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Weather in Dushanbe

30/07/2010

9:00 pm TJT

26°

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Dewpoint:	13°
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Humidity:	44%
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Wind:	N 3 kph

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30/7/2010

News/ LATEST NEWS

Latest news

by last three days

* 1..10 * 11..20

2007-07-27

Russia's UTair sends helicopter to fight Greek fires [14:38:00]

TYUMEN, July 27 (RIA Novosti) - UTair, Russia's largest helicopter operator, has sent a helicopter to Greece, where forest fires have been raging, an airline spokesman said Friday. "The UTair airline [based in the Khanty-Mansi autonomy in the northwest Urals] has sent a Mi-26 helicopter with the crew to Greece to tackle major forest fires," the spokesman said. The aircraft can carry 15 metric tons of water. Greek firefighters reported over 100 new fires in 12 hours of Thursday alone, while earlier reports said up to 40,000 hectares of woodland had burned down in the country so far this summer. The Greek Prime Minister Konstandinos Karamanlis requested Thursday extra assistance from Russian aircraft in extinguishing forest fires, which have developed into a severe threat in the country. Viktor Beltsov from the Russian Emergencies Ministry said a group of two planes and three helicopters would be sent to Greece Friday, including an Il-76 tanker aircraft that can carry 42 metric tons of water. The "water bomber" returned last weekend from a firefighting mission in neighboring Bulgaria, where it released over 400 metric tons of water on fires near Stara Zagora, in the central part of the country, Saturday. The Achaias region in the north of the Peloponnesus peninsula was hit hardest. Forest fires stretched over an area of 40 kilometers (25 miles) there Thursday morning, killing four people. Half of a village was burned down in the same region. Hundreds of tourists were evacuated in Cephalonia in the Ionian Sea, where it was impossible to extinguish fire until the sea stopped it. Up to 4,500 hectares of forest burned down. The situation improved slightly late Thursday, with temperatures falling from 45 degrees Centigrade (113 degrees Fahrenheit) to 39 degrees Centigrade (102.2 degrees Fahrenheit). The heat is expected to subside over the weekend. Thousands of firefighters and over 600 servicemen are currently tackling the fires in Greece. The Greek air fleet, which has 17 Canandair tanker jets, has recently been handling non-stop flights during the daytime. The arrival of the Russian aircraft should render substantial assistance to Greece. Scorching weather has caused large-scale forest fires throughout the Balkan Peninsula this summer, with fires also reported in Bulgaria, Italy and Macedonia. Meanwhile, Britain has seen unprecedented floods. UTair, one of the global leaders in the helicopter business, has a pool of 180 helicopters, including over 20 Mi-26s, aircraft with the world's highest cargo capacity, capable of carrying 20 metric tons.

Russia should not involve Abkhazia in 2014 Olympics - Georgia [14:35:00]

TBILISI, July 26 (RIA Novosti) - Russia has no right to use Abkhazia's territory for the Winter Olympics in 2014 without official approval from Tbilisi, Georgia's parliamentary speaker said commenting on an article published in the Russian press Thursday. Russian daily Nezavisimaya Gazeta published an article Thursday stating that Russia plans to site Olympic facilities in the self-proclaimed republic of Abkhazia, suggesting that investment in the project could reach hundreds of millions of dollars. "If Russia without Georgia's official approval invests funds to develop facilities for the Sochi Olympics, then we should remind Russia that Abkhazia is the sovereign territory of Georgia. If Russia continues with capital investment in the region, then the Sochi Olympics will share the same fate as those held in Moscow," Nino Burdzhanadze said. In 1980 the U.S. and a number of other countries boycotted the Olympic Games in Moscow in protest against the deployment of Soviet troops in Afghanistan in December 1979. President Mikheil Saakashvili earlier gave his support to the Sochi bid, saying that the Olympics in Sochi, several kilometers from Abkhazia, would guarantee stability for the region. The region has been embroiled in a protracted conflict for 14 years since Abkhazia declared independence from Georgia, and nearly 300,000 people have been forced to flee their homes in that time. Tbilisi has vowed to bring the secessionist province back under its control. Russia's Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Zhukov announced this week that Abkhazia would be among suppliers of construction materials for the games. The foreign minister of Abkhazia, Sergei Shamba told the paper that the republic was ready to construct cement and brick production plants to provide materials for the games.

Moscow Region police destroy 40 tons of cannabis [14:33:00]

MOSCOW, July 27 (RIA Novosti) - Police in the Ramenskoye district, southeast of Moscow, have discovered and burned 40 tons of cannabis growing wild in fields, a local police spokesman said Friday. He said police previously destroyed some 50,000 tons of the narcotic plant in the region in the course of a Poppy 2007 operation July 17 and 18. The source said the annual operation was aimed at destroying illegal fields of poppies, cannabis and other narcotic plants, blocking drug trafficking channels and exposing drug dealers.

U.K. government [14:31:00]

MOSCOW/LONDON, July 26 (RIA Novosti) - The British Government acted "offensively" and "foolishly" by urging Russia to change its constitution to enable the extradition of a suspect in a high-profile murder case, a senior editor with The Financial Times said Thursday. "It was very offensive for the British government to say, so what if it's in your constitution? So I think that was a very foolish move as well." said Quentin Peel, FT international editor, in London during a video conference with RIA Novosti. Any Russian suspect, he said, must be tried in Moscow, in line with Russian prosecutors' earlier proposals. "Whoever is in charge should be put on trial in Moscow, in a totally public setting, with absolute publicity and all the evidence that can be produced," Peel said. Moscow refused to extradite Russian national Andrei Lugovoi, accused by the U.K. of poisoning Alexander Litvinenko, a British citizen, by radioactive polonium-210 last year in London, because the Russian constitution does not permit the extradition of nationals. The row escalated into diplomatic expulsions and harsh rhetoric on both sides. Peel said that the Litvinenko case was "the straw that broke the camel's back" in tipping the balance of misunderstanding in the Russia-U.K. relationship, bringing it to "not outright hostility but certainly some very stupid and counterproductive actions on both sides." He dismissed Russia's complaints about the failure by Britain to extradite wanted Russians, first of all Boris Berezovsky, a fugitive billionaire accused of serious fraud, and Akhmed Zakayev, a former Chechen separatist leader charged with terrorism. "The original legal requests for extraditing Berezovsky were actually very poorly drafted," Peel said. "As far as Mr. Zakayev is concerned, his defense in the British courts has always been that he is not a terrorist." When asked whether he had trust in British justice, Peel said he as an ordinary citizen trusted the system "ninety-five percent." "I think if I were a young black youth from a very poor area of London, I would feel differently. I would have worried that the courts are against me. But as a white citizen of this country, I have almost total trust that this is a good system that will give me a fair trial," he said. Most judges are white and middle class, he added, and "might instinctively act with the establishment but they would never take political instructions." Peel denied any British interests were involved in the murder. "This was a Russian-Russian event that just happened to take place in London," he said, adding that "Poor old Britain has been caught in the middle of this insane Russian-Russian squabble." He said widespread Russian conviction that the U.K. was playing a nasty political game against Moscow was irrelevant, if only because London cannot play such games any more. "We are not big players any longer, we have been completely screwed up by following the Americans into Iraq, we are getting into a terrible mess in Afghanistan, and if you think that we have some sort of a game going in the Caucasus or Central Asia, then you are living in the 19th century when we did the Great Game going, and of course that's where an awful lot of this wonderful old rivalry came from," Quentin Peel said.

Murder of religious leader in Daghestan threatens situation [14:23:00]

MOSCOW, July 27 (RIA Novosti) - An explosion in Makhachkala, the capital of Daghestan, that killed a local deputy mufti was aimed at destabilizing the situation in the republic, Mufti Magomed Albogachiyev said Friday. Urmagomed Ramazanov's vehicle was blown up late Thursday. The explosion also killed a passenger in the car and injured another. "This is a great tragedy," Albogachiyev said. "We are filled with indignation and express our condolences to his family and friends." Ramazanov had never been involved in business, but used to comment extensively on religious issues and made frequent appearances on the TV and the press. Mufti Albogachiyev expressed his concern at the recent increase in murders of spiritual figures and law enforcers in the North Caucasus. "Someone is benefiting from destabilizing the situation," the mufti said. "They do not want stability and peace to reign in the Caucasus

2007-07-13

Russian government backs Gazprom's choice of Total for Shtokman [13:44:00]

MOSCOW, July 12 (RIA Novosti) - Russia's Industry and Energy Ministry signaled its approval Thursday for Gazprom's choice of French oil major Total SA as a partner to develop the vast Shtokman natural gas field in the Arctic. "The choice of France's Total, a company not new to the Russian fuel and energy industry, demonstrates once again that Russia is ready for profound cooperation with international energy companies. We hope that this decision will send the right message to the international investment community," the ministry said. Gazprom CEO Alexei Miller said earlier Thursday the first stage of the project in the Russian sector of the Barents Sea aims to produce 23.7 billion cubic meters of natural gas annually by 2013, and to start production and delivery of liquefied natural gas in 2014. He said a new operating company will be set up to organize project funding, design, and construction, in which Gazprom will hold a 75% stake, and Total the remaining 25%. Gazprom could reduce its share in the future, offering other foreign partners an aggregate stake of 24%, ensuring that Gazprom retains at least 51%. Miller said Gazprom would retain full ownership of the license-holding company, thus controlling the entire output. Total confirmed the deal, saying an agreement would be signed on Friday. The deposit in the Barents Sea, where Gazprom plans to build a liquefied natural gas plant, holds an estimated 3.7 trillion cubic meters of natural gas reserves, and 31 million metric tons of gas condensate. The first phase, with production starting in 2011, may cost some $12-14 billion. The deposit is the only major source of natural gas for the ambitious Nord Stream gas pipeline that will run under the Baltic Sea from Russia to Germany. The decision to involve a foreign company comes in spite of the Russian energy giant's announcement last October that it would develop the Shtokman deposit on its own. The company had previously short-listed U.S. majors Chevron and ConocoPhillips, Norway's Statoil and Norsk Hydro and Total to develop the field. Gazprom previously said it would only attract partners with expertise in liquefying natural gas and development in "severe weather conditions" as contractors.

U.S. House votes on troop pullout from Iraq by April 1, 2008 [13:43:00]

WASHINGTON, July 13 (RIA Novosti) - The U.S. House of Representatives voted Thursday for the withdrawal of most American troops from Iraq by April 1, 2008, hours after President Bush delivered an impassioned televised plea to give his "surge" strategy a chance to work. Despite urging patience and warning of dire consequences in the event of a precipitous pullout, the Democrat-controlled House rejected George W. Bush's admonition against congressional meddling in the running of the war, voting 223 to 201 along strict party lines to require the Pentagon to begin withdrawing troops from Iraq within 120 days of the law's adoption. The Senate, for its part, while not yet able to secure the 60 votes necessary for a withdrawal resolution to pass there, is expected to hold further votes next week, although Bush has pledged to veto any bill sent to him requiring a pullout before a full assessment of his new strategy can be made in September. Defending the "surge," which saw the deployment of an additional 30,000 U.S. troops in Iraq, primarily in and around the capital Baghdad, Bush acknowledged that the situation in the country had not improved as much as he would have liked. But he warned that a withdrawal now would risk "mass killing on a horrific scale," and repeatedly invoked the specter of Al Qaeda in Mesopotamia as a compelling reason to give the Iraqi government more time to develop its security apparatus and learn to fend for itself. The report issued Thursday noted that some progress had been achieved. Of 18 benchmarks set by Congress that Iraq was expected to meet to warrant continued U.S. support, the report said that eight had successfully been implemented, including the deployment of three Iraqi brigades in and around Baghdad and the spending of some $7.3 billion of Iraqi money on improving the country's military forces. However, it said the Shiite-dominated government of Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki had failed to meet a further eight goals, including the adoption of an oil revenue-sharing plan and moving ahead with preparations for local elections in a bid to reconcile the country's sectarian divide. The success a two others could not be judged. The report also criticized the Maliki government for interfering politically in military decisions, and of participating in the repression of Sunnis by creating hit lists targeting its enemies, a situation not noticeably ameliorated by the troop increase. However, Bush has continuously argued that since his new security strategy only went into effect in January, it would require more time to bear fruit. "We need to ensure that when American forces do pull back that terrorists and extremists don't take control," he said. So far, Bush has managed to retain the guarded loyalty of Republicans in Congress. But there is a growing restlessness even within the ranks of the party faithful, and many Republican congressmen have said they are finding it increasingly difficult to explain to constituents why they continue to support the president. In a USA Today/Gallup Poll coincidentally released this week, fully 62% of respondents said the Iraq war was a mistake, half said the current troop surge was not making a difference, while Bush's approval rating dropped to 29%.

Brazilian court orders Berezovsky arrest [13:39:00]

RIO DE JANEIRO, July 13 (RIA Novosti) - A Brazilian court has issued an order for the arrest of exiled Russian tycoon Boris Berezovsky, local media reported Friday. Berezovsky is suspected of fraud in the financing of the Corinthians soccer club in Sao Paolo. According to investigators, an investment group he helped establish, Media Sports Investments (MSI), took part in illegal financial transactions and money laundering. In addition to Berezovsky, authorities also accuse the president of the Corinthians club, Alberto Dualib, and the head of MSI, Kia Joorabchian, of financial conspiracy. Authorities began investigating the financing of the Corinthians soccer club shortly after it concluded a partnership agreement with MSI and bought several prominent players in 2005. That year, the club won Brazil's national soccer championship. Berezovsky, who lives as a political exile in Great Britain, is also wanted on embezzlement and sedition charges in Russia. However, British authorities have repeatedly rejected Russian requests for his extradition.

Russian billionaire Abramovich buys gold mine in Chukotka -paper [13:37:00]

MOSCOW, July 13 (RIA Novosti) - Millhouse Capital, an investment vehicle for Russia's number one on the Forbes list, Roman Abramovich, has bought its first gold mine in the Chukotka Region, governed by the billionaire, a respected business daily said. Vedomosti quoted sources close to Millhouse as saying the London-based investment company had bought the Dvoinoye gold mine in the northeast of Russia, which experts said was small but had vast reserves and could have cost $50-70 million. Millhouse spokesman John Mann confirmed the deal. The paper cited a top manager of the Chukotka gold miner, a previous owner of the field, as saying Abramovich, who is best known outside Russia as the owner of the Chelsea soccer club, might buy several small gold mines in Chukotka and then move on to gold assets in neighboring regions. Abramovich's first deputy in the Chukotka administration, Andrei Gorodilov, told Vedomosti that the development strategy of the region until 2020 provided for raising gold production from 4.5-5 metric tons to 30-50 tons per year. "For this purpose, we attract investors to the region and welcome such an investor as Millhouse," he said. Abramovich, 40, topped the Forbes Russia list for a third time with a fortune of $19.2 billion in April.

Venezuela's leader seeks unlimited presidential terms [13:23:00]

BUENOS AIRES, July 13 (RIA Novosti) - Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez will soon submit to the parliament a draft law abolishing presidential term limits. "The bill will help make amendments to the country's Constitution to lift restrictions on the number of presidential terms," said Cilia Flores, Venezuelan parliament speaker. "The president should have the right to nominate himself an unlimited number of times, since the nation has the last say anyway." The Venezuelan president is elected by direct vote, and functions as both head of state and head of government. The term of office is six years, and a president may be re-elected to a single consecutive term. Flores said Chavez could submit the bill before late next week. "If a Venezuelan president is a wise ruler of his country, he can be re-elected as long as the people of Venezuela grant him confidence," Flores said. Chavez first pledged to amend the Constitution after he won the presidential election on December 3, 2006. "I do not think we have the right to deprive the people of the opportunity for re-electing the leader they have come to like for a fourth, fifth or sixth term," Chavez said. Earlier, the Venezuelan parliament granted Chaves vast powers of independent legislative initiative. The draft law would enable Chavez to make laws aimed at fully nationalizing the country's economy, including energy and telecommunications, within the next 18 months.

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News archive

2007

2007 - 07 - [27] [13]
2007 - 06 - [28] [25] [22] [21] [20] [18] [15] [14] [13] [11] [08] [07] [01]
2007 - 05 - [28] [26] [25] [24] [23] [22] [19] [17] [15] [11] [10] [08] [07] [04] [02]
2007 - 04 - [28] [25] [24] [21] [17] [12] [10] [06] [05]
2007 - 03 - [30] [29] [28] [27] [26] [22] [20] [16] [15] [14] [12] [09] [02] [01]
2007 - 02 - [28] [27] [26] [24] [22] [21] [20] [19] [16] [15] [14] [13] [12] [09] [08] [07] [06] [05] [02]
2007 - 01 - [31] [30] [29] [27] [25] [24] [23] [19] [18] [17] [15] [13] [12] [11] [10] [06] [03]

2006

2006 - 12 - [30] [29] [28] [27] [26] [25] [23] [22] [21] [20] [19] [18] [16] [15] [14] [13] [12] [11] [09] [08] [07] [06] [05] [01]
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2002

2002 - 12 - [01]
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