News Railway Terror By Anna Arutunyan Investigators and railway officials are still picking through the pieces - and examining the possibility of a terrorist plot - after an explosion caused the Nevsky Express train bound for St. Petersburg to derail in the Novgorod region late Monday.

News Moscow Maniac Goes to Court By Stephen Boldyrev A Moscow court ordered an open trial by jury for Alexander Pichushkin - the man will become Russia's most terrible serial killer if all his murders are proved.

News China, Russia, Central Asian Leaders Tout New Strength BISHKEK (AFP) - The leaders of China, Russia and four Central Asian states touted their growing military and political strength Thursday in a firm challenge to US attempts at gaining influence in the strategic region.

News Soviet WWII Monument Removed in Latvia RIGA (RIA Novosti) - A Soviet monument commemorating those who liberated the Baltic country from Nazi occupation has been removed from downtown Bauska, in southern Latvia, to a military cemetery, a public organization said Tuesday.

News Putin Escorts Prince East By Stepan Boldyrev On August 12 Vladimir Putin received Monaco's Prince Albert II, who had arrived in Russia on vacation. The event might have been just another piece of diplomatic protocol, but the Russian leader surprised the media by personally taking his guest to an archaeological site in the remote South Siberian region of Tyva. Putin and Albert II flew to the Tyva capital Kyzyl, about 4,700 kilometers southeast of Moscow, before being airlifted to the archaeologists' camp near Lake Tere-Khol, a further 250 kilometers to the southeast.

News Blogger Faces Trial for Insulting Police By Anna Arutunyan A blogger in the northern Russian city of Syktyvar is being charged with hate speech for insulting police officers in the latest clash between the virtual and the real in the Russian-speaking sector of a popular blogging service

News Monaco’s Prince Albert brings Russian Seals Home MOSCOW (AFP) - Prince Albert II of Monaco will be bringing back two babies from Russia - a couple of rare freshwater nerpa seals gifted to him by a government official, Russian agency ITAR-TASS reported Thursday.

National Nashi Camping By Dmitry Dmitriyev The European tradition of organizing political youth summer camps has caught on in Russia. Initially, "open air" political universities were only organized by the Russian leftists, but several years later the idea was espoused by the party of power, which found willing partners throughout society.

News Global Warming is Here By Nick Coleman It is summer in this reindeer-herding village in northern Russia and with not an iceberg in sight, residents are acquiring a taste for bathing in the local river. "We used to have ice on the river all year round. The warming process is speeding up," said the worried head of the state-controlled reindeer company at Kanchalan, Arkady Makhushkin.

News Georgia Pig Dumping? Or Just Hogwash MOSCOW (AFP) - As Georgia drummed up support over an alleged Russian missile strike this week, Moscow on Friday charged Tbilisi with threatening the region with a somewhat less sophisticated menace: dead pigs.

News Croatians Say ‘Da!’ to Cash and Russian ZAGREB (AFP) - Increasing numbers of Croatians want to see Russian taught in the country's schools once more so they can cash in on the economic opportunities the language offers, local media reported Sunday.

National Vyacheslav Nikonov:Delivering the Russian Language to the World By Dmitry Bulin In the past few years there has been much hand-wringing about the pervasiveness of Western culture in Russia: Western TV shows and films, the propaganda of the Western lifestyle, values and its worldview. Thus far, there has been much talk but little action on the issue. Things started moving on June 21 when President Vladimir Putin gave a nod to the Russian World foundation. Its functions include the promotion and dissemination of Russian at home and abroad, and the development and advancement of Russian culture. In an interview with The Moscow News, Vyacheslav Nikonov, its executive director, discusses the foundation's goals.

World Earthquake Kills Hundreds in Peru By Monte Hayes LIMA - A powerful 7.9-magnitude earthquake shook Peru's coast near the capital, killing at least 387 people and injuring more 1050 others, the Civil Defense said early Thursday.

World Strong quake hits Solomon Islands HONIARA (AFP) - A strong 6.7-magnitude earthquake in the Solomon Islands on Thursday caused panic in the capital but there were no reports of casualties or significant damage.The quake struck at a depth of just 1.8 kilometers below the sea and 73 kilometers southwest of Honiara, the capital of the Pacific island nation, the US Geological Service said on its website. Local journalist Evan Wasuka said there was violent shaking for nearly a minute when the quake struck at 7:39 pm.

World Drought in Turkey Hits Farms, Cities By Nicolas Cheviron YENICIFTLIK, Turkey - In western Turkey, where the lakes are drying up and the blazing sun burns the crops, a 10-month-long drought has ravaged farming and is now threatening water supplies in the big cities.