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Russian Meteor Strike Was Biggest in 100 Years

Sonic shockwave believed to have caused most of the damage

(Newser) - The meteor that struck Russia today was the largest to hit Earth since 1908, releasing hundreds of kilotons of energy, scientists tell Nature . The blast put out so much energy that it was detected by networks designed to pick up infrasound data on nuclear explosions—and indeed, the blast was...

UN Team Unveils Asteroid Defense Plan

On the same day massive rock buzzes the Earth

(Newser) - An asteroid about half the size of a football field will whiz past Earth today, closer than any object of its size ever has before (OK, almost any object ), and a much smaller meteor actually hit Russia this morning, injuring hundreds. But fear not, people of Earth: Soon, we...

Huge Meteor Rocks Russia
 Huge Meteor Rocks Russia 
Feb 15, 2013 7:57 AM CST

Huge Meteor Rocks Russia

950 hurt, 110 hospitalized amid bomb-like damage

(Newser) - A meteor that shattered over Chelyabinsk, Russia, today injured some 950 people, with more than 110 hospitalized, RT reports. Several victims are said to be in "grave" condition, RIA Novosti reports. The 10-ton meteor was traveling at least 33,000mph when it entered the atmosphere, experts say, according to...

Syrian Rebels' New Cash Source: Stolen Artifacts

Fighters have become 'archeologists': rebel

(Newser) - Short on funds, Syrian rebels have been turning to a new source of income: selling snatched artifacts. "Some days we are fighters; others we are archeologists," says a rebel who counts ancient Sumerian tablets among his finds. Fighters, who control most of the top archeological areas, say a...

North Korea Performs 3rd Nuke Test


 North Korea 
 Performs 3rd 
 Nuke Test 
UPDATED
Feb 12, 2013 7:58 AM CST

North Korea Performs 3rd Nuke Test

Obama: Time for 'swift action'

(Newser) - In open defiance of the UN, North Korea has executed its third nuclear test, prompting global condemnation among leaders from the US to Russia to Japan. The latest test involved a "miniaturized and lighter nuclear device with greater explosive force than previously" in 2006 and 2009, the country said....

China at Heart of Sweeping Cyberspying War on US

Economic espionage is costing America billions

(Newser) - The past five years have seen a mammoth international effort to spy on the computer systems of US businesses and other institutions, an intelligence report finds—and China is by far the biggest threat. The goal: to gather economic information to benefit the spying countries, the Washington Post reports. Targeted...

18 Dead in Russia Mine Explosion

10 bodies recovered so far in blast caused by methane buildup

(Newser) - Eighteen people have been killed in an explosion at a north Russia coal mine, the AP reports, after a deadly methane buildup. Ten bodies have been recovered so far in the Komi region mine. An official tells Russian television that just 23 men were in the mine during the blast;...

Japan Scrambles Jets, Says Russia Violated Airspace

As Japan holds rally demanding Moscow return group of disputed islands

(Newser) - Japan's Defense Ministry says two Russian fighter jets briefly intruded into Japanese airspace today off the northern tip of the island of Hokkaido. Japanese jets scrambled after the intrusion by the two SU-27 jets off the coast of Rishiri island, which lasted just over a minute, according to ministry...

Crime War Brews in City Hosting Winter Olympics

Sochi remains tense after mob assassinations

(Newser) - A city with subtropical weather and palm trees already seemed an odd choice for the Winter Olympics. Now fears of an all-out mafia war are rising in Sochi, Russia's host city for the 2014 games, the Guardian reports. The assassination of top mobster Aslan Usoyan in January left a...

What's World War II? Siberian Family Lived Isolated for 40 Years

Smithsonian recounts tale of geologists finding them in 1978

(Newser) - Smithsonian has a fascinating story about a family of six that lived deep in the Siberian wilderness for 40 years with zero contact from other humans until geologists found them in 1978. Meaning they missed, among other things, all of World War II. The father, who belonged to a...

Russian City Changes Name —6 Days a Year

Volgograd will be known as Stalingrad again ... sometimes

(Newser) - Tomorrow, the Russian city of Volgograd will be Stalingrad once again—temporarily. That's because the city's government unanimously voted to change the city's name six days a year to mark milestones in the country's victory in World War II. Tomorrow is the 70th anniversary of the...

Jailed Pussy Riot Member Hospitalized

Nadezhda Tolonnikova said to be overworked

(Newser) - A jailed member of the Pussy Riot feminist punk band has been hospitalized after complaining of headaches and of suffering from overwork at a prison colony known for its tough conditions, a fellow band member said today. An official confirmed that Nadezhda Tolonnikova, who is serving a two-year sentence for...

Russia Moves to Ban 'Homosexual Propaganda'

In a bid to clamp down on Western values

(Newser) - Kissing his boyfriend during a protest in front of Russia's parliament earned Pavel Samburov 30 hours of detention on a charge of "hooliganism." But if a bill that comes up for a vote later this month becomes law, such a kiss could be deemed illegal "homosexual...

Planes Sent to Evacuate Russians in Syria

As power outage strikes Damascus

(Newser) - Moscow sent two planes to pick up Russian citizens trapped in Syria's civil war today as a power outage struck Damascus and a swath of the country's south, report Russia Today and the AP . The Russian planes were headed for Beirut, where about 100 people, mostly women and...

Inside the Ignoble Burial of a Russian Mob King

Aslan Usoyan laid to rest yesterday

(Newser) - Aslan Usoyan, the Russian mob boss killed by a sniper on Wednesday , was buried yesterday outside of Moscow, and the New York Times' description of his ignoble burial stands in stark contrast to what these funerals are typically like. While past mob bosses found a final resting place in some...

Bolshoi Ballet Director Will See Again After Acid Attack

Ballet believes Filin was attacked because of his work

(Newser) - Sergei Filin, the Bolshoi Ballet director attacked with what police have now determined was sulfuric acid, has a long recovery ahead of him but he will not be fully blinded, ballet officials say. A masked attacker threw acid in Filin's face last week and while police say they are...

Stuxnet-Level Malware Spying on State Networks

Russian sites hit hardest by 'Red October' in recent years, says Kaspersky Labs

(Newser) - A highly sophisticated network of hackers has been spying on hundreds of diplomatic computers around the world unnoticed for about five years, reports the Christian Science Monitor . The "Red October" malware being used is on par with the notorious Stuxnet and Flame viruses, but this time criminals—as opposed...

Russia Rolls Out Red Carpet for Depardieu

What 75% tax? Russia offers tax-dodger a free apartment

(Newser) - Things are looking up for Gerard Depardieu: Not only is the French actor a newly minted Russian , he's already broken bread with Vladimir Putin, gotten a hero's welcome, and scored a free apartment. Depardieu grabbed his shiny new Russia passport from Pooty-Poot last night over dinner in Sochi,...

Putin to Depardieu: You Are Now Russian!

No word on whether actor, upset over French tax plan, accepts the offer

(Newser) - Gerard Depardieu, who has waged a battle against a proposed super-tax on millionaires in his native country of France, has been granted Russian citizenship. A brief announcement on the Kremlin website revealed that President Vladimir Putin, who had previously expressed solidarity with Depardieu , signed the citizenship grant today. A representative...

Beer Now Officially 'Alcohol' in Russia

It's no longer a foodstuff, and you can't buy it after 11pm

(Newser) - Things just got a lot tougher for any Russian who selected "drink less alcohol" as his New Year's resolution: As of today, beer is officially classified as alcohol there. The Telegraph reports that the beverage, equated with soft drinks by many Russians and previously categorized as a foodstuff,...

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