Author Archive
Posted on July 18, 2012 - by Venik
Syria rebels kill top chiefs of Assad regime in Damascus bomb strike
Three key figures reported dead amid mass troop defections and rumour of flight to Russia of Bashar al-Assad wife Syria’s uprising entered uncharted territory after rebels fighting the regime of Bashar al-Assad killed three of his top security chiefs in a devastating bomb attack in the heart of Damascus – the single worst loss for [...]
Posted on July 18, 2012 - by Venik
Syrian regime ‘spinning out of control’, warns US
Washington calls for ‘maximum pressure’ on Assad to quit and allow transition of power to stop descent into all-out civil war The US has said President Bashar al-Assad was rapidly “losing control” of Syria and that the international community had to act swiftly to stop the country from descending into an all-out sectarian civil war. [...]
Posted on July 18, 2012 - by Venik
Syria crisis: chaos in Damascus as Assad loyalists killed – as it happened
• Defence minister and Assad’s brother-in-law among dead • Russia says ‘decisive battle’ is under way• US defence secretary: Syria is ‘spiralling out of control’• Reports of widespread defections dismissed by regime Read the Guardian’s latest news story on Syria 5pm ET / 10pm BST: That’s it for now, but we will continue to update [...]
Posted on July 18, 2012 - by Venik
Russian oligarchs fire warning shot to BP over TNK-BP’s future
Alfa Access Renova (AAR), the group of oligarchs who own half of the business, formally told BP it wanted to enter into discussions over the future of BP’s stake in the joint venture A fresh dispute between Russian oligarchs and BP over the TNK-BP business opened up on Wednesday over the future of the Siberian [...]
Posted on July 18, 2012 - by Venik
Syria crisis: chaos in Damascus as Assad loyalists are killed – live updates
• Defence minister and Assad’s brother-in-law among dead • Russia says ‘decisive battle’ is under way• US defence secretary: Syria is ‘spiralling out of control’• Reports of widespread defections dismissed by regime 2.29pm ET / 7.29pm BST: The cousin of Syria’s president Bashar al-Assad has said the embattled leader is “not going to step down” [...]
Posted on July 17, 2012 - by Venik
Soyuz space capsule docks with International Space Station – video
A Soyuz space capsule carrying a three-member crew docks with the International Space Station on Tuesday above Kazakhstan Original article Share on bebo Blog this! Bookmark on Delicious Digg this post Recommend on Facebook Share on Linkedin Share via MySpace share via Reddit Share with Stumblers Tweet about it Subscribe to the comments on this [...]
Posted on July 16, 2012 - by Venik
Anna Politkovskaya killing: former Moscow policeman charged
Russian investigators accuse Dmitry Pavlyuchenkov of helping to organise 2006 murder of journalist critical of Vladimir Putin Russian investigators have charged a former policeman with helping to organise the killing of the journalist Anna Politkovskaya almost six years ago. The case, which has come to symbolise the suppression of free speech and the corruption of [...]
Posted on July 16, 2012 - by Venik
Syria crisis: border tribes could finish off Assad regime
The Red Cross’s declaration that Syria is in a state of civil war is an important milestone as government control starts to weaken The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) avoids the words “civil war”. It prefers the blander “non-international armed conflict”, but the meaning is essentially the same, and the ICRC’s declaration that [...]
Posted on July 16, 2012 - by Venik
Russia to make libel a criminal offence
New Russian laws are aimed at making defamation a criminal offence and giving the authorities the power to block websites. They are now awaiting President Vladimir Putin’s signature The defamation bill, as approved by the state duma, would allow judges to levy fines up to 5m rubles (£100,000). An initial proposal to jail offenders was [...]
Posted on July 15, 2012 - by Venik
BP to widen TNK-BP sale talks beyond Russian oligarchs
UK oil firm could net $30bn windfall from 50% stake as it opens discussions with other potential buyers besides AAR consortium BP will open discussions this week with potential purchasers over the sale of its half of joint Russian venture TNK-BP, which could lead to a $30bn windfall. The oligarchs who belong to the Alfa [...]
Posted on July 12, 2012 - by Venik
Oleg Deripaska case: litigant ‘had criminal links’, court told
Michael Cherney, who claims he is owed $1.2bn, is challenged over supposed friendship with Russian oligarch Michael Cherney, the businessman suing Russian billionaire Oleg Deripaska for $1.2bn (£770m), is a criminal who regularly met with organised crime bosses and extorted millions of pounds in protection money, a courthas heard. Deripaska, the influential oligarch who counts [...]
Posted on July 12, 2012 - by Venik
Chess impresario hopes to bring back the Fischer v Spassky glory days
Andrew Paulson, who has won the world championship media and marketing rights for the next 10 years, has big plans Most things in chess need to be seen through the prism of Reykjavík 1972, when American Bobby Fischer played against Boris Spassky of the Soviet Union in a title match which gripped the world. It [...]
Posted on July 11, 2012 - by Venik
Lebedev joins Russian anti-corruption fight with new debit card
Oligarch’s bank to support crime-fighting fund set up by arch enemy of Russian president Vladimir Putin No one knows how much money Vladimir Putin has, or how many credit cards. But if the oligarch Alexander Lebedev has his way, the powerful Russian leader will be the first holder of a brand new card designed to [...]
Posted on July 11, 2012 - by Venik
Alexander Lebedev launches new project against Russian corruption
Oligarch to present Vladimir Putin with debit card, in move that comes as Kremlin tightens screw on internet dissenters Russian oligarch Alexander Lebedev has always sung his own tune. Now the billionaire media magnate has jumped into the ring with anti-Putin activist and blogger Alexey Navalny, just as the Kremlin tightens the screws on dissenting [...]
