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U.S. Makes Nuclear Deal With Kremlin
MOSCOW — Russia and the United States on Tuesday signed a long-awaited agreement on civilian nuclear cooperation that could allow the two countries to expand bilateral nuclear trade. The deal, signed on President Vladimir Putin’s last full day in office, establishes the legal basis for Russian and U.S. companies to trade in nuclear materials. It could also give the United States access to Russian technology and hand Russia lucrative contracts to store spent nuclear fuel. Russian and U.S. officials lauded the agreement, signed in Moscow by U.S. Ambassador William Burns and Sergei Kiriyenko, head of the state-run nuclear corporation Rosatom. “The United States ... |
Medvedev Takes Presidency from Putin
 MOSCOW — Dmitry Medvedev was inaugurated as Russia’s president on Wednesday, pledging to bolster the country’s economic development and civil rights, in ... |
City Marks Victory Day With Parades, Concerts
St. Petersburg will hold events dedicated to the 63rd anniversary of victory in World War II on Friday in all districts of the city. On Thursday, residents will lay flowers at the sign at 14 Nevsky Prospekt, left in place since the war in memory of those who dies, that reads “Citizens! During artillery shelling this side of the street is most dangerous!” The sign warned St. Petersburgers of the dangers of German attack on the city when it was besieged between 1941 and 1944. St. Petersburgers will also pay their respects to war heroes at the Piskaryovskoye, Serafimovskoye, Bogoslovskoye and Nevskoye military cemeteries. They will also lay flowers at the monument ... |
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Latvia Evacuates Luxury Cruise Ship in Baltic
RIGA — Latvia’s coast guard Monday began evacuating a stranded cruise ship with nearly 1,000 people on board after tug boats failed to pull the luxury liner off an underwater sand bank in the Baltic Sea. The 651 passengers, most of them elderly Germans, ... |
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FSB Seeks Clarification Over What Is Espionage
MOSCOW — The Federal Security Service has drafted amendments to the Criminal Code clarifying the definition of espionage. While the bill’s supporters say it would help prevent citizens from facing groundless espionage charges, critics warn that if it ... |
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Russia ‘Not Ready’ For HIV Measures
MOSCOW — Russia is “not ready” to adopt measures that could prevent thousands of people from getting infected with the virus that causes AIDS, the country’s chief public health officer said. Gennady Onishchenko said regulations were not strong enough to allow measures such as methadone replacement therapy for heroin addicts to work properly. Health advocates say such therapy is vital because of the particular way HIV has spread through Russia. Up to 80 percent of the country’s 1.6 million HIV-positive people became infected through dirty needles, according to various estimates. ... |
Georgians ‘Very Close’ to War
 MOSCOW — Georgia is “very close” to a war with Russia, a Georgian minister said Tuesday, citing Moscow’s decision to send extra troops to the breakaway ... |
State Hermitage Sued Over Provision of Public Access
Local resident Yelena Malysheva, who is suing the world-famous State Hermitage Museum for allegedly restricting people’s access to the gallery’s treasures by closing a series of exhibition rooms, has expressed disappointment over the course of the trial. When she arrived at the Dzerzhinsky district court on Tuesday, Malysheva, an active campaigner for the protection of endangered buildings in the historic center of St. Petersburg and supporter of several related protest groups, discovered that Hermitage representatives had already left the court. “They came before us, and ... |
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French Court Unfreezes Assets
PARIS — A French court has fully lifted a freeze on the Russian Central Bank’s accounts with French commercial banks, frozen as part of a suit by Swiss trading firm Noga, a lawyer said Tuesday. “We’ve won, which means that there is no longer any seizure ... |
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TNK-BP Wins In Court
MOSCOW — A Moscow arbitration court on Tuesday upheld a lower court’s ruling to refund TNK-BP 9.7 billion rubles ($408 million) it paid as value-added tax in 2006, the company said Tuesday. The victory comes as the country’s third-largest oil producer, half owned by BP, is facing increased pressure from state authorities, who analysts say are trying to help a state-controlled firm buy a major stake in it. Under Russian law, export operations are exempt from the 18 percent VAT and the Federal Tax Service must refund the tax after companies submit relevant documents. ... |
Railway Union Plans Second, Bigger Strike Action
 MOSCOW — An independent railway workers union said Tuesday that it would go on strike later this month if its members’ salaries were not doubled, raising ... |
Cabinet Backs Plan to Foil Internet Domain Squatters
MOSCOW — The Cabinet on Tuesday approved a proposal by the Economic Development and Trade Ministry to eliminate the link between registration of brands and Internet domain names, making it easier for companies in Russia to defend themselves against cybersquatters. The proposal was one of several by the ministry that were approved. The proposals were backed “without criticism,” Deputy Economic Development and Trade Minister Andrei Klepach told a news briefing after the Cabinet meeting, Interfax reported. Under the amendment, in Part 4 of the Civil Code, the ... |
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Obama Makes Recovery
WASHINGTON — On the rebound, Barack Obama left Hillary Rodham Clinton with fast-dwindling chances to deny him the Democratic presidential nomination after beating her in North Carolina and falling just short in an Indiana cliffhanger. Obama was on track to climb within 200 delegates of attaining the prize, his campaign finally steadying after missteps fiercely exploited by the never-say-die Clinton. His campaign dropped hints it was time for the 270 remaining unaligned party figures known as superdelegates to get off the fence and settle the nomination. It was in that arena ... |
Over 40,000 Still Missing in Myanmar
 YANGON — Military helicopters dropped food and water on Wednesday to the cyclone-stricken people of Myanmar’s Irrawaddy Delta, where entire villages were ... |
Nigerian Rebels Mull Appeal From Obama
LAGOS — Rebels who have stepped up attacks on Nigeria’s oil industry in the last month said on Sunday they were considering a ceasefire appeal by U.S. presidential hopeful Barack Obama. The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) has launched five attacks on oil facilities in the Niger Delta since it resumed a campaign of violence in April, forcing Royal Dutch Shell to shut more than 164,000 barrels of oil per day (bpd). “The MEND command is seriously considering a temporary ceasefire appeal by Senator Barack Obama. Obama is someone we respect and hold in ... |
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Chileans Evacuated as Chaiten Volcano Erupts
CHAITEN, Chile — Crackling with explosions, Chile’s Chaiten volcano began spitting lava on Tuesday following its first eruption in thousands of years, and Navy warships were deployed to evacuate nearby residents in the southern region of Patagonia. Chaiten ... |
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Starry, starry nights
 Long-standing operatic favorites meet cutting-edge new music at the International Stars of the White Nights Festival that kicks off on Saturday at the ... |
Chernov’s
choice
Opposition politician Maxim Reznik said that when he was in prison he was greatly impressed that rock singer Yury Shevchuk of the band DDT joined the Dissenters’ March and rally on March 3. “I learned about it in prison, but when I was told that Yury Shevchuk came on March 3, [I saw it as] a landmark event,” said Reznik, head of the local branch of the Yabloko opposition party, speaking to The St. Petersburg Times on Saturday. Reznik spent three weeks in custody in March on charges of assaulting three policemen that the opposition sees as fabricated. The offence, if proven at trial, is punishable by up to five years in prison. “I am sure that Shevchuk would have performed [at the May 1 opposition rally and concert], if he weren’t on tour in Ukraine,” he said. Speaking ... |
Music, maestro please!
 LONDON — For Valery Gergiev, considered one of the world’s great conductors, classical music will only reach a wider audience if it boasts charismatic ... |
 Keep on moving
Grandshuttleband, the ragga-metal band that will perform in an event headlined by DJ Lethal at The Place on Friday, is a new act but it has a direct link to the vibrant local rock music scene of the past. This link is represented by Dmitry Petrov, the ... |
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Novel experience
Hemingway’s Bar // 3 Lomonosova Ulitsa. Tel: 310 7007 // Open 12 noon through 6 a.m. // Menu in Russian and English // Dinner for two (without cocktails) 2,120 rubles ($86) You won’t find an old man struggling with a huge fish at Hemingway’s, a large ... |
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Canada Edges Past U.S. With 5-4 Victory
 HALIFAX, Nova Scotia — Dany Heatley scored twice, including the winner with 47 seconds left, to lift Canada to a riveting 5-4 victory over the U.S. at ... |
Capello Complains at Lack Of Brits in Premier League
The coach of the country’s national team, Fabio Capello, bemoans the fact that only 37 percent of players in the Premier League were born in the country. But look at the potential combined lineup that Champions League finalists Manchester United and Chelsea could field when they play in Moscow on May 21. Goalkeeper: Ben Foster (Manchester United). (He may be United’s third choice behind Netherlands goalkepeer Edwin van der Sar and Poland backup Tomasz Kuszczak, but he’s considered one of England’s best young stars.) Defenders: Wes Brown (Manchester United), Rio Ferdinand (Manchester United), John Terry (Chelsea), Ashley Cole ... |
Chelsea Still Aiming For Title
LONDON — Avram Grant has promised Manchester United a fight to the very finish after his Chelsea side beat Newcastle to ensure the English Premier League title race will go right down to the wire. A hard-fought 2-0 win at St James’s Park on Monday stretched Chelsea’s impressive unbeaten league run to 20 games to set up a tense last day of the season on Sunday. The sides are level on points, but with a vastly superior goal difference leaders United remain heavy favourites to retain their crown. Alex Ferguson’s side need only to match Chelsea’s result against Bolton Wanderers when they travel to Wigan Athletic on Sunday to ... |
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Sports Watch
Chelsea Make Offer MADRID (AFP) — Chelsea have offered Real Madrid 70 million euros (108 million dollars) for their defender Sergio Ramos, daily newspaper El Mundo reported Wednesday. Real, who clinched their second straight Spanish league title ... |
