Bulkas Makom is a new breed of sandwich shop. Created by the restaurateurs behind such colorful eateries as Metro and Glavpivtorg, the new cheap and cheerful cafe has a lot going for it.

Starting Friday and running all weekend is an event to satisfy every taste -- for its main theme is food.

Addressing a For Putin meeting at the Luzhniki arena last week that had been paid for by United Russia campaign funds, President Vladimir Putin repeated Stalin's phrase that life had become better and happier.

At first glance, it would seem that the Nov. 20 gathering of the military's top brass was filled with positive news only. At the meeting, the commander in chief, President Vladimir Putin, said he was generally satisfied with condition of the armed forces, and Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov stressed that the development of the army and navy has been achieved thanks to the president's tireless efforts.

I was very confused after listening to President Vladimir Putin's speech at the Luzhniki arena on Nov. 21, especially when he promised to fight those who ""scrounge from foreign embassies like jackals.""

11 Missing Declared DeadBus Crash Injures TouristsProminent Dagestani KilledNavy's Norway Visits RiseBorder Guards Seize Turtles

Northern Rock will hold accelerated takeover discussions with a consortium led by Virgin Group, the battered mortgage lender said Monday.

French companies netted Chinese deals for nuclear reactors and Airbus passenger jets worth around $29.62 billion on Monday, the second day of a state visit by French President Nicolas Sarkozy.

Alexander Titov says his home village owes its survival to President Vladimir Putin.

Federation Council Speaker Sergei Mironov says the date will allow Putin to run again.

The European Commission, France and Britain added their voices Monday to criticism from Washington of the police crackdown on weekend opposition rallies in Moscow and St. Petersburg.

Russia is ready for further dialogue with the United States on missile defense cooperation after Moscow received formal proposals from Washington aimed at easing tension over the divisive issue, First Deputy Prime Minister Sergei Ivanov said Monday.

A group of experts from the country's leading psychiatric hospital arrived in the Penza region Monday to try to make contact with members of a doomsday cult holed up in an underground hideout and awaiting the end of the world.

China displayed the first image of the moon captured by its Chang'e 1 lunar probe at a gala ceremony Monday, marking the formal start of the satellite's mission to document the lunar landscape.

Vowing to go on fighting the ""Zionist enemy,"" Hamas called Mahmoud Abbas the worst leader in Palestinian history on Monday and said he had no right to make concessions to Israel at the Annapolis peace conference.

Former Pakistani prime ministers Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif signed up on Monday to run in a January election while a spokesman for President Pervez Musharraf said he would be sworn in as a civilian on Thursday.

Serbia will not give up ""an inch"" of Kosovo, Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica said Monday, as talks on the breakaway province's future entered a critical phase before a United Nations deadline next month.

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