Motor traffic along Kolyma highway in Magadan reg to be resumed Wednesday.

MAGADAN, August 25 (Itar-Tass) -- Motor traffic will be resumed along
the Kolyma highway in Russia's Far Eastern Magadan region on Wednesday
after washed out sections of the highway are restored, a spokesman for the
regional emergencies administration told Itar-Tass.
Heavy rains have washed away two sections, of 30 and 250 metres, of
the highway linking the cities of Yakutsk and Magadan. About 50 land
levellers, bulldozers and other pieces of machinery are involved in repair
works.
The bad weather has forced the Magadan authorities to impose the state
of emergency and keep rescuers on alert.
Rope ferrying has been organized across the River Myakit.

.Medvedev hosts U2's Bono at Black Sea resort.

SOCHI, August 25 (Itar-Tass) -- Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on
Tuesday hosted U2 frontman Bono at his summer residence near the Black Sea
resort city of Sochi and praised him for writing music that "unites
generations." The Russian president chatted in English with Bono, whose
band will play its first-ever concert in Moscow on August 25 as part of
its "360" world tour.
Bono joked about Medvedev's taste in music, saying: "I come here to
cross the great divide between me, a Led Zeppelin fan, and you, the Deep
Purple fan." But Medvedev admitted he also loves Led Zeppelin.
The Russian president said, however, he did not want to restrict his
conversation to music only. So, along with their music and gastronomic
likes, the two spoke about various global problems, such as the
development of African countries, the fight against infectious diseases,
financial reports of big corporations.
"You are doing important things, because taking care of people is not
only a job for politicians," Medvedev said.
Bono, a noted philanthropist whose humanitarian work has also included
pushing rich nations to write off billion-dollar debts to poverty-stricken
countries, told Medvedev that spending 40 cents per day could eliminate
the transfer of HIV from mother to child by 2015. He urged the Russian
president to encourage a Russian company to join his Red campaign to fund
AIDS, TB and malaria treatment.
"The charity work that you and your colleagues do has brought you
respect all over the world," Medvedev said.
After the conversation, Medvedev and Bono took a stroll along the
Black Sea coast.

.Putin urges for support to flood victims in Russia's Far East.

PETROPAVLOVSK-KAMCHATSKY, August 25 (Itar-Tass) -- Russian Prime
Minister Vladimir Putin on Wednesday called for control over support
measures to victims of heavy floods in Russia's Far Eastern Magadan region.
During his meeting with Magadan region governor Nikolai Dudov, he
urged for material support to the flood victims.
According to the Magadan region governor, floods have washed away
several sections of the federal highway, blocking a number of settlements
and about 40 motor vehicles. "There is no danger to the settlements," he
said.
"You must keep the situation under control and evacuate people from
the highway," Putin stressed.

.Russia's Plushenko banned from ice competitions, to appeal against
ISU move.
25/8 Tass 124

GENEVA, August 25 (Itar-Tass) -- Russian Olympic gold and silver
medallist, skater Evgeni Plushenko, will not take part in the Sochi
Olympics in 2014 after failing to appeal a June decision by the
International Skating Union (ISU), which punished him for skating in
exhibitions without permission from the Russian federation.
Plushenko did not appeal in the allotted 21 days, and the ISU said on
Monday its decision was final. The Russian skater is now ineligible for
"any ISU activity," including the Olympics, world championships and Grand
Prix series, it said.
Plushenko skated in two exhibitions the week after he withdrew from
the worlds in March, which runs counter to ISU's eligibility rules.
Meanwhile, his wife and manager, Yana Rudkovskaya, has denied
information about the ban on his participation in the Sochi Olympics.
"The International Skating Union (ISU)'s rules only stipulate the
disqualification due to doping problems," she said, adding that this was
not the case with Plushenko.
According to Rudkovskaya, her husband will ask the ISU to restore his
amateur status in the nearest future. "The Russian Figure Skating
Federation is ready to support Yevgeni's appeal. I think everything will
be all right. He will skip this season, we shall see what will be
further," she said and added that Plushenko "is in a perfect shape."
-0-ras


Delete & Prev | Delete & Next