Feature

Feature

After 13 years of complete Labor dominance...

After 13 years of complete Labor dominance in the Parliament and at Downing Street, the British are preparing to put on conservative attire. However, they will hardly dare to fully change colors from red (color of the Labour Party) to blue (color of the Conservatives). All the latest polls as well as various analysts, psychics, and the most reliable political forecasters - the bookmakers - suggest that after the May 6, 2010 general election, Britain will be dressed in a blue top and red bottom with substantial elements of orange (color of the Liberal Democrats) in the middle.

A household gas explosion shook Thursday...

A household gas explosion shook Thursday an apartment block in southern Moscow, no one was reported injured, police said.

A huge dust and sandstorm has closed down...

A huge dust and sandstorm has closed down the streets of China"s capital of Beijing, bringing the visibility level to practically nil, Xinhua news agency reported on Saturday.

Airlines operating in Europe have suffered...

Airlines operating in Europe have suffered huge losses since Iceland"s Eyjafjallajokull volcano began erupting Wednesday for the second time in a month, spewing a cloud of ash over Europe that has grounded flights and stranded passengers.

A Kyrgyz court on Monday authorized the...

A Kyrgyz court on Monday authorized the arrest of former interior minister Moldomusa Kongantiyev on charges of power abuse, 24.kg news agency reported an interim deputy minister as saying.

An event to commemorate Holocaust victims...

An event to commemorate Holocaust victims will take place in a war-time Jewish ghetto southwest of Moscow on January 27, an international remembrance day, a Jewish charity in Russia said on Wednesday.

Another victim of bombings in the Moscow...

Another victim of bombings in the Moscow metro has died, bringing the total death toll to 40, a spokesman for the Russian health ministry said on Friday.

Any airstrike against Iran by the United...

Any airstrike against Iran by the United States or Israel would be "unacceptable," the chief of the Russian General Staff Nikolai Makarov said on Monday.

Around 15 documents worth over $10 billion...

Around 15 documents worth over $10 billion are expected to be signed during the Russian prime minister"s visit to India, a government spokesman said on Wednesday.

Despite Russia"s natural population decline...

Despite Russia"s natural population decline, immigrants ensure the country"s overall growth, the health and social development minister said on Thursday.

Experts from the International Luge Federation...

Experts from the International Luge Federation have concluded that there was nothing wrong with the track where a Georgian luger died in a training accident, saying the crash was the athlete"s fault.

Georgian Winter Olympic luger Nodar Kumaritashvili...

Georgian Winter Olympic luger Nodar Kumaritashvili died on Friday in Vancouver after a crash during training on Friday, IOC officials said.

Germany issued permission on Monday for...

Germany issued permission on Monday for the construction of Russia"s Nord Stream gas pipeline in its exclusive economic zone.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad announced...

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad announced on Friday a substantial increase in the country"s funding for sports, saying athletes were the future of the country, not nuclear weapons.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu...

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Wednesday he believes mild sanctions the UN Security Council is considering against Iran over its controversial nuclear program will not work.

KURSK, October 1 (RIA Novosti) - Russian...

KURSK, October 1 (RIA Novosti) - Russian President Dmitry Medvedev visited on Thursday the Cathedral of the Sign in the city of Kursk some 300 miles south of Moscow where a miracle-working icon of the Mother of God was recently brought.

Kyrgyz youth groups have demanded representation...

Kyrgyz youth groups have demanded representation in the cabinet of ministers and a lowering of the age threshold for presidential candidates, a Russian business daily said on Thursday.

MOSCOW, April 23 (RIA Novosti) - Guatemala...

MOSCOW, April 23 (RIA Novosti) - Guatemala and Nicaragua have introduced a visa-free regime for Russian tourists, the Russian Foreign Ministry said on Thursday.

MOSCOW, August 11 (RIA Novosti) - The Finnish...

MOSCOW, August 11 (RIA Novosti) - The Finnish owner of a cargo ship, crewed by Russians, that went missing off Portugal"s Atlantic coast on August 1 has asked Russia to assist in tracing the vessel, which may have been hijacked. "The Solchart company and me personally are counting, above all, on Russia"s assistance in the search for the missing vessel and its crew," Viktor Matveyev, the company"s executive director, said. The dry cargo vessel, the Arctic Sea, was due to arrive at the Algerian port of Bejaia on August 4. According to crew members, on July 24, masked men claiming to be police stopped the Arctic Sea in the Baltic Sea and tied up the crew, after which they searched the vessel. The crew is reported to have said the men then left the ship after the 12-hour ordeal and the Arctic Sea resumed its voyage. The Times newspaper cited a Maritime and Coastguard Agency representative as saying "We thought we had spoken to a member of the crew but of course it could have been someone with a gun pointed at their head or a hijacker." Mark Clark said that the ship had last been seen by a Portuguese patrol vessel. "This is the last information we have on the ship. Where she is now no one knows," Clark said, adding "no one can recall a hijacked ship being taken through the [English] channel." According to media reports, the Arctic Sea, which flies the Maltese flag, had a crew of 13 sailors on board as of late March.

MOSCOW, August 14 (RIA Novosti) - Dutch...

MOSCOW, August 14 (RIA Novosti) - Dutch trainer Dick Advocaat, dismissed by Zenit St. Petersburg after a series of poor results, paid a final visit to the club on Friday, the Russian side said on its official website.

MOSCOW, August 26 (RIA Novosti) - Russia"s...

MOSCOW, August 26 (RIA Novosti) - Russia"s Foreign Ministry has said that the Arctic Sea cargo ship, earlier reported to have gone missing before being found with hijackers on board, was constantly monitored throughout the incident.

MOSCOW, December 29 (RIA Novosti) - Russian...

MOSCOW, December 29 (RIA Novosti) - Russian senior lawmakers condemned the death sentence passed on Saddam Hussein and said the execution of the ousted Iraqi leader will spark civil war in Iraq.

MOSCOW, February 12 (RIA Novosti) - Russia's...

MOSCOW, February 12 (RIA Novosti) - Russia's top investigator accused on Thursday the country's current and former deputy finance ministers of being behind schemes to embezzle huge amounts of state funds.

MOSCOW, February 9 (RIA Novosti) - The ongoing...

MOSCOW, February 9 (RIA Novosti) - The ongoing reform of the Russian military will be completed in the next three or four years, the chief of the Russian General Staff said on Monday.

MOSCOW, January 25 (RIA Novosti) - An Ethiopian...

MOSCOW, January 25 (RIA Novosti) - An Ethiopian airliner with more than 90 passengers on board disappeared from radar early on Monday and is believed to have crashed into the Mediterranean Sea.

MOSCOW, July 12 (RIA Novosti) - The Russian...

MOSCOW, July 12 (RIA Novosti) - The Russian Air Force said Thursday a group of four strategic missile aircraft achieved their objectives in a major Navy and Air Force exercise off Russia's Arctic coast.

MOSCOW, July 20 (RIA Novosti) - Soviet cosmonaut...

MOSCOW, July 20 (RIA Novosti) - Soviet cosmonaut Alexei Leonov praised on Monday the U.S.-U.S.S.R. race to the Moon in the 1960s as the "best competition ever in space."

MOSCOW, July 31 (RIA Novosti) - A Moscow...

MOSCOW, July 31 (RIA Novosti) - A Moscow Region court sanctioned the arrest of a man accused of attempting to murder Isa Yamadayev, whose two brothers were gunned down in Moscow and Dubai over a seven-month period, a court spokeswoman said on Friday.

MOSCOW, June 29 (RIA Novosti) - A Russian-Argentine...

MOSCOW, June 29 (RIA Novosti) - A Russian-Argentine agreement scrapping bilateral visa requirements entered into force on Monday.

MOSCOW, May 15 (RIA Novosti) - Tackling...

MOSCOW, May 15 (RIA Novosti) - Tackling Russia"s demographic crisis will become a mega-project that will connect the country"s four priority national projects, the first deputy prime minister has said.

MOSCOW, May 24 (RIA Novosti) - Police have...

MOSCOW, May 24 (RIA Novosti) - Police have found a large cache of weapons hidden in a forest in Russia"s troubled North Caucasus republic of Chechnya, a local police source said on Sunday.

MOSCOW. (Nikita Petrov exclusively for RIA...

MOSCOW. (Nikita Petrov exclusively for RIA Novosti) - Russia and the United States have completed talks on the U.S. plans to deploy a third positioning ABM region in Europe.

MOSCOW, November 10 (RIA Novosti) - Russian...

MOSCOW, November 10 (RIA Novosti) - Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said on Tuesday that the government will continue measures to overcome corruption, and pledged to improve existing legislation.

MOSCOW, November 13 (RIA Novosti) - Russia...

MOSCOW, November 13 (RIA Novosti) - Russia will deliver the last of six contracted Su fighter jets to Indonesia in 2010, a Russian Federal Service for Military and Technical Co-Operation deputy director said on Friday.

MOSCOW (RIA Novosti commentator Viktor Litovkin)...

MOSCOW (RIA Novosti commentator Viktor Litovkin) - Two years ago Russian Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov said, "The military reform has largely been completed." This statement must now be reconsidered in line with more recent statements made by other Defense Ministry heads and the Russian president.

MOSCOW, (RIA Novosti military commentator...

MOSCOW, (RIA Novosti military commentator Viktor Litovkin) - International exhibitions, including arms fairs, are usually held in summer. The Eurosatory 2006 international exhibition of land forces weapons has just ended in Paris, and the Russian Expo Arms 2006 international exhibition of weaponry, military equipment and ammunition opened on July 11 in Nizhny Tagil in the Urals District. Farnborough, near London, will host its annual aerospace show starting on July 17. Finally, the International Defense Exhibition of Land Forces IDELF 2006 will open on August 2 at the All-Russia Exhibition Center in Moscow and at the testing site of the Geodezia R&D Institute in the town of Krasnoarmeisk outside Moscow. Russian Expo Arms 2006 and IDELF 2006 are similar exhibitions that compete against each other because they feature the same weapons and military equipment, although to a varying degree. Moscow and Nizhny Tagil both offer weapons and combat support systems for land forces. Although each exhibition is an international event, Nizhny Tagil will mostly display products that were developed and produced at regional design centers and defense-industry enterprises. Thirty national delegations are attending Russian Expo Arms -2006, and IDELF 2006 will offer weapons and military equipment from all Russian regions. Also displaying their products in Moscow will be 1,287 foreign companies and 347 enterprises from nine CIS countries. Relations between exhibition organizers are strained because this is the fifth Russian Expo Arms fair, whereas IDELF is being held for the first time. Vladimir Paleshchuk, deputy director of the Federal Service for Military and Technical Cooperation, told RIA Novosti that the decision to hold a new exhibition was motivated by the failure of Russian Expo Arms organizers to create suitable conditions for foreign military and industrial delegations, businessmen and participants from other Russian cities. Nizhny Tagil has relatively few hotels, and the ones it has do not meet international standards. Foreign companies and experts find it too expensive to visit far-away Nizhny Tagil and ship their products, which are not very popular on the Russian market, back home. Moscow, in contrast, has many hotels, theaters and cafes, as well as a well-developed local tourist industry. The city also has many federal institutions, and foreign visitors can meet with top officials from the Russian defense industry, promptly solve various problems and ink the required contracts or letters of intent. "We must face the facts. For a military exhibition to have international status, it must involve foreign producers. And foreign companies do not attend the current Nizhny Tagil exhibition," said Paleshchuk. But he also said he recognizes the advantages of the Nizhny Tagil fair"s impressive exhibition potential because Moscow cannot effectively display armored fighting vehicles and weapons in action. Demonstrations of long-range and point-blank target shooting are also a problem. Neither the airfield of the Gromov Flight Institute, which usually hosts the famous MAKS international aerospace show, nor the army"s firing ranges and testing sites are suitable for this. However, this problem has now been solved. Although the testing site at the Geodezia R&D Institute is a bit smaller than the Staratel testing site in Nizhny Tagil [where Russian Expo Arms 2006 is being held], it meets all the firing range, safety and infrastructure requirements. The exhibition center"s grandstands can accommodate 6,000 spectators, including the press, TV personnel and VIPs. IDELF 2006 organizers expect all top Russian leaders, including the President, Prime Minister, Deputy Prime Minister and Defense Minister, to attend. Russia"s First Deputy Defense Minister, Colonel General Alexander Belousov, and Mikhail Dmitriyev, director of the Federal Service for Military and Technical Cooperation, are co-chairing the exhibition. Sergei Marichev, Chairman of the Board of the exhibition association Bizon, the exhibition organizer, told RIA Novosti that IDELF 200

MOSCOW. (RIA Novosti political commentator...

MOSCOW. (RIA Novosti political commentator Maxim Krans) - The much-publicized polar expedition of Artur Chilingarov, deputy speaker of Russia's State Duma, has eclipsed another event which has a direct bearing on the country's northward expansion.

MOSCOW, September 18 (RIA Novosti) - The...

MOSCOW, September 18 (RIA Novosti) - The total number of registered HIV cases in Russia since 1987 has reached half a million, Russia"s chief sanitary official said on Friday.

MOSCOW, September 21 (RIA Novosti) - Iran"s...

MOSCOW, September 21 (RIA Novosti) - Iran"s missile potential is greater today than North Korea"s, the former head of a Russian defense industry research institute said on Monday.

MOSCOW, September 8 (RIA Novosti) - The...

MOSCOW, September 8 (RIA Novosti) - The Arctic Sea cargo ship that was missing for more than two weeks before being freed from hijackers is in the eastern Atlantic and could enter Mediterranean in two or three days.

NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen...

NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen expressed hope on Thursday that the alliance and Russia would establish a joint missile defense system by 2020.

NIZHNY NOVGOROD, December 14 (RIA Novosti)...

NIZHNY NOVGOROD, December 14 (RIA Novosti) - Russia owes its demographic problems to moral decay, said Alexis II, Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia, Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church. He was making a video address to the maiden Church public forum, underway in Nizhny Novgorod, regional and industrial center on the Volga River. The current demographic crisis takes root not only in economic instability but in loose public morals, warned His Beatitude. "Drinking and drug addiction are hitting the community. That is why many parents never give a thought to their children, and the kids are left to the mercy of fate." The Patriarch pointed out a decreasing number of weddings, and called on the nation to make adoptions. "It takes the entire community to solve the demographic problem. Motherland"s future depends on whether we solve it or not," stressed Alexis II. Metropolitan Kliment of Kaluga and Borovsk, head of the Moscow Patriarchate management office, addressed the forum to demand a legal ban on abortions. "We urgently need a legislative prohibition of abortions. Meanwhile, there are three aborted babies to each that comes into the world. This country needs two and a half to three million births a year to prevent degeneration. That means every married couple is to have four or five children, not one as now. "It is up to Russia"s State Duma [parliament"s lower house] to debate an abortion ban, and it is in duty bound to consider the matter," said the Metropolitan. The Russian population is decreasing by 700,000 to a million a year, pointed out other forum speakers. The population will make 138.2 million by the start of 2011, and 75 to a hundred million by 2050, forecasts the State Statistical Committee. Patriarch Alexis II has blessed the Church public forum, Spiritual and Moral Bases of Russia"s Demographic Development. The forum was convened by the Moscow Patriarchate of the Russian Orthodox Church with assistance from the presidential special representative to the Volga federal district, the Business Russia nationwide public association, and the national film festival, Russian Family.

North Korea stressed dialogue in improving...

North Korea stressed dialogue in improving relations with the United States as a key step toward a nuclear-free Korean Peninsula in a New Year"s message on Friday, the Yonhap news agency reported.

Norway"s Petter Northug grabbed the gold...

Norway"s Petter Northug grabbed the gold medal in the men"s 50 km mass start cross country skiing race at the Olympic Games in Vancouver.

On December 23, Russia marked the Strategic...

On December 23, Russia marked the Strategic Aviation Day, which was established to commemorate the creation of the world"s first squadron of heavy bombers in 1914. Since then strategic aviation has become an element of the strategic nuclear triad ensuring Russia"s security.

Opposition leader Nino Burdzhanadze"s visit...

Opposition leader Nino Burdzhanadze"s visit to Moscow harms the national interests of the country, Georgian parliamentary deputies loyal to President Mikheil Saakashvili said on Thursday.

Plans to buy an expensive helicopter carrier...

Plans to buy an expensive helicopter carrier from France could hinder the development of Russia"s defense industry, a Russian lawmaker said on Wednesday.

Poor repairs to a generating unit contributed...

Poor repairs to a generating unit contributed to the August tragedy at a Siberian hydropower plant, lawmakers said on Monday, citing a parliamentary commission"s findings.

President Dmitry Medvedev approved on Wednesday...

President Dmitry Medvedev approved on Wednesday the federal budget for 2010 and basic budget parameters through 2012.

Radio contact has been lost with a MI-8...

Radio contact has been lost with a MI-8 Hip helicopter with a flight crew and 16 tourists over Russia"s Kamchatka Peninsula, a spokesman for the Far East Emergencies Ministry said on Saturday.

RUSSIA

Russia is expecting Japan to review its...

Russia is expecting Japan to review its position over the South Kuril Islands, which has hampered relations between the two states, the Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman has said.

Russian commandos from the large anti-submarine...

Russian commandos from the large anti-submarine ship Marshal Shaposhnikov have released a Russian tanker hijacked by Somali pirates in the Gulf of Aden, a high-ranking official from the maritime coalition forces said on Thursday.

Russian commandos from the large anti-submarine...

Russian commandos from the large anti-submarine ship Marshal Shaposhnikov released on Thursday a Russian tanker hijacked by Somali pirates in the Gulf of Aden.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said...

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Tuesday the Iran Six were discussing a possible new UN Security Council resolution imposing further sanctions against Tehran over its nuclear program.

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev called...

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev called on Thursday for tougher action against global terrorism.

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has expressed...

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has expressed condolences to his Serbian counterpart Boris Tadic over the death of Serbian Orthodox Patriarch Pavle, the Kremlin said Monday.

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has warned...

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has warned Israel against a military attack on Iran, saying it might lead to nuclear war and global disaster.

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev signed...

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev signed Thursday a decree to streamline the law enforcement structure, in particular ordering staff cuts and instituting the rotation of senior personnel at the Interior Ministry.

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said...

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said Polish president"s plane crash in west Russia is a tragedy not only for Poland but for Russia as well.

Russia regrets that Iran has been unwilling...

Russia regrets that Iran has been unwilling to compromise on its nuclear program and recognizes that sanctions are necessary in certain circumstances, a senior Foreign Ministry official said in an interview published on Wednesday.

Russia"s Foreign Ministry said on Friday...

Russia"s Foreign Ministry said on Friday Iran may face sanctions over its controversial nuclear program although the issue is not currently being discussed at the UN Security Council.

Russia"s plans to integrate six smaller...

Russia"s plans to integrate six smaller airlines into the country"s flagship carrier Aeroflot is aimed at improving air safety and modernizing the domestic air fleet, but was likely to create one more monopolist, an expert said on Wednesday.

Russia will launch a cargo module to the...

Russia will launch a cargo module to the International Space Station (ISS) on April 28, mission control said on Tuesday.

Russia will restrict its greenhouse gas...

Russia will restrict its greenhouse gas emissions to 25% of 1990 levels by 2020, President Dmitry Medvedev promised on Monday.

Since 1993, February 23 has been known as...

Since 1993, February 23 has been known as the Defender of the Fatherland Day. In essence, however, it remains a day in honor of the army and navy, in full accordance with its original name: Day of the Soviet Army and Navy. It has been 20 years since the collapse of the U.S.S.R., but the country"s military remain the holiday"s main protagonist.