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Vandals Blow Hole Through Lenin Statue
 A nationally-significant statue of Bolshevik leader Vladimir Lenin in front of St. Petersburg’s Finland railway station was bombed by vandals early on ... |
Presidents Obama, Medvedev Seek New Start in London
MOSCOW — Presidents Barack Obama and Dmitry Medvedev announced at their much-anticipated first meeting Wednesday in London that Washington and Moscow would negotiate a new nuclear arms reduction treaty by the end of the year. The announcement to put together a replacement for the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty did not come as a surprise after both sides earlier stressed the necessity of a new agreement before the Cold War-era one expires in December after 15 years. But the pledge is seen as a key step in both leaders’ promises to mend U.S.-Russia relations, which spiraled downward under their predecessors, Vladimir Putin and George W. Bush. “We ... are ready to move beyond Cold War mentalities and chart a fresh start in relations between our two countries,” Obama and Medvedev said ... |
Leaders Of G20 To Beef Up IMF
LONDON — Global leaders made headway Thursday on tackling the world financial crisis, with new clampdowns likely on tax havens and hedge funds and more funds heading to the International Monetary Fund so it can boost loans to struggling countries. Officials close to the negotiations said the Group of 20 nations could triple their funding for the IMF to $750 billion. The world financial body supports countries whose finances have been hard hit by the global slowdown, supporting their currency reserves and banking systems. The officials, from a number of delegations, said the funds could include an overdraft facility worth some $250 billion for developing countries. They refused to be further identified because they were not authorized to speak to the media. On financial regulation ... |
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Editor Says Worker Dead Following Attack in Khimki
MOSCOW — A newspaper employee in a Moscow suburb has died after being beaten near his home in the latest of a string of attacks on journalists in Russia, his editor said Wednesday. Sergei Protazanov was found by a passer-by on Sunday as he lay on a sidewalk ... |
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New Feud With Ukraine: Who Gets Gogol?
 The 200th anniversary of writer Nikolai Gogol’s birth became the latest point of contention between Russia and Ukraine on Wednesday. Both Ukrainian and ... |
Dubai Frees Retired Russian Navy Officer
MOSCOW — Dubai police on Wednesday released a retired Russian naval officer detained on suspicion of involvement in the murder of Chechen strongman Sulim Yamadayev over the weekend in the emirate, the suspect’s brother said. The retired officer, Alexander Musiyaka, was detained Monday evening at his hotel in Dubai, where he was vacationing with his wife and daughter, his brother, Yevgeny Musiyaka, said by telephone from Kiev. Dubai police said this week that four Russians had been detained in connection with the murder but that none of them had been charged. Detained ... |
In Brief
Girl in Beaver Attack KALININGRAD (SPT) — A wild beaver bit a girl in the center of Kaliningrad on Wednesday. At the close of a celebration of April Fool’s Day held in the city’s central square, children noticed the arrival of a wild beaver. The girl was bitten when the children began to play with it. When the girl was taken to the emergency room doctors refused to believe that the girl’s wounds had been caused by a beaver, believing that it was an April Fool’s joke, though police later confirmed the girl’s version of events. Animal rescue workers only managed ... |
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Ford Seeks to Reduce Work Schedule
 Ford Motor Co. wants to cut the workweek at its plant near St. Petersburg, Russia, to four days to avoid overproduction, saying Europe’s second-biggest ... |
Foreign Partner On Cards for GAZ Cars
MOSCOW — GAZ is in talks with a foreign partner on setting up a car venture in Russia as the country’s second-largest automaker seeks to tap demand once the economy recovers, billionaire owner Oleg Deripaska said. Talks were held within the last two days, Deripaska said at a meeting with reporters in Moscow that started at 2 a.m. Thursday. GAZ doesn’t plan to sell new shares, he said. GAZ, maker of a Russian version of Chrysler’s Sebring sedan, considered partnering with General Motors Corp. last year to develop a $10,000 budget car for the Russian market and also buying into ... |
Lebedev’s Airline Loses License in Germany
MOSCOW — Russian billionaire Alexander Lebedev’s German airline Blue Wings lost its license after regulators concluded that the discount carrier had “business problems,” a decision Lebedev said he’ll appeal. “Effective immediately, Blue Wings is no longer allowed to transport passengers, mail and/or cargo,” the LBA, Germany’s aviation authorities, said in a statement on its web site that is dated Tuesday. The LBA in January turned Blue Wings’ license into a three-month permit that expired March 31. Lebedev, who owns about 48 percent of Blue Wings, said in a phone interview ... |
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Tusk Says Putin ‘Open’ To New Gas Proposals
WARSAW (Bloomberg) — Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin is “very open” to Poland’s proposals on a new long-term gas contract, his Polish counterpart Donald Tusk said at a press conference in Warsaw on Thursday. Polskie Gornictwo Naftowe i Gazownictwo, ... |
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Magnit to Continue Expansion Plans
Regional food retailer Magnit reported better-than-expected 2008 results for net income and revenue on Wednesday, and it pledged to carry its aggressive expansion plan into 2009. CEO Sergei Galitsky said in a statement that Magnit opened 385 new stores ... |
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 Unique Russian Values
Russian officials commonly justify anti-market economics by citing the Russian public’s “nonliberal” values. Policymakers often refer to the fact that the majority of Russians would prefer to reverse the privatizations of the 1990s and return to regulated ... |
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How to Get on Russia’s Most-Wanted List
Last week, Saak Karapetyan, head of the international cooperation department of the Prosecutor General’s Office, gave an interview to Interfax in which he clarified the most important criminal cases in his agency. It turns out that the most pressing cases ... |
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Rampaging Ax-Attacker Kills West Bank Youth
BAT AYIN, West Bank — An ax-wielding Palestinian militant went on a rampage in a West Bank settlement Thursday, killing an Israeli 13-year-old and wounding a 7-year-old boy before fleeing the area. The attack posed an important test for Israel’s new prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, who has promised a firm hand against militants and expressed skepticism about prospects for peace. Government spokesman Mark Regev called it a “senseless act of brutality against innocents.” Police and military units were searching for the attacker, according to police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld and army ... |
Obama Takes on N. Korea Conflict, Economy
 LONDON — President Barack Obama and his South Korean counterpart agreed Thursday on the need for a “stern, united” international response if North Korea ... |
Man Dies at Anti-G20 Protest March
LONDON — Thousands of people demonstrated on the streets of London ahead of the G20 summit here in angry protests that descended into violent battles with police and saw one man collapse and die. After a day of protests Wednesday to mark the summit of world leaders in the capital, a man died in hospital after falling unconscious inside a police cordon near the Bank of England. Police and the London Ambulance Service said they were alerted by a member of the public and tried to resuscitate the man — despite at one point being pelted by bottles from protesters — but he was declared dead ... |
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16 Die in North Sea Air Crash
EDINBURGH, Scotland — Police said Thursday that 16 people were killed when a helicopter went down off Scotland’s northeast coast, announcing that the search for eight people still missing was now a recovery rather than a rescue operation. Eight bodies ... |
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We are all freaks
 The Tiger Lillies never cease to be creative — unlike the many recycled rock veterans who frequent Russia these days. London’s punk-cabaret trio, which ... |
Chernov's choice
Objections to a planned concert on Palace Square by Madonna from the Hermitage Museum, City Hall and the city’s parliament last month sounded vehement, but somehow dubious, considering all the outdoor shows, including concerts by Paul McCartney, the Rolling Stones and Elton John (not to mention a ï“… none other than Mikhail Piotrovsky, director of the Hermitage and a frequent opponent of any entertainment on Palace Square, while City Hall’s culture committee authorized the show, Interfax news agency reported. Moreover, one or two huge concerts a year will not damage the Hermitage, Piotrovsky said. “We don’t have a large stadium, and so no more than twice a year, such events can be held on the city’s main square without damaging the monuments and the Hermitage,” he was quoted by Interfax ... |
Karelians unite
 “Culture that blindly replicates tradition is a dead culture!” declared Igor P in 2005 over what he perceived to be Russian street art’s increasing blandness ... |
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Steak escape
“Good Meat...Good Men...Good Life” reads the unusual advertisement in English outside of Steak House, located on Suvorovsky Prospekt. This clearly American-style steak house holds no secrets. Its name lays all the cards on the table and reflects exactly ... |
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 Lukashenko Eases Grip on Belarus Amid Crisis
By Yuriy Humber Bloomberg MOSCOW — Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, one of Russia’s staunchest allies, is inviting an East-West bidding war for his country as he seeks to hold onto power and keep its economy afloat amid the global crisis. Lukashenko, ... |
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Federer, Djokovic Book Semis Clash in Miami
 MIAMI — World number two Roger Federer overcame American Andy Roddick in three sets to set up a semi-final clash with Novak Djokovic at the ATP Masters ... |
Terry Scores Late Winner Against Ukraine
LONDON — England captain John Terry revealed a hair cut from Wayne Rooney helped get him in the right frame of mind to keep his country on course for the World Cup finals. Terry scored England’s late winner as Fabio Capello’s side consolidated their position on top of Group Six with a 2-1 victory over Ukraine at Wembley on Wednesday. The Chelsea defender celebrated his goal by mimicking a trim with Rooney and then admitted he had let his England team-mate loose on his hair earlier in the week. “In the week I needed a little trim up. We’re ... |
Hamilton Stripped of Third
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia — Reigning world champion Lewis Hamilton was disqualified from the Australian Formula One Grand Prix on Thursday for giving misleading evidence to race stewards. The McLaren driver was awarded third place after the season-opening GP when stewards ruled Toyota’s Jarno Trulli breached regulations by passing Hamilton during a safety car period in Melbourne on Sunday. Trulli was reinstated to his original third-place finish Thursday, while Hamilton and McLaren were excluded from the results and receive no points. A new ... |
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Maradona: Bolivian Win Was a Just Humiliation
LA PAZ — Argentina coach Diego Maradona refused to blame the negative effects of competing at altitude after his side was humiliated 6-1 by Bolivia on Wednesday, thus registering its worst defeat in 60 years. Bolivia’s goals came from a Joaquin Botero ... |
