The Moscow Times

Market Matters: Struggling Stocks Spur New Record Oil Prices
Oil hit another record of just under $143 as global stocks tumbled last week, with the Dow briefly dipping into bear market territory as investors sought safety in gold, government debt and the Swiss franc.

News

Time Catches Up With Zyuganov in Ivanovo
By Natalya Krainova / Staff Writer The Communist leader drops in on a heavy machinery plant to discover that most of the workers aren't interested in listening.

Ukraine Digs Into EU Trade Talks
By Catrina Stewart / Staff Writer Ukraine kicked off trade talks with the European Union on Monday, a step likely to further alienate Russia, which has been fiercely resistant to the pro-Western policies adopted by governments in Kiev and Tbilisi.

Moscow Wary With CIS Separatists
By Nikolaus von Twickel / Staff Writer Buoyed by major Western powers' moves to recognize Kosovar independence, the leaders of two separatist Georgian regions said Monday that they would press forward in their own quests for statehood.

NTV Drops Zhirinovsky Program
The Moscow Times NTV television pulled a controversial program about presidential candidate Vladimir Zhirinovsky just hours before it was due to air, an NTV spokeswoman said Monday.

Foreign Spies Alarm Medvedev
Combined Reports Dmitry Medvedev, the likely next president, said in comments published Monday that the British Council and foreign NGOs spy on Russia, echoing accusations that have strained ties between Moscow and the West.

EU Members Split on Recognizing Kosovo
The Associated Press European powers France, Britain and Germany led the 27-nation European Union on Monday in recognizing Kosovo's independence. Spain and Slovakia, however, called Kosovo's move illegal.

Ex-Yukos Executive Kept in Handcuffs
By Svetlana Osadchuk / Staff Writer Former Yukos vice president Vasily Aleksanyan is handcuffed to a hospital bed 24 hours a day and not even allowed to leave to go to the bathroom, his lawyer said Monday.

Police Go on Alert After 3 Killings
By David Nowak / Staff Writer Three dark-skinned people have been killed in four days in an apparent outbreak of hate crimes, prompting Moscow police to beef up their presence on the streets and Mayor Yury Luzhkov to appeal for calm.

Incumbent Out in Cypriot Vote Surprise
The Associated Press President Tassos Papadopoulos was eliminated in the first round of Cyprus' presidential election, a surprise result signaling the start of a renewed drive to end the island's decades-old division.

Car Bomb Kills 37 in Afghan Market
Combined Reports A suicide car bomber targeting a Canadian military convoy detonated his explosives at a busy market in southern Afghanistan on Monday, killing 37 civilians, officials said.

Musharraf Calls for Reconciliation
By Augustine Anthony / Reuters Fears of violence kept many Pakistanis away from voting Monday, in elections that could usher in a parliament set on driving President Pervez Musharraf from office, while Musharraf himself called for reconciliation after casting his vote.

Swiss Car Fit for a Spy Film
The Associated Press OK, so they've invented a car that runs on land and underwater. But did they really have to make it a convertible?

Obama Seeks Edwards' Endorsement
Reuters U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama has slipped away for a private meeting with former rival John Edwards to seek his endorsement.

Nancy Reagan in Hospital After Fall
The Associated Press Former U.S. first lady Nancy Reagan was in the hospital early Monday after taking a tumble in her Bel Air home.

Largest U.S. Beef Recall Under Way
Reuters A California meatpacker accused of animal cruelty is making the largest U.S. meat recall on record -- 65 million kilograms, the U.S. Agriculture Department said.

Bush Plays Healer-in-Chief in Africa
By Jennifer Loven and Ben Feller / The Associated Press U.S. President George W. Bush handed out hugs and bed nets to battle malaria in Tanzania's rural north on Monday, saying the United States is part of an international effort to provide enough mosquito netting to protect every child under 5 in the east African nation.

Business

Inchcape in Talks to Buy Car Dealer
Bloomberg Inchcape, the British-based chain of global car dealerships, said Monday it was in exclusive talks to acquire Musa Motors, a Moscow auto retailer.

Wheat Sales Ban Hits Neighbors
Combined Reports Russia, the world's third-biggest wheat exporter, will temporarily halt exports of the grain to neighboring Belarus and Kazakhstan.

TNK-BP Finds Help on Associated Gas
Bloomberg TNK-BP agreed to form a company with generator OGK-1 to burn natural gas pumped with crude and expand power supplies in western Siberia.

Iran Turns to Azeri Gas Amid Shortfall
Reuters Iran has begun importing 1 million cubic meters of gas per day from Azerbaijan, an Iranian news agency said Monday, in an apparent move to help compensate for shortages caused by a cut in Turkmen deliveries.

Rosneft Subsidiary Challenges Creation of TGK-11
Reuters An arm of Rosneft has filed a legal claim against power producer TGK-11, threatening to split the company, TGK-11 said in a statement Monday.

BasEl Picks Hong Kong for Metals Firm IPO
By Maria Kolesnikova and Yuriy Humber / Bloomberg Oleg Deripaska, the country's richest man, picked Hong Kong as the venue for his first initial public offering -- a planned share sale this year by copper and molybdenum producer SMR.

Deripaska Doubles Wealth to $40Bln
By Tai Adelaja / Staff Writer The Forbes list may be the Oscars for Russia's superrich, but Finans magazine is vying for the equivalent of the Golden Globes, with a roll call of 101 billionaires -- nearly twice as many as on Forbes Russia's 2007 list.

Exxon Calls for Sakhalin-1 Exports
Reuters ExxonMobil believes Russia should allow it to export gas from its Sakhalin-1 project because, contrary to Gazprom's claims, the gas is not needed for the local market.

RusAl-Norilsk Merger Could Be Approved
Bloomberg The Federal Anti-Monopoly Service ""isn't against"" a combination of United Company RusAl and Norilsk Nickel, the country's biggest metals producers, one of its officials said Monday.

Court Refuses to Grant Mogilevich Bail
Combined Reports A Moscow court refused to grant bail on Monday to suspected crime boss Semyon Mogilevich, charged with tax evasion and wanted by the United States on fraud, racketeering and money laundering charges.

MiG Denies Algeria Jets Deal in Trouble
By Max Delany / Staff Writer Jetmaker MiG denied on Monday that Algeria was set to send back a recently delivered consignment of 15 fighter jets because of technical misgivings over the aircraft.

Brown Fights Backlash Over Rock
By Sumeet Desai and Miyoung Kim / Reuters British Prime Minister Gordon Brown defended his reputation for sound economic management Monday in the face of mounting criticism over his decision to nationalize ailing bank Northern Rock.

Blu-Ray Emerging as Winner in DVD War
By Nathan Layne / Reuters An impending end to a format war over next-generation DVDs boosted shares in both victorious Sony, in the Blu-ray corner, and Toshiba, in the losing HD DVD camp, on Monday as consumers cheered an end to confusion over which discs will carry high-definition movies.

Sports

Federer Tops Winners' List in St. Pete
By Sam Hoben / Staff Writer Tennis was the big winner in St. Petersburg on Monday as Swiss ace Roger Federer and Belgium's Justine Henin picked up Laureus World Sportsmen awards.

Business in Brief

Business in Brief
Storchak Detention UpheldBank of Moscow Profit RisesGroup Seeks State TV Stake$950M Nord Stream DealVTB Buyback DemandedGoldman, TPG Eye LentaMiller to Seek Kyrgyz FieldsFord Making New FocusFor the Record

Car With 2 Steering Wheels
By Nikolai Petrov First Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev had a difficult task before him during his visit Friday to the Krasnoyarsk Economic Forum, where he had been expected to reveal his economic program.

What to Do: Go Washbasin Sledding
Put on a costume and say goodbye to winter by sledding down a mountain in a washbasin. The fourth annual washbasin race will take place on Feb. 24 in Moscow.

The Master of Irony
By James Marson / Staff Writer It's not a statue, but Mikhail Bulgakov finally has a museum in Moscow, in the house immortalized in his most famous novel.

Chef's Secrets: Venison Carpaccio With Poached Eggs, Ruccola and Parmesan
A recipe from Yar's head chef, Matthew Cooper.

Artistic Italian Flavor
By Nathan Toohey / Staff Writer Nostro Cafe very much has the feel of an archetypal Ostozhenka cafe. It's slick and professional and definitely has a moneyed air.

Kosovo Should Serve as a Wake-Up Call
Kosovo's declaration of independence has cracked open the lid on Pandora's box. Recognition of the enclave's independence by the European Union and the United States would rip the lid right off.

Azeris Building Center to Honor Late Leader
By Lada Yevgrashina / Reuters Azerbaijan's ruling elite has grown rich from oil, and now it is to acquire the ultimate status symbol: a monument to the president's father designed by one of the world's most sought-after architects.

Developer Planning Aquarium at Park Pobedy
By John Wendle / Staff Writer Most businesses in Moscow have a fishy past, but this one has a fishy future.

St. Pete Site Counts on Neighbor
By Yekaterina Dranitsyna / Staff Writer A new housing complex expects to benefit from being near the Okhta tower.

Good Instinct Is the Secret of Putin's Success
By Konstantin Sonin President Vladimir Putin had a lot of interesting things to say at his news conference on Thursday.

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