A brief look at the stories making headlines in the Russian-language press

Twenty-five years ago, a political earthquake in Poland cracked the communist edifice in Eastern Europe. The birth of Solidarity, the free trade union, culminated in the emergence of a wider democratic Europe.

Russia's chairmanship of the next meeting of the Group of Eight in St. Petersburg raises a rather awkward dilemma. While this prestigious position requires Russia to show global leadership, many observers wonder how Russia can deliver on its global promises if the quality of its domestic institutions is closer to the standards of states that survive on foreign aid rather than its G8 peers.

The draft constitution signed by members of the Shiite and Kurdish alliance is immediately rejected by Sunni negotiators.

KPMG will appear in a New York courtroom tomorrow morning and admit to participating in a broad criminal conspiracy over tax shelters the firm peddled to clients during the economic boom, according to sources familiar with the deal.

Thousands of volunteers toiled alongside rescue workers on Saturday to clear walls of debris left by the downpours from Bern to Bucharest, which have caused more than $1 billion of damage in Switzerland.