Russian military Tu-154 crashes in the Black Sea killing all 92 on board

All 92 people on board the Russian military Tu-154 were killed after it came down into the Black Sea shortly after take-off near the resort town of Sochi. Terrorism has been ruled out as the cause of the crash. it could have been due to a technical malfunction or crew error.
The aircraft was a Tu-154, a Soviet-designed three-engine airliner and it disappeared minutes after taking off over the Black Sea.
The plane had departed from Adler, south of Sochi, where it had stopped to refuel after taking off from Moscow. It was headed for Russia's Hmeimim airbase outside the coastal Syrian city of Latakia.
This has been reported in news.sky.com dated 25 December 2016.

The plane was carrying 64 members of the renowned military choir and dance band, the Alexandrov Ensemble (better known as the Red Army Choir) and included its conductor Valery Khalilov. It was on its way to Syria to give a concert at a Russian air base.
Apart from them, there were nine members of the media and eight crew members.
President Vladimir Putin has ordered an investigation into the cause of the crash and declared one day of nationwide mourning.


Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org

Squirrels of Seattle, Boston and Toronto are stealing Christmas light bulbs

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Moody and the half pant brigade (satire)

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Meryl Streep creates history with her 30th Golden Globes nomination


Suicide bomber kills at least 49 people in a military camp in Aden

US estimates that active ISIS fighters in Iraq and Syria have dropped considerably

Syrian forces shoot dead 82 Aleppo civilians in their homes

Russian pilot saves 39 lives after making emergency landing of Il-18 in Arctic wasteland

Russian pilot saves 39 lives after force landing his Il-18 on a wasteland in the Arctic. He carried out a near impossible emergency landing. The ageing Ilyushin-18 broke into three pieces with both wings torn off - the 'miraculous touchdown' was 19 miles from its destination of Tiksi.
This has been reported in dailymail.co.uk dated 20 December 2016.

The 44-year-old captain from Yekaterinburg was hailed a 'hero' for overcoming technical problems in atrocious weather as he piloted the 51-year-old plane. Among his passengers were pilots in Vladimir Putin's air force flying for training in the Arctic. Several of them are believed to be seriously injured.
The aircraft was on a flight from Yekaterinburg to Tiksi with a stopover in Kansk. One probable reason for the accident was that the IL-18 suffered from ice on its wings as it approached its final destination in appalling weather. The black boxes of the plane have been retrieved and have been sent for decryption and analysis.


Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org

Squirrels of Seattle, Boston and Toronto are stealing Christmas light bulbs

Petrol tanker crashes into other vehicles in Kenya - leaves at least 30 dead

Qantas to fly non-stop from Perth to London in 17 and a half hours


Moody and the half pant brigade (satire)

Lord Shiva cracks jokes and Durga fries samosas (satire)

Didi sharpens her weapons to conquer the Hindi belt (satire)


AR Rahman contender for Oscar nomination for Pele: Birth of a Legend

Julia Roberts of 'Pretty Woman' fame to star in her first TV series

Meryl Streep creates history with her 30th Golden Globes nomination


Suicide bomber kills at least 49 people in a military camp in Aden

US estimates that active ISIS fighters in Iraq and Syria have dropped considerably

Syrian forces shoot dead 82 Aleppo civilians in their homes

Donald Trump is the Time 'Person of the Year.'

President-elect Donald Trump has been named Time 'Person of the Year.' He beat the finalists that included Hillary Clinton, Beyonce and Vladmir Putin. This was the second year in a row that Donald Trump had been a finalist of the accolade. Hillary Clinton came in second and Hackers came in third.
On the recognition, Trump commented that 'to be on the cover of Time as Person of the Year is a tremendous honor' while Time editor-in-chief Nancy Gibbs said it was the easiest decision the magazine has ever made for the honor.
This has been reported in dailymail.co.uk dated 7 December 2016.

Time had earlier revealed that Prime Minister Modi was the winner of the online reader's poll for the 'Person of the Year' honor by winning 18 percent of the vote. He, thus, finished well ahead of the other finalists. There was a three-way tie for second place, with Trump, President Barack Obama and Julian Assange all of whom finished with 7 percent of the vote.
Last year, Trump was beaten by German Chancellor Angela Merkel.


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Make in Odisha conclave attracts investment of more than Rs 22000 crore on first day

Guwahati airport could become a major airline hub and gateway to the Southeast Asia

Patna zoo adds Chyawanprash to its menu to protect chimpanzees from cold


Lord Shiva cracks jokes and Durga fries samosas (satire)

Moody hates black money and strikes at midnight (satire)

Didi sharpens her weapons to conquer the Hindi belt (satire)


Ohio student stabs people with a butcher knife before being shot dead

Ukraine plans missile tests, Russia responds by sending warships to the Black Sea

London Police deputes anti-terrorism patrol units under Operation Servator


Sir Roger Moore says he could play James Bond once again

President Putin grants Russian citizenship to Hollywood star Steven Seagal

US President Barack Obama presents Medal of Freedom to Tom Hanks, Bruce Springsteen, Robert De Niro, Diana Ross and Bill Gates

Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin to bury the hatchet and work together to fight terrorism

Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin, the two most powerful leaders in the world today, have agreed in principle to work together to tackle international terrorism and extremism. The two of them had spoken for the first time on the telephone since Donald Trump won the election.
He will be inaugurated as president on 20 January next year.
Kremlin has added that they will work towards "constructive co-operation" to improve "the extremely unsatisfactory state of Russian-US relations at present".
This has been reported in news.sky.com dated 15 November 2016.

Moscow has indicated that the pair will continue contact by phone and that they are working towards meeting in person. Relations between President Barack Obama and President Vladimir Putin had become strained over a number of issues including the Syrian war, where the countries back different sides.
In addition, there had also been tension over the Ukraine conflict, apart from allegations of Russian cyber-attacks in the just concluded election campaign.
It seems the two leaders had discussed a range of issues including the threats and challenges facing the United States and Russia, strategic economic issues and the historical US-Russia relationship. The basic intention is to bring back Russian and American relations to a stable path of development.


Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org


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Vladimir Putin is 6th most popular person of 2016

As per polls conducted by YouGov of people across 30 different countries, the Russian leader Vladimir Putin has raced up the popularity charts of world figures jumping past Pope Francis and the Dalai Lama. He has been voted sixth in a list of the most admired men in the world during 2016. Last year, he was 11th on the list, behind former Preston North End loan signing David Beckham.
This has been reported in dailymail.co.uk dated 7 May 20116.

In spite of backing the regime of Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad, the Russian President Vladimir Putin has literally stormed up the list of most admired men.
Of course, the top five are Microsoft boss Bill Gates is the most admired man in the world followed by US President Barack Obama, Chinese leader Xi Jinping and actor Jackie Chan, physicist Stephen Hawkin in that order. Putin is sixth.
In the women's section, Angelina Jolie is the most admired female, then comes Queen Elizabeth II and Hillary Clinton. Sandra Bullock comes tenth. Nobel peace prize winner Malala Yousafzai has fallen in popularity from second in the female list to seventh, behind Hillary Clinton, Oprah Winfrey, Michelle Obama and Canadian singer Celine Dion.


Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org

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Vladimir Putin sends greetings to Russian concert held in the ruins of Palmyra

Russian President Vladimir Putin has delivered an address broadcast from Russia at the start of the Russian concert held amidst the ruins of Palmyra that has been liberated from the ISIS militants. It was a Russian classical music concert and the venue was the ruins of Palmyra which was the scene of mass executions staged by Islamic State militants less than a year ago.
This has been reported in news.sky.com dated 5 May 2016.

The concert was conducted by Valery Gergiev led Saint Petersburg's Mariinsky Theatre Orchestra in the performance of pieces by Johann Sebastian Bach, Sergei Prokofiev and Rodion Shchedrin. In the audience were Russian soldiers, government ministers and foreign journalists brought in by the Kremlin. In his address, Russian President Vladimir Putin said - 'Thank you for today's amazing humanitarian act - the concert in a Palmyra liberated from terrorists'.
In the course of the concert, the cellist Sergei Roldugin played a solo against the backdrop of Palmyra's Roman amphitheatre. Sergei Roldugin is a friend of the Russian President and was recently linked in the scandal over the leaked Panama Papers. He is the head of an offshore empire that controls some $2bn and has been fiercely defended by Mr Putin.
Incidentally, the Palmyra concert was not the first one conducted by Mr Gergiev - he has conducted similar programs in the areas where the Russian military has carried out military operations. For example - in 2008, he conducted a concert in Tskhinvali, the main city in the separatist Georgian region of South Ossetia that was heavily damaged in the Russian-Georgian war that year.


Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org

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Didi wants to move around fast and wants a solution (satire)

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James Cameron, writer director of Avatar, promises his fans four sequels

'Deadpool' sequel planned and in the pipeline with Ryan Reynolds

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Most popular world leaders - Barack Obama No 1, Narendra Modi No 7

#barackobama #NarendraModi #FrancoisHollande #AngelaMerkel #VladimirPutin Results of the WIN/Gallup survey for ORB International's 'International World Leader Index' reveal that Barack Obama is undoubtedly the No 1 while India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi is placed at 7th position. This has been reported in ibnlive.com dated 24 December 2015.

For Narendra Modi, the breakdown of the percentage is: favourable view from 24 per cent of people polled throughout 65 countries around the world as opposed to 20 per cent unfavorable - his score, thus, was +4 per cent in the WIN/Gallup survey.
Barack Obama grabbed the topmost spot with a score of +30 per cent - there was a whopping 59 per cent in his favor and 29 per cent unfavorable.
At No 2 position is German Chancellor Angela Merkel - her score is +13 per cent
Next comes British Prime Minister David Cameron at No 3 - his score is +10 per cent. He scored a 37 per cent favorable rating while another 28 per cent viewed him unfavorably
4th - French President Francois Hollande
5th - Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin
6th - Chinese President Xi Jinping
8th - Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff
9th - Saudi Arabia King Salman bin Abdulaziz al Saud
10th - Iranian President Hassan Rouhani
Obviously, President Barack Obama is significantly more admired around the world than anyone else.

(Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org)

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Angela Merkel named Person of the Year 2015 by Time magazine

#angelamerkel #timepoy #germany #personoftheyear Angela Merkel (61), the Chancellor of Germany, has been chosen by Time magazine as its Person of the Year for 2015. Her image on the cover of its upcoming issue bestows upon her the title of "Chancellor of the Free World."
She is the first woman to receive the honor by herself in two decades. Her leadership in the refugee crisis, and her help in keeping the Euro afloat were her achievements.
This has been reported in foxnews.com dated 9 December 2015.

Editor Nancy Gibbs has said that Time chose the world leader "for asking more of her country than most politicians would dare, for standing firm against tyranny as well as expedience and for providing steadfast moral leadership in a world where it is in short supply."
Her strong response to Russian President "Vladimir Putin's creeping theft of Ukraine" also went in her favor.
Incidentally, Angela Merkel is the fourth woman since 1927 to be chosen and the first since opposition leader Corazon C. Aquino of the Philippines in 1986. Moreover, she is the first German since Willy Brandt, the West German chancellor named in 1970 for "seeking to bring about a fresh relationship between East and West" during the Cold War.
In 1999, Time picked the German-born Albert Einstein as Person of the Century.
Other finalists for 2015 included Donald Trump, Islamic State leader Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi, Caitlyn Jenner, the Black Lives Matter protest movement, Putin, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani and Uber's CEO, Travis Kalanick.

(Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org)

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Russia removes India from its safe destination list - Goa tourism to suffer

Russia has issued the latest travel advisory to its citizens by removing India from its list of safe destinations citing security reasons. The move is seen as a major blow to Goa's tourism industry because Goa has always been one of the favorite and an affordable destination for tourists arriving from Russia.
This has been reported in zeenews.india.com dated 29 November 2015.

The Russian information center in Goa has revealed that the revised travel advisory had been issued following the blacklisting of Egypt and Turkey.
Russian President Vladimir Putin had ordered cancellation of all flights to Egypt following the October 31 explosion of a Russian passenger plane near a popular tourist spot in the country. Russia has also appealed to its citizens to cancel vacations in Turkey after Turkish missiles because of the downing of a Russian fighter jet in Syria.
However, Russia has put countries like Cuba, south Vietnam and southern China under the 'safe' category in the list.
Incidentally, Russians make up nearly half of the total foreign visitors in Goa and numbers have been on the rise since 2002 - in 2013, the number was around 250,000. Obviously, the decision of Moscow would adversely tourism potentials in Goa.

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Mad rush for tourists stranded in Egypt to return home

It now appears that the downed flight’s data recorder of the Metrojet Airbus A321 that was flying from Sharm el-Sheikh to St Petersburg tends to suggest a “violent, sudden” explosion that caused the Russian plane’s crash and, hence, thousands of travelers from Britain and Russia have been stranded in Egypt. Russian President Vladimir Putin has suspended all Russian flights to Egypt and has asked for up to 50,000 holiday-makers in Egypt to be brought home.
This has been reported in nzherald.co.nz dated 8 November 2015.

The UK has already suspended flights to Sharm el-Sheikh which is a popular tourist destination and resort area between the desert of the Sinai Peninsula and the Red Sea. Britain is flying Britons home and estimates that 19,000 of its nationals continue to remain stranded in Sharm el-Sheikh.
Other countries like Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany have also restricted travel to Sharm el-Sheikh and, the situation has resulted in increased tension and travel chaos following French aviation officials informing the media that the Russian plane crash in Egypt last week was not due to technical failures.
French officials have said the flight data recorder suggested a "violent, sudden" explosion was responsible for the crash that left all 224 people on board. Moreover, intercepted militant calls indicate that a bomb had been put in the hold before take-off. Militants linked to the Islamic State group (ISIS) say they downed the plane.

(Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org)


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Forbes list of most powerful persons of 2015 has Narendra Modi at 9th position

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has moved up the ladder of global power as per Forbes list of 2015 - he is now in 9th position while in 2014, he was at 14th position. Russian President is at No 1 with Angela Merkel at No 2 and Barack Obama is at 3rd position. Others in the list are Pope Francis (fourth) and Chinese President Xi Jinping (fifth).
This has been reported in economictimes.indiatimes.com dated 5 November 2015.

Of course, Forbes has added a word of caution to Prime Minister Modi. They have said that while he is governing 1.2 billion people in India, it requires more than mere "shaking hands" and that he must pass his party BJP's reform agenda and keep "fractious opposition" under control.
The only other Indian in the most powerful people's list is Reliance Industries Chairman Mukesh Ambani placed at the 36th position. And, as regards persons of Indian-origin, steel tycoon Lakshmi Mittal is at the 55th spot and Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella is ranked 61st.

(Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org)


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Fight fire with fire - have ‘Award Return Festivals’

Operation unearthing Black Money (satire)


Fossils and eggshells of baby dinosaurs found in Gobi Desert

Parama Island flyover adds to traffic jams in Kolkata – made one-way

Future of street foods in Delhi bleak - Delhi bans cooking on roads


Arnold Schwarzenegger could play in Rajinikanth-starrer 'Enthiran 2'

Emma Roberts and her horror-comedy series "Scream Queens"

India is one of 81 countries vying for Best Foreign Film in the 88th Academy Awards


Despite US airstrikes, ISIS still makes £300-million a year from oil

Syrian gang caught trying to smuggle 20-tonnes of cannabis worth £150million into Europe

US airdrops 50-tons of ammunition for M-16s and AK-47 to Syrian fighters

President Putin dives to the depths of the Black Sea to explore a shipwreck

#vladimirputin #blacksea #crimea #shipwreck Vladimir Putin, President of Russia, is a world leader who loves adventures – and, in his latest such a feat, he has dived 83m to the bottom of the Black Sea in a mini-submarine. His mission - to explore an ancient shipwreck off Crimea as reported in nzherald.co.nz dated 20 August 2015.

This feat of his was the latest in a long line of adventurous stunts where he has tranquillized wild tigers and flown with endangered cranes.
Obviously, he wants to cement his image as an adventurer and show that he has control of the annexed territory. His mission was part of a Russian Geographic Society expedition that is conducting research into Crimea's ancient trade route. The ancient shipwreck was of a 9th or 10th century Byzantine trading ship and it had been discovered near Balaklava earlier this year. It appeared to be well preserved and had dozens of artefacts including a large quantity of amphorae.
(Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org)

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Russian city calls off yoga classes because it could spread new religious cults

#NarendraModi #VladimirPutin #hathayoga #Nizhnevartovsk Fearing that yoga could lead to the spread of new religious cults and movements, officials in the central Russian city of Nizhnevartovsk have called off all yoga classes that used to be held in both private and municipal facilities.
This s believed to be a part of a crackdown on “religious cults.”
This has been reported in time.com 1 July 2015.

As per reports, owners of two of the city’s main hatha-yoga studios have received letters from government officials in which they have been told to immediately cease their classes because the practice of yoga could “spread new religious cults and movements.”
Yoga has been described as “inextricably linked to religious practices” and having a distinct “occult character.” Incidentally, Hatha yoga is based in Hindu tradition. However, it is mostly practiced as a physical exercise to improve flexibility and deep breathing.
It may be recalled that President Vladimir Putin had wanted to know – does Modi do yoga? This was after Prime Minister Narendra Modi had announced the formation of a separate ministry for yoga!
(Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org)

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Boko Haram unleashes another round of terror on Nigeria – kill 150 in Borno state

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Mangoes are forever

Ripe mangoes and mango cakes or amsatta

Good news from the Cold War front – Putin rings up Obama in the White House

#BarackObama #VladimirPutin #ISIS #Syria #Irannucleardeal #coldwar There appears to be some good news from the Cold War front. President Putin has rung up President Obama in the White House and expressed a desire to meet, sit down and try to find out a workable solution to solve the global problems that are being faced.
This has been reported in zeenews.india.com dated 26 June 2015.

The recent unrest in Ukraine over the annexation of Crimea by Russia coupled with the increasing clout and influence of the Islamic State, the civil war in Syria and Iran’s nuclear deal, are a few problems that has landed the world in a chaotic situation.
The face-off between the United States and Russia on Ukraine has led to the precipitation of a Cold War and, both sides want to have control of the northern areas - NATO has indicated that it would step up its military presence in eastern Europe, while Russia is trying to prevent that.
Already several sanctions have been slapped on individuals and organizations because of the Ukraine affair. President Putin has, all along, denied siding with the pro-Russian rebels in Ukraine and, the phone call with Obama, had been initiated by him.
The crisis in Ukraine has taken the lives of at least 6,500 people in a little over a year and a peace deal was struck in Minsk, Belarus.
The two leaders have also reportedly discussed Syria, where the self-proclaimed Islamic State group has made rapid gains, apart from the historic negotiations between world powers and Iran over its disputed nuclear program. They have also underscored the importance of continued P5+1 unity in ongoing negotiations to ensure that Iran does not acquire a nuclear weapon.
(Image courtesy wikmediacommons.org)

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John Kerry in Sochi on a fence mending mission with Vladimir Putin

#JohnKerry #Russia #Crimea #VladimirPutin US Secretary of State John Kerry would be visiting Sochi on a fence mending mission with Russian President Vladimir Putin as indicated in news.sky.com dated 11 May 2015.
John Kerry would be meeting not only Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in the Black Sea resort of Sochi but also President Putin with the intention of fixing relations that have been soured by the Ukraine and Syria crises.

This would also be Kerry’s first trip to Russia since the Ukraine conflict erupted in April 2014 and in which Russia has seized control of Crimea. As a result, Western nations have accused Russia of supporting separatists in Ukraine. Even now, despite a ceasefire being in place, there are sporadic clashes between government and rebel forces in the eastern Donetsk and Luhansk regions. Of course, Moscow continues to deny the claims.
So far, more than 8,000 people are believed to have died in the conflict.
In the opinion of the Russia's foreign ministry, there are hopes that the visit of Kerry would help to normalize bilateral relations since global stability is largely dependent on it. As per reports, the subjects of Yemen and Iran could also feature in the discussions.

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‘Be my guest for the 70th anniversary of end of WWII’, Putin tells Kim Jong-Un

#vladimirputin #kimjongun #victoryday #WWII #redsquare Russian President Vladimir Putin has sent invitations to 26 world leaders to attend Victory Day celebrations to mark the 70th anniversary of the Soviet Union's victory over Nazi Germany and Kim Jong-Un, the North Korean is one of the invitees.
He would be making his first foreign trip since taking power three years ago as he accepts the invitation from Russia as reported in dailymail.co.uk dated 17 March 2015.
North Korea has not officially commented, but the visit has been confirmed by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. As per information, the leaders of China, Cuba, India, Mongolia, South Africa and Vietnam have confirmed their attendance.
The announcement has come soon after Russian President Vladimir Putin reappeared in public after suddenly disappearing for a 10-day period that led to speculations about his whereabouts.
The program is planned for May 9 and the highlight would be a military parade in the Red Square that would be overseen by President Putin. It is actually an annual event but it will be expanded this year to include 15,000 troops, cadets and Cossacks. This has been revealed by Russia's defense minister.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel is one of the leaders who plans to stay away from the parade, but she will be visiting Moscow the next day for a separate ceremony with Putin.

A few more must reads -

Nashik Kumbhmela 2015 – a once in 12-years pilgrimage

Trip to Nashik should take in Shirdi and the Ajanta and Ellora caves

Nashik, a tourist center with links to the epic Ramayana

Nashik, a tourist center with links to the Mahabharata
Kumbhmela 2015 in Nashik – guided tours to wineries and vineyards

First Russian woman cosmonaut returns to Earth after six-month stay in ISS

European court terms obesity as a disability

Two years after Nirbhaya rape case in New Delhi, rapists still free

Sunshine means Vitamin D – good for health in measured dose

Maharashtra could soon have unpaid sweepers cleaning government offices

Mysterious disappearance of President Putin – not seen in public for last nine days

#vladimirputin #kremlin #olympicgymnast Since President Vladimir Putin has not been seen in public for the last nine days, there is a hint of mystery in the air and it is rumored that he is 'alive' but 'neutralized' probably by shadowy security chiefs as they have stage a stealthy and silent coup in Moscow.
This has been reported in dailymail.co.uk dated 15 March 2015.
As per information filtering out, former FSB chief Nikolai Patrushev was behind the plot – this has been claimed by chairman of the pro-Kremlin national Islamic Committee, Geydar Dzhemal.
As per a published photo, President Putin had, apparently, met the chairman of the Supreme Court Vyacheslav Lebedev recently but, it is believed that the video footage had been released by Putin loyalists and it could be not anew one but several years old, probably of 2011.
To add to the confusion, there were more rumors that Putin's alleged girlfriend, Olympic gymnast 31-year-old Alina Kabayeva had given birth to a child in Switzerland. This was denied by the Kremlin.
Incidentally, the political chaos in Moscow has come following Western sanctions and a low oil price have caused mayhem to the Russian economy, with a serious fall in the rouble. Many of Putin's entourage have benefited and have become hugely rich under his rule and now, they face a bleak and uncertain future as they see their fortunes evaporating.

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Nashik Kumbhmela 2015 – a once in 12-years pilgrimage

Trip to Nashik should take in Shirdi and the Ajanta and Ellora caves

First Russian woman cosmonaut returns to Earth after six-month stay in ISS

European court terms obesity as a disability

Save environment ban thermocol

Two years after Nirbhaya rape case in New Delhi, rapists still free

Sunshine means Vitamin D – good for health in measured dose

Maharashtra could soon have unpaid sweepers cleaning government offices

David Cameron warns Vladimir Putin of more sanctions if Ukraine aggression continues

#DavidCameron #VladimirPutin #Ukraine #sanctions From all appearances it is becoming evident that Britain is planning to take drastic steps against Russia until it takes necessary action to put an end to aggression in Ukraine. Britain Prime Minister David Cameron has intimated as much to Russian President Vladimir Putin as reported in dailymail.co.uk dated 6 March 2015.
The Prime Minister has expressed his feelings by saying that the Russian president has ‘ripped up’ the rule book and could not expect still to have access to international markets and finance. He has given an indirect threat of take sanctions against Russia to a ‘whole different level’ if Vladimir Putin goes ahead with his tactics of aggression.
He has also hinted that the West must be prepared to ‘settle in for a long and determined position’ against the Moscow government and that in case there are further incursions into Ukraine, those should not be treated lightly but be punished.
Britain’s Prime Minister was sharing a piece of his mind with the Wall Street Journal and commented that if Russia is going to rip up the rule book of the 21st century and destabilize a sovereign country, then it should be told that such actions cannot be condoned. There will be repercussions and its effects would be felt by Russia in different areas like having access to international markets, international finance, and international systems.

Ukraine sticks to ceasefire deal – withdraws heavy weapons from war zones

#ukraineceasefire #Minsk #VladimirPutin #Ukraine #Kharkiv #Mariupol In keeping with the ceasefire accord, Ukrainian forces have started the process of withdrawing its heavy weapons from the warzones as agreed with the pro-Russian separatist rebels. This has been confirmed by a military spokesman and reported in news.sky.com dated 22 February 2015.
Under the terms of the peace agreement signed in Minsk there was to be an exchange of all prisoners as well as a cessation of hostilities – so far, only 139 Ukrainian soldiers and 52 rebels have been swapped.
However, there appears to be no corresponding gesture from the other side because convoys of armored vehicles have been tracked entering Ukraine from Russia. Also, attacks from pro-Russia rebels have been continuing near the village of Shyrokyne which is close to Mariupol. To add to the confusion, at least two people have been killed and 15 others wounded flowing the throwing of an "unknown explosive device" from a car in the government-controlled city of Kharkiv.
The Interior Ministry of Ukraine considers this as an act of terrorism and has taken place during a peace march to mark one year since former president Viktor Yanukovych was ousted from power. The authorities have detained some suspects in this regard.
In this respect, Air Chief Marshal Lord Stirrup has accused President Vladimir Putin of running a ‘gangster regime’ and has also remarked that UK should think on whether it should supply weapons to Ukraine.