Politics CIS Leaders Meet STRELNA, Russia (AP) - Russia's new president met Friday with leaders of a fractious alliance of ex-Soviet re­publics, warning Ukraine and Georgia not to lead their countries into NATO, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said.

Politics Medvedev: US Policy Led to Global Crisis By Kirill Bessonov Russian President Dmitry Medvedev outlined his views on economy in a speech delivered on Saturday at the St Petersburg Economic forum. Possibly the most important message delivered in the speech was the acknowledgement that the current crisis in the world economy should be blamed on the United States - or more precisely, on the gap between the role that the U.S. seeks to play and its real capabilities.

News In Brief - Russian Policemen Start Work at Euro 2008 Russian Policemen Start Work at Euro 2008, Russia Destroys Missiles Under Treaty Terms, Ten Killed in Kaliningrad Ship Explosion

News Meningitis Outbreak Kills Two in Siberia By Anna Arutunyan Medical officials have called an enterovirus scare in south Siberia's Hakasiya region a false alarm after tests came in showing evidence that the deaths of a boy and a girl from the Yelochka kindergarten in the town of Abakan were from unrelated causes. Meanwhile, 39 children from the same facility remain hospitalized with a virus-like respiratory illness and intestinal infection.

News Confusion as Moldova Offers to Return Stolen Paintings STRELNA, Russia (AP) - Two paintings stolen from Russia's Hermitage Museum have been found in Moldova and will soon be returned, Moldova's president said Friday.

News Crime Briefs - Pyramid Scheme Suspects Detained in Moscow Pyramid Scheme Suspects Detained in Moscow, Jury Acquits Men in Plot to Murder Chubais, Russian Clowns Sue Over Theft of Tricks

Local Procession to Christ the Savior Witnesses ‘Miracle’ RIA Novosti On Sunday, a religious procession of several thousand people that began at the Kolomenskoye Museum-preserve proceeded to the Cathedral of Christ the Savior, having covered 16 kilometers in five hours.

Local Trains, Planes... and Forget Automobiles By Tom Washington and Alexei Peskov Air passengers who refuse to brave the queues of traffic or slow transport links to Sheremetyevo now have cause to reconsider.

Local In Brief - Moscow Toughens Fire Regulations Moscow Toughens Fire Regulations, Russia and the U.S. Exchange Poet Statues, City Debtor is Evicted From His Apartment, Russian Capital Poised to Beat 20-year Birth Record

Local ‘Day of Russia’ Events

Local Jazz Time By Alisa Ballard The sprawling parks of the historical Arkhangelskoye Estate, with its opulent Classicist palace that was once home to some of Russia's wealthiest nobles, is not just a beautiful summertime museum spot just outside of the hubbub of central Moscow.

Local Moscow Arson Spree Continues MOSCOW (RIA Novosti) - Four cars were set on fire in Moscow on Sunday, bringing the total to 32 since a wave of arson attacks on vehicles parked outside apartment blocks began on May 30, police said.

Local Linking Orphans to Would-Be Parents By Sergei Dmitriyev The Moscow Region has launched a project entitled Video­pasport Rebyonka (Child Videopassport), Timur Kizyakov, one of the project's creators, told journalists at a press conference last week. The program will provide an opportunity for prospective parents to become acquainted with orphans they intend to adopt before meeting them.

Local Shashlik in the City By Phoebe Taplin The smoke from hundreds of barbecues across the city's parks is as sure a sign of summer as the drifting poplar seeds currently filling the streets with fluffy snow.

Local New Ways to Track Students’ Progress By Sergei Dmitriyev Every student in Moscow will have his or her own portfolio by 2011, the first deputy head of Moscow Educational Department Larisa Kurneshova told journalists on Thursday. The portfolio is a kind of a folder that will contain information on each pupils' individual achievements.