Russia Expels UK Diplomats

(NEWSER) - Barack Obama began his second day in Russia by meeting with Vladimir Putin at the president-turned-prime minister's country home outside Moscow. The two leaders both expressed a desire for improved relations, and observers said they had a cordial discussion. The president then addressed a Moscow economics university, where he told students that the US and Russia are not "destined to be antagonists." More»

(NEWSER) - As Barack Obama arrives in Moscow for his toughest diplomatic challenge since taking office, the Guardian looks back on earlier US-Russia showdowns to gauge who had the upper hand.

• Kennedy vs. Khrushchev, 1961: The ultimate cold war summit, shadowed by the space race and the Berlin Wall. A draw, although JFK might have come out slightly ahead.

President's trip to Moscow will be hard work, no fun

(NEWSER) - The last time Barack Obama went to Russia, he and another senator were detained by border guards for hours—and his upcoming trip won't be much fun either, say the editors of the Economist. Russia's economy is beholden to unstable oil and gas prices, the country's mortality rate is spiking, and the political system has devolved into "a pretense of democracy." Obama must placate Moscow's "kleptocratic courtiers and former spies" without coming off as a pushover. More»

(AP) - President Obama and Michelle Obama visited Buckingham Palace for a private meeting with Queen Elizabeth II, the AP reports. They brought gifts, ABC News reports: a personalized iPod and a rare songbook signed by the legendary American composer Richard Rodgers. Several thousand well-wishers crowded the traffic circle in front of the gated palace to cheer and wave as the limousine carrying the first couple rolled past. More»

Novaya Gazeta 's work has earned it a grim legacy of dead reporters

(NEWSER) - The murders of lawyer Stanislav Markelov and reporter Anastasia Baburova last week are only the latest to strike the Novaya Gazeta newspaper, and show just how costly freedom of the press still is in Russia, Der Spiegel reports. Investigative reporters are likely to make so many enemies—from members of the military to corrupt politicians, businessmen, or gangsters—that Gazeta wants to provide its reporters with guns. More»