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/ 22 May 2008

United walk tall in Europe

Manchester United were crowned kings of Europe for the third time on Wednesday when they beat Chelsea 6-5 on penalties after a breathless all-English Champions League final had finished 1-1 after extra time. United’s 37-year-old goalkeeper, Edwin van der Sar, saved the decisive spot kick from substitute Nicolas Anelka.

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/ 15 May 2008

Algeria in new talks on Russian warplanes

Algeria has started negotiations with Russia on receiving SU-30 fighter jets in exchange for a consignment of faulty MiG-29 warplanes it returned in 2006, Interfax news agency reported on Thursday. Long-time Russian ally Algeria sent back 15 MiG-29s for containing sub-standard parts and has now begun talks on replacing them with up to 16 SU-30s.

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/ 7 May 2008

Russia swears in Medvedev as new leader

Dmitry Medvedev was sworn in as President in a solemn ceremony in the Kremlin’s throne room on Wednesday, ushering in an unprecedented period of dual rule with his predecessor Vladimir Putin, who becomes Prime Minister. Medvedev placed his hand on a red, leather-bound copy of the Russian Constitution to take the oath of office before 2 000 invited guests.

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/ 29 April 2008

Russia shows off upgraded nuclear bomber

Russia showed off on Tuesday the first modernised Tupolev Tu-160 strategic bomber, which a senior air force official said would help Moscow match the nuclear capability of a potential enemy. Russian television showed the giant, white-painted airplane releasing parachutes to slow down the speed as it landed at Engels airbase in the Volga region of Saratov.

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/ 17 April 2008

What knife in my back?

Russians have long used drink to take the edge off workplace stress: lately one man’s senses were so dulled he failed to notice a knife stuck in his back by a colleague, newspapers reported on Thursday. A factory electrician in the town of Vologda was stabbed by the building’s security guard as they were having a drunken argument.

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/ 28 March 2008

Kremlin: Nato ties hinge on Ukraine-Georgia issue

The fate of bids by ex-Soviet Ukraine and Georgia to join Nato will show if the Western alliance is serious about cooperating with Russia or bent on going it alone, a Kremlin spokesperson said on Friday. Dmitry Peskov said that despite its longstanding status as a partner of Nato, Moscow was still at a loss about the alliance’s plans.

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/ 25 March 2008

Medvedev presses Nato over expansion

Russian president-elect Dmitry Medvedev maintained pressure on Nato on Tuesday not to grant membership to Ukraine and Georgia, saying a week before an alliance summit that it would undermine European security. Ukraine and Georgia are lobbying Nato to grant them a Membership Action Plan, which is seen as the first step towards joining the alliance.

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/ 11 March 2008

Russia close to earning $1bn a day from energy

Russian energy exports are close to reaching a milestone -billion per day value mark bringing in more money for social spending and creating additional inflationary pressure, a report said on Tuesday. Russian brokerage UralSib said in written research high earnings may also prompt the government to alleviate the tax burden on the oil sector