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A bomb planted on the rails derailed a freight...

A bomb planted on the rails derailed a freight train in Russia"s North Caucasus republic of Dagestan in the early hours of Sunday, a local police source said.

(Adds details in paras 8, 9) MOSCOW, April...

(Adds details in paras 8, 9) MOSCOW, April 29 (RIA Novosti) - Russia"s Admiral Panteleyev missile destroyer has detained a boat carrying 29 suspected pirates off the Somali coast, the Russian Defense Ministry said on Wednesday. A new task force from Russia"s Pacific Fleet led by the destroyer joined anti-piracy operations on Monday off the Horn of Africa. "A search of the detained vessel resulted in the discovery of seven Kalashnikov assault rifles, several handguns, portable navigation equipment, fuel canisters, and a large number of spent cartridges," the ministry said in a statement. "This leads us to believe that these pirates could have been involved in two unsuccessful attacks on a Liberian-flagged tanker with a Russian crew on board, which passed through this area on Tuesday with a shipment of oil en route to Singapore. The total number of people detained is 29," the statement said. The Russian maritime journal Sovfrakht reported on Tuesday that the NS Commander tanker, partly owned by Russia"s Novoship company, had been attacked by Somali pirates on Monday about 120 miles east of the Yemeni island of Sokotra. The 23-men crew successfully repelled the attempted hijack and the ship continued on its way to its destination. At the time of the attack, the tanker was about 130 miles from the Admiral Panteleyev, which is an Udaloy-class missile destroyer armed with anti-ship missiles, 30-mm and 100-mm guns, and Ka-27 Helix helicopters. A senior Russian navy official said later on Wednesday the navy was holding talks with littoral states along the Gulf of Aden as it looked to hand over the pirates. "We are holding talks with foreign officials on the pirates," the official said. "We plan to hand them over to a regional country soon for investigation." Around 20 warships from the navies of at least a dozen countries are involved in anti-piracy operations off Somalia. According to the United Nations, Somali pirates carried out at least 120 attacks on ships in 2008, resulting in combined ransom payouts of around $150 million.

Afghanistan"s parliament voted on Saturday...

Afghanistan"s parliament voted on Saturday to reject most of the nominees put forward by President Hamid Karzai to serve in his new Cabinet.

A group of NATO experts will visit Moscow...

A group of NATO experts will visit Moscow on February 10 to discuss the alliance"s future plans, NATO official representative James Appathurai said on Tuesday.

An executive order on the formation of the...

An executive order on the formation of the “Russian Arctic” national park was signed last summer. Gennady Danilov, director of the federal natural reserve located on the territory of the archipelago, believes that the park ought to include Franz Joseph Land. It currently includes the northern part of the island Novaya Zemlya and several neighboring islands. In an interview with RIA Novosti correspondent Alexander Kuleshov Danilov argues for the creation of a single, specially protected natural park. He also explains what could attract tourists to the Arctic and details the potential environmental threats Franz Joseph Land faces.

A Russian human rights veteran and her group...

A Russian human rights veteran and her group, Memorial, were nominated for the 2010 Nobel Peace Prize, Russian media reported on Wednesday.

A second wave of economic crisis is unlikely...

A second wave of economic crisis is unlikely in Russia but the country is braced for a long period of recovery after the global financial meltdown, a senior Central Bank official said on Wednesday.

A vessel belonging to the environmental...

A vessel belonging to the environmental organization Greenpeace will arrive in St. Petersburg on Wednesday as part of an anti-nuclear tour in protest against the import of French spent nuclear fuel to Russia, Greenpeace Russia"s press service said.

Background radiation level is normal at...

Background radiation level is normal at the Volgodonsk nuclear power plant in south Russia after an emergency shutdown, the Russian nuclear watchdog Rosenergoatom said on Sunday.

BRUSSELS, January 7 (RIA Novosti) - Bulgaria...

BRUSSELS, January 7 (RIA Novosti) - Bulgaria has offered the European Commission to reanimate its Kozloduy nuclear power plant, mothballed over EU accession requirements, the Belgian Libre Belgique newspaper reported on Wednesday. The Bulgarian proposal is being viewed as a way to ensure European energy security amid the gas conflict between Moscow and Kiev, which halted Russian natural gas transit via Ukraine earlier on Wednesday. Other East European states are also seeking to reduce energy dependence on Russia. Lithuania, which receives Russian gas via Belarus, is also seeking to extend the life of the second reactor of its Ingalina nuclear power plant, while Poland insists that the construction of the Nabucco pipeline project to pump Caspian gas to Europe bypassing Russia be sped up, the paper said. The authorities at the Belgian port of Zeebrugge, which has a large liquefied gas storage facility, said it could meet gas demand in Western Europe. Zeebrugge, one of Europe"s major gas terminals, receives liquefied gas shipped from Qatar and Algeria, and also has two pipelines pumping gas from Norway and Britain. The Russian gas monopoly said that so far this year, European consumers had failed to receive more than 86 million cubic meters of gas, tapped by Ukraine. Russia demanded that Ukraine make up the volume from its own reserves. Kiev closed on Wednesday the fourth, final gas pipeline pumping Russian gas to Europe. The latest closure added Austria, the Czech Republic, Romania and Slovakia to the growing list of countries receiving no Russian gas. The three other pipelines were closed on Tuesday, ending deliveries via Ukraine to Hungary, Serbia, Macedonia, Croatia, Bulgaria, Turkey, Greece, and Bosnia. Supplies to Italy, Poland, France and Slovenia are seriously disrupted.

China seized 28.8 tons of drugs and arrested...

China seized 28.8 tons of drugs and arrested some 91,000 people, including 5,560 foreigners, on drug-related charges in 2009, Xinhua news agency reported.

Colombia is looking to attract Russian investment...

Colombia is looking to attract Russian investment in any sector and is prepared to offer potential investors all necessary guarantees, Colombian Foreign Minister Jaime Bermudez said on Monday.

Egypt will build its first nuclear power...

Egypt will build its first nuclear power plant in the Mediterranean coastal town of El-Dabaa, reviving the country"s civilian nuclear power program after more than two decades, the El-Ahram newspaper said on Monday.

Former head of Yukos oil giant Mikhail Khodorkovsky...

Former head of Yukos oil giant Mikhail Khodorkovsky, who is being tried for grand theft, told the court on Wednesday that charges against him were absurd because he could not steal both oil and the profits from its sale.

Fugitive Russian businessman Mikhail Gutseriyev...

Fugitive Russian businessman Mikhail Gutseriyev, the former head of mid-sized oil firm RussNeft, has been reelected to the company"s board of directors.

Fugitive Russian businessman Yevgeny Chichvarkin...

Fugitive Russian businessman Yevgeny Chichvarkin said on Sunday he believed his mother was murdered and he would not return from Britain to attend her funeral.

Gazprom has started drilling its first exploration...

Gazprom has started drilling its first exploration well in Africa in the El Assel onshore region in Algeria, the Russian energy giant said in a statement on Monday.

Gazprom"s gas exports declined 13.4% in...

Gazprom"s gas exports declined 13.4% in 2009, year-on-year, to 205.8 billion cu m amid reduced natural gas demand, the Russian energy giant said on Monday.

Mirax Group will continue the construction...

Mirax Group will continue the construction of a Moscow skyscraper set to be one of the tallest buildings in Europe, an executive said on Wednesday.

Moscow and Astana have a common view of...

Moscow and Astana have a common view of how to turn the OSCE into an effective international organization, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said after talks with his Kazakh counterpart Kanat Saudabayev in Astana.

MOSCOW, April 28 (RIA Novosti) - The crew...

MOSCOW, April 28 (RIA Novosti) - The crew of a Russian tanker has successfully repelled an attack by pirates off the Somali coast, the Russian maritime journal Sovfrakht reported.

MOSCOW, April 7 (RIA Novosti) - Russia"s...

MOSCOW, April 7 (RIA Novosti) - Russia"s country code top-level domain .ru name celebrated its 15th anniversary on Tuesday. There are currently around 40 million Internet users in Russia and some two million country-specific domain names, the Russian Network Information Center said. "In such a short period, the Internet has gone from an exclusive toy into a phenomenon which has embraced the whole world and is available to every third citizen in the country," said Mark Tverdynin, who chairs the regional public center for Internet technology. In the last few years, the number of Russian Internet users has grown significantly. In 2004 according to a survey by Global Reach, there were just 22 million Russians using the Internet, while in 2008, RNIC said the number had grown to 34 million people. Russia plans to launch a national domain name .rf - Russian Federation - written in the Cyrillic script instead of Latin. The domain is aimed at raising the importance of Russian as a global language. Russian is also the ninth most popular language among Internet users with 38 million people according to data available from the Internet World Stats site. In November 2008, .rf was approved by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers following a request by President Dmitry Medvedev. The registration process could start by summer 2009.

MOSCOW, December 9 (RIA Novosti) - The United...

MOSCOW, December 9 (RIA Novosti) - The United States be successful in Afghanistan although it will be difficult, the top U.S. military commander in the war-ravaged Central Asian country said Tuesday.

Moscow expects talks on the simultaneous...

Moscow expects talks on the simultaneous accession of Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan to the World Trade Organization (WTO) to be concluded in the near future, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Wednesday.

MOSCOW, February 5 (RIA Novosti) - The implementation...

MOSCOW, February 5 (RIA Novosti) - The implementation of bilateral Russian and Bulgarian energy projects is particularly important in these times of global financial crisis, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said Thursday.

Moscow is considering a request to send...

Moscow is considering a request to send weapons to Afghanistan but will not send troops, Russian Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov said on Friday.

MOSCOW, July 21 (RIA Novosti) - A Russian...

MOSCOW, July 21 (RIA Novosti) - A Russian rocket carrying one military and one civilian satellite lifted off on Tuesday from the Plesetsk space center in northern Russia, a spokesman for Space Forces said.

MOSCOW, July 30 (RIA Novosti) - Zoloto Kamchatki...

MOSCOW, July 30 (RIA Novosti) - Zoloto Kamchatki, the gold mining arm of the Renova asset management group controlled by billionaire Viktor Vekselberg, said on Wednesday it intended to hold an initial public offering in 2009. Zoloto Kamchatki, with a current market capitalization of around $1 billion, intends to offer a blocking interest of 25% to investors to raise $250-270 million for further development, the company"s CEO, Andrei Shutov said. The company currently invests in its development using its own funds and loans. The company"s liabilities stand at $50 million. Zoloto Kamchatki expects to increase annual gold output to 12 metric tons by 2012, Shutov said, adding that the company"s gold reserves would suffice for 20 years of stable operations. Zoloto Kamchatki reported an 80% increase in revenues in 2007 to 1.15 billion rubles ($48 million), with net profit amounting to 93.1 million rubles ($4 million). The company produced around 2 metric tons of gold in 2007 or 64% more than in 2006.

MOSCOW, June 10 (RIA Novosti) - Russia's...

MOSCOW, June 10 (RIA Novosti) - Russia's Black Sea Fleet warships will take part in several international drills in the Mediterranean and the Black Sea later this year, a Navy spokesman said on Tuesday.

MOSCOW, November 1 (RIA Novosti) - Rescuers...

MOSCOW, November 1 (RIA Novosti) - Rescuers have found flight recorders from a Russian Interior Ministry plane that crashed in Yakutia in the Far East early on Sunday, killing all eleven crewmembers, the TV channel Vesti said on its website.

MOSCOW, November 27 (RIA Novosti) - Muslims...

MOSCOW, November 27 (RIA Novosti) - Muslims in Russia join the Islamic world on Friday in celebrating Eid al-Adha, Festival of Sacrifice, or Kurban Bairam, as it is called by Russian and Central Asian Muslims.

MOSCOW, October 1 (RIA Novosti) - Russia"s...

MOSCOW, October 1 (RIA Novosti) - Russia"s Reserve Fund decreased 3.7% to 2.298 trillion rubles ($76.37 billion) while the National Welfare Fund shrank 0.9% to 2.764 trillion rubles ($91.86 billion) in September, the Finance Ministry said on Thursday.

MOSCOW, October 22 (RIA Novosti) - The Russian...

MOSCOW, October 22 (RIA Novosti) - The Russian Interior Ministry will buy two Israeli-built unmanned aerial vehicles in 2010, a senior police official said on Thursday.

MOSCOW, October 27 (RIA Novosti) - The Russian-British...

MOSCOW, October 27 (RIA Novosti) - The Russian-British joint oil venture TNK-BP said on Tuesday its U.S. GAAP net profit had increased 34% year-on-year in July-September 2009 to $1.7 billion.

MOSCOW, October 5 (RIA Novosti) - The United...

MOSCOW, October 5 (RIA Novosti) - The United States Olympic Committee (USOC) has offered Russia its assistance in the preparation for the 2014 Winter Olympic Games in line with a cooperation agreement with the Russian Olympics Committee.

MOSCOW, September 19 (RIA Novosti) - Tehran"s...

MOSCOW, September 19 (RIA Novosti) - Tehran"s attempts to deny the Holocaust are inadmissible and do not contribute to the establishment of an effective international dialogue on Iran, a Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman said on Saturday.

MOSCOW, September 1 (RIA Novosti) -- Moscow...

MOSCOW, September 1 (RIA Novosti) -- Moscow high school students know very few, if any, names of Russian scientists, Minister of Education and Science Andrei Fursenko told the Trud daily newspaper. Commenting on the results of a Moscow survey conducted prior to the new academic year, the minister said: "It is a pity that young people do not know the names of many outstanding Russian scientists. This is not surprising, though. This ignorance is a reflection of the public"s approach to science." According to the survey, which was conducted among 100 Moscow high school students, Russian science became prominent thanks to Polish astronomer Nicholaus Copernicus (1473-1543), American computer magnate Bill Gates, and Russian politician Vladimir Zhirinovsky, a deputy speaker of the Russian parliament"s lower house better known for his publicity stunts. Most of the respondents knew about Dmitry Mendeleyev and his periodical table (26%) and Mikhail Lomonosov (18%), after whom Moscow University is named. But only three students recognized the name of nuclear physicist Andrei Sakharov, a Nobel Prize winner and a human rights champion. Nearly half the teenagers did not know what to say at all. According to Fursenko, modern society views a scientist as somebody who is not very successful and gets a pittance for hard work, whereas "Bill Gates is admired and envied because he is wealthy and famous worldwide."

Moscow, September 30 (RIA Novosti) - There...

Moscow, September 30 (RIA Novosti) - There are about 180,000 web-sites on Runet, the Russian Internet domain, the head of the Russian Federal Agency for Print and Mass Media said Friday. "This is a gigantic amount," Mikhail Seslavinsky told a new conference in Moscow. He said that the about 400,000 domains registered in the Russian segment of the Internet were a huge resource for developing Runet. Seslavinsky also said the number of Internet users in the country had grown by 35% to 15-17 million people last year and that 30% of users were students. The 19,000 educational and scientific Web sites in Russia account for 11% of the total figure, a large amount, he said.

Nobel laureate Roger David Kornberg, a U.S...

Nobel laureate Roger David Kornberg, a U.S. biochemist and professor of structural biology at Stanford University School of Medicine, will co-chair the scientific-technical council of the Russian "Silicon Valley," Skolkovo, the first deputy head of the presidential administration said.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il has constructed...

North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il has constructed a secret bunker in preparation for foreign invasion or even a civil unrest in the country, a British newspaper has reported.

North Korea on Thursday moved to reopen...

North Korea on Thursday moved to reopen talks with the South on resuming cross-border tours to a scenic mountain area and a border town, which were halted in 2008.

On Christmas Eve, the oil arm of Russian...

On Christmas Eve, the oil arm of Russian energy giant, Gazprom Neft, initialed a contract with the Iraqi government to develop the Badra oilfield in the south of the country. On December 29, Russia"s second-largest crude producer by output, LUKoil, will sign a framework agreement with the Iraqi Oil Ministry on the development of Iraq"s largest oilfield, West Qurna 2.

Photographers and moviemakers staged demonstrations...

Photographers and moviemakers staged demonstrations at Uzbek embassies in Moscow and Paris on Thursday in support of Uzbek photographer Umida Akhmedova, who has faced prosecution in her homeland over her "non-conformist" art.

Police in Mexico have arrested a leader...

Police in Mexico have arrested a leader of a key drug gang, the local Universal newspaper has said.

PRAGUE, October 21 (RIA Novosti) - Prague...

PRAGUE, October 21 (RIA Novosti) - Prague expects the U.S. to present new specific U.S. missile defense proposals, Czech Deputy Foreign Minister Tomas Pojar has told RIA Novosti.

Road accidents in China decreased by 10.1%...

Road accidents in China decreased by 10.1% in 2009 against the last year, with the death toll and the number of injured dropping by 7.8 % and 9.8% respectively, Xinhua news agency said.

ROSTOV-ON-DON, November 1 (RIA Novosti)...

ROSTOV-ON-DON, November 1 (RIA Novosti) - An Interior Ministry building in Ingushetia came under fire on Sunday from rocket-propelled grenades and automatic weapons, with one police officer injured, a spokesman said.

RUSSIA

Russia carried out on Friday the first flight...

Russia carried out on Friday the first flight test of its fifth-generation fighter and revealed some details of its concept and design.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov will...

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov will arrive in Germany on Friday on a visit that will see talks with his German counterpart and participation in a security conference in Munich.

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev sent his...

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev sent his Iraqi counterpart, Jalal Talabani, condolences on Monday over the deadly suicide bombings that killed more than 40 people, the Kremlin said.

Russian prosecutors have not yet received...

Russian prosecutors have not yet received information from Dresden, Germany, on corrupt practices at the high-tech corporation Hewlett-Packard, the Russian prosecutor general said on Wednesday.

Russian State News & Information Agency...

Russian State News & Information Agency RIA Novosti has launched a multimedia platform, which will collect and post pictures and videos made by everyday Internet users, who have witnessed a remarkable event.

Russia"s environmental regulator said on...

Russia"s environmental regulator said on Wednesday that the Russian-British joint oil venture TNK-BP may lose its license to develop a huge gas field in Siberia over a failure to comply with the terms of the agreement.

Russia"s nuclear chief Sergei Kiriyenko...

Russia"s nuclear chief Sergei Kiriyenko has estimated the country"s program on the disposal of weapons-grade plutonium at between $2.5 billion and $3 billion.

Russia"s plans to take out foreign loans...

Russia"s plans to take out foreign loans may not be realized due to high oil prices and uncertainty about the government"s budget deficit, a business paper reported on Monday.

Russia"s United Aircraft Corporation (UAC)...

Russia"s United Aircraft Corporation (UAC) said on Monday it does not plan to enter a lucrative contract to replace the U.S. Air Force"s fleet of aerial tankers.

Russia urged Israel on Wednesday to end...

Russia urged Israel on Wednesday to end settlement construction in occupied Palestinian territories and lift the blockade of the Gaza Strip to pave the way for the restart of peace talks.

Six activists of Hizb ut Tahrir al-Islami...

Six activists of Hizb ut Tahrir al-Islami, an Islamic organization considered terrorist in Russia, will go on trial on charges of extremist activities in Russia"s predominantly Muslim republic of Bashkortostan.

Switzerland"s decision to ban the construction...

Switzerland"s decision to ban the construction of mosque minarets has sparked criticism from politicians and religious figures worldwide.

Tensions between Tehran and the UN nuclear...

Tensions between Tehran and the UN nuclear watchdog over Iran"s nuclear program will not affect the construction of the Islamic Republic"s first nuclear power plant, a Russian senator said on Tuesday.

The ailing Russian car giant AvtoVAZ said...

The ailing Russian car giant AvtoVAZ said on Wednesday it planned to increase output more than 50% in 2010 to 446,000 vehicles in an apparent bid to compensate for a slump in sales last year.

The bombs that went off on a railway track...

The bombs that went off on a railway track in the Republic of Dagestan in Russia"s North Caucasus can be seen as the continuation of the recent terrorist attacks in Russia, a high-placed security officer said.

The bombs that went off on a railway track...

The bombs that went off on a railway track in the Republic of Dagestan in Russia"s North Caucasus can be seen as the continuation of the recent terrorist attacks in Russia, a high-placed security officer said.

The International Court of Justice opened...

The International Court of Justice opened on Tuesday hearings on the legitimacy of Kosovo"s unilateral declaration of independence from Serbia.

The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names...

The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) has registered Russia"s national Cyrillic domain as .аЂа„, the Russian Press and Communications Ministry said on Friday.

The new Russian-U.S. arms reduction pact...

The new Russian-U.S. arms reduction pact, to be signed on April 8 in Prague, will face problems on its way to ratification, Russian daily Kommersant said on Monday.

The Russian and U.S. presidents, Dmitry...

The Russian and U.S. presidents, Dmitry Medvedev and Barack Obama, signed on Thursday a new treaty on the reduction of strategic offensive weapons to replace the START 1 treaty, which expired in December 2009.

The Russian Defense Ministry has not abandoned...

The Russian Defense Ministry has not abandoned its plans to create a military police system and is currently studying foreign experience in the field, Minister Anatoly Serdyukov said on Tuesday.

The Russian Defense Ministry is still searching...

The Russian Defense Ministry is still searching for the wreckage of the Russian Air Force Su-27 Flanker fighter jet, refuting earlier statements the plane was found, a spokesman for the Russian Defense Ministry said.

The Russian parliament will again discuss...

The Russian parliament will again discuss ratification of an additional protocol to the European Convention on Human Rights on Friday, more than three years after it rejected the document.

The Soviet ambassador to the U.S. during...

The Soviet ambassador to the U.S. during the Cuban Missile crisis has died at the age of 91, the Kremlin said on Thursday.

The United States called on Israel to halt...

The United States called on Israel to halt settlement construction in East Jerusalem, which has become the main obstacle to reviving peace talks between Israel and Palestine authorities, Haaretz newspaper said Monday.

The United States will allocate $7 billion...

The United States will allocate $7 billion in 2011 to maintain the country"s nuclear complex, $600 million more than Congress approved in 2009, U.S. Vice President Joseph Biden said in a Wall Street Journal article.

The UN World Food Program has halted its...

The UN World Food Program has halted its humanitarian operations in a number of southern Somali regions due to escalating attacks from armed groups, the organization said on its website on Tuesday.

Toxic gases and ash released during the...

Toxic gases and ash released during the eruption of an Icelandic volcano pose no health threat to Europeans and will only have short-term effects on weather and precipitation, a Russian scientist said.

Vietnam is turning into a major buyer of...

Vietnam is turning into a major buyer of Russian armaments after India, with several contracts worth billions of U.S. dollars signed recently, a Russian expert said on Wednesday.

Washington"s plans for a missile defense...

Washington"s plans for a missile defense shield do not presently constitute any threat to Moscow"s strategic interests, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Tuesday.

WORLD

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