SUKHUMI, Georgia (Reuters) - The rebel Georgian region of Abkhazia re-elected President Sergei Bagapsh, preliminary election results showed on Sunday, in a vote hailed by protector Russia but shunned by most of the world. Abkhazia held its first election on Saturday since Moscow recognized the Black Sea territory as an independent state after a brief war with Georgia last year. The vote was branded a farce by Georgia. Bagapsh secured 59.37 of the vote, almost four times that of second-placed... Read Full Story
Russia on Tuesday asked Iran if it would be prepared to supply rare Persian leopards as part of a Russian project to reintroduce the big cat to its Caucasus region. In an unusual example of the strong cooperation between the two countries, Russia's Deputy Ecology Minister Igor Maidanov held talks on the issue with Iranian ambassador Mahmoud Reza Sajjadi, the environment minister said. Turkmenistan has already given Russia two male leopards which are being held in a reserve outside Russia's... Read Full Story
The new nuclear-capable missile central to Russia's plan to revamp its ageing weapons arsenal has suffered a new failure in testing, in a major blow for the armed forces, reports said Thursday. The submarine-launched Bulava missile was test-fired from the Dmitry Donskoi submarine in the White Sea early Wednesday but failed at the third stage, the Kommersant and Vedomosti newspapers reported, quoting defence sources. No further details on the circumstances of the launch were available. The... Read Full Story
Over 100 people were killed overnight when fireworks set ablaze a cafe in the Russian Ural city of Perm, as officials Saturday ruled out the possibility of a terrorist attack. "As of now there are 101 dead, including seven that died of their injuries in hospitals," the region's health minister Dmitry Trishkin said as quoted by the Interfax news agency. "Right now there are 140 people in hospitals, including 85 who are in a very serious state," Trishkin warned. Earlier, a regional emergency... Read Full Story
MOSCOW (Reuters) - Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said on Thursday a train bombing that killed 26 people last week showed the threat to Russia from militant rebel groups was very high. Opening a marathon annual phone-in with the Russian people, Putin said Russia was determined to "break the spine" of terrorism and called for tough and decisive action against "criminals" who attacked their own people. "The threat of terrorism remains very high," Putin said. Islamist rebels have claimed... Read Full Story
NATO's chief insisted Friday that the military alliance is not the best place to discuss Russian President Dmitry Medvedev's plan for a new European security pact. Speaking after talks between NATO and Russian foreign ministers, Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said the broader Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) is best adapted for such talks. "The ministers said they are open to discuss it, but the OSCE remains the primary forum for that discussion," he told... Read Full Story
Russia's strongman Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said Thursday he would "think about" running for president again in 2012, putting him on a potential collision course with incumbent Dmitry Medvedev. "I will think about it. There is plenty of time," Putin said when asked during a televised phone-in show whether he would seek a return to the Kremlin when Medvedev's first term expires. But just hours later Medvedev, Putin's handpicked successor in 2008, said during a visit to Italy that he... Read Full Story
The United States and Russia said Friday they had agreed to maintain the provisions of a major nuclear arms control treaty just hours before the pact expired after being in force for 18 years. In a joint statement by Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and President Barack Obama, the two sides pledged to continue to work together "in the spirit" of the expiring 1991 Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty. U.S. and Russian negotiators are working intensively to reach a deal for a successor to the... Read Full Story
NATO and Russia agreed Thursday to strengthen cooperation, on the eve of the highest-level meeting between them since Moscow sent troops into Georgia last year, diplomats said. "We agreed today on three documents, one on the reform of NATO-Russia Council, on the work plan for 2010 and on a joint review of threats and challenges in the 21st century," one diplomat said. The documents are to be endorsed on Friday when foreign ministers meet in the NATO-Russia Council (NRC) forum. "The reform... Read Full Story
Russia's Defense Ministry says its new intercontinental ballistic missile has failed the latest of 12 test launches. The eighth failure of the Bulava dents Kremlin hopes that the submarine-launched missile will become a key part of Russia's nuclear arsenal. Officials have said they hope to complete tests this year. The Defense Ministry's announcement Thursday came amid speculation about the origin of mysterious spiraling lights over northern parts of Norway, a few hundred miles (kilometers... 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.
