Andy Potts

A well-sculpted bronze of Vladimir Putin's widely admired pecs is set to adorn the gubernatorial mansion in California thanks to the Bodybuilding and Fitness Federation of Russia.

Golden State governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, a man who knows a thing or two about bodybuilding, is apparently an avid collector of sculptural portraits, and already has busts of Mikhail Gorbachev and Boris Yeltsin on the mantelpiece, The Times reported.

So a Russian sculptor has been commissioned to recreate the likeness of the all-action PM to complete Arnie's set - though it is not known whether he'll be shown in one of his shirtless-in-Siberia adventure poses.

Nuclear space

Russian scientists want to launch a nuclear-powered spacecraft - and could have the prototype ready by 2012.

But while the ambitious plan would give Russia's space programme an atomic lift, not everyone is convinced it will get off the ground.

And environmental activists fear it is too dangerous to consider firing atomic materials into space owing to the risk of problems on re-entry.

Federal Space Agency chief Andrei Perminov got the backing of President Dmitry Medvedev for the plan, the Associated Press reported.

But Houston-based rocket engineer James Oberg was sceptical about the plan, saying Perminov was looking for a backer "with more dollars than sense".

New crew for "Arctic Sea"

The ongoing saga of the "Arctic Sea" floated back into the headlines this week with a new 14-strong crew being flown to the vessel from the Russian port of Arkhangelsk, RIA Novosti reported.

Meanwhile the cargo ship, which apparently vanished from the waterways for a couple of weeks this summer, arrived in Malta.

Police and maritime authorities from the Mediterranean island will investigate the vessel before it can be handed over in Valetta, where it is currently registered.

Hung verdict

Russia's Constitutional Court is set to meet on Tuesday to decide whether to overturn the country's moratorium on the death penalty, RIA Novosti reported.

The issue was raised last week by the Supreme Court, and could overturn a 10-year ban on judicial killings.

When the moratorium was first announced it was to remain in place until every region and republic of the Russian Federation adopted trial by jury. On January 1, 2010, Chechnya is set to become the final republic to use juries in courts, paving the way for a potential return of the death penalty.

Russia first undertook to scrap capital punishment in 1997 when it signed up to protocol six of the European Convention on Human Rights, but has still not ratified that decision.

Good week for ...

Party organs

Russian propaganda portal "Pravda", once the official mouthpiece of Soviet Communism, is more honest than the current US media, according to Fox News talk-show host Glenn Beck. In an interview on his channel, Beck highlighted a recent report in Pravda's "pro-Russian" web edition discussing the problems in the US Republican Party, and added: "Pravda gives us more truth than the Russian press."

Bad week for ...

Russia's HIV stance

Russia's conservative approach to HIV prevention came under fire from international AIDS campaigners after chief medical official Gennady Onishchenko reiterated Moscow's opposition to supplying methadone to recovering heroin addicts. The non-intravenous drug is thought to reduce the risk of infection among drug users, but Onishchenko said Russia remained "categorically against" prescribing it, AP reported.