Police detain Russian opposition protesters

Russian police detained dozens of anti-government activists in Moscow and St. Petersburg on Sunday.

They were the latest in a series of protests that Russian opposition leaders call on the last day of every month with 31 days, with the date a reference to the 31st Article of the Russian Constitution, which guarantees freedom of assembly.

This month, however, the activists in Moscow adopted a new tactic and about 100 of them sat down near a central square in what appeared to be an attempt to demonstrate that their protest would be peaceful.

Moscow police, who usually break up the opposition protests, also appeared to have taken a new approach. The police said they would not detain the activists Sunday as long as they posed no danger to pedestrians.

After two hours, however, the activists stood up and began to march toward the Kremlin. Police moved in quickly and detained dozens.

In St. Petersburg, police said about 50 protesters were detained
.

Two Ukrainians hospitalized after accident in Bulgaria

The Foreign Ministry of Ukraine has confirmed that two citizens of Ukraine have been hospitalized following a bus crash near Byala (Bulgaria).

"Two Ukrainian citizens are at the hospital with moderately severe injuries. Two more Ukrainians stayed with them, including the husband of one injured woman and the friend of an injured man," the ministry spokesman, Oleksandr Dykusarov, told Interfax-Ukraine.

According to him, the rest of Ukrainians that were in the bus are in satisfactory condition and are returning to Ukraine. The spokesman did not stipulate the exact number of Ukrainians.

"At the moment, the consul of Ukraine to Bulgaria is at the hospital to give the maximum assistance to his compatriots," he said.

Formula 1 Powerboat racing to favor investments, Yanukovych says

Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych has said that the holding of the Formula 1 Powerboat racing (F1H2O) in Vyshgorod in Kyiv region will promote a rise in investment attractiveness of Ukraine and formation of its positive image on the international field.

"Dear race participants and guests! I congratulate you with a remarkable event - Formula 1 Powerboat racing Grand Prix. Our country won the honorable right to host the race, which is evidence of Ukraine's openness for the world community and stability of its economic growth," reads a greeting of the head of state to the race organizers, participants and guests. "I'm glad to welcome teams from Italy, Qatar, China, the United Arab Emirates, Sweden, Portugal and the United States – the elite of the F1H2O. I wish successful starts, good finishes and new victories to participants and vivid impressions from this fascinating sports event to viewers," the press service said, citing Yanukovych. On Friday it reported that Yanukovych will not take part in the Formula 1 Powerboat racing on the Kyivske Sea due to an accident in Sukhodilska-Skhidna coal mine in Luhansk region.

Tymoshenko to demand withdrawal of judge at next hearing

ormer Prime Minister and leader of the Batkivschyna all-Ukrainian movement Yulia Tymoshenko will demand the withdrawal of presiding Judge Rodion Kireyev and the prosecutors during the next hearing in the "gas case" at Kyiv's Pechersky District Court.

"I think there will be the traditional withdrawal of the judge, because we're now documenting all of the violations the judge commits during the day," Tymoshenko told reporters outside the Pechersky Court in Kyiv on Friday.

Clearly, if any obvious and inadmissible violations occur, then the next day we will petition for his withdrawal," Tymoshenko said.

She said she would also demand the withdrawal of the prosecutors because "the prosecutors are servicing political repression" against her.

On Friday, Judge Kireyev announced a break in the "gas trial" until August 1.

Russia: Nine drown as Moscow pleasure boat sinks

A pleasure boat has sunk on the Moscow River in Russia's capital, drowning nine people, officials say.

Seven of the 16 on board were rescued, they said. The boat is reported to have been hosting a birthday party and is suspected to have been overcrowded.

Reports say the boat, the Swallow, collided with a barge in the early hours of Sunday morning.

The accident comes three weeks after a tourist boat sank on the Volga river in Tatarstan, killing more than 100.

Local media quoted witnesses as saying the Swallow was moving erratically on a 200m-wide bend before colliding with the barge.

The deputy emergency minister Alexander Chupriyan said: "After the collision, the motor boat was pulled under the bottom of the barge."

The accident took place close to the city's Luzhniki sports stadium.

The captain of the barge helped rescue some of the survivors.

Mr Chupriyan said inquires were focusing on the owner and captain of the Swallow, Gennady Zinger, who was one of those who died.

He said Mr Zinger had violated rules three times in the past, including exceeding the boat's capacity of 12.

Witnesses said a Turkish national had been hosting a birthday party.

Another official involved in the investigation, Vladimir Markin, told the Associated Press news agency that one of the survivors had said he worked at the US embassy.

Three weeks ago the 80m (260ft) Bulgaria - a double-decker river cruiser built in 1955 - listed during a thunderstorm on the Volga river and sank in minutes, trapping many passengers inside.

About 80 people were rescued.

Officials said the boat was designed for 140 passengers and crew but it had been carrying 208 people. It also lacked the correct licences and one of its engines was not working, prosecutors said.

Russian police arrested the director of the company that rented the boat and a ship registrar who certified it.

75 Percent of Russians Trust the President

Surveys conducted by the "Public opinion" (FOM) fund and the All-Russian Center for Public Opinion Research (VTsIOM) showed that the overall approval rating of the current president is 75 percent. There is an increase in the ratings of Dmitry Medvedev, Vladimir Putin, and the "United Russia".

The surveys conducted by the fund "Public opinion" show stability and some growth in the rating of President Dmitry Medvedev. To the question "Do you trust or not trust Russian President Dmitry Medvedev," 46 percent of respondents answered "Yes, I trust". "Somewhat trust" was the answer of 28-29 percent of the Russians. That is, the overall rating of the president is up from 73 to 75 percent.

The rating of Prime Minister and leader of the "United Russia" Vladimir Putin showed stability and some growth. The "United Russia" has nearly the same level of approval as its leader. In addition, the ranking shows a great momentum. In mid-June, according to FOM, the rating of the "United Russia" was 42 percent, while the poll conducted on July 16-17 showed that if elections were held next Sunday, 46 per cent of the Russians would vote for the party. Similar results - 46 percent - were secured by the "United Russia" in the polls conducted by VTsIOM.

Other parties did not bring any surprises either. The Communist Party, according to both sociological services, has its own stable 10-12 percent, the Liberal Democratic Party - 8-10 percent, "Fair Russia" - 3-5 percent, "Just Cause" and "Apple" - one percent each, "Patriots of Russia" - 0-1 per cent.

Leonid Polyakov, head of the Political Science department of the High School of Economics believes that the rating of Dmitry Medvedev, Vladimir Putin and the "United Russia" is largely an integral indicator of the public trust in the authorities in general. In this regard, in his opinion, it is important that the ratings of the three subjects of the political life are not "jumping", and undergo only minor changes. "These numbers show a stable political system and the preferences of the electorate are also stable," said the analyst. "This suggests that in the coming election campaign the" United Russia" is in a good place to guarantee itself a solid majority in the Duma."

President of the National Strategy Institute Mikhail Remizov also believes that the ratings of Dmitry Medvedev, Vladimir Putin and the "United Russia" "stick together" and depend on each other. "Synchronicity of these changes suggests that the Russian society perceives them as a wholesome power team," says Remizov. "In this sense, the differences in the images of Putin and Medvedev are more interesting to politicians, political scientists, experts, journalists than to the public. For the public, they are a team that is responsible for the government. "

Obviously, the campaign of 2011-2012 election cycle that has already begun will change a few numbers and redistribute them between the participants in the electoral process. For example, political scientists and even the chairman of the supreme council of the party "United Russia" Boris Gryzlov predict that "Just Cause" party will pick up from 5 to 7 percent in the elections to the Duma. Accordingly, the "right", whose rating now hovers around the statistical error, will take these percentages from someone.

The rating of the "United Russia" is very likely to grow, according to political analysts. First, Vladimir Putin and his party will traditionally "share" the votes - the "United Russia" will endeavor to actively reinforce the link "Putin - the "United Russia" in the minds of the voters. Second, the rating of the "United Russia" should be positively affected by All-Russia Popular Front. When the electoral roll includes not just party members, but also ordinary citizens who won the primaries, this cannot but evoke sympathy of the potential voters.

It is worth noting that the rating of the "United Russia" is 46 percent prior to the start of the campaign, which is a very good indicator. The "United Russia" has enough time and resources to conduct a competent campaign and secure the majority of votes in the Duma. In addition to those who already know who they will be voting for (46%), there is a large number of undecided voters. These are the voters the "United Russia" will have to work with in the first place.

Top secret: Terminators of the Soviet Union

American historian Jeff Strasberg in his book provides considerable evidence that within the period from 1936 to 1941 the Soviet Union was working on top secret project to create super-soldiers. He argues that the experiment involved some 300 volunteers of young age and cites numerous eyewitness accounts.

The soldiers were not stuffed with chemicals or drugged out. They were implanted gold electrodes in their brains, eliminating the pain center. Their limb bones were replaced with titanium implants that protected the soft tissues against landmines or shells, as well as from gunshot injuries. In this case, any injury was not threatening and would not cause crushing bones and amputations.

Strasberg said that the experiment involved some 300 volunteers of young age (although participation was rather forced than voluntary). All the soldiers had to sign the non-disclosure, and the disclosure of the "military secrets" would result in death.

Half of the participants later left for the military districts, and the other half formed a special landing unit. A week before the start of World War II it was relocated to the Brest region, where on the first day of the war it was completely destroyed by the German artillery. Perhaps the Nazi intelligence reported about the "super-soldiers" in advance.

However, another 150 victims of horrific experiments on human flesh were still alive. Perhaps, there were more than 150. In 1945, American allies captured a secret medical facility in Germany. Inside there were dozens of autopsies that belonged to the Soviet troops. The bones in their bodies were replaced with steel prosthesis. There was a body of an officer with metal ribs. Several people were made dwarfs. They would become pilots, as stunted people were less vulnerable to the enemy and could take more fuel and ammunition on board the aircraft.

The work of the center for the production of the "universal soldiers" was interrupted with the outbreak of World War II. Nearly all of its employees had been mobilized into the army and died at the front. It is not ruled out that the intelligence agencies took care of it as such witnesses were dangerous if left alive.

After the war the project was shut down as non-beneficial. A nuclear bomb was created, and the idea of soldiers-terminators was deemed obsolete.

As it turns out, Strasberg's book was not the only source of information about the "super soldiers."

In 1994, Vitebsk physician Sergei Konovalenko found remains of a man at an old cemetery at the outskirts of the city. Obviously, one of the graves sapped the river water and the contents rose to the surface. He was surprised that a bony skeleton was connected with metal prosthesis on hinges. The prosthetics clearly replaced the human bones, not just arms and legs. Each of them displayed a star with hammer and sickle, and the inscription: "Kharkov. 05.39. ASCH."

Konovalenko did not touch his finding since he thought it to be sacrilege. Two days later he was passing by again, but the mysterious remnants have disappeared. They were either washed away by rain into the river, or picked up by someone.

Sergei could not forget about this story and decided to investigate. He found out that before the war there was a secret center of military prosthetics in the city of Vitebsk. At the center the limbs and joints of healthy Red Army soldiers were replaced by artificial ones.

During his "investigation" Sergei Konovalenko came across a copy of a video tape intended "for official use." The footage looked horrible: a soldier's leg is cut at the knee and the bone is pulled out, then something metallic is tucked in its place. At the same commentator says that the operation is performed without anesthesia, as the pain center was removed from the human brain. The soldier exposed to these brutal manipulations is smiling. In the second part the soldier's arm is cut off at the elbow - a fountain of blood is splashing. And again, the "volunteer" has a humble smile on his face.

According to Konovalenko, many died after such surgeries since foreign parts were rejected by the human body. The majority of the soldiers with disabled pain centers subsequently developed brain tumors or mental illnesses. The Soviet military surgeons did not manage to create an army of invincible soldiers, although still won the war.

Ukraine Shows The Fastest FDI Growth In CIS

KIEV, Ukraine -- Ukraine is the leader among the Commonwealth of Independent States in the foreign direct investment growth, according to the United Nations trade and development body annual report on global foreign direct investment.

Foreign direct investment flow into Ukrainian economy increased by 35% up to USD 6,5 bln in 2010, making Ukraine one of the leading investment recipients in the CIS region.

Ukraine, Russia, and Kazakhstan are the three leaders in the CIS region as to the amounts of the Foreign Direct Investment inflow.

Ukraine demonstrated an FDI increase in the amount of 35% which is the highest rate for the CIS countries in 2010.

Comparatively, the increase of the FDI flow to Russia in 2010 constituted only 13%, whereas Kazakhstan´s index dropped by 27,5%.

Recently, the global rating agency Fitch Ratings raised Ukraine´s long-term foreign credit rating from stable to positive.

The significantly smaller budget deficit this year has been stated as one of the reasons for the revision of Ukraine´s rating.

Also, the economic recovery and spending restraint along with parliamentary approval of an unpopular pension reform contributed to Fitch´s decision to mark Ukraine´s economic advances.

Notably, according to the World Investment Report 2011, the Ukrainian FDI flow constitutes 23% of gross fixed capital formation.

At the same time, the average rate for the CIS is 15,1% and for the world - 9,1%.

The UN report states that throughout 2010 the foreign investments continued to be affected by the recovery of industries and international trade.

Despite reports that the global industrial production and world trade approached the levels of 2008, the FDI flow at the end of 2010 still remains below its pre-crisis average and far below its 2007 peak.

Ukraine´s progress, according to the experts, is believed to be triggered by the improvement of the macroeconomic situation in the country.

The UN World Investment Reports have been published by the UN since 1991.

They focus on worldwide FDI trends, at the regional and country levels.

The reports contain recommendations as well as put special emphasis on the development implications that influence the FDI trends.

Ukrainian Oligarch Takes To The Sky

KIEV, Ukraine -- Igor Kolomoisky, a multi-billionaire with roots in Ukraine’s lucrative industry and energy sectors, took a major step towards forming a new European airline on Friday.

Shareholders of Climber Sterling, the financially troubled Danish airline, approved a share issue that will bring Kolomoisky in as a strategic investor with a majority stake.

Kolomoisky is believed to have paid just over $30 million for majority control over the debt-laden airline.

In a statement to shareholders, Climber’s management said that Kolomoisky’s arrival as a shareholder through Mansvell Enterprises, his Cyprus-registered investment vehicle, was more than a step towards keeping the Danish airline up in the air.

The management at Climber Sterling wrote in a letter to shareholders ahead of the vote approving the decision that Kolomoisky plans “to use Climber Sterling as a platform for establishing a larger Nordic airline in collaboration with the two Swedish-based airlines, Skyways and City Airline, already taken over by Mansvell.”

Control over the three regional European airlines, which operate dozens of Embraer, Fokker and MD brand aircrafts, could be just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to Kolomoisky’s plans.

According to Climber, Kolomoisky also owns leading airlines whose routes stretch from Ukraine to other former Soviet countries, Europe and the Middle East.

“Igor Kolomoisky, who also holds interests in Ukrainian aviation through interests in companies such as Aerosvit and Dniproavia, … is also the principal shareholder of a number of Portuguese-based leasing companies,” Climber said its letter.

Aerosvit currently operates a fleet of 16 short-range Boeing 737 and seven longer-range Boeing 767 passenger aircraft.

Along with its smaller Ukrainian airline partners, including Dniproavia, the group also carries passengers on Airbus 320-class aircraft, Embraer 321, 145 and 195s, as well as Ukrainian An-148 planes.

But there could be yet more to this up-and-coming airline tycoon.

Earlier this month, a Latvian publication called NRA, reported that Kolomoisky could, after closing the Climber acquisition, be eyeing air Baltica.

Kolomoisky was not immediately available to comment on his plans. Calls to his mobile went unanswered.

And so, the question in the minds of many airline top managers is: could this Ukrainian known for having deep pockets have plans to consolidate all these regional carriers into one of Europe’s next big low-cost airline?

Ukraine Mourns 25 Dead In Mine Accidents

LUHANSK, Ukraine -- Ukraine on Saturday announced a day of mourning and a memorial service after at least 25 miners were killed in two separate accidents in the country's notoriously perilous coal pits.

President Viktor Yanukovych announced the day of mourning for Sunday, while Prime Minister Mykola Azarov is to attend a funeral service for victims the same day and meet their relatives.

Rescuers on Saturday recovered the body of an 18th victim after an explosion early Friday at the Sukhodolskaya-Vostochnaya coal mine in the eastern Luhansk region, the emergency ministry said, with eight still missing.

The toll from a separate accident hours later also rose to seven with four missing after a mine headframe collapsed at the Bazhanova pit in the town of Makiyivka in the neighbouring Donetsk region.

The twin disasters were the country's worst mining accidents since more than 100 miners died in a mine explosion in 2007.

The blast hit the Sukhodolskaya-Vostochnaya mine at around 2 am on Friday, in an air passage at a depth of more than 900 metres (2,950 feet), where 28 miners were working at the time, the emergency ministry said.

"The provisional explanation is a methane explosion," the regional administration said Saturday.

On Saturday, "eight miners remained trapped in the disaster zone," the regional ministry said, without indicating whether they were likely to be alive.

Rescuers have begun clearing gas from an emergency access tunnel into the mine, in order to go down in search of the missing miners, a spokeswoman for the Luhansk regional administration told AFP.

But Albina Kosheleva said there was little hope of finding more miners alive.

"I can't say anything about this. It is unlikely," she said.

Two miners pulled from the debris and hospitalised in the city's burns unit remained in "an extremely serious condition, on the verge of life and death," Kosheleva added. A third survivor died in hospital on Friday.

Azarov would be attending a funeral service for 11 of the dead miners on Kosheleva said, adding that he would also hold an official meeting with relatives.

In the separate accident in a state-owned mine in the Donetsk region, a 65-metre-high tower containing the headgear for raising and lowering miners into the shaft collapsed Friday, trapping workers.

"Seven people died, four are hospitalised and the fate of four is unknown," the emergency ministry said in a statement. "The search and rescue operation is continuing."

The concrete tower crashed to the ground, collapsing into a mass of rubble, tangled with wires, photographs released by the local emergency ministry branch showed.

Yanukovych interrupted his holiday to travel to the scene of the Sukhodolskaya-Vostochnaya accident late Friday and meet relatives of victims and survivors.

He also called for a government commission to investigate the disasters and to work on improving safety standards to protect miners.

The Sukhodolskaya-Vostochnaya mine is run by a private holding called Metinvest Group, which is controlled by Rinat Akhmetov -- Ukraine's richest man who bankrolled Yanukovych's presidential campaign in 2010.

Deadly accidents are frequent in Ukrainian mines, most of which are located in the country's industrial eastern region. Many of the mines are underfunded and poorly equipped, while safety violations are rife.

Democracy On Trial

KIEV, Ukraine -- Brawling broke out this week at the trial of Ukraine’s former prime minister, Yulia Tymoshenko, when one of her more vocal supporters refused to leave the courtroom in Kiev.

Mrs Tymoshenko, who is accused of illegally concluding a gas-price agreement with Russia in 2009, even stood on a bench to film the incident on her mobile phone.

Such farcical scenes have become almost routine in a trial that is being watched closely in Europe and America for signs of selective and politicised justice.

Mrs Tymoshenko is no ordinary defendant.

She was a leading light in the 2004 “orange revolution”. She has twice served as prime minister. She is now Ukraine’s most prominent opposition politician.

Only last year she narrowly lost a tight presidential election to Viktor Yanukovich, a former mechanic who was kept out of power by the orange revolution.

Mr Yanukovich has used his first year as president mainly to cement his own power at home, though he has also tried (not always to great effect) to repair Ukraine’s relations with Russia.

Mrs Tymoshenko’s case, which has been heard on and off in a stuffy courtroom in Ukraine’s capital over the past month, offers a lively but disturbing insight into the country.

Mr Yanukovich’s government has framed the trial as part of a new anti-corruption drive, insisting that it is not revenge for past political slights.

Nor, it claims, is it about torpedoing Mrs Tymoshenko’s chances of competing in a parliamentary election next year or in the presidential vote due in 2015.

Yet Mrs Tymoshenko is not facing charges of straightforward graft.

Rather, it seems as if her political record and managerial competence are on trial.

Specifically, the allegations centre on her second stint as prime minister, from 2007 to 2010, when she was called on to resolve one of Ukraine’s perennial gas disputes with Russia, from which Ukraine buys most of the energy that it needs to keep its creaking Soviet-era economy going.

According to state prosecutors, Mrs Tymoshenko exceeded her authority by pushing the gas deal through without consulting her own government, committing a cardinal procedural error.

To compound her alleged sins, they accuse her of striking a bad bargain for Ukraine, losing the country almost $200m.

She is no stranger either to Ukraine’s sharp-elbowed judicial system or to gas: she spent 42 days in jail in 2001 in a standoff with the then president, and in the previous decade she was known as the “gas princess”.

Mrs Tymoshenko denies all the charges.

Endowed with a flair for the theatrical, she has called the judge a monster and the trial a farce, and merrily flouted court protocol.

For his part, the judge has seemed in a hurry, giving her lawyers inadequate time to study thousands of pages of documents.

Mrs Tymoshenko has filed appeal after unsuccessful appeal and changed her legal advisers twice.

She has likened the proceedings to a Stalin-era show trial, and accused Mr Yanukovich of trying to turn Ukraine into a Soviet-style prison camp.

Although that is hyperbole, it is hard to shake off the impression that her trial is politically motivated.

Several of Mrs Tymoshenko’s former ministers have been arrested and jailed. She faces a series of other criminal charges besides the present case.

Indeed, Mr Yanukovich’s credibility and commitment to democracy are in the dock alongside her.

If at the end of it, he is seen to have used the judicial system to settle personal political scores, his espousal of democracy will look hollow.

As it is, a trial designed to enhance his authority, risks undermining it.

Were Mrs Tymoshenko to be jailed (she faces a maximum sentence of ten years), she is likely to emerge as a political martyr.

And Mr Yanukovich would be stuck with precisely the label that he has worked so hard to shed: that of a neo-Soviet autocrat.

Officials: 16 Killed, 10 Missing In Ukraine Mine Blast

KIEV, Ukraine -- A powerful explosion rocked a mine in eastern Ukraine early Friday, killing 16 workers, emergency officials said.

Two workers were hospitalized with burns and emergency officials were working to locate 10 other miners who had worked in the area of the explosion.

The blast hit the Suhodilsk-Eastern mine in the eastern Luhansk region at about 2 a.m. local time Friday at a depth of 915 meters (0.6 miles), the ministry said.

Investigators are working to establish the cause of the explosion.

Ukraine’s coal mines are among the world’s most dangerous due to outdated equipment and poor safety standards.

173rd Airborne BCT Soldiers Jump Into Ukraine With Paratroopers From 5 Nations

YAVORIV, Ukraine -- More than 200 paratroopers completed the first multi-national airborne operation of Exercise Rapid Trident 11 at the International Peacekeeping and Security center here, July 26.

The U.S. Paratroopers of Battle Co., 2nd Battalion, 503rd Infantry Regiment, 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team, U.S. Army Europe were joined by soldiers from Ukraine, the U.K., Moldova, Poland and Canada.

For many of the Battle Co. Soldiers, it was the first time jumping alongside partner nations as well as their first time having a foreign -- in this case Polish -- jumpmaster.

“This is my first time working with this many partner nations and this is my first time being a jumpmaster alongside a partner nation,” said Maj. Jarrett Hunter, operations officer for 2nd Battalion., 503rd Infantry Regiment.

Though the paratroopers speak different languages, the actions remain the same.

“There are some minor differences in the way we do things, but they coordinated well with our jumpmasters and if there was any slip in the translation of anything, then our jumpmasters would repeat it,” said Spc. Harry Spore, also of Battle Co. “Actually it’s probably one of the best exits I’ve ever had.”

“We started out with rehearsals and a lot of them go through the same commands so it worked out really well,” Hunter said.

“They use the same hand and arm signals, they did a great job I thought, so it felt real good,” said 1st Lt. Colby Park, a platoon leader for Battle Co.

Pfc. Dominick Kuczynski, of Battle Co. helped bridge the language gap, translating for the Polish Soldiers.

“It was a good icebreaker for me to go up to the Polish group and introduce myself and start speaking Polish to them,” he said. “I am Polish as you can tell by my last name, so it was a pretty awesome experience talking to them and socializing with them before the jump.”

It became apparent early, however, that no matter one’s country or language, there’s an automatic sense of kinship that gets built between airborne paratroopers and it was on display from the initial brief to the drop zone.

“It was my first time jumping from a big aircraft but it was great. I liked it,” 1st Lt. Serhiy Shulilvov, of Ukraine’s 95th Airborne Brigade said.

“I think having airborne in common provides a different camaraderie,” Park said. “You have something in common that you can relate to and talk about whether that be your parachutes compared to our parachutes, how you land compared to how we land, it definitely has a lot of talking points.”

“It’s a great time, it’s motivating for our Soldiers, and for the partner nation Soldiers,” Hunter said. “It takes a unique person to throw themselves out of a perfectly good aircraft and that right there will bring different nations’ paratroopers together.”

At the end of the day, all Soldiers and countries involved were able to train together and learn more about each other.

“There’s some minor differences in the way we do things but we’re all out here to jump together and get to know each other,” Spore said. “For them show us how they train and for us to show them how we train.”

“I think it’s great because in both theaters this unit (173rd ABCT) has been deployed in we’ve had to work with different partner nations,” Hunter said.

“This gives the youngest Paratrooper on the ground a chance to understand how our partner nations work and get to understand the level of professionalism that they have, and the partner nations get to understand the level of professionalism we have.”

“It’s an excellent experience,” Kuczynski said. “I was curious to see how our allies actually work together and how they jump and the different techniques they use.”

Massive Potential In Ukraine

KIEV, Ukraine -- Viterra's European managing director Christian Joerge believes the current cropping boom in the former Soviet republic of Ukraine is only the tip of the iceberg.

Ukraine has shot to prominence in recent years as a large scale producer and exporter of wheat and barley.

But Mr Joerg, speaking at this week’s Australian Grains Industry Conference (AGIC), said he felt there was still untapped potential in the fertile nation in eastern Europe.

“Ukraine was formerly the breadbasket of Europe, and it can do this again, and maybe fill this role for the world.”

In spite of producing close to 50 million tonnes of grain this year, Mr Joerg said yields were just 20 percent of the European average, due to a combination of a lack of investment and outdated technology.

However, the nation has a huge advantage, Mr Joerg said, due to its fertile soils and good climate for cereal production.

“A third of the fertile cropping soil in Europe is in Ukraine, they have incredible top soil up to two meters deep in places, good water retention and generally favourable conditions.”

Currently, many cash-poor Ukrainian farmers prefer barley, because it is a cheaper crop to grow, but wheat production is on the up.

However, while Ukraine is proving a key source of lower grade, bulk wheat, Mr Joerg said he expected increased global demand to mean added Ukrainian production would not drag world wheat values down.

The nation will have more of an impact on the barley market, where it is already a key player.

Mr Joerg said the end of barley subsidies in the EU meant barley acreages were down there, but Ukraine was happily picking up the slack.

“Barley is an easy crop to grow, and it requires less inputs than wheat.”

Climate change is also unlikely to hurt the nation as much as areas such as Africa and Australia, due to its temperate climate.

Mr Joerg said the Ukrainian supply chain, which has been traditionally regarded as inefficient, was also on the improve.

Ukraine, Russia Moving Towards Clash As Gas Talks Stall: Analyst

KIEV, Ukraine -- Ukraine and Russia are drifting towards another wave of confrontation over natural gas prices as the two governments have failed to make progress in talks over lowering them, an analyst said Thursday.

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has cancelled plans for visiting Sevastopol in Ukraine on July 31, thus delaying indefinitely a meeting with his Ukrainian counterpart Viktor Yanukovych.

The rescheduling of Medvedev's visit, which has been planned on July 30-31, is testimony that Kiev and Moscow are far away from a compromise in the gas issue, said Dmytro Marunich, the head of the Energy Research Institute, a Kiev-based think tank.

Medvedev was expected to arrive in Sevastopol, the home of Russian Black Sea naval fleet in Crimea, to celebrate Russian Naval Day, according to a report by the Sevastopol city government.

Yanukovych, who is currently working from his Black Sea summer residence in Crimea, was supposed to meet Medvedev in Sevastopol, according to the report.

The Ukrainian president earlier this month said he had planned to meet Medvedev before the end of July for an important round of natural gas talks.

Oleksandr Dykusarov, a spokesman at the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry, said the two governments are working to schedule the next meeting, but it is unlikely to take place in July.

The meeting may be postponed until the fall, according to an official at the Ukrainian government who asked not to be named.

The delay underscores a major cooling in relations between Ukraine and Russia over the past seven months, which is reflected in the frequency of their meetings.

Medvedev and Yanukovych met only one time so far this year, on April 26, compared with 11 meetings in the course of 10 months in 2010.

Ukraine has been persistently seeking lower Russian gas price over the past 12 months, but Moscow has refused to cooperate.

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said earlier this year that Ukraine would be able to qualify for lower gas prices in the event of joining a Moscow-led trade block, known as the Customs Union, or merging Naftogaz Ukrayiny and Gazprom.

Yanukovych has less and less time to strike a deal on lowering prices for Russian gas, Marunich said.

Obviously, all other Ukrainian negotiators have already exhausted their potential for the deal.

Ukraine's budget may have to be revised again in September unless the parties fail to agree on lowering gas prices in the fourth quarter, according to Anatoliy Miarkovskiy, the first deputy finance minister.

This may also have a major impact on the country's currency, the hryvnia, prompting its depreciation against the US dollar and triggering an economic turbulence.

The threat of the hryvnia's devaluation will rise considerably, Marunich said.

Unless the agreement is reached within the next several months, the high gas price may play a role of a trigger that will set off a new wave of economic crisis in Ukraine, he said.

Superjet grounded for days

The hyped up Superjet set to take Russian state airline Aeroflot into the future has had a bumpy take off.

Problems with air conditioning have left the first Sukhoi Superjet 100 (SSJ) for regular use grounded for days.

Superjet’s first Aeroflot flight

The SSJ made its maiden registered flight in Aeroflot colours on June, 16, taking VIP passengers including vice PM Sergei Ivanov, Aeroflot general director Vitaly Savelyev and several other ministers to the St Petersburg economic forum.

However, the VIPs did not notice some technical hitches that limited the plane’s spell in the air.

The plane was grounded for 17 days in its first month with Aeroflot, sources close to the airline and the plane’s manufacturer Sukhoi told Vedomosti.

The plane has problems with air conditioning system, particularly with a sensory element that has been sending false signals about system failure.

However, the fault that could only be determined after long diagnostics of the plane does not affect the flight’s safety, the source said.

Superjet is back in the air

The plane took to the skies again on Saturday and eased into its new schedule. It made six flights on July 17 and 18 – from Moscow to Nizhny Novgorod, St Petersburg and Ufa.

The plane completed 60 flights in a month, 101 hours in the air. Aeroflot was hoping for twice as much time in the air, sources said.

Despite being grounded for long periods of time, Aeroflot kept making the leasing payments of $165,000 a month and paid for the repairs.

The bills will later be sent to Sukhoi, keeping with standard global practice.

SSJ has only been put into operation recently. One more SSJ has been in use with Armavia since April. There it made 216 flights (531 hours) and spent only 13 days on the tarmac.

There have been no problems with the aircraft, an Armavia representative said. The plane is used on flights to Athens, Venice, Rome and some Russian cities.

The hopes are that SSJ will take over the baton from TU-134. President Dmitry Medvedev demanded that the old Soviet era aircraft be taken out of service soon after one of them crashed near Petrozavodsk.

Domodedovo bomb hearings to be held behind closed doors

Proceedings against the gang suspected of sending Magomed Yevloyev, 20, to blow up the arrivals hall of Domodedovo airport will be secret.

Meanwhile, the Investigative Committee has announced the reasons for its high-profile raid upon the airport two weeks ago – to establish who owns it.

Investigators are unsatisfied with Dmitry Kamenshchik’s assertions that he is the sole owner.

Investigators are also following a separate criminal probe into how security allowedYevloyev to perpetrate his crime.

Moscow’s Basmanny court ruled on Wednesday that further court hearings should take place behind closed doors to “ensure the safety of the process,” Interfax reported, Lenta.ru cited.

Press will not be admitted even to announcements of court decisions.

Evloyev killed 37 and wounded 160 when he blew himself up on Jan 24. His 16-year-old brother and 22-year-old sister have also been arrested in connection with the fatal attack.

The court has extended custody for brothers Islam and Ilyez Yandiyev, who are likewise implicated.

The police raid earlier this month prompted speculation that the rough tactics were part of an investigation into the circumstances of the attack.

No announcement at the time was given as to why the raid took place. Investigators announced today in a press release that it was to find out exactly who owns the transport hub, Russia’s largest.

But transport analyst Nikita Melnikov at Aton Brokerage was unconvinced. He told The Moscow News soon after the raid that both the bombing and a later incident when a woman managed to board a plane without having bought a ticket were opportunities to probe Domodedovo over ownership.

The state questions Kamenshchik’s ownership, both he and the powers that be have a brittle relationship.

Successful businesses with murky ownership origins have a tendency to fall foul of the authorities, Melnikov said and Domodedovo is likely to continue feeling the heat until it takes on board state recommendations, something Kamenshchik himself complained of a press conference on Tuesday.

Merkel wary of Russian gas

While German Chancellor Angela Merkel restrained from committing to Russian offers of “unlimited gas supplies” at a meeting in Germany this week, Germany’s largest utilities were eying up Russian energy giants for potential deals.

Germany’s main power producer RWE last week announced that it has begun talks with Russian energy giant Gazprom on gas and power joint ventures and media reports on Thursday said that state-owned Energie Baden-Wuerttemberg was in talks with Russian natural gas producer Novatek on the sale of a stake in VNG, east Germany’s largest gas supplier.

Deputy Prime Minister Viktor Zubkov, who chairs the board of Gazprom, said at the bilateral meeting in Hanover that the energy monopoly is hoping for an increase in demand from Germany of 30-35 percent following the country’s decision this year to shut down all of its nuclear reactors by 2022. Russia already supplies Germany with 40 percent of its gas needs.

The German delegation was characteristically stand-offish on the issue, with Merkel committing only to “wait and see what happens.” But analysts say Germany has backed itself into a corner by deciding to phase out all of its nuclear plants and has little other choice than to significantly bump up Russian gas imports.

“There is room to increase supplies of biogas and renewable gas, but these will produce rather small percentage outputs,” said Marcel Viëtor, Program Officer for Energy and Climate at the German Council on Foreign Relations. “To obtain larger supplies, Germany needs additional natural gas imports.” The antics of big German power producers go against the grain of European Commission aims to reduce EU dependence on Russian gas. RWE is a key partner in the European Commissionbacked Nabucco pipeline, which aims to bring gas to Europe from the Middle East via the Caspian Sea.

Merkel told reporters Tuesday that pricing issues were the main obstacle standing in the way of increased Russian gas supplies to Germany. Several European utilities have been negotiating with Gazprom over the past year to cut its fuel prices in long-term contracts, which have become loss-making.“Germany wants to leave room for a lowered price so it will wait until the situation is more settled, probably until 2012,” said Elena Savchik, Oil and Gas Analyst at Moscow-based Aton investment bank. “A 30-35 percent increase is fully realistic in the longrun.”

Dog food' major states his case in Vladivostok

Yury Matveyev, the ‘dog food’ major and whistleblower, started more court proceedings today as a Vladivostok court session opened libel proceedings against him.

Matveyev remains defiant as the court cases stack up, a criminal case got under way on Tuesday at which Matveyev faces charges of assaulting one of his soldiers.

A civil suit which got under way on Friday refutes his Youtube claims that soldiers were fed dog food as corruption was given free rein at a military base in Russia’s far east.

Plaintiffs want Matveyev to apologize and withdraw his claims, Alexei Borovitsky, head of the Eastern Regional Command of Internal Troops of Russia press service, told RIA Novosti. Borovitsky says that three audits have shown that soldiers were not fed pet food.

This flies in the face of another investigation which confirmed many of Matveyev’s allegations but said that they had happened a long time beforehand, that they had been dealt with, and that proceedings were already underway.

An audit in April uncovered $1 million of stolen food at a warehouse in the region, including the tinned beef which was allegedly swapped with dog food.

Matveyev is not giving an inch. “I will not deny what I said and intend to prove the truth of what I said in court,” he told journalists before the court convened in Vladivostok’s Sovetsky district.

The embattled major is already fending off accusations that he kicked a warrant officer in the face as he did press-ups, after he had summoned him to his office.

Matveyev says that witnesses lined up against him had been encouraged with a mixture of threats and inducments and that one of his own witnesses had been intimidated and beaten.

Top Moscow advertising company sold by under-fire Murdoch

Rupert Murdoch, under fire media mogul, is selling his Russian advertising company News Outdoor to investment bank VTB Capital.

News broke on Friday that a consortium including VTB Capital, Alfa Capital Partners and several private investors had closed a deal to buy the company.

“The deal was closed a few hours ago,” Peter Harvey, one of the minds behind the buy up, told RBC. He did not offer details of the agreement. According to one source, “on the whole the original structure of the transaction and its price have not changed,” the paper reported.

“The Board of Directors has appointed Yevgeny Senderov of VTB Capital as president of News Outdoor Russia,” a press release from the bank said

Murdoch was one of several international media figures that paid court to Russia’s burgeoning media industry in the topsy-turvy 1990s.

News Outdoor is a heavy hitter in the billboard advertising business. The advertising hoardings are strewn across the Russian capital and rake in $400 to $4,000 a month.

Departed mayor Yury Luzhkov was slated for his failure to bring widespread display advertising around town under control, they have become a significant source of income for mid-ranking city officials .

This now looks set to change, the bank said in a statement that the new management will, “interact with the federal and municipal authorities to implement programs aimed at improving the appearance of cities,” the press release said.

That comment is perhaps mindful of moves afoot in City Hall, where Luzhkov’s replacement Sergei Sobyanin is set to eliminate large-scale banner advertising.

Bolshoi restoration - opening night draws near

The big restoration of the Bolshoi theatre is drawing to an end – and Spanish tenor Placido Domingo has made the very first appearance on the hallowed boards.

“He was the first foreign star who came out to the restored historical stage and even sang a fragment from [Tchaikovsky’s opera] ‘Queen of Spades’,” Anatoly Iskanov, the Bolshoi’s director told journalists.

And all music lovers will be able to check the revived acoustics of the theatre’s main stage in just few months time, he assured, as the six-year restoration finally faces the final curtain.

The big date has been set for Oct. 28, after a final round of minor delays ended plans to open up on Oct. 11 – the resonant date 11.11.11. A new staging of Glinka’s “Ruslan and Lyudmila”, one the first Russian operas, is to open the long-awaited season.

Sneaking into the premiere won’t be possible for the average opera lover, although it is to be broadcast live on the screens outside the Bolshoi and in 600 cinemas all around the world.

Earlier this month, Vladimir Resin, Moscow’s deputy mayor, said October 17 was the big date.

Tchaikovsky’s ballet “Sleeping Beauty”, Christmas-classic “Nutcracker”, a revival of Mussorgsky’s opera “Boris Godunov” and some performance from the Milan’s La Scala are all on the playlist for the upcoming season.

And some of the performances that are currently running on the theatre’s Novaya Stsena are to be transferred to the historical stage.

The recent premiere of Rimsky-Korsakov’s opera “Golden Cockerel” kick starts the new season on the smaller stage and no plans to move the performance to the main hall have been proposed yet.

During the restoration, the Bolshoi’s interiors have recreated their original appearance. The original unique acoustics of the opera house have been completely revived, Anatoly Iskanov, the Bolshoi’s director told journalists.

Concrete floors in the main hall and the orchestra pit, which prevented the building from collapsing during the Soviet era, have been replaced with state-of-the-art materials that won’t deaden the sound.

And a new underground hall is to be stuffed with modern technology making it a versatile space for different kinds of performance.

Russia calls for missile partnership

Russia wants to be a real partner in NATO’s controversial European missile shield, not just a passive observer.

Dmitry Rogozin, Moscow’s ambassador to the alliance, stated the country’s position in an interview with the Washington Post.

And he complained that the proposed US scheme was disproportionate, saying the Americans wanted to shoot rabbits with a weapon intended to battle with a bear