Russia 110214 Basic Political Developments

Russia 110214

Basic Political Developments

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  Iran gives a week to airlines to ban Tupolev flights - Iranian airlines have only less than one week to stop flying Russian-built Tupolev-154 following ultimatum of Head of Iranian Civil Aviation Organization Reza Nakhjavani.
  
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  UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navanethem Pillay to continue visit to Russia, until February 19
  
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    Feb 15: Russian President Dmitry Medvedev to hold meeting with UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navanethem Pillay
    
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  Artur Chilingarov, special representative of the Russian president for international cooperation in the Arctic and Antarctic, will arrive on Monday to discuss Russian-Belarussian cooperation in the polar regions with Belarussian Deputy Minister of Natural Resources Vitaly Kulik and members of the Belarussian Academy of Sciences.
  
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  Lavrov heads to London to improve Russian-British relations
  
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    Lavrov begins visit to UK to strengthen positive trends in relations - In general, the Russian diplomat plans to discuss a wide range of issues on the bilateral agenda and pressing international problems, in particular European security, cooperation in Europe’s missile defence project, Russia-EU and Russia-NATO relations as well as the situation in the Middle East and Afghanistan and Iran’s nuclear program.
    
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    A telephone hotline linking the Kremlin and Downing St aims to ease tensions -  A better-encrypted telephone link will be provided for David Cameron and President Medvedev in an echo of the London to Moscow hotline used at the height of the Cold War.
    
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    We are not safe doing business in Russia - Employees are in constant danger of being harassed, arrested and killed, writes William Browder.
    
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    Russian diplomats win in friendly football match - Russian diplomats have beaten their English counterparts with a score of 6:4 in a friendly football match, which took place in London on Sunday.
    
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    MP's Russian assistant accused of spying offered Kremlin TV role - An MP's assistant accused of spying for Russia is on course to follow in the footsteps of Anna Chapman after being offered a job at the Kremlin's English-language TV news propaganda channel.
    
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  Japanese opposition criticize government for anti-Russian rhetoric - "Due to the spontaneous statement by Prime Minister Naoto Kan, the foreign minister's visit to Russia which followed became absolutely pointless," said Shigeru Ishiba, a leader of Japan's major opposition party, the Liberal Democratic Party.
  
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  Some 400 kg hashish seized by Russia, Azeri anti-drug officers -"The three operations resulted in the total seizure of almost 390 kilograms of Afghan hashish, preventing 807,000 one-off doses of dangerous pot from reaching the consumer and the income of over 15 million narcodollars into the criminal world," the FSKN said.
  
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  Developments around Manas Transit Center from Russian journalist’s point of view
  
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  Barred British Reporter Allowed Back Into Russia
  
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  Military satellite, "Geo-IR-2" could turn into space junk
  
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  Medvedev to chair meeting on employment issues -   According to official figures, Russia has registered more than a million and a half unemployed. The most difficult situation dates to 2009, when the total number of unemployed exceeded 9% of the working-age population.
  
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  Medvedev suggests tougher penalty for inciting ethnic and religious hatred
  
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  Medvedev's visit to mosque will consolidate inter-religious peace in Russia - Kadyrov
  
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  Mufti denies Muslim clerics will be put through lie detectors - The interim mufti of the Russian republic of Tatarstan denied as "a lot of lies and slander" allegations that Russian authorities plan to appoint senior Muslim clerics and put them to lie detector tests in fighting religious extremism.
  
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  Moscow court hears defamation case vs Putin - Before Monday's court hearing Nemtsov told the AP he doesn't expect to win but said the fact the suit was admitted is a victory. Russia's courts are notoriously loyal to the state and often used to bury Kremlin opponents.
  
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  Search continues for missing Russian trawler
  
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  23 fishermen missing in Russia: report
  
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  Russian Railways install metal detectors at Moscow Station in St. Petersburg - Employees of the Russian Railways have installed the first frame metal detectors at the Moscow Station in St. Petersburg. From now on, each passenger will have to pass through them to get to the platforms. If the detectors trigger alarm, policemen are going to check the contents of luggage and its owners.
  Russia’s Health Ministry reports 25% decline in tuberculosis cases
  
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  Canadian bison prepare for journey to repopulate Russia - As part of a conservation partnership with Russia, the animals will be flown to the Republic of Sakha, a huge, mountainous swath of Siberian land where the Communist party used to exile its opponents and temperatures can plummet to -60 C.
  
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  FACTBOX-Finans magazine's list of Russia's richest people
  
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  Putin's judo partner jumps in Russia's rich list - Finans magazine said on Monday that Arkady Rotenberg, 59, who as a teenager trained in judo with Putin in St. Petersburg, jumped 17 positions in the list to become Russia's 63th richest person with an estimated wealth of $1.75 billion.
  
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  FT: Record number of Russian billionaires
  
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  Russian Village Is Angry, but Not With Bomber - Residents of this run-down little settlement in the Caucasus Mountains, in the south of Russia, speak only kindly about the Yevloyevs, a tightknit family of six who lived in a one-story, red-brick home at the edge of the village. By ANDREW E. KRAMER
  
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  Reuters PRESS DIGEST - Russia - Feb 14
  
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  RIA Russian Press at a Glance, Monday, February 14, 2011
  
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  Russian cosmonauts imitate landing on Mars
  
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  Two die after trying to ride roof of Moscow metro train
  
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  Al Jazeera English vs. Russia Today - Two takes on Egypt, but only one shown on American television. By Miriam Elder
  
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  The rake of multiculturalism - When resolving inter-ethnic problems, Europe has no authority over Russia Aleksandra Samarina
  
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  Moscow’s armada - Last week Prime Minister Vladimir Putin announced a whopping $678 billion package of new defence spending for the next decade, with a quarter of the money going to revamp Russia’s Pacific fleet. On the Kremlin’s shopping list: 20 new ships, including a new class of attack submarines, plus new missile subs, frigates, and an aircraft carrier. By Owen Matthews
  
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  Russia: The Non-Reluctant Arctic Power - By Dr. Richard Weitz