New Spy Satellite Launched

The Space Forces have launched a spy satellite to end a seven-year span during which the Defense Ministry had no orbiting craft capable of beaming high-precision, real-time images to Earth, Kommersant reported Monday.

The satellite, named Persona No. 1, was launched Saturday from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome in northern Russia, Kommersant reported, citing no one.

The satellite, designed by TsKB-Progress of Samara and launched by a Soyuz rocket, will beam back images of objects as small as 30 centimeters in diameter, the report said. (MT)

---

Floods Kill 22 in Ukraine

KIEV -- Floods in western Ukraine have killed 22 people, destroyed homes, farmland and roads and prompted the evacuation of 20,000 residents, officials said Monday.

Television showed President Viktor Yushchenko wading knee-deep through village streets, visiting devastated homes and discussing action plans with local officials over the weekend. (Reuters)