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

Pristina Sends Moscow Back to UN
By Nikolaus von Twickel / Staff Writer The government reacted immediately Sunday to Kosovo's declaration of independence, calling for a meeting of the UN Security Council to discuss the move, while former Soviet breakaway regions, long fostered by aid from Moscow, rejoiced at improved prospects of international recognition.

Medvedev Lays Out Economic Program
By Miriam Elder / Staff Writer Dmitry Medvedev, likely the country's next president, laid out a liberal-leaning economic program on Friday, urging economic liberty and a crackdown on corruption in his first major speech on the subject just two weeks ahead of the presidential vote.

Karabakh Ponders Kosovo's Independence
By Karine Ohanyan / Special to The Moscow Times ""What is Kosovo, and what do you eat it with?"" quipped Yuan Go, a Chinese cook living in Nagorno-Karabakh.

Patarkatsishvili Had Severe Heart Disease
The Associated Press Georgian opposition leader Badri Patarkatsishvili, who died in Britain, had severe heart disease that made him liable to sudden death, a pathologist told a coroner's inquest Friday.

Armenians to Vote for President
The Associated Press Armenians vote for a new president Tuesday amid fears that Kosovo's declaration of independence could increase tensions in breakaway regions across the former Soviet Union.

Over 20,000 Rally Against Saakashvili
The Associated Press More than 20,000 opposition supporters rallied in Georgia's capital on Friday, trying to increase pressure on President Mikheil Saakashvili before parliamentary elections expected in May.

Georgia Flights May Start Soon
Combined Reports Georgia and Russia will discuss restarting direct flights in the next few days, the Foreign Ministry said Friday, in an indication of an end to a nearly 16-month ban.

Finland Says Mi-8 Violated Its Airspace
The Associated Press A Russian helicopter briefly violated Finland's airspace Saturday along its southeastern border, the Finnish Border Guard said.

McCain Criticizes Putin
Reuters In a blistering critique, U.S. Republican presidential candidate John McCain has accused President Vladimir Putin of preparing to lead a puppet government.

Voting Starts in Presidential Election
The Moscow Times Early voting for the presidential election started Friday, with the first ballots cast in remote outposts such as lighthouses, vessels at sea and settlements above the Arctic Circle.

U.S. Plan to Destroy Satellite a 'Cover'
The Assocated Press The Defense Ministry said Saturday that U.S. military plans to shoot down a damaged spy satellite carrying toxic fuel could be a veiled test of U.S. missiles' capability to down enemy satellites.

Kuznetsov Granted Asylum in U.S.
The Moscow Times The United States has granted political asylum to lawyer Boris Kuznetsov, who has represented prominent clients against government charges and who said he was being harassed by the Federal Security Service.

Director Says 'Katyn' Not Aimed at Russia
The Associated Press Veteran Polish director Andrzej Wajda hopes his Oscar-nominated depiction of the 1940 massacre of 22,000 Polish officers by Soviet secret police won't get tangled up in politics -- but suggests it could help with reconciliation.

Tajik Stabbed to Death in Night of Moscow Clashes
The Moscow Times A Tajik citizen was killed and a teenage boy was stabbed late last week in separate Moscow attacks that bore the hallmarks of hate crimes.

17 Killed in Hate Crimes
The Associated Press Seventeen people have been killed and more than 50 others injured in Russia since the beginning of the year in the latest outbreak of hate crimes, the Sova Center said Friday.

Lukin Deplores Prisoner Treatment
By David Nowak / Staff Writer But independent human rights activists say the annual report is missing some serious violations.

Kosovars Declare Their Independence
By William J. Kole and Nebi Qena / The Associated Press Kosovo's parliament declared the disputed territory a nation on Sunday, mounting a historic bid to become an ""independent and democratic state"" backed by the U.S. and key European allies but bitterly contested by Serbia and Russia.

Northern Rock Now Under State Ownership
By David Stringer / The Associated Press Britain's finance minister, Alistair Darling, said Sunday that struggling bank Northern Rock would be nationalized after the government rejected two private takeover bids.

Candidates Battle in Wisconsin
By Caren Bohan and John Whitesides / Reuters Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton traded fresh attacks and touted their economic leadership over the weekend as they took their Democratic presidential duel to Wisconsin.

In Africa, Bush Seeks Money for AIDS
By Ben Feller / The Associated Press U.S. President George W. Bush, on a five-nation visit to Africa, challenged Congress on Sunday to renew and expand his global program to combat AIDS.

Female Bomber Kills 3 in Baghdad
Reuters A female suicide bomber killed at least three people and wounded four others in central Baghdad, police said Sunday, in the latest such attack to be carried out by a woman.

Pakistan Tense on Eve of Crucial Elections
Reuters Pakistani politicians made final preparations over the weekend for general elections Monday that could usher in a parliament intent on forcing U.S. ally President Pervez Musharraf from power.

Iran Blames Technical Reasons for Delay in Talks With U.S.
Reuters Iran's Foreign Ministry said Sunday that technical reasons were behind the delay in talks between Iranian and U.S. officials on Iraq and denied new U.S. charges that Tehran was stoking violence in its neighbor.

Cyprus in Cliffhanger Election
Reuters Greek Cypriots voted Sunday for a new president in a cliffhanger three-way race crucial for any revival of peace talks on the divided island and for Turkey's hopes of joining the European Union.

80 Dead in Afghanistan Bombing
By Allauddin Khan / The Associated Press A suicide bombing at an outdoor dog fighting competition killed 80 people and wounded scores more Sunday, an Afghan governor said, in what appeared to be the deadliest terror attack in Afghanistan since the fall of the Taliban in 2001.

Business

Ukrainian Minister Says New Energy Deal May Be Coming
Combined Reports The governments of Ukraine and Russia could sign an energy agreement to avoid the kind of gas disputes that have alarmed Europe over the past two years, a senior Ukrainian official said Friday.

Lower European Prices Hit Gazprom's Profit
Bloomberg Gazprom said Friday that profit fell 6.4 percent in the third quarter because of lower prices in Europe, its biggest market.

Usmanov Increases Arsenal Stake to 24%
Reuters Billionaire Alisher Usmanov has increased the amount of shares he owns in Arsenal Football Club by around 1 percent to more than 24 percent, the company representing him said Friday.

Putin Ally Puts TV Channels Into National Media Holding
The Moscow Times Bank Rossiya, whose largest shareholder is Yury Kovalchuk, a close ally of President Vladimir Putin, is gathering television channels Ren-TV and St. Petersburg-based Channel 5 under a single holding called National Media Group, the new company said Friday.

WTO Entry Delayed by Timber Spat
By Alex Nicholson / Bloomberg The European Union and Russia failed to agree on timber duties, the main hurdle to membership in the World Trade Organization, EU Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson said Friday.

Russia-Linked Firm Hits Myanmar Gold
By Tim Wall and Anatoly Medetsky / Staff Writers Myanmar's military junta has awarded a potentially lucrative gold exploration contract to a little-known company with links to Russia, an official newspaper in the Southeast Asian country reported Saturday.

Yandex May Float Shares on Nasdaq
Combined Reports The country's biggest Internet firm, Yandex, plans to float shares in an IPO on New York's Nasdaq stock exchange this fall, a banking source with knowledge of the matter said.

Antitrust Body Blocks NLMK Buy
Reuters The Federal Anti-Monopoly Service said Friday that it would not to allow steelmaker Novolipetsk to increase its stake in an indebted peer to 100 percent, adding that it might fine Novolipetsk for its acquisition of the firm.

Rosneft, Gazprom May Share Sakhalin-3
Bloomberg Rosneft may share control of the offshore Sakhalin-3 oil and natural gas development with Gazprom, Interfax reported Friday.

State Names Rosneftegaz, Alrosa Picks
The Moscow Times The government on Friday renominated a number of key officials to the boards of state companies, including Deputy Prime Minister Alexei Kudrin and Kremlin deputy chief of staff Igor Sechin.

Rosneft Planning Gas-Fired Plants
By Tai Adelaja / Staff Writer The state oil producer wants to use associated gas to prevent waste and help protect the environment.

Nevzlin Murder Case Sent to Court
The Moscow Times The Prosecutor General’s Office said Friday that it had completed its criminal investigation of former Yukos co-owner Leonid Nevzlin and that he would be charged with organizing a number of murders.

Iranian Oil Exchange Mulls Ditching Dollars for Rubles
Bloomberg Iran, the world's fourth-largest oil producer, may use the ruble in trading on its new oil exchange, the country's ambassador to Moscow said Friday.

Free Float Seen as Key For Reserve Currency
By Gleb Bryanski / Reuters The exchange rate regime will need to be liberalized if the country wants the ruble to become a reserve currency, fulfilling an ambition stated by First Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, analysts said Friday.

Sports

Valuev Win Earns Another Title Shot
The Associated Press Nikolai Valuev earned a shot at the WBA heavyweight title Saturday, beating Sergei Liakhovich in a one-sided decision between former champions.

Arbat & Main

Sovereign Presidents' Day
By Mark H. Teeter Americans on Monday are observing Presidents' Day, another Western holiday Russians may want to adopt. In early 2012, when there will be enough former Russian presidents to make a selective Top-Two list, we could see Sovereign Presidents' Day proudly proclaimed here.

Business in Brief
Norilsk's LionOre LoanAuction for Oil, Potash SitesNew Timber Joint ProjectVAT May Be Reduced in '08Enel Has 50% of OGK-5RenCap's Kazakh Bank BuyRosneft Shelves RefinancingForeign Debt Down 15%Pension Fund InvestmentFor the Record

What to Do: Look at Soviet Aviation Posters
An exhibition at Moscow's Museum of Contemporary History of Russia showcases the history of Russian airlines in posters.

From the Web to the Stage
By James Marson / Staff Writer ""I have always tried to do something original,"" said Dmitry Paranyushkin, co-founder of the Way to Russia web site and performance artist. ""Not original just for the sake of it, but something that comes from my heart, something that is me.""

What Keeps the Kremlin Up All Night
By Daniel Treisman To observers of Russia's election campaign, one thing is clear: The Kremlin's political operatives do not want to leave anything to chance.

Restaurant News
By Nathan Toohey / Staff Writer Tsvet Nochi has acquired not only a new chef, but a new menu as well.

A Restored Dynasty
By Nathan Toohey / Staff Writer After extensive renovations, the Chinese restaurant Dinastia has reopened.

News in Brief
5 Homeless Men Dead2 Detained in Ingushetia17 Convicted in Tatarstan4 Chechen Rebels KilledMayor Halts Hunger StrikeBelarus Frees Klimov

The 3 Vladimirs
By Richard Lourie It seems both timely and premature to assess President Vladimir Putin's eight years in office. Timely because he is coming to the end of his two-term presidency and premature because his likely upcoming stint as prime minister can do much to alter his legacy.

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