48 min ago | Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Chechen human rights activist abducted in Moscow
A Russian rights group said Chechen authorities on Thursday abducted a human rights advocate in Moscow who has been critical of Chechnya's Kremlin-backed leader.
5 hrs ago | FOX6Now.com - WITI
Sweden OKs Russian-German gas pipeline in Baltic Sea,...
Sweden on Thursday became the second nation to approve a Baltic Sea pipeline that would ship Russian natural gas to Germany, saying the project meets its demands to protect the marine environment.
9 hrs ago | www.guardian.co.uk | coolncrazy
Britain and Russia must be partners
Reset or repair? David Miliband's much-anticipated visit to Moscow, the first of a British foreign secretary in over five years, has not produced a major breakthrough in bilateral relations between the UK and Russia.
But there is a now a unique chance to do more than just mending fences. Britain has the opportunity to press the "reset" button and gradually turn enhanced co-operation into a strategic partnership, much like President Obama has sought to do since talks with his Russian counterpart, Dmitry Medvedev, in the Kremlin in early July.
9 hrs ago | www.independent.co.uk | coolncrazy
America is performing its familiar role of propping up a dictator
Could there be a more accurate description of the Obama-Brown message of congratulations to the fraudulently elected Hamid Karzai of Afghanistan? First the Palestinians held fair elections in 2006, voted for Hamas and were brutally punished for it – they still are – and then the Iranians held fraudulent elections in June which put back the weird Mahmoud Ahmadinejad whom everyone outside Iran (and a lot inside) regard as a dictator. But now we have the venal, corrupt, sectarian Karzai in power after a poll far more ambitiously rigged than the Iranian version, and – yup, we love him dearly and accept his totally fraudulent election.
10 hrs ago | www.reuters.com | coolncrazy
Merkel, Obama agree to liaise on Opel, Germany says
German Chancellor Angela Merkel has agreed with U.S. President Barack Obama to coordinate on the future of Opel after General Motors' surprise decision to keep the unit, a German government spokesman said on Thursday.
In a telephone conversation with Merkel late on Wednesday, Obama said he had not been involved in the surprise decision by the GM board which has angered the German government.
10 hrs ago | www.reuters.com | coolncrazy
Opel workers in Germany vent anger at GM
Thousands of Opel auto workers in Germany downed tools on Thursday to show their anger at U.S. parent General Motors for its decision to abandon a Russian-backed rescue plan.
10 hrs ago | www.reuters.com | coolncrazy
Russia says GM pouring U.S. scorn on Europe
Russia accused General Motors of showing the United States' scorn of business with Europe by abandoning its sale of Opel, whose German workers went on strike on Thursday.
Thousands of auto workers protested at German factories, demanding independence from a company they said had betrayed them by reversing a decision to sell a majority stake in Opel to a Russian-backed consortium.
11 hrs ago | www.reuters.com | coolncrazy
Sweden, Finland approve Nord Stream pipeline
A plan by Russian-German consortium Nord Stream to build a gas pipeline under the Baltic Sea cleared two major hurdles on Thursday as Sweden and Finland signed off on construction across their waters.
"Sweden gives permission for Nord Stream to lay 2 pipes on the continental shelf within the Swedish economic zone in Baltic Sea for the transport of natural gas," the government said in a statement.
12 hrs ago | en.trend.az | Trend_News
Russia to use troops abroad only in "extreme emergency": Medvedev
14 hrs ago | en.trend.az | Trend_News
Russia's policy inadequate toward Georgia: official
17 hrs ago | en.trend.az | Trend_News
Azerbaijan not needs Gabala RLS technically: Azerbaijani Deputy FM
Armenian-Turkish protocols are only a stage of resolving situation in South Caucasus
Russia's swine flu death toll climbs to five
A woman has died of swine flu in the Siberian Krasnoyarsk region, bringing Russia's death toll in the pandemic to five people, the regional health minister said on Thursday.
www.washingtonpost.com | coolncrazy
Italian court convicts 23 Americans in CIA rendition case; extradition undecided
An Italian court on Wednesday convicted 22 CIA operatives and a U.S. Air Force colonel of orchestrating the kidnapping of a Muslim cleric here in 2003 and flying him to Egypt, where he said he was tortured.
In rendering the verdict, the judge in the case, Oscar Magi, acquitted three other Americans, including the former Rome station chief for the CIA, saying they were covered by diplomatic immunity.
GM decision to not sell Opel unit surprises Russia
Georgian FM protests against Russian area codes in Abkhazia
Man committing a crime in Russia arrested in Baku
Georgian FM abandons Russia's citizenship
German officials express disappointment over failed Opel deal
German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Wednesday expressed her disappointment over the U.S. General Motors (GM)'s decision not to sell Germany's Opel to the Magna-Sberbank consortium, German media reported.
Merkel, who said GM's decision was a "defeat," requested the country's economics minister, Rainer Bruederle, to raise the issue at Wednesday's cabinet meeting, Handesblatt reported. The German government has earlier pledged support for Opel only if it is sold to the consortium.
GM decides against selling Opel to Magna-Sberbank
U.S. General Motors (GM) board of directors decided against selling Germany's Opel to the Magna-Sberbank consortium and to retain its big European car division, Germany's DPA news agency reported.
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