Russian hypersonic technology expert accused of high treason

MOSCOW (AP) — A court in Moscow has jailed a specialist in hypersonic technologies pending trial on charges of high treason. It’s the latest in a series of espionage cases targeting Russian scientists. The court ruled at a hearing behind closed doors that Alexander Kuranov, the director-general and chief designer of the St.Petersburg-based Hypersonic Systems Research Institute, should remain in pre-trial detention for two months. The materials of the case were classified, but Russian media reports said Kuranov was accused of handing over sensitive information to representatives of unspecified foreign countries. Russia has prided itself on being the only country to commission hypersonic missiles — traveling more than five times faster than sound.