The Polar Music Prize
THE AWARDING OF THE POLAR MUSIC PRIZE 2006
The POLAR MUSIC PRIZE was presented on Monday 22 May for the fifteenth year in succession. The laureates were the Russian conductor Valery Gergiev and the British rock group Led Zeppelin. Each laureate received prize money to the amount of one million Swedish kronor.
His Majesty the King of Sweden awarded the prizes during a nationally televised (TV4) ceremony, which took place at the Stockholm Concert Hall. The subsequent banquet and after-party were held at the Grand Hotel’s Winter Garden and Berns respectively.
http://www.polarmusicprize.se/newSite/index.shtml
RIA Novosti
Putin hopes for quick talks on new cooperation deal with EU
SOCHI, May 25 (RIA Novosti) - Russia hopes that talks on a new cooperation agreement with the European Union will begin in the immediate future, President Vladimir Putin said Thursday.
"Russia is ready for this work and hopes that the EU commission will get a mandate to conduct talks soon. After that, experts will be able to began official dialogue," Putin said at a Russian-EU summit in Sochi, a resort on Russia's Black Sea coast.
The current Russia-EU cooperation agreement expires in 2007.
http://en.rian.ru/russia/20060525/48616696.html
Russian delegation heading to Iran for talks - source
MOSCOW, May 25 (RIA Novosti) - A Russian delegation headed by Security Council Secretary and former foreign minister Igor Ivanov is on its way to Tehran for talks, a source said Thursday.
"Igor Ivanov will hold a number of meetings and talks in Iran," the source said, adding that the delegation also included Foreign Ministry representatives
The Islamic Republic News Agency IRNA said Ivanov would visit Tehran May 27-28 at the invitation of head of the Iranian Supreme National Security Council, Ali Larijani, to discuss recent developments around the country's controversial nuclear programs.
http://en.rian.ru/russia/20060525/48610524.html
Gulf nations will not survive war in Iran
MOSCOW. (RIA Novosti political commentator Marianna Belenkaya) -- What do the Gulf nations think about the situation around Iran?
“Our region will not survive a new war, another aggravation of tensions,” said Qatar Foreign Minister Hamad Bin Jassim Al-Thani during a joint press conference with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov.
Their conversation took place during the 5th foreign ministers’ meeting of the intergovernmental forum devoted to dialog on cooperation in Asia. The forum took place in Doha, and was the last event for the Russian Foreign Minister’s first tour of the Arab Gulf nations – Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and Qatar.
In principle, political discussions are not in the forum’s traditions. Its main task is to discuss opportunities for Asian countries’ cooperation in specific fields, such as energy, finances, education, transportation, environmental protection, prevention and dealing with emergencies (the latter direction was suggested by Russia). However, considering the tense situation around Tehran, and the fact that success of many projects depends on regional stability, the participants in the forum could not ignore the Iranian problem, at least in the lobby and during press conferences, all the more so since many conferees are taking an active part in the Iranian negotiating process, including Russia, China, Gulf countries, and Iran itself.
Tehran is not yet a co-sponsor or leader of any of the forum’s 20 directions, but it is playing a key role in regional affairs. Implementation of specific projects, and participation in dialog on practical issues is a very effective instrument of diplomacy. The forum-initiated numerous business projects are the best alternative to a military scenario. By increasingly covering a military option, the media are creating the impression that the negotiating process is doomed.
On the eve of the recent meeting of negotiators on Iran in London, the Los Angeles Times wrote that the U.S. had embarked on the strategy of deterring Iran with the help of the Gulf nations. However, such articles only further provoke Tehran and exacerbate its already difficult relations with the Arab neighbors. Commenting on the Los Angeles Times publication at the request of the media, the Qatar Foreign Minister said: “We would welcome very much if the United States coordinated its actions with the Gulf Cooperation Council.”
One gets the impression that the Arab countries do not know whether they should be getting ready for war, or watch the negotiating process as idle onlookers. This is why they were eager to hear Russia’s opinion from its Foreign Minister – what should they expect? Nobody can answer this question precisely but during his tour of Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and Qatar, Sergey Lavrov made it clear that Moscow would do everything for the talks to continue.
The Arab countries of the Persian Gulf are enthusiastically backing the position of Russia, which believes that negotiations are the only way of settling the Iranian problem. In the event of a military scenario, these countries may suffer as much, or even more than Iran.
Sergey Lavrov said that Moscow was not considering any hypothetical scenarios, hoping that eventually the talks would produce results. Their success depends on two factors. The first one is an ability of the six negotiators – the EU3, Russia, China, and the U.S. – to preserve a common platform. The second factor is Tehran’s constructive position, which is indispensable. Neither factor is guaranteed in the least. But there is no other way out for the time being. A military scenario is too dangerous, which the situation in neighboring Iraq shows. Aware of this, Western and Eastern diplomats are emphasizing the need to continue the negotiations. Sometimes, it is hard to understand what stands behind some official statements. But decision-makers should remember what the Qatar Foreign minister said – the Gulf region will not survive another war.
http://en.rian.ru/analysis/20060524/48579360.html
Iran unconditionally ready for talks - Iranian Foreign Ministry
TEHRAN, May 24 (RIA Novosti) - Iran is ready for talks on its controversial nuclear program without the need for any preliminary conditions, a spokesman for the Iranian foreign ministry said Wednesday.
"We have repeatedly stated that we are ready for talks to solve the nuclear problem, but without any preliminary conditions," Hamid Reza Asefi said. "[Diplomatic] talks are the only solution to the problem."
On Wednesday senior foreign ministry officials from Russia, the United States, China and the EU3 negotiators - the United Kingdom, Germany and France - gathered in London to discuss the Iran's nuclear programs, which some countries have claimed are designed to build a nuclear bomb, though Tehran has consistently denied this.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov reiterated Tuesday Russia's position that the long-standing impasse over the Islamic Republic's controversial nuclear research program should be resolved by diplomatic means, and said he hoped Iran would cooperate constructively and openly with the International Atomic Energy Agency, the UN's nuclear watchdog.
http://en.rian.ru/world/20060524/48572519.html
Russia, EU have common position on Iran - Putin
SOCHI, May 25 (RIA Novosti) - Russia and the European Union share a common position on the long-running controversy around Iran's nuclear program, President Vladimir Putin said Thursday.
"During the summit we discussed key international problems, including the situation in the Middle East and in the Balkans and around the Iranian nuclear program. The results of discussions have proved that Russia and the EU have similar approaches to solving most European and global problems," Putin said at a Russian-EU summit in Sochi, a resort on Russia's Black Sea coast.
He said EU enlargement was also on the agenda, and expressed hope that the summit would boost Russia-EU partnership.
http://en.rian.ru/russia/20060525/48617010.html
Energy set to take spotlight at Russia-EU summit
MOSCOW, May 25 (RIA Novosti) - Officials from Russia and the European Union will gather on the Black Sea Thursday for a summit that it is expected to be dominated by the host nation's reliability as an energy supplier.
European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso and Austrian Chancellor Wolfgang Schuessel, the current president of the EU Council, will arrive in the popular resort of Sochi to discuss with Russian leader Vladimir Putin how to develop relations in the sphere and how to iron out problems.
Russia's role has come increasingly under the microscope since a pricing dispute with neighboring Ukraine in January saw energy giant Gazprom turn off natural gas supplies, which not only led to shortfalls on the continent but also provoked accusations - none so forcefully put as U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney's claims in Vilnius on May 4 - that Russia was using its vast energy resources as a way to blackmail other countries.
Benita Ferrero-Waldner, the EU commissioner for external affairs, highlighted Tuesday the importance of energy for both sides at the summit.
"Energy is a fundamental element in the partnership between Russia and the EU - for both partners," she said. "You are an important supplier of energy products for us, and we are your most important economic partner. So certainly, how to get the most out of this interdependence will be a major topic at the summit."
Comments made in April by Gazprom chief executive Alexei Miller that Russia would look to Asia and South America if the concern's European expansion plans were blocked prompted talk in Brussels and beyond that energy supplies had to be diversified, and raised accusations of hypocrisy given that foreign firms are banned from developing certain lucrative deposits in Russian for "strategic" reasons.
But the commissioner hinted that Russia, which covers 25% of the EU's natural gas needs, stood to gain by dropping what some Europeans see as bullying.
"We already have a good channel for co operation through our Energy Dialogue and we are ready to go further," she said. "But this relationship can only grow on the basis of reciprocity in markets, infrastructure and investments. This will create a win-win energy relationship for the EU and Russia. Transparency and openness are also crucial to competition in the global energy sector."
Russia has dismissed claims of strong-arm tactics - it says it merely wants to reach market-level prices with countries that have long enjoyed hugely subsidized supplies - and has defended its reliability as an energy partner and at least one senior official has said that the country shares the West's values.
With the country set to host its debt summit of the Group of Eight industrialized nations in July, Russian representative to the group and influential presidential aide Igor Shuvalov said during a May 16 briefing that Russia and Russian companies had always fulfilled their contractual obligations.
"No one had ever questioned the reliability of hydrocarbon supplies from Russia until the Ukrainian incident," he said.
In an interview with daily newspaper Nezavisimaya Gazeta on Wednesday, the aide went even further.
"We are prepared to provide Europe with oil and gas on a long-term basis, and we are taking on the role of the leader," he said.
European officials have also urged Russia to ratify the Energy Charter Treaty, which was signed in The Hague in December 1991 as a mechanism spelling out the terms of energy cooperation between eastern and western Europe.
In 2003, 51 European and Asian states joined the charter. Seventeen countries and 10 international organizations have the status of observers. Russia has signed but not ratified the treaty as Europe has demanded access for Central Asian states and other countries to its pipelines, which Moscow says will make their natural gas 50% cheaper than Russia's when it arrives in Europe.
However, Ferrero-Waldner was optimistic that a deal could be done. "It would be excellent if Russia seized the moment, as President of the G8, to move towards ratification of the Energy Charter Treaty,"
http://en.rian.ru/russia/20060525/48588929.html
Ballistic missiles in E. Europe threaten Russia - chief of staff
(Recasts, adds paragraphs 2-7)
MOSCOW, May 24 (RIA Novosti) - The deployment of ballistic missiles in eastern Europe poses a threat to Russia, the chief of the country's General Staff said Wednesday.
General Yury Baluyevsky said U.S. plans to deploy ballistic missiles in eastern Europe, possibly in Poland and Romania, as part of its missile shield presented a certain danger to Russia.
"The very fact of the deployment of the first-line missile defenses in this region is unequivocally intended to neutralize Russia's strategic potential," he said.
Baluyevsky said Russia did not need a new round of the arms race, adding that President Vladimir Putin had also addressed this issue in his May 10 state of the nation address.
"In the next five years, we must significantly increase the procurement of modern aircraft, submarines and strategic missiles for the Armed Forces," Putin said.
He said current research was focused on the development of unique high-precision weapons and warheads "whose trajectory could not be predicted by a potential enemy."
The new weaponry will allow the country to maintain the strategic balance of forces in the world, Putin said.
http://en.rian.ru/russia/20060524/48570591.html
RTS bourse to start trading oil, oil products, gold on June 8
MOSCOW, May 22 (RIA Novosti) - The Russian Trading System, Russia's premier stock market, announced Monday that it would start trading in gold, oil and oil products on June 8.
The announcement comes in the wake of President Vladimir Putin's state of the nation address May 10, when he said Russia, as a leading oil exporting nation, should establish its own oil exchange to trade crude and petroleum products for rubles.
"The first trading in contracts for gold will commence in Russia on June 8," the RTS said in a statement.
The stock exchange also said it would start trading in futures and options on oil and oil derivatives, including Urals brand, diesel fuel, jet fuel and fuel oil. Trade will be in rubles based on prices calculated by the Platts agency. The settlement period for a contract is one month and the minimum security guarantee on a contract is 10% of its overall value.
The derivatives section of the RTS, known by its Russian acronym Forts, will trade futures and options on gold in rubles based on the London Stock Exchange evening fixing rate. The settlement period for a contract is one month and the minimum security guarantee on any contract is 5% of its overall value.
The statement said RTS would collect a 1-ruble commission for each concluded contract.
http://en.rian.ru/russia/20060522/48434383.html
Party starts Russian language campaign in Kyrgyzstan
BISHKEK, May 25 (RIA Novosti) - A campaign to maintain the official status of the Russian language has been launched in the Central Asian Republic of Kyrgyzstan, a local party said Thursday.
The Kyrgyz authorities announced earlier that the Kyrgyz language would be used in all official spheres from January 1, 2007.
The Commonwealth party said this decision "would affect economic relations with Russia and other members of the CIS [a loose association of former Soviet republics] as it might complicate the exchange of information."
The party, known as a supporter of further integration within the CIS, also said it would boost migration of the Russian-speaking population from Kyrgyzstan and provoke negative attitude toward Kyrgyz laborers abroad.
The party said 500,000 Kyrgyz labor migrants, 10% of the country's population, were currently working in Russia and they provided an inflow of $200-mln a year, according to official information.
http://en.rian.ru/world/20060525/48610895.html
Fifth Ukrainian city grants regional status to Russian language
(Recasts, adds details)
KIEV, May 24 (RIA Novosti, Olga Bernatskaya) - Dnipropetrovsk, a major industrial city in Ukraine's eastern region, has made Russian a regional language, a municipal council spokesman said Wednesday.
"The decision was backed by 77 votes out of 107," the spokesman said.
Four other cities in largely Russian-speaking areas in the country's east and south have passed similar resolutions, which have sparked nationwide debate over the status of Russian and calls from the predominantly Ukrainian-speaking west of the country for more measures to protect the Ukrainian language.
City Prosecutor Mykola Gornostayev warned deputies he would contest the decision on the grounds that it breached the constitution and the country's laws.
Presidential press secretary Irina Gerashchenko said earlier that Viktor Yushchenko disapproved of decisions made by the councils and sent a letter to Prosecutor General Oleksandr Medvedko demanding that measures be taken to bring the decisions of the local councils into line with the country's constitution.
http://en.rian.ru/world/20060524/48566543.html
Cheney is no Churchill and Putin is no Stalin
By Pyotr Romanov, RIA Novosti political commentator. U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice have recently been lecturing Russia on how to run its affairs.
Moreover, Cheney's chilly tones have prompted many political scientists to talk about the prospects of a new Cold War. I don't think they are right. Cheney is not Churchill, and cannot change the course of history. Besides, power in Russia belongs to Putin, not Stalin. Putin's Russia is not going to build a new Berlin Wall. To the contrary, it is increasingly opening its doors to the West, both economically and politically. It is enough to recall its energy projects, and its readiness to discuss any subject despite many differences of opinion with the West. The latter cannot start fighting without an opponent - it takes two to tango.
But there are more important points than that. I have repeatedly read Western comments about the importance of exerting pressure on Russia on the eve of the G8 summit in St. Petersburg on many issues, starting with the Iranian nuclear file and ending with its domestic problems. Such statements show that the U.S. political elite has missed a crucial point - after staying in the U.S. orbit for almost two decades, Russia has restored itself as a planet, and eventually regained its own trajectory. Therefore, the West, and the U.S. in particular, should stop talking to Russia in condescending tones. The manner of talking should be changed, too. This became particularly obvious after the recent lectures of Rice and Cheney, who tried, for the umpteenth time now, to teach what they call true democracy to the Russians. Both looked somewhat comical, like a man yelling something to the train, which has long left the station.
If Washington had analyzed the situation in time, it would have come to a natural conclusion. Russia was not going to be committed to bed forever. It has recovered from the upheaval of the Soviet collapse, and chosen its own road. Moscow is beset with problems but it is ready (psychologically, above all) to resolve its problems on its own. It is grateful for friendly advice and sincere help, but it is emphatically against the preachy tone and importunate advice, all the more so if it contradicts the very nature of Russia and its people. Russia will not change whether the West curses it, complains about it being slow on the uptake, or tries to analyze why the Russians have a peculiar view of the world. Russia did not adopt a Western pattern of democracy in the short period of bourgeois development after the democratic interlude in February of 1917. Today, its political system is not going to be a replica of Western democracy, either.
Some analysts may attribute this fact to Russia's inability to develop the market in earnest, or to value freedom, but this is not the smartest conclusion. It should not be forgotten that pre-revolutionary Russia was moving ahead by leaps and bounds, as many Western experts acknowledge. The German government commission led by Professor Auhagen, which visited Russia in 1914, on the eve of World War I, made a worrisome conclusion for Wilhelm II - once Russia finished its land reform, there would be no country capable of fighting against it. Russia was among the world's leaders in economic growth rates. I recall this fact because a number of experts predict that by 2027-2030 Russia will regain its position among the world's top economies.
It is a myth that the Russians are allergic to a market economy.
The problem of Russian democracy is not simple, either. In order to succeed, a democracy has to absorb the national features and traditions of the Russians. Russian democracy will never be a perfect clone of the Western political system. Russia has another history, and its view of the good and evil, and human rights and freedoms largely differs from that of the West. The recent Council of the Russian People, held recently in Moscow at the initiative of the Russian Orthodox Church, was strongly critical of the West for neglecting moral standards. Speakers emphasized that without respect for morality, freedoms of the individual and of speech lead to social degradation. The Catholic Church is of the same opinion. Moreover, I'm sure that the deeply religious founding fathers of the American democracy would not have liked many features of Western life today. Why insist on the Russians following the Western road?
Russia has opted for democracy. There are no serious indications that it will deviate from this strategic direction. But the purely Russian nuances, such as stronger statehood or tougher morality will manifest themselves with time. Finally, as any sovereign state, Russia will be defending its interests in the world arena - the stronger the country, the tougher its policy. There is nothing to be scared of. But it would be logical to expect Russia after some time to have strategic interests near U.S. borders. After all, doesn't Ms. Rice talk today about U.S. strategic interests at the Russian borders? The U.S. is certainly right about globalization.
http://en.rian.ru/analysis/20060510/47934816.html
Putin talks army, xenophobia, family violence to youth movement
SOCHI, May 18 (RIA Novosti) - President Vladimir Putin met Thursday with a pro-Kremlin political youth movement to discuss the problems of Armed Forces recruits, as well as increasing xenophobia and the rights of children.
The meeting with the Nashi ("Ours") movement at the presidential residence in the Black Sea resort of Sochi focused in particular on conscripts and their rights in the wake of a string of hazing attacks in the Russian army.
Putin said the conscripts must know their rights and stand up for themselves.
"I fully support what you just said," he said in reply to a Nashi member's question. "People who have come to serve in the army must know their rights."
The highest-profile of the recent hazing incidents involved private Andrei Sychyov, who had to have both of his legs amputated after allegedly being beaten and tortured over the New Year's Eve holidays in his army unit in the south Urals city of Chelyabinsk.
Putin also said the Army needed to raise its prestige, and called on people to treat it with respect.
"We must realize that there can be no country without an army. No army - no Russia," he said.
Putin also called for Russians to recognize that the country's ethnic variety makes it stronger. A string of apparent race-hate attacks in cities across Russia have pushed xenophobia to the top of the political agenda, and brought stinging criticism from the West.
"We complement each other, and it makes us stronger and more effective," Putin said.
He said Russia's richness of different cultures made it unique, and called for people to respect their differences.
"Despite a shared mentality, every region has its peculiarities, and if you go there, you are bound to respect local culture and traditions," he said, adding that such an approach would help reverse current xenophobic trends.
"All these together will not only help to make the problem less acute, but will enable us to forget that it ever existed," Putin said.
Over a thousand people took to the streets of St. Petersburg in mid-April to protest following the fatal shooting of Lamzer Samba, a fifth-year student from Senegal at St. Petersburg State Telecommunications University. Police found a gun bearing a swastika at the scene. Other killings elsewhere in the country include the slaying of a Peruvian student in the central Russian city of Voronezh last October.
On violence against children, Putin said the government and the public had to keep an eye on how children's rights are observed.
"It is a vital issue, because we do not always remember that a child in any society is a highly dependent person," the president said.
But he said the problem persisted both in Russia and many other countries. A number of adopted Russian children have been at the center of abuse and even murder cases, particularly in the United States.
The most notorious incident came in summer 2005, when U.S. citizen Peggy Sue Hilt allegedly beat her adopted two-and-a-half year-old Russian daughter to death in a fit of rage. Hilt pleaded guilty, and the verdict is due on May 25.
"We can see it now in what happens to children adopted by foreigners," Putin said. "In countries where such cases take the most outrageous forms, they come under active public discussion, and we must not be ashamed of making such incidents public either."
Putin said children's rights should be outlined and observed. But he added that Nashi would be unable to deal with family violence on its own, and urged for joint efforts between the public and the authorities.
http://en.rian.ru/russia/20060518/48309737.html
Russia will not relapse into Cold War era in relations with West - Putin
SOCHI, May 13 (RIA Novosti) - Russia will be patiently developing relations with the West and will not return to the Cold War period in their relations, President Vladimir Putin said Saturday.
"We will be building relations with our Western colleagues with patience and calm," Putin said. "As I said [in the state of the nation address] we will not return to the Cold War era."
Putin said he had made it a point in his address to parliament Wednesday that Russia did not seek in its foreign policy or defense strategy a return to the Cold War era.
"We only want normal, reasonable conditions for our foreign political development. We do not need anything else," the president said.
The president's remarks Saturday and his state of the nation address, which focused on the need to strengthen Russia's defense capabilities and improve the demographic situation, were a response to growing criticism in the West of Russia's democratic record and allegedly politically-driven energy policy.
Russia has repeatedly dismissed the charges, saying it only wants to ensure its national interests and in turn accusing Western countries of being prejudiced against Russia.
http://en.rian.ru/russia/20060513/48077318.html
Putin's address: expectations and risks
MOSCOW. (Alexei Makarkin for RIA Novosti) - Vladimir Putin's state of the nation address fully coincides with the public expectations.
What does an ordinary Russian want? A Russian, whose world is far from politics and debates on Putin's successor or his third term? He wants his family to live a decent life and his country to be a strong power. In effect, these ideas formed the gist of the address.
Russian people are loyal to the government (and actively support the president, as his high rating shows), but the growing economy and skyrocketing oil prices are generating higher expectations. The cash-for-benefits protests of pensioners in the beginning of the past year have made it clear that people no longer want to live "as they did before." They demand a tangible rise in their living standards before too long.
Last year, the president responded to these expectations with his initiative on national projects (about which he spoke at length in his address). This time he has announced a family support program. An oil-and-gas nation, Russia can easily afford to drastically increase childcare allowances. It can go for much more ambitious projects, such as large-scale second child benefit payments.
As for the defense policy, it is important both per se and as a symbol. Russia needs a strong army and an advanced defense industry to position itself as a key player in the world arena, which is able to resist pressure from the U.S. and other sources. In a way, the address is a response to the recent Vilnius speech by Dick Cheney, who lodged many claims with Russia, mostly on the issue of democracy.
If the president wanted to respond in kind, he would have either made excuses for Russia ("we are democrats, after all") or gone conflict ("we don't need your advice"), but he chose neither. His response was asymmetrical. In his address he outlined his vision of Russia's future, which was a diplomatically correct warning to the U.S.
On the other hand, the army and defense industry have traditionally been viewed in Russia as a symbol of a strong power, which is a source of pride. This sentiment was gone from public mentality in the late 1980s, but its revival began several years later and even lead to an idealistic revision of the Soviet years. In his address the president relinquished the Soviet tradition of sacrificing social policy to the defense effort. This is consonant with the attitudes of the public, which does not want a repetition of the guns-before-butter saga.
Understandably, this defense and social programs address is not wholly based on the public demand for a particular socio-economic policy. It was also affected by a serious disappointment in dialog with the West on energy carriers and other issues. The energy dialog will continue, but is not likely to override other aspects of economic policy. Importantly, the government has a considerable flow of money from the oil and gas sector, which enables it to implement large-scale social and economic projects.
Needless to say, the ideas expressed in the address have no failsafe guarantees of success. The role of the West in modern Russian policy is not great, but there are three much more important factors which harbor the main risks.
The first factor is linked with the rampant corruption of Russian bureaucrats and their ability to obstruct any initiative of the supreme authority. Russia has never had a universalist bureaucracy, capable of implementing major projects at the government's initiative or with its active participation, like in post-war France.
The second factor is rooted in clan and group interests, which are very important in Russia today and which can frustrate the conduct of any meaningful economic policy. Under the circumstances, the government's partnership with business in following a "new course" may create better opportunities for "friendly" economic structures.
The third factor depends on world prices on energy carriers. Let's recall that a drop in oil prices upset Gorbachev's equally ambitious plans of "accelerated growth." Russia has just started diversifying its economy. Will it have enough time to complete this process? So far, experts are optimistic, and predicting booming oil prices for another several years. If there is enough time, Russia should make good use of it.
Alexei Makarkin is deputy general director of the Center for Political Technologies.
http://en.rian.ru/analysis/20060512/48040631.html
Beslan terrorist gets life sentence
MOSCOW, May 26 (RIA Novosti) - North Ossetia's Supreme Court Friday sentenced to life imprisonment the sole surviving gunman of those who took hundreds hostage in a bloody siege at a school in south Russia in September 2004.
Nurpashi Kulayev, 26, was found guilty on all counts by presiding judge Tamerlan Aguzarov for his involvement in the Beslan school tragedy, in which 331 people died, including 186 children.
Kulayev is the only survivor of 32 gunmen who took hundreds hostage at school No. 1 in Beslan in the North Caucasus region of North Ossetia on September 1, 2004, the start of the new academic year.
Prosecutors earlier demanded the death penalty for Kulayev, while his lawyers insisted on a life sentence. Kulayev pleaded not guilty.
Aguzarov said Kulayev's plea of not guilty was groundless, as it had been refuted by witness evidence and evidence that Kulayev had given during the preliminary investigation.
"The court ruled that he [Kulayev] as a socially dangerous individual deserved capital punishment," the judge said. "However, based on a decision of the Constitution Court from February 2, 1999 [that imposed a moratorium on the death penalty], this punishment could not be imposed."
Mitigating circumstances found by the court were Kulayev's two children and his lack of previous convictions.
The court also ruled that Kulayev was sane, and had never suffered any mental disorders.
Kulayev will serve his sentence in a high-security penal colony, but has ten days to appeal the verdict.
http://en.rian.ru/russia/20060526/48649984.html
U.S. woman given at least 25-yrs in Russian adoption killing
MANASSAS, May 25 (RIA Novosti) - A U.S. woman was sentenced Thursday to 25 years in prison with a possible extension of 10 years for killing her adopted Russian daughter in 2005.
Judge William Hamblin handed the sentence down to Peggy Sue Hilt, 34, in the district court of Manassas, Virginia.
Hilt will serve a mandatory 25 year term, and if after her release her behavior is judged not to meet requirements laid down by the court she will be returned to prison for a further 10 years.
The child, originally named Viktoria Bazhenova, had lived in an orphanage in the Siberian city of Irkutsk before the adoption.
On July 2, 2005, Hilt was visiting her friends in Manassas, where she had arrived from North Carolina, when she called an ambulance to say Nina had stopped breathing. An autopsy showed that the girl had died of heavy blows to the stomach.
Hilt then admitted to having flown into a rage against the child.
According to the case materials, Hilt first shook the baby and then threw her to the floor and started beating her in the stomach. She then picked the girl up and continued the beating.
Medical examinations showed that Hilt was sane, including during the lethal beating.
http://en.rian.ru/russia/20060525/48616041.html
Montenegro vote does not set precedent for Georgia - Saakashvili
TBILISI, May 25 (RIA Novosti) - Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili said Thursday that a referendum on independence in Montenegro should not be taken as an example for Georgia's breakaway regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia.
The Montenegro elections commission said earlier that a referendum May 21 produced 55.5% (with 55% required) of votes in favor of Montenegro seceding from its union with Serbia.
"We should not attempt to open Pandora's box, because if we follow this train of thought, we can claim that Tatarstan, Chechnya, Ingushetia, Kabardino-Balkaria, the Basque country, Corsica and many other world regions also have the right for independence," Saakashvili said.
"Yugoslavia is a different matter," he added. "It had a different historical background. The decision on separation of former Yugoslavia involved the UN, NATO and the whole international community. In our [Georgia's ] case, there is a certain group of Russian politicians who are pushing for independence of South Ossetia and Abkhazia, and with all respect to these politicians I do not think their power and influence can be compared with the influence of the forces that decided the fate of Yugoslavia."
http://en.rian.ru/world/20060525/48620267.html
Georgia, Abkhazia must resolve conflict on their own - MP
TBILISI, May 17 (RIA Novosti) - Georgia and its breakaway province of Abkhazia must be given the opportunity to resolve their long-running conflict independently, a deputy speaker of the Georgian parliament said Wednesday.
A bloody conflict between the sides erupted in 1991 after Abkhazia declared independence following the collapse of the Soviet Union. Russia cultivates close ties with the breakaway region, has granted citizenship to many residents and maintains peacekeepers in the area.
But Dzhemal Inaishvili, commenting on a new Abkhazian peacekeeping plan, said: "The problem must be addressed by the Georgians and Abkhazians themselves. A third party who is trying to mediate the negotiations is in fact the initiator of the conflict."
He said the mediator was stalling the conflict resolution process in a thinly veiled reference to Russia.
"We have lived with the Abkhazians for thousands of years, and must deal with the problem ourselves," Inaishvili said.
The deputy speaker ruled out that Georgia would ever recognize Abkhazia's independence.
"They [the Abkhazians] know this very well. The longer they refuse to agree to our proposals, the longer the problem will remain unresolved," he said.
Inaishvili said the impasse over the status of the self-proclaimed republic had to be broken peacefully and called on Abkhazia to agree to Georgia's proposals, which would pave the way for Abkhazia enjoying a great degree of autonomy within Georgia.
http://en.rian.ru/world/20060517/48260018.html
RTS bourse to start trading oil, oil products, gold on June 8
MOSCOW, May 22 (RIA Novosti) - The Russian Trading System, Russia's premier stock market, announced Monday that it would start trading in gold, oil and oil products on June 8.
The announcement comes in the wake of President Vladimir Putin's state of the nation address May 10, when he said Russia, as a leading oil exporting nation, should establish its own oil exchange to trade crude and petroleum products for rubles.
"The first trading in contracts for gold will commence in Russia on June 8," the RTS said in a statement.
The stock exchange also said it would start trading in futures and options on oil and oil derivatives, including Urals brand, diesel fuel, jet fuel and fuel oil. Trade will be in rubles based on prices calculated by the Platts agency. The settlement period for a contract is one month and the minimum security guarantee on a contract is 10% of its overall value.
The derivatives section of the RTS, known by its Russian acronym Forts, will trade futures and options on gold in rubles based on the London Stock Exchange evening fixing rate. The settlement period for a contract is one month and the minimum security guarantee on any contract is 5% of its overall value.
The statement said RTS would collect a 1-ruble commission for each concluded contract.
http://en.rian.ru/russia/20060522/48434383.html
The Mercury News
Powerful quake kills hundreds in Indonesia
By Irwan Firdaus
YOGYAKARTA, Indonesia - A powerful earthquake flattened buildings in central Indonesia early Saturday, killing nearly 450 people, injuring thousands of others and leaving hospitals appealing for help.
The magnitude 6.2 quake struck at 5:54 a.m. near the southwest of the city of Yogyakarta, 250 miles east of the capital, Jakarta, as many people slept, causing death and damage there and in at least two other nearby towns, officials said.
In the chaos that followed the quake, rumors of an impending tsunami sent thousands of people on Java fleeing to higher ground in cars and motorbikes. But Japan's Meteorological Agency said there was no danger of a tsunami.
The quake also triggered heightened activity in nearby Mount Merapi volcano, which has been spewing out clouds of hot ash, gas and lava for several weeks, a scientist said.
The death toll rose steadily through the morning and eight hours after it struck, the Indonesian Red Cross put the death toll at 443. Morgue officials and the privately run el-Shinta radio said at least 393 bodies were lying in nine hospitals in the region.
http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/14680826.htm
You call this a relaxing weekend?
By Julie Sevrens Lyons
Mercury News
So you're taking out a small loan to fill the Suburban with gas and heading out of town for some much-needed R & R?
Yeah, good luck, buddy.
Expect ticked-off drivers making obscene hand gestures, crowded hotels and overbooked restaurants. And that's just in San Jose proper.
If you were hoping to wing it and stumble upon a quaint, nearly empty inn without a three-night minimum, AAA has news for you:
``If you had your heart set on something particular, you might find it's not available,'' says Sean Comey, an AAA spokesman. On the other hand, he adds, ``if you just want to get out of Dodge and have some fun, I'm sure you can find something that's going to work for you.''
Might it be the Bates Motel? ``Let's hope not,'' Comey says. Then, in his best ``Psycho'' Anthony Perkins impression, he cackles ``NorMAN!''
Not reassuring.
http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/14672738.htm
Schwarzenegger signs country's toughest fish-farming rules
By Paul Rogers
Mercury News
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger today signed into law new rules giving California the toughest ocean fish-farming regulations in the United States.
The measure, written by State Sen. Joe Simitian, D-Palo Alto, is designed to reduce the risk of pollution and harm to marine wildlife from giant floating pens of tuna, halibut, or other species that could result if the aquaculture industry expands to the California coast.
``Ocean fish-farming can now be part of California's future without sacrificing the environment,'' Schwarzenegger said. ``This legislation will lay the groundwork for a new California aquaculture industry to thrive while providing an abundance of healthy food and more jobs.''
The bill was supported by the Ocean Conservancy and other environmental groups. It passed mostly along party lines, with Democrats voting for it and nearly all Republicans voting.
http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/14677587.htm
Bush admits he regrets `tough talk' about Iraq
BY KENNETH R. BAZINET
New York Daily News
WASHINGTON - President Bush admitted Thursday he regrets "tough talk" like telling Iraqi insurgents to "bring it on" and saying he wanted Osama Bin Laden "Dead or Alive."
"I learned a lesson about expressing myself in a more sophisticated manner," Bush said. "In certain parts of the world, it was misinterpreted, so I learned from that."
Answering a question, Bush listed the "bring it on" comment from July 2003 and "Wanted Dead or Alive," as well as the Abu Ghraib prison scandal, as mistakes made along the way since the 2003 invasion.
http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/news/politics/14672050.htm
Voters can cast ballots early at Registrar's office
NO NEED TO WAIT UNTIL JUNE 6
Mercury News
Registered voters can cast their ballots before Election Day at the Santa Clara County Registrar of Voters' office.
Early voting will be open on weekends from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on May 27, June 3 and June 4. Weekdays, early voting is available from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
The Registrar's office is located at 1555 Berger Drive, Building 2, San Jose.
For more information, go to www.sccvote.org or call toll-free (866) 430-VOTE [8683].
http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/14677029.htm
Chavez far outstrips her foes in fundraising for mayoral bid
By Phil Yost
Mercury News
Demonstrating a fundraising prowess that was evident from the beginning of the campaign, Vice Mayor Cindy Chavez has raised much more money than her nearest challengers in the San Jose mayor's race -- and has the most money left in the bank for a last-minute campaign push.
She came within a hair of reaching the June 6 election's spending limits, reporting a total of $708,174 on Thursday. The cap is $708,643.
Chavez has long been considered the campaign front-runner, a status both her fundraising totals and the polls reflect. The mayor's race is considered almost certain to head to a November runoff among the top two vote-getters in the five-candidate field.
Three other candidates are tightly bunched in the money race -- Councilman Dave Cortese, with $511,668; businessman Michael Mulcahy, $432,654; and Councilman Chuck Reed, $413,085. Deputy District Attorney David Pandori has managed $236,445.
Chavez has more than twice as much money unspent as any other candidate -- $265,934.
http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/14672702.htm
Democrats' primary election spending tops $60 million
WESTLY, ANGELIDES ARE NECK AND NECK
By Kate Folmar and Steven Harmon
Mercury News Sacramento Bureau
SACRAMENTO - In the bruising Democratic gubernatorial primary, the two candidates and their allies have burned through more than $60 million -- mostly on a barrage of tit-for-tat negative ads -- while Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has been quietly collecting almost $15 million for his re-election.
With just under two weeks left in the nasty primary spat, Controller Steve Westly had spent about $36 million, leaving $3.7 million on hand, according to campaign finance reports that reflect activity through May 20. Most of his campaign cash came from Westly's own personal fortune, earned as an early employee of online auction giant eBay.
Treasurer Phil Angelides' campaign stash is more modest. The former real estate developer has spent nearly $20.7 million so far, and has $2.9 million remaining for the final push. But, Angelides' fortunes continue to be bolstered by a controversial $10 million independent television campaign that is being paid for by supporters.
Reflecting the tightness of the race, both multimillionaire candidates wrote seven-figure checks to their campaigns this week, contributions that were not reflected in the reports. Angelides added $1.5 million to his effort this week. On Thursday, Westly wrote a $2 million check.
http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/14672753.htm
Fox wraps up U.S. trip with L.A. leaders
PETER PRENGAMAN
Associated Press
LOS ANGELES - Mexican President Vicente Fox wrapped up a U.S. visit Friday that critics slammed as an attempt to influence congressional debate on immigration reform and others praised as recognition of his country's responsibility in a binational problem.
Fox's agenda in a city heavily influenced by Mexican culture included meetings with two fellow proponents of immigration reform, Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and Cardinal Roger Mahony. Both have been high-profile supporters of marches that brought hundreds of thousands of immigrants to the streets.
After a private meeting with Fox, Villaraigosa said they talked about the economic ties between the two countries. "Our economy is driven by the labor of Mexican immigrants," he said.
Fox said Mexico wants to "develop and enforce migration laws with full respect to human rights and the safety of citizens on both sides of the border." He called for "legal, safe, orderly migration policy that will benefit the security and the prosperity of both of our nations."
http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/14679321.htm
Sept. 11 memorial foundation leader quits
AMY WESTFELDT
Associated Press
NEW YORK - The head of the foundation that has struggled to raise money for the Sept. 11 memorial quit Friday.
Gretchen Dykstra resigned after serving slightly more than a year as president and CEO of the World Trade Center Memorial Foundation. Critics said she has failed to raise enough money - just over $130 million - for a memorial that has been estimated to cost nearly $1 billion.
Fundraising has been suspended while architects and a newly appointed developer make changes to the design so that it can be built for half that amount.
For now, construction also has stopped and new bids are being reviewed.
In her letter of resignation, Dykstra said too many people were taking charge of the protracted battle for control of the memorial.
"Perhaps it would help if there was one less player," she wrote.
http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/14678324.htm
TREES SAVED, BUT ONLY IN PHOTOS
By Mike Cassidy
Mercury News
Audio: Angela Buenning talks about her orchard photography project (RealAudio)
It made for a nice shot.
The abandoned orchard pressed against the low-slung, high-tech buildings of IBM's former campus in South San Jose. The old and the new. The Valley of Heart's Delight and Silicon Valley.
Photographer Angela Buenning took the picture in early 2003 and moved on.
But there was something about that orchard. Something about the 35 acres of trees, sentenced to death. The prune trees had been cast aside as unnecessary. Once part of the economic engine of Santa Clara County, the decrepit trees were in the way by the time Buenning found them. Once producers of plump prunes, now they were silly old fools just taking up space.
Buenning caught herself periodically changing her route, so she could drive past the orchard just off Highway 85 at Great Oaks Boulevard. She found herself thinking about the trees, about how she owed them something, about how she needed to preserve them. Not the way, say, Julia ``Butterfly'' Hill might save a redwood, by taking up residence in it. But in the way she saves things -- by photographing them.
`Got a hold of me'
``I really enjoyed being here,'' Buenning says, standing in the dry, tilled dirt of the orchard. ``The place just kind of got a hold of me.''
Big hold. Soon after discovering the orchard, Buenning knew what she had to do. She would photograph the trees. Every single one. Each an individual portrait. One thousand seven hundred and five.
Buenning has been chronicling the rise and fall of Silicon Valley in photos since 2000 -- whimsical shots of billboards, eerie shots of abandoned server rooms, mournful shots of vacant tilt-up buildings. (See www.angelabuenning.com.) The orchard was a departure, a less industrial, more sentimental view that surprised even Buenning.
But the artist in her had no choice. And so she plotted the exact location of each tree as she went. The graph paper charting the orchard has been worn soft from folding and unfolding.
``It was an endurance project,'' says Buenning, who lives in Palo Alto with Yahoo co-founder David Filo and teaches at Eastside College Preparatory School in East Palo Alto.
It was an endurance race, really. Boom or bust, land is currency in Silicon Valley. A large undeveloped tract? Pure gold. And the orchard was in play.
For decades, IBM maintained the land as a working orchard. It was cheaper than fancy landscaping and a chance to keep the old valley alive.
Change arrives
But times change. IBM is gone now, having sold the orchard land to a developer and the buildings to Hitachi, which bought Big Blue's disk-drive division in 2002. A New York company called iStar owns the orchard now. But iStar isn't in the prune-growing business. Its plan for a commercial complex is making its way through the city's approval process.
``I always had the pressure on my mind,'' Buenning says, ``that these trees weren't always going to be here.''
It's hard not to think of the orchard as a dying loved one. There is no doubt about what is to come. Yes, there is time, time to make peace, say goodbye, time to make sure nothing goes left unsaid. Time to etch in your mind or on film the image of who or what you love.
Buenning wanted to remember the trees at the end of life. She shot their portraits only in winter -- naked, gnarled branches against gray, gloomy skies. Hour after hour. Weekend after weekend. Winter after winter. For three years.
Yes, people thought she was nuts. She wondered herself sometimes. But she was determined to finish.
``The fact that the trees were still here, it kind of felt like, OK, I can't let them down.''
In February, she finished. Finished the photography, anyway.
Now Buenning would like to find a public place to install her work. Her vision? A 6-foot-tall by 17-foot-wide wall of small photos of the fruit trees.
Fruit trees, existing side-by-side. Just as they do today.
For now.
http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/14672736.htm
PUC backs peak-hours electricity price plan
LARGE COMPANIES LIKELY TO SEE NEW RATES IN JANUARY
By Sarah Jane Tribble
Mercury News
Large companies across the state lost a battle Thursday to avoid a new electricity rate plan.
The California Public Utilities Commission said it favored a plan that calls for companies to pay more for energy during times of day when electricity is in high demand. Businesses had called the plan an unfair burden.
The new pricing would probably take effect after ongoing discussions where regulators decide what each electric company will be allowed to charge, commission advisers said. Large customers of Pacific Gas & Electric could see prices change by January.
``When the commission makes a decision, we're duty-bound to go forward,'' said PG&E spokesman Jeff Smith.
The vote demonstrates the state's plan to eventually transfer all customers, including residents, to some version of a demand-based pricing plan. The idea is that if electricity costs more during high-demand periods, customers will change their patterns of use and help avoid blackouts.
``People want this choice,'' said Michael Messenger, demand response program manager for the California Energy Commission.
Commissioner John Bohn was the only one of five state regulators to oppose a change in pricing for businesses, and his adviser, Stephen St. Marie, said business will continue to fight the rates. About 5 percent of the 8,000 companies in PG&E's coverage area have already volunteered for the rates.
William Booth, attorney for the California Large Energy Consumers Association, said the pricing would have the biggest impact if used for residents. He argued that demand for electricity is highest during the summer, when millions of home air conditioners switch on. Still, he doesn't expect regulators to force the pricing on residents.
``When it comes to imposing these kinds of programs on residential customers, they pull the punches, they don't do it,'' Booth said.
PG&E already offers a time-of-use rate for consumers and has tested 2,000 customers statewide on a variety of rate programs that charge more for electricity during peak hours.
The utility said people have been willing to use power at different times of day when they see that it saves them money.
``Customers are going to migrate to what's best for them,'' said Andrew Bell, electric rates team leader for PG&E.
http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/14672762.htm
Yahoo, eBay will team up online
By John Boudreau and Michelle Quinn
Mercury News
Google this: Ads from Yahoo on eBay. EBay's PayPal on Yahoo.
Two of the world's biggest Internet companies Thursday announced a plan to blend some of their most popular and powerful services in a bid to outflank Google and Microsoft in the battle for billions of dollars in online spending.
The multiyear alliance will put Yahoo's search bar in front of 200 million eBay users. EBay's PayPal easy-to-use payment service will be featured to shoppers on Yahoo's shopping and other channels.
Image ads sold by Yahoo will appear on eBay auction pages, and eBay's Skype Internet phone calling program could ultimately give Yahoo's 402 million users the ability to click on an ad and talk to a merchant.
Google's search-advertising success has outpaced Yahoo's, and it has been elbowing its way into eBay's comfortable flea-market community through recently unveiled online classified and payment services.
http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/14672706.htm
Man fails to pay for gas; Owner shoots
Associated Press
LIVINGSTON, La. - Deputies arrested a store owner accused of shooting out two tires on a customer's vehicle after the customer said he had no money to pay for gasoline, spokesman Jason Ard of the Livingston Parish Sheriffs Office said Thursday.
The motorist had pumped $36.50 worth of gasoline, then discovered he didn't have the money to pay for it, Ard said. An argument with the store owner followed.
When the motorist tried to leave, the grocery store owner fired a shot that hit one of the customer's tires, then fired a second shot into another tire after the driver pulled back into the parking lot, deputies said.
Deputies booked Nardeep S. Bhullar, 25, the owner of Singhs Grocery, with aggravated assault, criminal damage to property and illegal discharge of a firearm.
Deputies also booked Chaz R. Watkins, 18, of Holden with theft of gasoline, Ard said.
http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/14678439.htm
Woman shoots fireworks at police helicopter
Associated Press
ORLANDO, Fla. - Deputies have arrested a woman who shot fireworks at a sheriff's helicopter flying overhead. Marjorie Thompson, 44, was annoyed with the loud noise the helicopter was making over her house late Thursday night, according to the Orange County Sheriff's Office.
The woman ran outside with a bottle rocket launcher and started shooting bottle rockets at the aircraft, Florida Today reported.
The helicopter was in the area searching for the suspect of a car theft, authorities said.
The helicopter's pilot, Mike Umbarger, said the craft's flight pattern was never in jeopardy.
Authorities said they caught Thompson in the act of launching the second bottle rocket. She is facing a felony charge of shooting or throwing a deadly missile into an aircraft.
http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/14678442.htm
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