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G8 Nations Give Iran Wednesday Ultimatum
MOSCOW — The United States, Russia and other industrial democracies said Thursday they expect Iran to reply next week to an international offer to bargain over Tehran’s disputed nuclear program.
“We are disappointed in the absence of an official Iranian response to this positive proposal,” said a statement from foreign ministers of the Group of Eight industrial nations. “We expect to hear a clear and substantive Iranian response to these proposals” at a meeting scheduled Wednesday between the European Union’s foreign minister and Iran’s nuclear negotiator.
Iran has told the EU it will reply at that session, a U.S. official said, but it is not clear whether Iran will give a definitive “yes” or “no.” Tehran could ask for changes, or for preliminary talks before any negotiations over the proposal could begin.
The clerical regime has sent conflicting signals so far about whether it will accept the package of economic ... |
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| Members of St. Petersburg’s new Angels Service assembled on Palace Square on Wednesday, shortly before going on duty. The new service is aimed at aiding visitors to the city, who can approach the Angels for directions and advice while walking around the city. |
Putin: Terminate Killers of Kidnapped Envoys
MOSCOW — President Vladimir Putin ordered the security services Wednesday to seek and destroy the killers of four Russian hostages in Iraq.
The tough ... |
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Much-Maligned Ruble Finally Going Global
MOSCOW — There used to be a popular Soviet-era joke about how to make the ruble a global currency. Easy, the joker would say, just place your rubles inside ... |
Arms Amnesty Nets Weapons
Workers installing an advertising hoarding on the southern outskirts of the city have discovered a Kalashnikov gun with several magazines full of bullets ... |
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NEWS |
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Opposition Prepares Its G8 Summit
MOSCOW — Opposition leaders will hold an alternative summit in Moscow less than a week before the G8 meeting to protest what they call a clampdown on democratic ... |
QWorld’s Largest Postcard Delivered in City
With nearly 200 stamps on it, a giant 15-meter-long postcard designed by non-conformist artistic group Mitki looks set to become part of the Guinness Book ... |
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Prosecutors Seek To Close 3 Teen Mags Over Sex
MOSCOW — The Prosecutor General’s Office is seeking to shut three popular youth magazines that, it says, exploit teenagers’ thirst for sex and drugs.
Cool, ... |
Presidential Aide Counters Western Critics
MOSCOW — Secretive presidential aide Vladislav Surkov emerged from the shadows Wednesday to defend Russia’s political path, quoting foreign journalists’ ... |
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BUSINESS |
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Uranium to be Unified
MOSCOW — Russia’s uranium exploration and mining assets at home and in the CIS will be combined into a single, purely state-owned enterprise, nuclear energy ... |
Mobile Phone Giant Hears Call to Pay
The Calling Party Pays (CCP) principle, which comes into effect for all Russia’s mobile operators from Saturday, will allow most subscribers to receive ... |
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Turkmen Talks Suspended
ASHGABAT, Turkmenistan — Turkmenistan and Russia’s Gazprom natural gas giant suspended talks Thursday on a 30 percent price hike being sought by the Central ... |
UES Chooses Alfa Bank, Merrill to Advise on IPOs
MOSCOW — Electricity monopoly Unified Energy System picked U.S. investment bank Merrill Lynch and Alfa Bank as consultants to float its spun-off generating ... |
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OPINION |
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Europe Needs a Soft-Power Approach
In the decade that followed the collapse of the Soviet Union, Europe was concerned but not worried about the decline of Russia. The European Union did ... |
Today the Internet, Tomorrow the Shoes
At a recent meeting of the G8 security and justice officials, Interior Minister Rashid Nurgaliyev said it was time to “stop terrorist access to the Internet.”
A ... |
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ARTS + FEATURES |
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A tale of two cultures
 Soviet culture fell into two categories, says Vladimir Paperny in ‘Kultura Dva.’
The leading publishing house on the Russian academic literature market, ... |
Hip-hop allstars
Hip-hop, the cultural phenomenon that was begun by inner-city youngsters in New York in the early 1970s, has gone mainstream in Russia.
Thanks to MTV, Russians are getting used to graffiti, and youths sporting baggy jeans and doo rags tied around their heads, and the sound of hip-hop music.
Now in its third year, the Hip-Hop All Stars festival takes place in St. Petersburg on Saturday. This year, the event has moved from its former venue, Yubileiny Stadium, to the smaller Manezh Kadetskogo Korpusa.
“After considering all the strengths and weaknesses of carrying out large music events in the summer, it was decided to focus on bringing star guests rather than on organizing a large-scale event,” Invox Publishing, the show’s organizer, said in a statement released Tuesday.
The festival will feature three events this year, including a “Special Edition” show featuring Guru, a veteran of the American hip-hop scene. Guru and his crew will ... |
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Chernov’s choice
Stereoleto, a series of outdoor concerts continues this week with Ladytron, a Liverpool-based electropop quartet. Having taken its name from a Roxy Music ... |
Canada calling
The work of Jean-Paul Riopelle, a painter and sculptor from Montreal and one of Canada’s most famous artists of the 20th century, is on display for the ... |
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Devotion to motion
The Open Look Festival of contemporary dance.
The Open Look Festival, which from Saturday provides the city with an eight-day-long contemporary dance ... |
A working relationship
The Muslim experience in tsarist Russia is often described as a cycle of repression, Russification and conflict. A new book by scholar Robert D. Crews ... |
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WORLD |
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War Looms as Israel Detains Hamas Leaders
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — Israeli troops rounded up dozens of ministers and lawmakers from the Palestinians’ ruling Hamas party on Thursday, while forging ... |
In Rebuke to Bush, Supreme Court Blocks Guantanmo Trials
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Supreme Court ruled Thursday that President George W. Bush overstepped his authority in ordering military war crimes trials for Guantanamo ... |
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Kuwaiti Women Get the Vote
KUWAIT — Kuwaitis voted for a new parliament on Thursday with women running and casting ballots for the first time in a national poll in the Gulf Arab ... |
Britney Spears Makes Nude Debut on Magazine Cover
LOS ANGELES — A six-month pregnant Britney Spears has posed nude for the cover of the August issue of Harper’s Bazaar magazine and an accompanying photo ... |
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IN BRIEF
ETA Talks Begin
MADRID, Spain (AP) — Spain officially announced the start of peace negotiations with the Basque separatist group ETA after formally informing parliament Thursday, and the prime minister warned that talks to end decades of bloodshed would be long and difficult.
The talks had been widely expected since ETA declared a permanent cease-fire in March.
There have so far been no details about where and when the negotiations would be held, and Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero ... |
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SPORT |
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Sharapova Shrieking Through
WIMBLEDON, England — Maria Sharapova overpowered Ashley Harkleroad 6-2, 6-2 in 67 minutes Thursday to reach the third round at Wimbledon. The match was ... |
Cleveland Errors Help Cards End Losing Streak
ST. LOUIS, Missouri — Any win is exciting for the St. Louis Cardinals right now, no matter how it falls into their lap.
Jonny Peralta’s throwing error, ... |
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Top Golfer’s Get 10 Million Reasons to Play More Often
NEW YORK — The winner of the U.S. PGA Tour’s new FedEx Cup competition will receive $10 million, the largest single sum in professional sports.
The payout ... |
Italy Soccer Trial Opens, Abruptly Adjourns
ROME — Italy’s biggest-ever sports trial considered match-fixing charges against four top soccer clubs and 26 officials on Thursday before a string of ... |
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Victorious Veterans Amble on Agelessly
HAMBURG, Germany — Anyone battling a mid-life crisis only needs to watch the World Cup. Plenty of people have been written off as washed up, only to play ... |
Blatter Shares Blame For Card Frenzy
Soccer governing body FIFA shares the blame with referees for the record number of red and yellow cards that are depriving teams of players at the 2006 ... |
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‘Slow and Predictable’ England Need New Tactics
England must quicken its pace of play and reduce its reliance on long passes to beat Portugal and advance to the semifinals for a third time, former soccer World Cup players said.
The teams meet in Gelsenkirchen, Germany, in two days in a repeat of the 2004 European Championship quarterfinal, when Portugal won on penalties after a 2-2 draw. The Portuguese also beat England 3-2 at Euro 2000.
England, the 1966 champion, last reached the final four of the World Cup in 1990 and may extend that run ... |
