News Mine Blast Rocks Siberia A total of 38 people were killed in Thursday's explosion at Siberia's Yubileinaya coal mine, according to Russia's emergency situations ministry. "Thirty-eight people died" in the blast, a spokeswoman from the ministry said, confirming that all those who had been below ground at the time of the blast were accounted for.

News Putin’s Grand European Tour By Oleg Liakhovich President Vladimir Putin rounded off his visit to Austria Thursday and flew to Luxembourg where he was scheduled to discuss trade and energy issues with Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker. Upon arrival at the Grand Ducal Palace, Putin and his wife were met by Grand Duke Henri and Grand Duchess Maria Teresa, with whom they held a conversation in the Hall of Kings.

News Malaysia Acquires Sukhoi Jets KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) - Malaysia's air force received two Russian-made fighter planes Thursday, hailing them as a boost to its ability to deter any military threats.

News Deadly Tick Attacks Plague Russia By Oleg Liakhovich Russia's chief sanitary inspector Gennady Onischenko has warned against the dangers of increasing tick activity in Russia. This year, there have been 16, 286 of registered cases of tick-bites across Russia, and the numbers are expected to dramatically increase as the warm season progresses. According to Onischenko, even Moscow residents are not safe, as one attack was already registered on Tverskoy Boulevard in central Moscow.

News Moscow Temps Top Record By Kate Roach The warm weather continues in Moscow as temperatures hit a record high of 29.6 degrees Celsius Wednesday, a meteorological spokesman was quoted by RIA Novosti as saying.

News Maiden Pskov-Moscow Flight Celebrated By Kate Roach On Wednesday, the maiden flight of the newly-established Vyborg airlines embarked from Pskov to Moscow, the local media reported.

News Youth Group Demands Activist Release at EU MOSCOW, (RIA Novosti) - A Kremlin-backed youth group started a protest Monday near the European Commission building in Moscow, demanding the release of an activist in Estonia charged with organizing unrest over the Soviet war memorial relocation.

News Train Sex Segregation By Nathalie Cooper Passengers traveling long distances will soon have the option of choosing a segregated compartment. From June 1, compartments will be divided into women's, men's and mixed. The move will be welcomed by women traveling alone, who often do not welcome situations when they find themselves alone in a four-birth compartment with three other men.

News Moscow-Warsaw Link Back on Track By Nathalie Cooper The Moscow-Warsaw railway route will resume service with the introduction of a new Russia-made "Polonaise" train, the PR department of the Moscow Railway Company informed RIA Novosti.

National Chita Region Governor Discusses Merger in Russian Federation By Roman Trunov On March 1, 2008, a new Federation member will appear on Russia's map, called the Transbaikal Territory. It will be formed by merging the Chita Region (Oblast) and the Aginsk Buryat Autonomous District (Okrug). Chita Governor Ravil Geniatulin spoke about the Transbaikal's politico-economic prospects in an interview with MN's Roman Trunov.

CIS Azerbaijan – Call to Prayer BAKU, Azerbaijan (AP) - Azerbaijan's top Islamic council banned mosques nationwide from broadcasting the five-times-a-day call-to-prayer through amplifiers, saying the resonant calls disturb the elderly, the sick and children, an official said Wednesday.

CIS Ukraine, Belarus choke on toxic waste PRAGUE (AFP) - Toxic waste, water pollution and the legacy of Chernobyl have plunged Ukraine and neighbouring Moldova and Belarus into an environmental crisis, the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE).

World Ankara Blames Kurdish Party for Explosion ANKARA (AFP) - Kurdish rebels may have staged a powerful blast in Ankara which killed six people to warn Turkey to lay off from ever attacking their bases in northern Iraq, experts say.

World Why This ‘Cold War’ Is Different By Todd Lefko The Cold War between the vanquished Soviet Union and the United States was simple and straightforward. Military power was balanced by mutually assured destruction. The two sides argued, feared and created myths about each other.

World Sarkozy’s First Reform Challenge: Universities PARIS (AP) - The Sorbonne has no cafeteria, no student newspaper, no varsity sports, no desk-side plugs for laptop users. France's most renowned university also costs next-to-nothing to attend, and admission is open to everyone who has finished high-school.