I was a bit shocked by the photograph of President Vladimir Putin that the Financial Times ran on the front page of its Oct. 21 edition. The photograph showed Putin with a contemptuous sneer on his face.
Only one book published in Moscow in the spring of 1937 resounded with a good humor and joie de vivre utterly alien to the Great Terror then gaining momentum: ""One-Storied America,"" a travelogue by the two hallmark Soviet satirists, Ilya Ilf and Yevgeny Petrov.
White smoke drifted low across Rustaveli Avenue for the second time in a month. But this time it was not the tear gas fired by riot police as they broke up anti-government protests.
Reuters
The European Central Bank said Friday that it would continue offering banks additional funds at least until the end of the year to counter renewed tensions in the money market, where interbank lending rates are climbing again.
The Associated Press
As the holiday shopping season begins, foreign tourists are taking advantage of a weak dollar.
Reuters
Richard Branson's Virgin Group and U.S. buyout firm J.C. Flowers are the two front-runners to buy ailing British bank Northern Rock, people familiar with the situation said Sunday, but shareholders are unlikely to get much from either.
How a computer scientist changed course, became a teacher and rewrote the rules.
How do you see the new business visa rules affecting the expat job market?
A beer restaurant called Munchen recently opened in place of the Ivan Kalita banquet hall.
Bon, an upmarket restaurant best known for its artistic interior designed by Philippe Starck, has come under new management -- the Arkady Novikov Group.
Reuters
The Venezuelan president pushes through social developments ahead of a Dec. 2 referendum.
Reuters
It may have brought the world aspirin, rocket science, quantum physics and the diesel engine, but Germany's days of scientific glory are long gone and it is now hunting for a new generation of Einsteins.
The Associated Press
Former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif returned home Sunday after years in exile, the latest political heavyweight to join Pakistan's deepening power struggle.
The Associated Press
Police used tear gas and water cannons Sunday to crush a banned rally by more than 10,000 ethnic minority Indians -- a rare street clash that exposed Muslim-majority Malaysia's deep racial divisions.
The Associated Press
Newly elected leader Kevin Rudd moved quickly Sunday to bring Australia into international talks on fighting global warming and to head off potentially thorny relations with the United States and key Asian neighbors.
The Associated Press
Croatians were voting in closely contested parliamentary elections Sunday, choosing between the ruling conservatives and the leftist opposition for a government to steer the ex-Yugoslav country into the European Union.
The Associated Press
The Bush administration was able to declare a clean sweep on Sunday when Syria, the last Arab world holdout, announced it would attend a high-stakes Middle East peace conference in the U.S. this week.
Evraz Secures $3.2Bln LoanGazprom OGK-6 OfferEnel May Buy Into OGK-5Rosneft in Chinese RefiningGazprom Eyes German FirmRitek Shares ManipulatedWest Siberian License SafeBrazilian Beef Ban OverKashagan Deal NearingPSA Car Plant AwaitedCoal Field Stake for Sale
Reuters
Prosecutors charged Deputy Finance Minister Sergei Storchak on Friday with attempting to embezzle $43 million, in a case that may damage his boss, Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin.
Turkmenistan is hoping to hike the price of gas it sells to Gazprom by at least 30 percent next year, Gazprom chief executive Alexei Miller said Friday, raising the possibility that the higher costs would be passed on to foreign customers.
Bloomberg
The Interior Ministry said in a statement Friday that it accused four Agriculture Ministry officials of accepting a bribe worth more than 16 million rubles ($660,000) and said arrest warrants had been issued.