The Moscow Times

Market Matters: RTS Has Toughest Week Since '99
Trading on the dollar-denominated RTS exchange was suspended three times on Friday as anxiety deepened over whether the U.S. House of Representatives would pass a $700 billion financial sector bailout package and share prices on Russian and international markets plummeted.

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Spy Charges Fuel Georgian Tensions
By Francesca Mereu, 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 / Staff Writer 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.

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Illarionov Gets Into PoliticsNew Mayor for VladivostokFor the Record

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