20:07
IVANOV-RUMSFELD TALKS TO PIVOT ON ANTIBALLISTIC MISSILE DEFENSE
On Saturday, the United States' Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld will arrive in Moscow to hold negotiations with his Russian analogue Sergei Ivanov. The Pentagon press service said Friday that in the focus of the upcoming Moscow talks will be antimissile defense and the struggle against international terrorism. More details...

19:55
ICELAND, RUSSIA TO BECOME COMPONENTS OF FUTURE ATLANTIC-PACIFIC SECURITY
Russia is to become a component part of a future security system, spanning from the Atlantic to Pacific. This viewpoint was voiced Friday by Halldor Ausgrimsson, Minister of Foreign Affairs and External Trade of Iceland, appearing at the Diplomatic Academy of the Russian Foreign Ministry. More details...

19:50
CNN SAYS FOCUS ON CIVILIAN CASUALTIES WOULD BE "PERVERSE"
According to the Washington Post (10/31/01), CNN Chair Walter Isaacson "has ordered his staff to balance images of civilian devastation in Afghan cities with reminders that the Taliban harbors murderous terrorists, saying it 'seems perverse to focus too much on the casualties or hardship in Afghanistan.'" More details...

19:43
COSMONAUT FEELS MIR WAS MORE COSY THAN ISS
Living conditions were better aboard Russia's Mir orbital space station than they are on the International Space Station, said Viktor Afanasyev, captain of the Expedition Two crew, on Friday. He was speaking to reporters along with his fellow crewmen, Russian test pilot Konstantin Kozeyev and French woman cosmonaut Claudie Haignere, about his impression of work on the ISS. More details...

19:15
PRAVDA.RU APPRECIATES CNN PRESS OFFICE’S WATCHFULNESS AND APOLOGIZES TO ITS READERS
CNN refutes allegations which can be found in the article by Irina Malenko of October 26th, 2001 titled “ASSOCIATION OF JOURNALISTS OF PALESTINE BLAMES CNN.” More details...

18:25
DMITRY LITVINOVICH: THE COLOMBIAN DEATH SQUADS
The civil war in Colombia has been going on for over 30 years. Thousands of people died during the contradiction between the rebels and rightist armed groups. The Colombian army, by the way, has been actively supporting the latter More details...

17:05
LEBANESE NEWSPAPER NOTES INCREASE OF RUSSIA'S ROLE WORLDWIDE
Russia's role in the international scene is increasing rapidly, especially after the September 11 events in the USA, writes Lebanese newspaper Al-Mustaqbal commenting on Lebanese prime minister Rafiq Hariri's stay in Moscow. More details...

16:48
GERMANY BELIEVES ESTONIA, LATVIA AND LITHUANIA CAN JOIN NATO SIMULTANEOUSLY
Germany believes Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania can join NATO simultaneously and is in favour of NATO's large-scale expansion, German Defence Minister Rudolf Scharping told Estonian Prime Minister Mart Laar on Friday. More details...

16:39
ITALIAN AND BRITISH PREMIERS STRESS RUSSIA'S GROWING ROLE IN COMBATING INTERNATIONAL TERRORISM
The situation in the Middle East, combating international terrorism and the situation in Afghanistan were in the center of the talks between Italian and British premiers Sylvio Berlusconi and Tony Blair on Friday night on Genoa. More details...

14:20
RUSSIA PROTECTED FROM BIO-ATTACK
Head of the Russian Defence Ministry's radiation, chemical and biological defence forces, Lieutenant-General Viktor Kholstov told journalists on Friday that Russia was protected from possible biological terrorist attacks by means of systems which not only incorporated the armed forces, but other structures including the emergencies and health ministries. More details...

14:14
THE RUSSIAN DEFENCE MINISTER AND THE US SECRETARY OF STATE FOR DEFENCE WILL DISCUSS INTERNATIONAL SECURITY ISSUES
Russian Defence Minister Sergei Ivanov will meet in Moscow on November 3 with US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, RIA Novosti was told on Friday in the Russian Defence Ministry. More details...

13:49
AGREEMENT ON CONSTRUCTING AN ATOMIC POWER PLANT TO BE SIGNED IN MOSCOW
During the visit to Moscow by Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee on November 4-6, a framework agreement will be signed on the construction of an atomic power plant in India with the participation of Russia. Minister of Atomic Energy Alexander Rumyantsev told reporters about this on Friday. More details...

13:38
VLADIMIR PUTIN, RAFIQ HARIRI DISCUSS SITUATION IN MIDDLE EAST
President Vladimir Putin of Russia and Prime Minister of Lebanon Rafiq Hariri are discussing the situation in the Middle East, Palestine and around Iraq. Their talks have started several minutes ago in the Kremlin's representation cabinet. More details...

13:36
RUSSIA BELIEVES LEBANON IS FRIENDLY COUNTRY
Russia regards Lebanon as a friendly country with which it has been long maintaining good relations, said Russian president Vladimir Putin when opening negotiations with Lebanese prime minister Rafiq Hariri in the Kremlin on Friday. More details...

13:28
PAKISTANI MILITANTS TO HELP TALIBAN
Militants from Pakistani regions bordering on Afghanistan are arriving in the country to help the Taliban movement. The fighters come from the Pushtun-inhabited regions, in particular, from the Bajaur district where the positions of radical Muslim groups are quite strong. More details...

13:25
RUSSIA HAS NO BIOLOGICAL WEAPONS - DEFENCE MINISTRY
Russia has no biological weapons, the head of the Russian Defence Ministry's Chemical, Biological and Radiological Defence Troops, Lieutenant-General Viktor Kholstov, has said. More details...

13:07
VLADIMIR PUTIN AND LEBANESE PRIME MINISTER DISCUSS SITUATION IN MIDDLE EAST
Russian President Vladimir Putin and Lebanese Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri are discussing the situation in the Middle East, in Palestine and around Iraq. Their talks have started in the Kremlin's Reception office some minutes ago. More details...

12:52
252 ENVELOPES WITH WHITE POWDER REGISTERED IN RUSSIA
A total of 252 envelopes with white powder have been registered in Russia this week but none of them contained anthrax agents. Chief sanitary doctor of Russia Gennady Onishchenko said that microbiological examination was being conducted in each such case. More details...

12:47
NOT A SINGLE CASE OF ANTHRAX REGISTERED IN RUSSIA
Not a single case of anthrax has been registered in Russia this year, Russia's Chief Sanitary Inspector Gennady Onishchenko told journalists on Friday. He said in some cases physicians suspected anthrax but tests proved negative. More details...

12:00
JOSEPH SOBRAN: PATRIOTISM OR NATIONALISM?
This is a season of patriotism, but also of something that is easily mistaken for patriotism; namely, nationalism. The difference is vital. G.K. Chesterton once observed that Rudyard Kipling, the great poet of British imperialism, suffered from a "lack of patriotism." More details...

11:26
USA TO USA THE AIR BASE IN AZERBAIJAN AGAINST AFGHANISTAN
Within its anti-terror campaign in Afghanistan, the United States intends to use the air base in Azerbaijan as a supply or emergency base in addition to the bases in Uzbekistan and Pakistan which are already being used. The Washington Post newspaper said this on Friday, referring to officials from the US administration. More details...

11:22
RUSSIAN DEFENCE INDUSTRY AT DUBAI AIRSHOW
The Dubai Airshow 2001 will feature over 200 products of the Russian defence industry. The exhibition will be held in Dubai, the economic capital of the United Arab Emirates, on November 4-8, and is the largest airshow in the Persian Gulf region and in the whole of Middle East. More details...

10:43
A GROUP OF RUSSIAN DIPLOMATS WERE AWARDED STATE ORDERS AND MEDALS OF MONGOLIA
On the occasion of the 80th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Mongolia and Russia on November 5, 1921 the head of the Mongolian state, Natsagiyn Bagabandi, issued a decree on decorating a group of Russian diplomats with state awards of the country. More details...

10:35
RUSSIAN MINISTER CALLED UPON THE WEST TO ABANDON SUSPICIOUSNESS WITH REGARD TO RUSSIA
Opening the fifth annual Russian investment symposium in Boston, Massachusetts state, on Thursday, Minister of Economic Development and Trade of the Russian Federation Gherman Gref called upon the western investment circles to abandon suspiciousness with regard to Russia. More details...

10:34
RUSSIAN BORDER GUARDS REGISTERED 40 POWERFUL EXPLOSIONS IN AFGHANISTAN
Russian border units have registered approximately 40 powerful explosions in the immediate proximity to the Tajik-Afghan border. More details...

10:31
BOMBINGS OF AFGHANISTAN CAN LAST FOR SEVERAL MONTHS - THE WASHINGTON POST
Bomb strikes at Afghanistan can last for several months. Then with air support a 20,000-strong military contingent will be brought in the territory of this country. This was disclosed on Friday by the Washington Post with reference to the sources in the western diplomatic quarters. More details...

10:29
FIFTH ANNUAL RUSSIAN INVESTMENT SYMPOSIUM STARTS IN BOSTON
The gala opening of the Fifth Annual Russian Investment Symposium took place in Boston on Thursday evening. Top-level Russian, American, and international business, and government officials are due to discuss the current economic climate in Russia and the possibilities of foreign investment at the three-day-long forum's sessions and seminars. The theme for this year's event, "Reform and Renewal", reflects both the persisting need for reform in Russia and Russia's dramatic achievements in this area over the past year. This year's programme features the state and prospects of investment in the Russian economy, investment opportunities in the energy, transport system, high technology, investment climate in various Russian regions, corporate governance reform, labour market potential, continuing risks for investors. More details...

10:06
MOSCOW RULES OUT PARTICIPATION OF THE TALIBAN IN THE FUTURE POWER STRUCTURES IN AFGHANISTAN
The future leadership in Kabul must represent all ethnic groups living in Afghanistan," but "no participation of the Taliban in the power structures is possible," Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs Igor Ivanov told reporters on Thursday in Washington after completing his negotiations with US Secretary of State Colin Powell. More details...

10:00
JUSTIN RAIMONDO: ATTACK OF THE MCCAINIACS MAD BOMBER MCCAIN: WILL HE EVER SHUT UP?
War is hell – and, thanks to Senator John McCain, it has just gotten a little more hellish. Writing in the Wall Street Journal, this angry embittered man has launched an effort to undermine the war effort, one that will no doubt be far more effective than the Lilliputian efforts of peaceniks. "War," he intones, "is a miserable business." Let us "shed a tear," he opines, "and then get on with the business of killing our enemies as quickly as we can, and as ruthlessly as we must." More details...

09:59
PRIME MINISTER OF LEBANON RAFIQ HARIRI TO MEET RUSSIAN LEADERS FRIDAY
Prime minister of Lebanon Rafiq Hariri, who is now in Russia on a working visit, will meet on Friday with Russian leaders. More details...