... president in May. His rival, incumbent President Nicolas Sarkozy, came to power five years ago promising to increase living standards, stability and economic growth. Soon after, the global economic crisis hit, and the measures France and Germany employed to overcome the crisis resulted instead in the economic collapse of Greece and Spain. Few people doubt that socialist Francois Hollande will become the new French president in May. His rival...

President Vladimir Putin will travel to Belarus on May 31 for his first foreign visit since taking office earlier this month, followed by a trip to Germany and France. President Vladimir Putin will travel to Belarus on May 31 for his first foreign visit since taking office earlier this month, followed by a trip to Germany and France. After a two-day official visit to fellow customs union member Belarus on...

... had been seized as a<span id="bxid_911674"> </span>result of<span id="bxid_911674"> </span>requests to<span id="bxid_911674"> </span>foreign governments, including real estate in France from wanted former tycoon Boris Berezovsky. Russia has seized real estate in France worth about 13 million euros from former tycoon Boris Berezovsky, who lives in London and is wanted by Russian authorities on fraud and other charges, a...

... "I was told that the quality of paper is the best one could get at that time … [and] was also used by Nazis at that time." The occasional scratches in German on the back of the photos reveal that the photographer started taking them in France back in 1933 and continued though France's surrender in 1940. Others show Minsk and a radio factory there, while several feature Russian peasants and villages. But many of the rest are unsigned and difficult to place. The pictures include battle...

... Renaissance Financial Holdings, the owner of investment bank Renaissance Capital, were $94 million in 2011, according to a company statement, Vedomosti reported. (MT) Jordan has short-listed a joint venture between Japan's Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and France's Areva, as well as Russia's Atomstroiexport to construct the kingdom's first 1,000-megawatt nuclear power plant, officials said Wednesday. (Reuters)

... title is sung in English as the song transitions from a traditional village song to an upbeat disco tune. They competed against Iceland, Hungary, Greece, and others in the semifinal round. In the final round, the group will face the U.K., Germany, France, Spain, Italy, Azerbaijan, and the victors of the next semifinals, scheduled for Thursday. The competition between the 20 finalists will be held Saturday. The women, all above the age of 70, come from a village in the Udmurtia republic and have...

... Aeroflot upgrade its hub at Sheremetyevo Airport by October 2007. After extensive delays, the first Aeroflot flight departed from Sheremetyevo's new Terminal D in November 2009. SkyTeam's 15 members are: Aeroflot, Aeroméxico, Air Europa, Air France, Alitalia, China Airlines, China Eastern, China Southern, Czech Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Kenya Airways, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, Korean Air, TAROM and Vietnam Airlines.

... with a … responsible approach by the U.S. administration and the U.S. president," Lavrov said, warning that the sanctions would undermine unity among the nations leading diplomacy with Iran — the United States, Russia, China, Britain, France and Germany. 179738

... have by far the most nuclear arms — a fact stressed by the Chinese representative on Monday, the opening day of a two-week conference to discuss the Non-Proliferation Treaty, a 1970 pact to prevent the spread of atomic bombs. China, Britain and France are the other three recognized nuclear weapons states. But the size of their arsenals are in the low hundreds, well below those of the United States and Russia, which have thousands of nuclear warheads. Ambassador Cheng Jingye, head of the Chinese...

... this criminal case, the [Swiss] confederation's prosecutor blocked the accounts of Akulinin and Borodin in Swiss banks," an unnamed source familiar with the situation said. "The total amount of blocked money amounts to several million Swiss francs." The report did not specify when the accounts were frozen. Following its takeover, Bank of Moscow received a $14 billion government bailout loan after VTB said it had discovered a huge black hole in the bank's loan book. "The initiators...

...," Al-Akkari said. "Now we are thinking about exports." Since 2010, Syria's imports of thermal coal to make cement and fuel-captive power plants have risen from almost nothing to about 1 million tons a year. A cement plant operated by France's Lafarge purchases 350,000 tons per year, and Al-Akkari said Al Badia buys about 20,000 tons of Russian coal per month, satisfying all of its needs. "Because of the sanctions, we are only buying Russian coal," Al-Akkari said. He added...

... Putin also said that a decision could be made during an international economic forum in St. Petersburg in June. Earlier Friday, sources said Royal Dutch Shell might join the project and Norway's Statoil may leave it. Statoil owns 24 percent of Shtokman, France's Total owns 25 percent, and Gazprom has a controlling stake of 51 percent. "I take [the meeting with Putin] as a signal of the importance of the energy sector for Russia and the world," said Statoil chief executive Helge Lund. "Shtokman...

... new fields ensures that Gazprom has a sufficient supply of gas to deliver to its customers, even as current fields deplete and demand is projected to rise. The higher tax will not directly affect the Yamal project by Novatek and its foreign partner, France's Total. They plan to extract gas from a field there to supply it by tanker in a supercooled form called liquefied natural gas, or LNG. The government approved a holiday for the gas production tax for Yamal projects that produce exclusively LNG...

... drumsticks and pakhlava. Rights, what human rights? Plus there are free books about carpets. Compared with Moscow's bleak Olympic stadium, the Crystal Hall is an extremely plush venue and the most- favored contestants, including those from Britain, France and Azerbaijan, are luxuriating in suites at the Hilton. With high ticket prices and an army of beige- blazered security, the event feels like some kind of cocktail gala for the elite. And possibly it is the last orgy before someone wonders whether...

... rise 4 percent. Another Gazprom executive said the company expected an announcement of changes to its long-delayed Shtokman project at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum next month. The changes could affect the lineup of its partners, now France's Total and Norway's Statoil, and the products they want to produce, said Gazprom deputy chief Vitaly Markelov. "We expect a decision about the lineup and the implementation scheme," he said. Statoil said earlier this spring that the...

... illegitimate regime." The Syrian government has denied responsibility. The UN Security Council held an emergency meeting Sunday afternoon to hear a briefing on the Houla massacre from the head of the UN observer mission in Syria. Britain and France had proposed issuing a council press statement condemning the attack on civilians and pointing the finger for Friday's attack at the Syrian government. But Russia told council members it could not agree to any statement until the council was briefed...

... tolerant words: "There is no reason to limit the Islamic community's ability to live by its own rules." As for Khasavov's appeal to establish Sharia courts, they already de facto exist in the Caucasus. No one in Russia, the United States, France or elsewhere can deny any two Muslims the right to settle their differences with the help of an imam. The only way governments can address this issue is not through violence but by offering a better alternative. The Russian government cannot sanction...

... extensive networks of purpose-built campsites that provide parking places, water and waste disposal facilities that support the pastime in Europe and North America. Seeking to lead by example, Yelashkin, who has taken his own camper as far as Germany, France, Norway and Italy, could be found last weekend living on a small lot that his company has established in Sokolniki Park. He says another is due to be opened in Kolomna, 100 kilometers southeast of Moscow, and that the Night Wolves, Russia's largest...

... shortfalls in Western countries might be behind their desire to take Russian children. Of the 18 countries involved in the cases brought to the group’s attention, Finland took 44 children from 34 families and Norway 15 children from 11 families. France removed three children from three families, Germany five children from three families and Australia four children from one family. Additionally, Cyprus took two children from two families, the Netherlands three children from two families and Italy...

... preparations and distribute medals to local war heroes; last year, his mentor and then-Prime Minister Vladimir Putin made a similar trip in early May. Although neither Putin nor Medvedev made the 900-kilometer trip Wednesday, military attaches from Britain, France and Germany were in attendance, laying wreaths to commemorate those who died in the war. Lieutenant Colonel Adrian Coghill, an assistant naval attache with the British Embassy in Moscow, said he had been "struck by the tragedy of the city's...