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Obama's Missile Move Leaves Allies in the Lurch

(Newser) - President Obama’s decision to scrap plans for a missile defense shield is a political bombshell, writes Robin Oakley for CNN. America’s allies in Poland and the Czech Republic are left holding the bag after expending significant political capital on the unpopular system. Abandoning it might make their lives...

US to Shelve European Missile Shield

Kremlin delighted as Obama administration ends Bush program

(Newser) - The Obama administration will scrap Bush-era plans to build a missile defense shield in eastern Europe, sources tell the Wall Street Journal—a move expected to delight Russia, which has strongly opposed the program. Washington is basing its decision on a new, more modest assessment of Iran's long-range missile capabilities....

Russia Lends Chavez $2B in Arms Deal

Chavez to beef up weapons to rebuff expected attack by 'the empire'

(Newser) - Russia has agreed to lend Venezuela more than $2 billion to buy Russian-made weaponry to ward off what the South American country sees as an imminent US-Colombian attack, reports the BBC. "With these rockets, it is going to be very difficult for them to come and bomb us,"...

Russia Puts Kibosh on Iranian Nuclear Sanctions

Calls Iran 'a partner that has never harmed Russia'

(Newser) - Russia wouldn’t support another round of tough UN sanctions against Iran, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said yesterday, throwing a major wrench into Barack Obama’s Middle East strategy. It’s also a sign that Obama’s plan to “reset” relations with Moscow is on the rocks. “We’...

Chávez in Russia for Military Spending Spree

Venezuela recognizes breakaway republics ahead of arms deal talks

(Newser) - Hugo Chávez arrived in Moscow today, where the Venezuelan president is reportedly ready for an arms "shopping spree." Chávez is ready to buy at least 100 tanks for $500 million, reports the Times of London, and a Kremlin aide said Venezuela may get loans for helicopters,...

Melting Ice Opens Arctic to Trade, But US Lags

Climate change opens north to shipping, tourism, resource development

(Newser) - Climate change is melting away the main barrier to business in the Arctic—ice—but the US lags behind other countries seeking to exploit the region, the Anchorage Daily News reports. As receding ice opens the area to shipping, resource exploitation, and tourism, it's Russia and Canada who have established...

Journo Who Broke Russian Pirate Story Flees Country

Mikhail Voitenko says he knows more than he can tell about Arctic Sea 's cargo

(Newser) - The Russian journalist who was first to report on the disappearance of the Arctic Sea cargo ship has fled the country after receiving threats, the Guardian reports. Mikhail Voitenko, who speculated that the ship may have been carrying a secret cargo of weapons or "something much more expensive and...

Russian High Court Reopens Case of Murdered Journalist

Suspicion of Anna Politkovskaya's killers leads to Chechnya

(Newser) - Russia's supreme court ordered a new investigation into the murder of Anna Politkovskaya, the crusading journalist whose killers have not yet been found, reports the Guardian. The move received a cautious welcome from Politkovskaya's lawyer, who welcomed a new manhunt but said, "Whether the general prosecutor will use this...

'Reborn' Jesus Leads Vegans in Russia

Known as Vissarion, former traffic cop preaches against war

(Newser) - A former traffic cop in Russia has declared himself a reincarnation of Jesus and amassed a following of 5,000 devotees, including artists and intellectuals, the Daily Mail reports. Sergei Torop, "reborn" as "Vissarion" after losing his job in 1991, preached against the evils of war and harming...

US May Scrap Polish, Czech Missile Sites; Russia Pleased

Alternative sites in Turkey and the Balkans under consideration

(Newser) - The White House may drop sites in Poland and the Czech Republic where the Bush administration planned to build a billion-dollar missile defense shield, the New York Times reports. The alternative plans under consideration would please Russia and Germany but strain ties with Eastern Europe, where the Obama administration's review...

South Korea Launches Space Rocket
South Korea Launches
Space Rocket
Aug 25, 2009 6:44 AM CDT

South Korea Launches Space Rocket

First attempt from own soil; satellite aboard fails to reach orbit

(Newser) - South Korea's first rocket blasted off into space today following an aborted attempt last week and just months after its rival North Korea drew international ire for its own launch. A problem quickly surfaced, however, when the satellite the rocket was carrying apparently failed to enter its intended orbit. ...

Russia Arrests 8 in Ship Hijacking

(Newser) - Russia's navy arrested eight men accused of hijacking the Arctic Sea freighter near Sweden and forcing the crew to sail to West Africa, the defense minister said today. The suspected hijackers were detained by the naval vessel that found the Russian-crewed freighter yesterday off Cape Verde, thousands of miles from...

Russians Find Mystery Ship, Crew Alive Onboard

(Newser) - The Russian ship that mysteriously disappeared nearly three weeks ago has been found off the West African coast, with all 15 crew members aboard, Russia’s defense minister announced today. The crew is now aboard the Russian frigate that found them. The defense minister said the crew was not under...

Novel About Corruption May Be Kremlin Official's Work

Close to Zero portrays bribes, fraud as commonplace in contemporary Russia

(Newser) - A novel about a publisher navigating Russia’s complex web of political favors and payoffs may have been written by a top Kremlin official, the Moscow Times reports. Sources at Russky Pioner magazine, which published excerpts of Close to Zero before its release last month, say Vladislav Surkov, a powerful...

Was Missing Ship Taken by Pirates—or Spies?

(Newser) - As Russian warships search for missing merchant ship the "Arctic Sea," speculation is swirling, with many theorizing that the vessel was carrying more than its reported $1.3 million load of timber. “There was probably some sort of secret cargo,” the editor of Russia’s Sovfracht...

Ship Vanishes From English Channel

Secret cargo of drugs or arms may be behind maritime mystery

(Newser) - The Russian navy has deployed warships and submarines in search of a cargo ship that mysteriously disappeared from European waters, the Telegraph reports. The Russian crew of the Arctic Sea, which was transporting a load of timber worth nearly $2 million, reported being attacked by pirates in Swedish waters on...

Angry Russian Hurls Cup at Mona Lisa

Really, really miffed that she was denied citizenship

(Newser) - A Russian woman distressed that France had refused to grant her nationality took out her frustration on a defenseless national treasure, Reuters reports. “The woman threw an empty cup at the Mona Lisa, but there was no damage as the cup smashed when it hit the screen protecting the...

August Is a Snooze— Unless These Crises Hit

Iran, Afghanistan won't spend summer snoozing

(Newser) - August is a snooze—except when it isn't, writes Anne Applebaum for the Washington Post, who points out that World War I and Saddam Hussein's invasion of Kuwait began in the eighth month. For the benefit of "the interns who are manning the shop while everyone is out of...

Blogger Blames Kremlin for Twitter Meltdown

(Newser) - The Georgian blogger who was taken offline in the cyberattack that shut down Twitter on Thursday believes Moscow is the culprit, he tells the Guardian. The economics professor, who goes by the online name Cyxymu, says he believes Russian authorities targeted him with the denial-of-service attack because of his persistent...

Twitter's Meltdown: Blame the Russians?

(Newser) - So why did Tweets fall silent for much of today? One leading theory traces the problem to the unlikeliest of places—the conflict between Russia and Georgia, CNET reports. It goes like this: A pro-Georgia blogger with accounts on Twitter, Facebook, and the other sites affected by today's slowdown attracted...

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