North Korea said Saturday it has begun harvesting plutonium from spent fuel rods at its main nuclear plant to build up its atomic arsenal. The move, in defiance of tightening U.N. sanctions, threatened to further damage efforts to dismantle the communist nation’s rogue program.
“This will contribute to bolstering the nuclear deterrence for self-defense in every [...]
President Barack Obama says he and the NATO secretary-general on Wednesday discussed increasing alliance effectiveness in the fight against Islamic militants in Afghanistan.
Obama said he hopes the talks and the upcoming new U.S. plan for the fight against the Taliban and al-Qaida would “invigorate” NATO participation in the U.S.-led operation, now in its 8th year.
The [...]
The Ukrainian prime minister arrived in Moscow on Monday as Russia and Ukraine prepared to sign a deal ending a contentious dispute that cut off Russian natural gas shipments to Europe for nearly two weeks.
Yulia Tymoshenko and her Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, reached a preliminary agreement over the weekend to restore gas supplies to Europe [...]
Russia’s Gazprom state gas monopoly resumed pumping gas to Europe via Ukraine Tuesday after a six-day cutoff that left large parts of Europe cold and dark.
The company turned on the taps after 10 a.m. Moscow times (0700 GMT), Gazprom spokesman Boris Sapozhnikov said by telephone from Sudzha gas metering station on the border with Ukraine.
European [...]
Russia and the European Union signed a deal Saturday on the deployment of EU observers to monitor the flow of natural gas across Ukraine, clearing the way for restarting Russian gas supplies to a freezing Europe.
Russia said it wants the written deal in place before resuming shipments, but it also needs to be signed by [...]
More than 1,000 miles east of Moscow lies an endless landscape of stunted trees and snow.
It’s so isolated here in western Siberia, locals consider a three-day drive to be a short trip. Temperatures often reach minus 60 degrees Fahrenheit.
This land may be inhospitable, but it’s the source of much of Russia’s new wealth.
The Yamal-Nenets region [...]
Miss Russia won the Miss World 2008 contest held in South Africa Saturday. Kseniya Sukhinova beat out 108 other contestants.
The first runner up was Parvathay Omanakuttan of India, and the second runner up was Gabriel Walcott of Trinidad and Tobago, as reported.
The contestants first traveled for a month in South Africa. Here they are at [...]
Oleg Teterin, president of the mobile ad company Superfone, has trademarked the ;-) wink and most others [such as :-) :( ], as they are close resemblances of it.
The reaction in his home country was quick and predictable. Alexander Manis, the director of a Russian broadband internet and mobile company drew a good comparison:
“Imagine [...]
