Russia

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Swapped Russian 'Spy' Wants to Go Back to Russia

Igor Sutyagin insists he was innocent, calls exile a kind of prison

(Newser) - Believe it or not, Igor Sutyagin didn’t like the prisoner swap deal that freed him from the Russian prison he spent 11 years in. “It’s a very simple deal: you give your honor in exchange for your freedom,” he tells the New York Times . “If...

Iran Will Fire Up Nuke Plant
 Iran Will Fire Up Nuke Plant 
Aug 13, 2010 6:55 AM CDT

Iran Will Fire Up Nuke Plant

Russian will load the uranium fuel next week

(Newser) - Russia's nuclear agency said today that it will load fuel into Iran's first nuclear power plant next week, defying US calls to hold off the start of the launch. The uranium fuel will be loaded into the Bushehr reactor on Aug. 21, beginning the startup process. "From that moment...

Russia's New Fear: Chernobyl-Tainted Smoke

Wildfires encroach on contaminated regions

(Newser) - As Russia continues to battle raging wildfires in 100-degree temperatures, environmentalists are raising a scary cause for concern: radioactive smoke courtesy of Chernobyl. Regions of western Russian remain contaminated with radioactive residue from the nuclear disaster 24 years ago, and now wildfires are threatening those regions, explains the New York ...

People Flee Moscow as Death Rate Doubles

Some believe government covering up smoke's effects

(Newser) - People are leaving Moscow in droves, as smoke from surrounding wildfires chokes the city. The daily mortality rate has almost doubled from 360 or so to "around 700," the city’s top health official said yesterday, though he blamed the punishing heat wave, rather than the smoke. He...

Wildfire Smoke Chokes Moscow
 Wildfire Smoke Chokes Moscow 
Aug 6, 2010 2:04 PM CDT

Wildfire Smoke Chokes Moscow

Fires rage over 500,000 acres

(Newser) - Huge wildfires have blanketed Moscow in a fog of heavy smoke, stinging the eyes and throats of the city's 10 million residents. Firefighters are wrestling with almost 600 distinct fires covering 500,000 acres, CNN reports. The resulting smoke has seeped into subways and apartments throughout Moscow, driving carbon monoxide...

You'll Be Paying More for Bread Soon

Blame parched Russia, which is stopping wheat exports

(Newser) - Russia today said it would ban wheat exports for the rest of the year amid a brutal drought, sending prices for the grain soaring to their highest level in two years. The upshot is that US shoppers will likely have to pay a bit more for bread, cereal, or pasta...

Massive River Discovered on Sea Floor

Black Sea river world's sixth mightiest

(Newser) - Scientists have discovered a river whose flow is 10 times mightier than the largest river in Europe on the floor of the Black Sea, proving that previously mysterious channels visible on ocean floors are in fact formed by underwater rivers.The Black Sea river, the first-ever still-flowing underground channel to...

Space Station Cooling System Malfunctions

Spacewalks may be necessary to perform repairs

(Newser) - Half of the International Space Station's cooling system has suddenly shut down, forcing the astronauts on board to power down equipment and face the likelihood of urgent spacewalking repairs. After huddling today, NASA managers gave preliminary approval for a pair of spacewalks, the first of which would take place later...

Texas Beautician Busted in Spy Probe

She's accused of smuggling high-tech scopes

(Newser) - A beautician who splits her time between Russia and Texas has emerged as America's latest sexy spy since she was busted for trying to smuggle high-tech night vision scopes to Moscow, according to the FBI. Federal officials acting on a tip confiscated the scopes from Anna Fermanova, 24, at New...

Parasailing Donkey's Owner Won't Face Charges

Russian officials say animal is OK

(Newser) - The owner of a donkey that went parasailing over a Russian beach , terrifying both the animal and onlookers, will not face animal cruelty charges, the Moscow News reports. The donkey, a female, "is clinically healthy," a local official tells AFP , adding that the owner didn't see any problem...

Flying Donkey Sparks Animal Cruelty Probe

Terrified animal goes parasailing, scaring Russian beachgoers

(Newser) - Russian police are investigating a possible case of animal cruelty after a donkey was forced to parasail over a beach resort, terrifying not only the animal but sunbathing families who watched from below. "The donkey screamed and children cried," a police rep tells AFP . "No-one had the...

Scores of Drunk Russians Drown Amid Heat Wave

Hundreds try to swim, fail

(Newser) - With temperatures in Moscow flirting with a 98.6F record, a staggering number of Russians, most of them drunk, are drowning in their attempts to cool off in the city’s lakes and ponds. Just yesterday, 49 people in the country drowned, including two children, a government official tells Reuters...

12th Russian Spy, a Microsoft Employee, Busted

Moscow grills returned spy ring

(Newser) - As the busted Russian spy ring is interrogated back in Moscow, US authorities deported a 12th alleged member of the group: Alexey Karetnikov, a 23-year-old who was working as a software tester at Microsoft's Washington state headquarters. Karetnikov's Facebook page shows he was married and worked not only for Microsoft...

Spy Swap Talks Started Weeks Before Arrests

Agents' kids sent to Russia or planning to go

(Newser) - The 14-person spy swap executed today at an airport in Vienna grew out of talks that started in June—weeks before the Russian spies living in the US were arrested—and the White House knew about the sleeper agents in February, reports the Washington Post . Meanwhile, the Russian agents' kids...

Deal Could Swiftly End Russian Spy Case

Will get off with little to no jail time, deportation

(Newser) - The Russian spy ring case appears to be hurtling towards some kind of conclusion. The spies will strike a simple plea deal, get off with little or no jail time, and be deported back to Russia, according to New York Times sources. But there could be more intrigue afoot. Over...

Twitter Imposter Mocks Medvedev
Twitter Imposter Mocks Medvedev
Jul 6, 2010 10:32 AM CDT

Twitter Imposter Mocks Medvedev

'Kermlin Russia' dodges country's media crackdown

(Newser) - Dmitri Medvedev has discovered one of the great joys of Twitter: the satirical impersonator account. Just days after the Russian president sent his first dispatch from his @KremlinRussia page, another account—called @KermlinRussia —is delivering mocking responses to his dispatches. One, for example, poked fun at his attempts to...

Accused Spies: Yes, We're Russian

Virginia couple appear in court, want kids sent to Russia

(Newser) - Two suspects in an alleged spy ring have admitted they are Russian citizens living in the US under false identities, prosecutors said today. The defendants known as Michael Zottoli and Patricia Mills told authorities after their arrest their real names are Mikhail Kutzik and Natalia Pereverzeva, prosecutors said in a...

Spacecraft Spins Out Approaching Space Station

Russian cargo ship is stocked with fresh food and clothes for ISS crew

(Newser) - A Russian spacecraft lost control and missed docking with the International Space Station today, floating past the station and into space. Progress 38 is an unstaffed cargo ship filled with stores of fresh food, clothes, and equipment for the ISS crew. Progress' autopilot somehow lost its navigational lock on the...

Beauty Spy's Dad 'Was KGB Agent'

Ex-hubby not surprised by Anna Chapman's bust

(Newser) - Alleged deep-cover Russian spy Anna Chapman may have been following in her father's footsteps, says her British ex-husband. The Russian-born beauty "told me her father had been high up in the ranks of the KGB," Alex Chapman tells the Telegraph . "She said he had been an agent...

US, Russian Experts Chuckle at Feckless 'Spies'

Operation viewed as 'nutty' throwback

(Newser) - To espionage experts, the 11 alleged secret agents busted as members of a Russian spy ring look like something straight out of the spy spoof Burn After Reading: inept amateurs relying on outdated, cliched methods and delivering very little useful intelligence. One former CIA boss called the operation "nutty"...

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