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US helps Russia tackle wildfires
The first US air force planes have arrived in Russia loaded with equipment to help tackle wildfires that have been raging across vast areas of the country for weeks.Two C-130 aircraft loaded with aid landed at Moscow's Vnukovo airport on Saturday as Russian officials said the ferocious blazes which have killed at least 50 people were beginning to be brought under control.
Russia lost quarter of crops in drought; grain export ban to stay in place
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev conceded Thursday that a quarter of Russian crops have been lost in the recent drought, leaving many farms on the brink of bankruptcy. The government will prevent increases in the price of grain and fodder, which will eventually affect the prices of food products like flour, bread, meat, and milk, Medvedev said at a government agriculture meeting in Rostov.
McGeady signs with Spartak Moscow
Republic of Ireland winger Aiden McGeady has joined group-stage contenders FC Spartak Moskva from Celtic FC for a fee reported to be the highest ever involving a Scottish club according to a news release posted today on the UEFA Championships League web site.
Russians snap up Bulgarian seaside properties
Russian are flocking to Bulgaria seeking property deals away from Russia's heat and forest fires, report Bulgarian media. Middle class Russian businessmen are hurrying to buy homes in Bulgarian Black Sea resorts and to send their families there to escape the heat and fires raging in Russia.
Raven to launch Nizhny Novgorod logistics complex
British fund Raven Russian, in cooperation with Avalon group, has announced plans to invest between $50m and $100m building a logistics complex in Nizhny Novgorod region.
Sakhalin's Odoptu field to launch production
Exxon Mobil Corp. will begin oil production from Sakhalin-1’s Odoptu field off Russia’s Pacific coast, at the end of September, spokeswoman Dilyara Sydykova said. The field will add 30,000 barrels a day of oil to Russia’s balance during the month, according to a report released today by the International Energy Agency.
Danone to sell WBD stake after Unimilk deal
Groupe Danone SA, the world’s largest yogurt maker, agreed to sell its 18.4 percent stake in OAO Wimm-Bill-Dann back to the Russian company for $470 million as it shifts to an alliance with competitor OAO Unimilk.
Severstal attempts to sell US steel mills
Severstal , Russia's largest steelmaker, has put some of its loss-making U.S. mills for sale, several sources told American Metal Market in an article posted on its website. The report stated that Severstal is looking to sell operations in Warren, Ohio, in Sparrows Point, Maryland and in Wheeling, West Virginia and that it has sent information packets about the operations to a range of steel majors.
S-300 missiles have been in Abkhazia over a year, official says
Russia says it has deployed S-300 anti-aircraft missiles in the breakaway region of Abkhazia in Georgia. The Georgian government - which refuses to acknowledge Abkhazia's independence - says it is "concerned" by the move. The announcement comes just days after an unscheduled visit by Russian President Dmitry Medvedev to the region.
Firefighters winning in Russia
The number and extent of forest fires in Russia's central European provinces appeared to be abating for the first time in days, a senior government official said Thursday. Vladimir Stepanov, head of the national crisis centre, was quoted by the Interfax news agency as saying that the number of fires and the area of land burning had fallen in the past 24 hours.