The Moscow Times

Market Matters: As Conflict Ends, Markets on Road to Recovery
After tumbling to its lowest point in almost two years on Tuesday, Russia's MICEX Index began to slowly claw its way back over the rest of the week, suggesting a possible end to the volatility that has plagued the country's markets since tensions erupted between Russia and Georgia on Aug. 8.

News

Accused German Linked to Spy Flap
By Nikolaus von Twickel / Staff Writer A German man charged with selling sensitive technology information to Russia is a key figure in a mysterious spy case involving a former Federal Space Agency official that jarred Russian-Austrian relations last year.

Putin Warms to Separatist Provinces
By Matt Siegel / Staff Writer President Vladimir Putin has ordered the government to establish closer ties with the breakaway Georgian regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, the Foreign Ministry said Wednesday, prompting sharp criticism from Georgia and the West.

Tensions in Chechnya Boil Over
By Simon Saradzhyan / Staff Writer The standoff between Chechen President Ramzan Kadyrov and an influential Chechen clan entered the third day Wednesday as both sides traded accusations of murder and abuse of power.

Japan Premier's Visit to Improve Ties
Reuters Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda will cut short a planned overseas trip and visit Russia later this month to improve ties between the former World War II foes, a government spokesman said Wednesday.

Nazi Sign on Tank Draws Probe
Reuters Prosecutors are investigating a group of military history enthusiasts for extremism because they staged a World War II re-enactment featuring a tank with German army insignia.

Abbas Arrives to Discuss Peace Talks
The Moscow Times Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas arrived in Moscow on Wednesday for talks on holding a Middle East peace conference in Russia.

Value-Added Guess Wins Pollster Award
By Alexander Osipovich / Staff Writer The Central Elections Committee handed out awards Wednesday to the polling agencies that made the most accurate forecasts of the March presidential election. But one victorious pollster said the science of political forecasting in Russia involves guessing the degree of manipulation by authorities.

Lithuanian Suicide Rate Spotlights Social Issues
By Nerijus Adomaitis / Reuters Lithuania has the highest suicide rate in Europe, and Darius Linkevicius, a woodcutter with a wife and three children, can understand why. ""Suicide seems to be a way out of all the problems. You are gone and there is no need to think about them,"" he said. ""I have been thinking about committing suicide but only when drunk, never when sober.""

Jewish Cemetery in Belarus Gets Little Respect
By Yuras Karmanau / The Associated Press Critics say the way one Belarussian city is treating an 18th-century cemetery typifies its indifference toward its Jewish heritage.

Business

Deals With Libya Could Top $10Bln
Reuters, MT President Vladimir Putin plans to oversee the signing of deals worth more than $10 billion on a trip to Libya aimed at grabbing a slice of a market opening up to the world after years of sanctions, his spokesman said.

Magnit to Raise $480M in Share Sale
Bloomberg Magnit, the country's second-largest supermarket chain, said Wednesday that it expected to raise more than $480 million in a share sale to pay for additional grocery stores.

$50Bln Sought for Timber Industry
Bloomberg The government wants to attract 1.2 trillion rubles ($51.2 billion) of investment into the country's forests by 2020, seeking to expand production and curb exports of unprocessed timber.

Kaliningrad to Get Nuclear Power Plant
Reuters The country will build an atomic power station in its European exclave of Kaliningrad and invite bids from foreign companies to buy up to 49 percent of the plant, the country's nuclear chief said Wednesday.

Surgut Sees Output Flat
Reuters, Bloomberg Surgutneftegaz, the country's No. 4 oil firm, expects oil output to remain flat this year because of an expected delay in the launch of the country's first oil pipeline to China, a company official said Wednesday.

Rail Firm Globaltrans Plans $500M IPO
Reuters Globaltrans Investment, the country's largest privately owned freight rail operator, expects to raise $390 million to $509 million floating a 29 percent stake on the London Stock Exchange, the company said.

Yevroset Denies Plans to Sell Stake
The Moscow Times Yevroset, the country's largest mobile-phone retailer, denied media reports Wednesday that it was planning to sell a stake in the company to No. 1 mobile operator MTS.

Prices Up 5.6% Since January
Reuters Consumer prices rose 5.6 percent from the start of the year to April 14, the State Statistics Service said Wednesday, casting more doubt over whether the government can keep 2008 inflation in single digits.

Deripaska Setback in PPF Case
By Yuriy Humber / Bloomberg Billionaire Oleg Deripaska lost a court case brought by Czech fund PPF Investments over his insurer Ingosstrakh.

Opinion

The BRIC Globalizers
The winners of the great globalization push of the 1990s were small states, such as New Zealand, Chile, Dubai, Finland, Ireland, the Baltic countries, Slovenia and Slovakia. The East Asian tigers that pushed themselves onto the world economy's center stage were small units, and in some cases -- Singapore, Taiwan, or Hong Kong -- were not even treated as states. Even South Korea, which is a giant in comparison, was only half a country.

Sports

French Athletes Barred From Wearing Badge
By Elaine Ganley / The Associated Press French Olympic Committee chief Henri Serandour has ruled out allowing his country's athletes to wear a badge at the Beijing Games that reads ""For a Better World,"" angering athletes and others who want to express their views on human rights.

Always a Dissident

Green With NATO Envy
""How interesting!"" These were the words of an airport security officer as he lifted a folder from my suitcase printed with the name of a conference titled, ""Fascism: Familiar Enemy or New Threat?"" He opened the folder, hoping to read its contents, but he was a bit disappointed to learn that I was only using the folder to hold miscellaneous papers.

Business in Brief
Ruble Hits 9-Year HighRolf '07 Profit Rises 34%MTS Says Q4 Profit JumpsSugar Imports May DropMTS Eyes Ukrtelecom SaleMiller in Hungary TalksFor the Record

La Grotta the Third
By Nathan Toohey / Staff Writer Hidden away on a little winding lane, Metekhi was one of those mom-and-pop eateries that expats commonly complain there just aren't enough of around Moscow. It served hearty and wholesome Georgian dishes with a warm and welcoming atmosphere. Unfortunately, such inexpensive eateries seem to be falling afoul of Moscow's ever increasing rents. Metekhi has now closed as well, replaced by the third installment in the La Grotta series of Italian restaurants.

Drink of the Elephants
By Maria Antonova / Special to The Moscow Times Icon

News in Brief
Drug Smugglers Convicted4 Birds Detained

The Other Emirate
By Lara McCoy Roslof / Staff Writer Abu Dhabi has boosted its profile, hoping to attract some of the tourist revenue flowing into neighboring Dubai.

Travel News

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