Russia

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Putin Scraps News Agency Founded in 1941

Kremlin forming new Russian Information Agency

(Newser) - RIA Novosti and Voice of Russia are no more. Russian President Vladimir Putin has shut down the state-owned news agencies in a surprise move, reports the BBC . The Kremlin is creating a new Russian Information Agency, according to the Hollywood Reporter , which will be led by Dmitry Kiselev, a pro-Kremlin...

German President to Boycott Sochi Olympics

Joachim Gauck cites Russia's human rights abuses

(Newser) - German President Joachim Gauck has become the highest-profile political figure to say "nyet" to next year's Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia. The former pastor, whose position is largely ceremonial, says he plans to stay away because of the Putin regime's human rights abuses and harassment of the...

Banned at Next Olympics: Brake Fluid

Weather-tracking gear, Thermoses, TVs are among barred items

(Newser) - Those attending the Sochi Olympics in February should be careful what they pack. Officials have unveiled a list of banned items, and it's full of some rather odd selections. Among them, via Mashable :
  1. You won't be able to bring in antifreeze or brake fluid.
  2. All your meteorological gear
...

Russian Diplomats Charged in $1.5M Medicaid Fraud

More than 3 dozen diplomats and their spouses accused of faking births

(Newser) - More than three dozen Russian diplomats and their spouses enjoyed luxury vacations and spent tens of thousands of dollars at the finest stores as they lied about their incomes to get the government to pay their health care bills, federal prosecutors in New York said today. The diplomats were among...

Hackers Post 2M Facebook, Google, Yahoo Passwords

Most common one? '123456'

(Newser) - Some 2 million user credentials for Facebook and other top services have appeared on a Russian-language website, likely thanks to malware installed on users' computers, experts tell the BBC . They believe a crime ring was probably behind the dump, which claimed to include 318,121 Facebook usernames and passwords, along...

US Knows Russia Violated Nuke Treaty: Report

Kerry was briefed as senator before becoming secretary of state, says Daily Beast

(Newser) - Russia has not only violated a major nuclear arms treaty, but the US knows about it and doesn't seem willing to confront Moscow, according to a report in the Daily Beast . The story by Josh Rogin says two top White House officials told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee behind...

Deal Near? Kerry Heads to Iran Talks

Uranium enrichment rights remain point of contention

(Newser) - In the event that an Iranian nuclear deal appeared close, six world powers' head diplomats were poised to head to Geneva, the New York Times notes—and now John Kerry is doing just that. Already today, Russia's foreign minister did the same; Britain's foreign secretary has tweeted that...

Russia Fines Gaga Promoter Over 'Gay Propaganda'

Mom upset her 13-year-old girl saw fake lesbian sex

(Newser) - A Russian woman complained after her 13-year-old daughter attended a Lady Gaga concert in St. Petersburg last year and was subjected to "advocacy" of drinking alcohol, plus two women pretending to have sex. Sounds fairly tame when it comes to a Gaga show, but apparently not so in Russia:...

Russian Plane Plunged Vertically Into Ground

Investigators still not sure what caused crash

(Newser) - Investigators still aren't sure what caused a Russian plane to crash last night , killing everyone on board, but an official says video shows that the Tatarstan Airlines plane "was vertical, practically vertical" as it plunged into the runway. The pilot had tried to land the Boeing 737 several...

Missing Pussy Rioter Found in TB Hospital

She hasn't been sent to Siberian prison

(Newser) - Contrary to recent reports , incarcerated Pussy Riot troublemaker Nadezhda Tolokonnikova has not been shipped off to a Siberia prison—she's been shipped off to a Siberian hospital. Tolokonnikova has been off the grid for a while now, and yesterday, Russia's prison ombudsman said she'd been transferred to...

Protester Nails His Testicles to Red Square

Pyotr Pavlensky makes a painful statement about Russian apathy

(Newser) - Never let it be said that Pyotr Pavlensky isn't committed to his work. The 29-year-old Russian artist stripped naked and then nailed his scrotum to the cobblestone of Moscow's Red Square yesterday afternoon, just outside of the Lenin Mausoleum, the BBC reports. He sat that way for an...

Miss Venezuela Now Miss Universe

Gabriela Isler, 25, is TV personality

(Newser) - A 25-year-old Venezuelan who appears on TV in her country and is an accomplished flamenco dancer is the new Miss Universe. Gabriela Isler was crowned in the pageant at a sprawling exhibition hall on Moscow's outskirts. In the excitement just after the announcement, the tiara fell off Isler's...

Big Meteor Strikes Way More Common Than Thought

Chelyabinsk-size strike happens every 30 years or so

(Newser) - A meteor strike like the one in Chelyabinsk, Russia , earlier this year might seem like a once in a lifetime event, but a new study in Nature says that isn't the case. Using data from sensors around the world, researchers found that big asteroids have hit Earth's atmosphere...

Family of Pussy Riot Member Says She's Cut Off

Husband hasn't heard from her in nearly 2 weeks since transfer

(Newser) - The family of jailed Pussy Riot member Nadezhda Tolokonnikova accuse Russian authorities of trying to cut her off from them and the outside world, reports BuzzFeed . Tolokonnikova's husband says he hasn't had any contact with his wife since she got shipped off by train to a new prison...

80-Year-Old Headbutts Bear, Lives to Tell Tale

Oh, and he got tossed off a cliff, too

(Newser) - As far as survival stories go, this one is pretty impressive: An 80-year-old Russian man encountered a bear in a raspberry field last week, and didn't exactly take it lying down. Yusuf Alchagirov fed the bear a few kicks and headbutts, and also tried to stab it with a...

Israel Strikes Syria Base: US Official

Warplanes hit Russian missiles: reports

(Newser) - Israeli planes struck a Syrian military base housing missiles, a White House official tells CNN ; Israel was reportedly concerned the missiles—which the AP says were of Russian origin—could be passed to Hezbollah. Israel's government hasn't confirmed the attack, though regional reports pointed to a blast at...

Snowden Gets a Job
 Snowden Gets a Job 
Oct 31, 2013 7:05 AM CDT

Snowden Gets a Job

Doing tech support for unnamed Russian website

(Newser) - Call in for tech support in Russia and you might just get Edward Snowden on the line. Yes, the NSA leaker has gotten a job doing technical support for what his lawyer says is a "major Russian website," the AP reports, citing RIA Novosti. He won't name...

Russia Gave Out Great G20 Swag, Er, Malware: Reports

USB sticks, cables in gift bags were spy tools, say 2 papers

(Newser) - Amid the uproar over NSA spying come reports that Russia gave G20 delegates at last month's summit an unexpected surprise in their gift bag: malware. That's according to two Italian newspapers, which report that among the swag handed out to guests were USB sticks and cellphone recharging cables...

US Warns Intel Partners: Snowden Has Dirt on You

Some countries not publicly allied with the US are involved

(Newser) - American officials are quietly and delicately alerting intelligence services around the world that Edward Snowden made off with documents that could out them as US collaborators, government sources tell the Washington Post . Countries around the world—some of which are not officially US allies—have been helping the US gather...

Female Suicide Bomber Behind Russia Bus Blast

Death toll stands at 6

(Newser) - A bomb blast rocked a passenger bus in the southern Russian city of Volgograd today, and officials say a female suicide bomber was behind the attack, which killed six people and injured about 30. The suspected bomber, 30-year-old Naida Asiyalova, was from the North Caucasus, a region in southern Russia...

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