Georgia's breakaway province of Abkhazia on Tuesday won recognition by the South Pacific island nation of Nauru, one of the world's smallest states. Russia recognized Abkhazia and another Georgian separatist province of South Ossetia as independent states after the August 2008 war between Russia and Georgia. Only Venezuela and Nicaragua followed Russia's example before the Republic of Nauru's move. Russia said it hadn't tried to encourage other nations to recognize Abkhazia and South Ossetia... Read Full Story
MOSCOW, Dec. 17 (UPI) --
Russian bodybuilder, television personality and actor Vladimir Turchinsky has died of a heart attack at the age of 46, his family said Thursday.
Russian media reported steroids may have played a role in the death of the head of the Russian Federation of Extreme Sports.
However, RIA Novosti reported the reasons why he died were still under investigation.
Turchinsky reportedly set several Guinness records. Among his achievements were moving a Ruslan plane... Read Full Story
Over 100 people were killed overnight when fireworks set ablaze a middle-class restaurant in the Russian Ural city of Perm, as officials Saturday ruled out the possibility of a terrorist attack. "As of now, there are 102 dead and 134 injured," a regional emergency situations ministry spokesman in Perm told AFP by telephone. Flames went up in the Lame Horse restaurant as some 230 people, mostly employees and their families, were partying inside to celebrate the establishment's eighth... Read Full Story
The US commander in Afghanistan said Thursday a troop surge should start turning the tide of war by mid-2010 as Barack Obama's new strategy won reinforcements from Italy and backing from Russia. As senior US officials said a time-line for troops to start leaving was not set in stone, General Stanley McChrystal said Obama's new war strategy would enable more troops to target Taliban strongholds. Following Obama's announcement on Tuesday that he would send 30,000 more troops into combat, NATO... Read Full Story
Italian energy group ENI and Russian partner Gazprom signed an agreement on Thursday authorising French firm EDF to join the South Stream gas pipeline project, ENI said. But the conditions of EDF's participation in the project will be defined "in the next few months," ENI said in a statement. "Gazprom president Alexy Miller and ENI director general Paolo Scaroni signed today ... the agreement authorising the entry of French company EDF in the South Stream project," ENI said. Italian Prime... Read Full Story
A top Kremlin official is telling Russian news agencies that Moscow and Washington expect to strike a new nuclear arms treaty this month. The START I treaty signed in 1991 expired Friday. It obliged each country to cut its nuclear warheads by at least a quarter, to about 6,000 and included detailed verification procedures. Interfax and RIA Novosti news agencies quoted presidential adviser Arkady Dvorkovich as saying Tuesday that Russia and the U.S. intend to finalize talks on a successor... Read Full Story
Russia and Georgia embark on fresh talks in Geneva Wednesday set to be dominated by the arrest of Georgians in South Ossetia, the breakaway Georgian region at the centre of the war between the two countries. Delegations from the two sides, as well as from South Ossetia and the second breakaway Georgian region Abkhazia, will meet at the United Nations in the Swiss city for talks dedicated to security and displaced people. It will be the eighth round of the discussions which started after the... Read Full Story
Slovenia signed an agreement on Saturday for the massive South Stream gas pipeline from Russia to Europe to pass through the country. Prime Minister Borut Pahor and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin witnessed the accord signed by their respective energy ministers Matej Lahovnik and Sergei Shmatko at Putin's residence at Novo-Ogarevo near Moscow. "We have now signed agreements with all the European partners which are vital for the South Stream project," Putin said at a joint press... Read Full Story
A Russian military plane crashed into the sea during a training exercise in Russia's Far East region, leaving all 11 crew members missing and presumed dead, officials said on Saturday. The Tupolev Tu-142 plane disappeared from radar as it was coming to the end of a training mission on Friday over the Tatarski Strait that divides Russia's Far East island of Sakhalin from the mainland, the defence ministry said. "Given the conditions under which the catastrophe took place, we can presume that... Read Full Story
MOSCOW (AFP) -- Over 100 people were killed overnight when fireworks set ablaze a middle-class restaurant in the Russian Ural city of Perm, as officials Saturday ruled out the possibility of a terrorist attack. "As of now, there are 102 dead and 134 injured," a regional emergency situations ministry spokesman in Perm told AFP by telephone. Flames went up in the Lame Horse restaurant as some 230 people, mostly employees and their families, were partying inside to celebrate the establishment's... Read Full Story
From Spain's Princess Letizia to Italy's Mara Carfagna, the game of politics is no stranger to beautiful, powerful women. Following is a list of women whose influence is matched only by their sheer hotness.
We've rounded up the fifty most infamous female teacher sex scandals the Internet has seen, and ranked them from most famous to least. We do it because we care.
