Russia Bans Former Bush Administration Officials
ThinkStock(MOSCOW) — Russia slapped sanctions on a pair of former top Bush administration officials, two former commanders of the Guantanamo Bay detention center and 14 other Americans in retaliation for a set of human rights sanctions the Obama admi…
Russian Oligarch Boris Berezovsky’s Death ‘Unexplained’
Simon Dawson/Bloomberg via Getty Images(NEW YORK) — Russian oligarch Boris Berezovsky was not killed by chemical or radioactive material, British police said Sunday, but are still calling the 67-year-old’s death unexplained.Berezovsky, once one …
Russian Tycoon Found Dead in UK Home
Simon Dawson/Bloomberg via Getty Images(LONDON) — Russian businessman Boris Berezovsky was found dead in his home outside of London on Saturday morning.The 67-year-old tycoon was a wanted man in Russia and an opponent of Russian President Vladimir Put…
Bolshoi Ballet Dancer Confesses to Acid Attack
Sergei Filin leaves the hospital in Moscow, on Feb. 4, 2013. AFP/Getty Images(MOSCOW) — Three suspects, including a top ballet dancer, have reportedly confessed to carrying out a vicious sulfuric acid attack on Sergei Filin, the artistic director of t…
Adopted Russian Boy’s Death Ruled Accidental in Texas
iStockphoto/Thinkstock(NEW YORK) — The death of an adopted 3-year-old Russian boy has been ruled an accident in Texas. This just a week after Russian officials accused the boy’s adopted parents of killing the child. Authorities said Friday that …
John Kerry and Russian Counterpart Discuss Syrian Conflict
SAUL LOEB/AFP/Getty Images(BERLIN) — Secretary of State John Kerry held talks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Berlin on Tuesday regarding the conflict in Syria.Washington and Moscow have long been at odds at how to best end the two-year…
Gerard Depardieu Officially a Russian Resident
THOMAS WIRTH/AFP/Getty Images(MOSCOW) — French actor Gerard Depardieu is officially a resident of One Democracy Street in the Russian city of Saransk, about 400 miles east of Moscow.According to Russia’s RIA Novosti news agency, the actor travel…
Russian Meteor, Wild Road Madness Exposed in Country’s Dashcam Craze
YURI KADOBNOV/AFP/Getty Images(MOSCOW) — They are the videos everyone is talking about. Rare images of a meteor streaking across the Russian sky in a bright, fast-approaching ball of fire. The drama was captured on numerous dashboard cameras and then …
Moscow Seeks Dialogue to End Syrian Conflict
ALEXANDER NEMENOV/AFP/Getty Images(MOSCOW) — Russia’s top diplomat said on Wednesday that Syria’s warring sides run the risk of “mutual destruction” if they don’t soon reach a settlement to end their conflict that began in March 2011.After talks with …
Russians Blame Texas Parents for Adopted Boy’s Death
iStockphoto/Thinkstock(MOSCOW) — The emergency room death of a 3-year-old boy adopted from Russia is being called “murder” by officials in Moscow, but Texas officials investigating the case say they don’t know where the Russians are getting their clai…
Russian Meteor: Close Encounters and Plans to Prevent Impacts
Chad Baker/Photodisc/Thinkstock(MOSCOW)– As if Friday’s massive meteor explosion over central Russia weren’t enough, just hours later a large asteroid buzzed dangerously close to Earth.And that evening, the California sky was lit up by a f…
Body of Russian Politician Discovered in Barrel of Cement
iStockphoto/Thinkstock(MOSCOW) — The badly-beaten body of a Russian politician was found in a barrel full of cement, in what investigators said they believe was a murder ordered over an $80 million debt.Mikhail Pakhomov was a city council member in Li…
Russian Meteor: Scientists Say Meteor Pieces Found Near Frozen Lake
Chad Baker/Photodisc/Thinkstock(CHEBARKUL, Russia) — Scientists confirmed Saturday the first recovered fragments of the giant meteor that exploded over this region on Friday, according to Russian media. The fragments were found on the edge of a giant …
Russian Meteor: Rushing to Cash in on the Blast
Chad Baker/Photodisc/Thinkstock(CHELYABINSK, Russia) — The shattered glass and broken walls caused by the massive explosion of a monstrous meteor over this remote, industrial Russian city is not even cleaned up, and people are already trying to cash i…
Meteor Falls in Russia, More than 1,000 Injured
Hemera/Thinkstock(MOSCOW) — More than 1,000 people were injured Friday when the largest meteor to strike the Earth in two generations disintegrated above the Russian city of Chelyabinsk located about 1,000 miles east of Moscow in the Ural Mountains.Da…
Russia Considers Cameras to Combat Drunk Airline Passengers
Fog Stock/Thinkstock(MOSCOW) — Russian lawmakers are considering plans to install surveillance cameras inside commercial aircraft as part of the country’s effort to crack down on unruly, often drunk, passengers.Other officials have suggested banning d…
Kristi Yamaguchi Reflects on Olympic Career
Angela Weiss/Getty Images (NEW YORK) — The 2014 Winter Olympic Games are one year away in Sochi. ABC’s Dancing With the Stars champion and 1992 gold medalist Kristi Yamaguchi is teaming up with Team Kellogg’s, working with current athletes as th…
Japan Scrambles Jets in Island Dispute with Russia
iStockphoto/Thinkstock(TOKYO) — The Japanese government lodged a protest with Moscow on Thursday after two Russian fighter jets briefly violated Japanese air space above disputed islands off the northern coast of Hokkaido island, the defense ministry …
US Couple Finally Leaves Russia with Adopted Daughter
Courtesy Kendra Skaggs(MOSCOW) — As she prepared for the biggest journey of her life, a 5-year-old Russian girl named Polina asked visitors, “Are you coming to America with me?”She had only the slightest idea that her adoption by an American couple fr…
Iran, Russia Denounce Missile Batteries on Turkey’s Border with Syria
iStockphoto/Thinkstock(NEW YORK) — NATO’s deployment of Patriot missile batteries in some areas of Turkey’s border with Syria has not just disturbed Damascus but also its close allies, Russia and Iran.Last year, NATO members approved the batteries as …