Daily News Channel
On the eve of a two-day summit with U.S. President Obama, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev says both countries are "moderately optimistic" about "resetting" their relations. In an interview with Italian media RAI and Corriere della Sera, Medvedev said relations “have begun to revive” after a period of significant deterioration during the administration of President George W.
Any attempt to pardon Mikhail Khodorkovsky — once Russia’s richest man, now its most famous inmate — must follow standard procedure, including an admission of guilt, the nation’s president said Sunday. “Concerning the possibility of a pardon for someone, Khodorkovsky or anyone else, the procedure has to be carried out in accordance with our country’s rules,” President Dmitry Medvedev said in a transcript on his Web site
It is not now as it hath been of yore.
A military helicopter crashed Friday in northwestern Pakistan, killing at least 26 security personnel on board, the Pakistani military said. A Marine source described the fighting Thursday evening as “our most significant encounter.” Sporadic fighting took place over several hours in the southeastern sector of Garmser district, said Pelletier, spokesman for the Marine Expeditionary Brigade-Afghanistan. Helmand province, a poppy-growing region, is the focus of the military push called Operation Khanjar.
U.S. Marines on Friday continued to lead a major push against militants in southern Afghanistan in an attempt to rout the Taliban from their stronghold in Helmand province, Marine Capt. William Pelletier said
Defending champion Venus Williams ensured the Wimbledon final would be another family affair with a devastating performance against Russia’s Dinara Safina in Thursday’s second semifinal. Third seed Venus produced an awesome display on Centre Court, crushing world No.1 Safina 6-1 6-0 in just 51 minutes, after sister Serena had earlier won an epic three-set semifinal against Elena Dementieva. There was no way five-times champion Venus, was being sucked into such a dogfight.
The neon lights are no longer flashing; the roulette wheels have spun their last turn. Casinos across Russia closed their doors Wednesday as a sweeping ban on gambling went into effect, less than a week after a similar ban hit neighboring Ukraine. Lawmakers in both countries say the actions were necessary to bring under control spiraling addiction and a notoriously shady business.
NATO and Russia have agreed to restart their military relationship, nearly a year after it had been frozen over the war in Georgia, the top NATO official said on Saturday. “The NATO-Russia Council is up and running again also at the political level,” said NATO Secretary- General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, speaking at a meeting of ministers in Corfu, Greece. Russia is not a member of NATO but is a member of the NATO-Russia Council, formed in 2002.
Michael Jackson’s fame truly knew no borders: He was even the first international popstar to perform in post-Soviet-era Russia. Jackson first visited Moscow in September 1993, just two years after the fall of the Soviet Union. Until then, it had been illegal even to purchase his songs.
North Korea is great at scaring its neighbors. The isolated dictatorship carries a real nuclear threat, and tested its latest device this May in an underground bunker