrashov said. He noted that initially, TV and film content would be uploaded to the internet but now content from the internet is being broadcast on television, and there's no telling what the future of media might look like. At the same time, TV channels and online media that broadcast news cannot function without news agencies, whose journalists gather primary information, Kondrashov underlined....

1+ week, 6+ day ago (197+ words) MOSCOW, November 17. /TASS/. TASS is training artificial intelligence (AI) to archive news and make image annotations, General Director of the Russian news agency Andrey Kondrashov said. AI instruments are also used in the browser functioning within the framework of the international Factchecking Association founded by TASS and Dialogue autonomous nonprofit organization, the chief executive said. "Artificial intelligence there is indeed based on seeing the etymology, that is, the origin of a news story," Kondrashov added. AI instruments conduct "an absolutely ordinary" analysis of where the news comes from, he noted. "If it is very far, on the other side of the planet, there's a certain probability that it's fake. Here is an example where artificial intelligence is used. And we are ready to offer its capabilities to you right now," the TASS chief said. The TASS-Africa: Way of Friendship international…...

3+ week, 3+ day ago (192+ words) Sergey Kud-Sverchkov will travel to the ISS on November 27 aboard the Soyuz MS-28 spacecraft ZVEZDNY GORODOK /Moscow Region/, November 6. /TASS/. Yury Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center Deputy Head and Hero of Russia Oleg Kononenko presented cosmonaut Sergey Kud-Sverchkov with a TASS special correspondent certificate, making him the seventh TASS special correspondent on the ISS. "You have been given the honorable duty of becoming a TASS correspondent on board the ISS. You need to inform the people of our country about what we are doing in space," Kononenko said, advising him to do his work there in a way that would make "everyone on Earth talk about it." Kud-Sverchkov will travel to the ISS on November 27 aboard the Soyuz MS-28 spacecraft. This will be the second flight of his career. In 2021, TASS and Roscosmos signed a memorandum of cooperation under which TASS…...

1+ week, 6+ day ago (209+ words) MOSCOW, November 17. /TASS/. Russian and African media should cooperate without Western intermediaries that often cover events from a specific political angle, TASS Director General Andrey Kondrashov said. "No intermediaries like big Western agencies, Western media should stand in the way of our bilateral interaction," he said at a press conference dedicated to the launch of the international press tour for journalists from African news agencies "TASS - Africa: Path of Friendship". Kondrashov found it strange that information about African countries in Russia comes from Western agencies, which are also the source of information about Russia for Africa. "Very often this picture is refracted through the political attitudes of a particular agency, a particular country that the agency represents," the TASS director general added. According to him, TASS now provides, free of charge, its news feeds in English, French and Arabic. He…...

2+ week, 6+ day ago (233+ words) Timur Mindich's personal data was published on the website on November 10 after searches at his residence - Russian Politics & Diplomacy Russian Politics & DiplomacyInto section "- Business & Economy Business & EconomyInto section " - Military & Defense Military & DefenseInto section " - Science & Space Science & SpaceInto section " - Society & Culture Society & CultureInto section " Ukraine's extremist website Mirotvorets adds Zelensky's 'wallet' to database MOSCOW, November 10. /TASS/. Co-owner of Kvartal 95, businessman Timur Mindich, known to some as Vladimir Zelensky's "wallet," has been listed in the database of the Ukrainian extremist website Mirotvorets. The businessman's personal data was published on the website on November 10 after searches at his residence. The creators of the website call Mindich a marauder, a thief and a member of an organized criminal group. It says he "deliberately acted to undermine the stable functioning of the energy sector of Ukraine," and used his official position for personal enrichment. Earlier…...

2+ week, 2+ day ago (197+ words) The skills of Russian combatants engaged in the special military operation exert significant influence on the successful results of repelling enemy air strikes - Russian Politics & Diplomacy Russian Politics & DiplomacyInto section "- Business & Economy Business & EconomyInto section " - Military & Defense Military & DefenseInto section " - Science & Space Science & SpaceInto section " - Society & Culture Society & CultureInto section " Almaz-Antey upgrades air defense systems for foreign customers based on combat experience MOSCOW, November 14. /TASS/. Russia's Almaz-Antey Group upgrades air defense systems for foreign customers taking into account the experience of the special military operation, Almaz-Antey Group Deputy CEO Vyacheslav Dzirkaln told TASS on the eve of the Dubai Airshow 2025 international aerospace exhibition. "The Group offers within its own right as an entity engaged in military-technical cooperation upgrade options for hardware supplied earlier, in particular, considering the experience of the special military operation. However, I want to stress once again:…...

4+ day, 1+ hour ago (95+ words) Vice President of Transneft Vladimir Kalanda had a meeting with Deputy Oil Minister of Iran Omid Shakeri - Russian Politics & Diplomacy Russian Politics & DiplomacyInto section "- Business & Economy Business & EconomyInto section " - Military & Defense Military & DefenseInto section " - Science & Space Science & SpaceInto section " - Society & Culture Society & CultureInto section " Transneft discuss inline inspection with Iran " company MOSCOW, November 26. /TASS/. Transneft discussed cooperation with Iran in the sphere of inline inspection of pipelines with Iran, the company said in its Oil Pipeline Transport corporate magazine....