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

Spy Charges Fuel Georgian Tensions
By Francesca Mereu and Alexander Osipovich / Staff Writers The Federal Security Service said Friday that its agents had caught a Georgian spy and accused Tbilisi of aiding rebels in the North Caucasus in an episode likely to heighten tensions between the countries.

Demand Is Growing in the Bedroom, Too
By Miriam Elder / Staff Writer As consumer spending soars, people are splashing out money in hopes of improving their sex lives.

Gays Ask Medvedev To Permit Parade
By Matt Siegel / Staff Writer The Moscow organizers of a gay-pride parade have appealed to President Dmitry Medvedev to help circumvent a city ban on their event by granting them permission to hold it on federal land within the city.

EBRD Raises This Year's Growth Call
Reuters The EBRD on Sunday raised its 2008 growth call for former Soviet republics and Eastern Europe to about 6 percent, citing their surprising resilience to global economic problems, but it warned inflation risks loomed.

Emerging Markets Should Be Allowed Into G8, Lavrov Says
Reuters Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov blamed Japan and the United States on Friday for preventing the Group of Eight industrial nations from expanding to include other countries with big emerging economies.

Envoy Says Russia and Britain Can Repair Ties
By Adrian Croft / Reuters Russia’s ambassador to London voiced optimism that “limited damage” done to ties by the murder of former KGB officer Alexander Litvinenko in Britain could easily be repaired given mutual goodwill.

Opposition Assembly Takes On State
By Natalya Krainova / Staff Writer The first meeting on Saturday of a “National Assembly” organized by the Other Russia opposition coalition featured calls for a strong challenge to the current government, while demonstrating much of the disarray that often plagues the Kremlin’s opponents.

Chavez Says Attack Could Send Oil to $500
Bloomberg Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said last week that crude oil would rise to ""$400 or $500"" per barrel in the event of a U.S. attack on his country, the biggest petroleum exporter in the Americas.

U.S. Soldier Sent Home for Firing on Quran
Reuters A U.S. soldier has been disciplined and ordered from Iraq, the U.S. military said on Sunday, for using a copy of the Quran for target practice at a shooting range near Baghdad.

Pope Hopeful on Cluster Bombs
Reuters Pope Benedict XVI on Sunday said he hoped a Dublin conference on cluster bombs will outlaw the deadly weapons by agreeing on a strong international convention.

Masters of Kitsch Ready For Eurovision Contest
By Paul Majendie / Reuters La La La. Boom Bang-A-Bang. Ding-A-Dong. It's that time again.

Kennedy Stable After Seizure
The Associated Press Out of immediate danger, U.S. Senator Edward M. Kennedy remained hospitalized as doctors worked to determine what caused one of the nation’s best-known senators to suffer a seizure in his Cape Cod home.

UN Envoy Takes Aid Plea to Myanmar
The Associated Press A senior UN envoy headed for Myanmar on Sunday to plead with its military junta to accept more international aid for cyclone survivors, amid mounting fears of starvation, especially among children.

UN Interpreter Jailed for Smuggling Uzbeks
The Associated Press A United Nations translator was sentenced to a year in prison for using UN stationery and fraudulent documents to smuggle people into the United States from Uzbekistan.

Yushchenko Sees Better Ties Under Medvedev
Reuters Ukraine expects to have better ties with Russia under President Dmitry Medvedev, Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko said Sunday.

Yushchenko Regains Some Power
By Ron Popeski / Reuters Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko, at odds for months with his prime minister, on Friday clawed back some powers he had lost since taking office with passage of a new law limiting the government's authority.

EU Nations Arrest 10 In Uzbek Terror Probe
By John Leicester / The Associated Press A three-country police sweep instigated by France has netted 10 people suspected of funding al-Qaida-linked militants with roots in Uzbekistan.

Moscow Seeks Talks in Tehran
Reuters The Foreign Ministry said Friday that it hoped the six nations negotiating with Iran to suspend its uranium enrichment program could meet in Tehran soon to offer the Islamic Republic new proposals for talks.

Last Cult Members Leave Penza Cave
By David Nowak / The Associated Press A handful of doomsday cult members on Friday crawled out of the damp cave in Penza region where they spent six months waiting for the end of the world, which their leader had prophesied.

Medvedev Picks First Governor
The Moscow Times President Dmitry Medvedev made his first gubernatorial appointment Friday, replacing the long-serving governor of the Stavropol region.

U.S. Said to Be Hurting Ordinary Belarussians
By Andrei Makhovsky / Reuters Belarus accused the United States on Friday of harming the interests of ordinary citizens by imposing new sanctions on the country's industry in a dispute over human rights.

Country Sacrifices To Help Victims
By Emma Graham-Harrison / Reuters Giving up everything from haircuts to lobster, citizens from all walks of life band together to help provide some relief for the victims.

Mound of Earth Swallows Mountainside Village
By Tini Tran / The Associated Press An unknown number of Donghekou residents remain entombed.

China Declares Day of Mourning After Earthquake
By Chris Buckley / Reuters China said it would start three days of national mourning Monday, after raising the death toll from last week's earthquake to nearly 32,500.

Business

Sechin Points to Efficiency At Rosneft
By Anatoly Medetsky / Staff Writer Rosneft's stellar growth proves that state control over companies does not necessarily hurt efficiency, Igor Sechin, the company's chairman and newly appointed deputy prime minister, said in comments published Friday.

Siemens Seals OGK-1 Turbines Deal
By Nadia Popova / Staff Writer The $155 million contract is to build one steam and two gas turbines for a power station in Perm.

Watchdog Seeks Frozen Meat Processing Ban
Reuters The country's consumer rights watchdog is looking to ban the processing of frozen meat into sausages, hams, dumplings and other products, which, producers say, may cut imports and damage the industry.

Georgia Links WTO Entry To Breakaway Province Ties
Reuters Georgia said Friday that it would block negotiations on Russian entry to the World Trade Organization until Moscow reverses a decision last month to step up ties with two breakaway Georgian provinces.

BRIC Countries Hold First Stand-Alone Talks
By Conor Sweeney / Reuters The world's biggest emerging market economies -- Brazil, Russia, India and China -- agreed Friday to formalize their ""BRIC"" club for the first time to affirm their global economic clout.

Deal Signed For Italian Helicopters
By Max Delany / Staff Writer Oboronprom is to market AgustaWestland choppers in Russia and the CIS.

EU Wants Russia Treaty Before Summit
By Nadia Popova / Staff Writer European Commission Vice President GЯnter Verheugen on Saturday said he was confident that talks on a new EU-Russia treaty would begin before a key summit next month, despite opposition from Lithuania.

HP, Foxconn to Build St. Pete Computer Plant
By Tai Adelaja / Staff Writer Hewlett-Packard announced Friday that it was teaming up with Foxconn International to build the country's first foreign-owned computer factory in an effort to capitalize on spiraling demand for high-tech products.

State Presses Auchan Outlet Near Moscow
Reuters French retail giant Auchan has come under fire from the Prosecutor General's Office and the country's environmental watchdog, which says the firm is in ""gross violation of the law.""

Opinion

McCain Is Alone on Russia
By Edward Lozansky The three presumed U.S. presidential candidates rarely mention Russia. When they do, their remarks are critical -- possibly because they are hoping to attract a few more votes from the numerous and well-organized ethnic communities from Ukraine, the Baltics and East Europe.

City Wise

Russian Orphans
By Svetlana Osadchuk Likbez

Business in Brief

Business in Brief
Severstal Buys WCI SteelTroika to Add 500 PositionsKerimov Selling Polymetal?Kazimir Makes Polyus OfferEvraz Quarterly ResultsFor the Record

Committed To Kids
By Svetlana Osadchuk / Staff Writer Vadim Menshov left a position in the Soviet bureaucracy for a temporary post as an orphanage director -- and found his calling.

Fashionably Alfresco
By Nathan Toohey / Staff Writer Modus follows the fashion-cafe formula so faithfully that you could almost think it was parodying its fellow followers of fashion. The color scheme features plenty of cream and chocolate tones, and naturally, there are paisley patterns on the curtains and cushion covers. There are framed black-and-white photos of fashion models and the like.

Restaurant News
By Nathan Toohey

The Sticky Successor Problem
By Alexei Bayer The problem of finding a successor for Vladimir Putin was a Kremlin obsession for most of his two terms in office. Strangely, even after the inauguration of Dmitry Medvedev, the problem remains unresolved.

News in Brief
Illarionov Gets Into PoliticsNew Mayor for VladivostokFor the Record

Half Steps Backward in Government Reshuffle
By Vladimir Frolov Two decisions stand out in the recent government reshuffle: the appointment of former Federal Security Service director Nikolai Patrushev as secretary of the Security Council and the creation of a special government agency in charge of CIS affairs. Both represent cases of good intentions gone awry.

CSKA Tops Amkar for 4th Cup Title
The Associated Press CSKA Moscow rallied from two goals down Saturday to beat Amkar in a penalty shootout 4-1 and win the Cup of Russia for the fourth time.

Market Matters

Markets Rise as Cabinet Settles In
By Catrina Stewart / Staff Writer Prime Minister Vladimir Putin's strong backing for aggressive oil tax cuts in the near future provided Russian stock markets with a long-awaited catalyst to push the RTS to a record high last week.

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