Author Archive
Posted on March 10, 2010 - by Venik
Boris Berezovsky wins libel case over Litvinenko murder
Russian oligarch awarded damages over claims he arranged polonium poisoning of friend and former KGB spy
The exiled Russian oligarch Boris Berezovsky was today awarded libel damages of £150,000 over “savage” allegations he was behind the murder of Alexander Litvinenko, the poisoned Russian dissident who was his close friend.
In a chaotic high court battle in London, [...]
Posted on March 9, 2010 - by Venik
Alexander Litvinenko’s family refused refugee status due to EU rules, Italy says
Official denies former Russian spy’s family were denied status because of Silvio Berlusconi’s friendship with Vladimir Putin
The Italian government today claimed that European regulations, not Silvio Berlusconi’s friendship with Vladimir Putin, were behind the decision to refuse refugee status to the family of the murdered Russian exile Alexander Litvinenko.
After Litvinenko, a former Russian spy, was [...]
Posted on March 9, 2010 - by Venik
Luke Harding on Litvinenko family’s failed attempt to find refuge in Italy
Luke Harding on Litvinenko family’s failed attempt to find refuge in Italy
Luke Harding
Original article
Posted on March 8, 2010 - by Venik
Alexander Litvinenko’s father finds little sanctuary in Italy
• ‘Business raided and asylum refused’• Berlusconi’s friendship with Putin blamed
For Walter Litvinenko, it was a difficult but necessary step. After his son Alexander was murdered in London in 2006 in the most scandalous political killing since the cold war, Walter fled Russia for sanctuary in western Europe. He chose Italy. It offered a new, [...]
Posted on March 8, 2010 - by Venik
Working outdoors reduces male kidney cancer risk, study says
Research shows vitamin D, produced by skin when exposed to ultraviolet light, associated with reduced rate of renal cancer
Men who work outdoors, enabling their bodies to create vitamins through exposure to sunlight, have a reduced risk of kidney cancer, researchers said today.
In the largest study of its kind, scientists found that vitamin D – produced [...]
Posted on March 8, 2010 - by Venik
Working outdoors reduces men’s risk of kidney cancer, study says
Research shows vitamin D, produced by skin when exposed to ultraviolet light, associated with reduced rate of renal cancer
Men who work outdoors, enabling their bodies to create vitamins through exposure to sunlight, have a reduced risk of kidney cancer, researchers said today.
In the largest study of its kind, scientists found that vitamin D – produced [...]
Posted on March 6, 2010 - by Venik
FC Moscow go out of business after owners pull plug on funding
Fans go on hunger strike in protest as Russian club drops out of the Premier League after Norilsk Nickel withdraws its backing
Chelsea, be warned: some Russian sugar daddies turn off the tap. Russian Premier League side FC Moscow have ceased to exist after their owners, metal giants Norilsk Nickel, stopped funding them.
Eleven fans went on [...]
Posted on March 6, 2010 - by Venik
Saakashvili to submit to a drug test?
The president of Georgia decided to go along with the proposal by an opposition parliament member Dmitri Lordkipanidze to test all government employees for illegal drugs. Saakashvili said that the test will require a single hair and that he will offer his shortly. In other news, Saakashvili shaved his head bald…
Lordkipanidze’s suggestion of drug-testing the [...]
Posted on March 5, 2010 - by Venik
Viktor Yanukovych promises Ukraine will embrace Russia
New president’s inaugural Moscow visit appears to usher in new era between countries
The new president of Ukraine, Viktor Yanukovych, has promised a dramatic improvement in relations with Russia during his first official visit to Moscow.
Speaking after a meeting with his counterpart, Dmitry Medvedev, Yanukovych said he would perform a sharp U-turn on the polices pursued [...]
Posted on March 5, 2010 - by Venik
Georgia’s olive branch, Russia’s call | Giorgi Badridze
It is a delusion to think that anyone other than the Kremlin calls the shots in South Ossetia and Abkhazia
I was deeply frustrated to read George Hewitt’s article in the Guardian on Georgia’s efforts to mend fences with the occupied territories of Abkhazia and South Ossetia.
It is extraordinary that Hewitt hardly mentions Russia: the country [...]
Posted on March 4, 2010 - by Venik
Talking to Iran has helped the US | Samuel Charap and Brian Katulis
Critics say it has been a waste of time but Barack Obama’s worldwide diplomatic outreach is beginning to deliver results
Critics argue that the recent International Atomic Energy Agency report proves that the Obama administration’s policy of engagement has been a waste of time, allowing Iran to make progress toward a bomb without feeling the pain [...]
Posted on March 4, 2010 - by Venik
Reaching out to Iran has helped the US | Samuel Charap and Brian Katulis
Critics say it has been a waste of time but Barack Obama’s worldwide diplomatic outreach is beginning to deliver results
Critics argue that the recent International Atomic Energy Agency report proves that the Obama administration’s policy of engagement has been a waste of time, allowing Iran to make progress toward a bomb without feeling the pain [...]
Posted on March 4, 2010 - by Venik
Yukos takes Russia to human rights court in Strasbourg
Defunct oil company owned by jailed oligarch Mikhail Khordokovsksy claiming £65bn in compensation over bankruptcy
The European court of human rights in Strasbourg is today hearing the biggest case in its history with managers from the defunct oil company Yukos claiming £65bn in compensation from the Russian government.
Yukos – owned by the jailed oligarch Mikhail Khordokovsksy [...]
Posted on March 2, 2010 - by Venik
Ukraine’s Orange coalition dissolved after losing majority
• Yulia Tymoshenko furious as speaker ends rule• Viktor Yanukovych likely to form new coalition
Ukraine’s prime minister Yulia Tymoshenko’s Orange coalition was dissolved today, losing its majority in parliament and paving the way for Ukraine’s new president to consolidate his power.
The development means Tymoshenko will soon be ousted and spells the end of the Orange [...]