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

Defense Ministry to Auction Off Own Bases
By Anatoly Medetsky / Staff Writer The Defense Ministry is looking to play auctioneer for the first time as part of a plan to sell billions of dollars' worth of property to help fund the construction of much-needed housing for officers.

Norilsk Deal Shaky Ahead of Vote
By Catrina Stewart / Staff Writer United Company RusAl's multibillion-dollar bid for a blocking stake in Norilsk Nickel, the world's largest nickel and palladium miner, is hanging in the balance amid reports that Mikhail Prokhorov's Onexim Group is objecting to a key clause in the deal.

BoNY Wants Case Dismissed
Reuters The Bank of New York fought for the dismissal on Monday of a $22.5 billion lawsuit, arguing that a Russian civil court cannot enforce U.S. criminal laws against it and questioning the size of the claim.

Putin Hints at Splitting Up Ukraine
The Moscow Times President Vladimir Putin hinted at last week's NATO summit in Romania that Russia would work to break up Ukraine, should the former Soviet republic join the military alliance, Kommersant reported Monday.

Clinton Sacks Top Strategist
The Associated Press Hillary Rodham Clinton is turning to her communications chief to plan her presidential election strategy after giving the boot to a polarizing top aide because of his work on behalf of a trade agreement that Clinton opposes.

EU Allows Cell Phone Use in Planes
The Associated Press The European Union on Monday opened the way for air travelers to use mobile phones to talk, text or send e-mails on planes throughout Europe's airspace.

Sadr Will Disband Troops in Case of Religious Ruling
Reuters Iraqi cleric Moqtada al-Sadr offered on Monday to disband his militia if the highest Shiite religious authority demands it, a shock announcement at a time when the group is the focus of an upsurge in fighting.

Sri Lanka Strikes Tamil Base After Minister Killed in Blast
The Associated Press Sri Lankan air force jets destroyed a suspected training base for Tamil Tiger suicide attackers Monday, while new fighting in the civil war killed 49 rebels and one soldier, the military said.

Zimbabwe Election in Suspense
The Associated Press Zimbabwe's top opposition leader was in South Africa on Monday, holding meetings on the same day he issued a call for international help in getting President Robert Mugabe to step down.

Tibet Protesters Disrupt Torch Relay
Reuters Chinese officials called off a chaotic relay of the Olympic torch through Paris on Monday after thousands of pro-Tibet protesters tried to block its path and the flame had to be extinguished at least twice.

Polyus Shareholders Head Off Potanin Bid for Stronger Hand
Reuters Shareholders in Polyus Gold elected on Monday to retain the firm's current board of directors and voting charter, thwarting an attempt by a co-owner to strengthen his hand in Russia's largest gold miner.

DNA Tests May Solve Tsarist Mystery
By Stephanie Reitz / The Associated Press Answers to the mystery of what befell the heirs of Russia's last tsar nearly a century ago may rest behind locked laboratory doors in Moscow and New England.

United Russia Will Tap Putin
Reuters United Russia will invite President Vladimir Putin to become its leader, party chief and State Duma Speaker Boris Gryzlov said Monday.

White House Limits Reporters to Press Room, Toilets
The Moscow Times Under new rules introduced Monday, journalists are no longer free to walk around the White House meeting government officials.

Matviyenko Suspects Freed
Combined Reports Jurors at the St. Petersburg City Court on Monday acquitted three people of trying to assassinate St. Petersburg Governor Valentina Matviyenko.

U.S. Pastor Admits Partial Guilt
By Natalya Krainova / Staff Writer A U.S. pastor arrested in February for bringing rifle rounds into Russia told a prosecutor on the first day of his trial Monday that he was ""partially"" guilty of the charges.

Analyst Links Attack to Vote Fraud Claim
By Francesca Mereu / Staff Writer A political analyst has been hospitalized following an attack by unidentified assailants that he believes was connected to claims he made of electoral fraud in the Dec. 2 State Duma election.

Business

British Telecom Seeks to Make Mark With a Financial Service
By Tai Adelaja / Staff Writer British Telecom announced plans Monday to make its mark on Russia's tight telecoms market by launching its Radianz system, a global financial hub that connects more than 10,000 companies.

Mogilevich Remanded in Custody
The Moscow Times A Moscow court on Monday remanded businessman Semyon Mogilevich in custody, rejecting an offer by his lawyers to post a higher bail of $2.1 million.

Prokhorov Pockets TGK-4 for $500M
By Nadia Popova / Staff Writer Billionaire Mikhail Prokhorov snatched the state's stake in the power company TGK-4 with a surprise bid of $500 million on Monday, shattering expectations that a foreign investor would win the auction.

Between the Lines

A Funny Thing Before Medvedev's Forum
By Alexei Pankin I recently got a call from the organizing committee of the Russian Internet Forum, where I had been accredited as the editor of a magazine covering business on the Internet.

Business in Brief
Trade Surplus ShrinksPolyus Will Retain BoardGlonass to Have 30 SatellitesMechel to Raise $1.5BlnUkraine Gas Market 'Chaos'For the Record

West's Criticism, Not NATO, Worries Putin
By Alexander Golts Imagine that a person decides to pose as a 19th-century Russian nobleman. He wears a long coat, walks with a cane and lets his sideburns grow long.

Why Food Costs So Much
By Paul Krugman These days you hear a lot about the world financial crisis. But there's another world crisis under way -- and it's hurting a lot more people.

What to Do: Gawk at Antiques
By Maria Antonova The Central House of Artists is holding their spring Antique Salon starting this weekend. Over 200 galleries from all over Russia and other countries will exhibit at the week-long event. Items on display will be available for purchase.

Dancing to a Different Beat
By James Marson / Staff Writer The dance and music group MaracatU is bringing its own form of carnival culture to Moscow.

Chef's Secrets: Hot Soup-Vinegret With Herring and Green Peas
A recipe from restaurant critic Alexei Zimin, guest chef for gastropub Prostiye Veshchi's ""New Seledka"" Norwegian herring promotion.

Artful Eating at Khlam
By Nathan Toohey / Staff Writer KhLAM is a Russian acronym that stands for ""artists, litterateurs, performers, musicians,"" and this newly opened eatery does indeed have an atmosphere that lives up to its name, albeit in a rather ostentatious way -- down-and-out beatnik poets should head round the corner to Kvartira 44.

World's Tallest Man Struggles to Fit In
By Olga Bondaruk / The Associated Press Leonid Stadnik's phenomenal height has forced him to quit a job he loved, to stoop as he moves around his house and to spend most of his time in his tiny home village because he cannot fit in a car or bus.

News in Brief
Sochi Blast Injures 2China Happy With HotlineAzerbaijan Election Date

Real Estate in Brief
Moscow Most AttractiveNew LSR Cement PlantRZD Plans for 640 HectaresSibirsky Cement in TurkeyBasEl to Split Hotel BusinessGazprom Offices in BerlinKazakh Building BailoutBasEl to Convert FactoryAkfen, Accor Plan 10 HotelsFor the Record

Elite Real Estate Prices Outrun Credit Crisis
By Yekaterina Dranitsyna / Staff Writer Although the U.S. and European credit crunch and ensuing fund market crisis have slowed the growth of global real estate prices, a sharp increase in prices has been registered in developing countries, according to a Knight Frank survey.

Poles Revive East German Town
By Kerstin Gehmlich / Reuters For years, Germans from the town of Lecknitz drove across the Polish border to buy cheap cigarettes and alcohol.

Appeals to Continue: Fight for Rossiya Site
By Tai Adelaja / Staff Writer Hope is fading fast that a sprawling expanse of land near the Kremlin, once home to the Hotel Rossiya, will be rebuilt anytime soon.

Community Bulletin Board

Community Bulletin Board
How to Submit Items Community Bulletin Board is published every Tuesday. Please submit notices of up to 40 words by noon Thursday. E-mail community@imedia.ru , call +7 (495) 234-3223 or fax +7 (495) 232-6529. The next general meeting of the INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S CLUB will be held on April 17 at the Embassy of Ireland, 5 Grokholsky pereulok, M. Prospekt Mira, from 10 a.m.--noon. Please bring your membership badge. For more information visit www.iwcmoscow.ru . ""Who is Barack Obama"" is the title of a lecture by Michael Cordy, private consulatant, on Friday, April 11, hosted by ENGLISH LANGUAGE EVENINGS at the Chekhov Cultural Center, 6 Strasnoi Bulvar, M. Chekhovskaya, 50 ruble entrance fee. For more information visit www.elemoscow.net . U.S. citizens: You can vote in the presidential primaries from overseas! It's easy to register to vote, look up your state deadlines, and find links to nonpartisan candidate information at the OVERSEAS VOTE FOUNDATION. For more information visit www.overseasvotefoundation.

MT News

First Video Added to Moscow Times Web Site
The Moscow Times The video, a 3 1/2-minute interview with Rose Gottemoeller, director of the Carnegie Moscow Center, examines the informal summit between Presidents Vladimir Putin and George W. Bush in Sochi on April 6. The video can be found on The Moscow Times' homepage, www.themoscowtimes.com.

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