| Abduction Shines Light on Ukraine Asylum and Kremlin Methods |
| Masked men shoved Russian opposition leader Leonid Razvozzhayev into a van, outside the office of his lawyer in Kiev. |
| Porn pops up in Apple's Russian iTunes Store |
 It wasn't the kind of opening-day attention Apple likely wanted with its launch of the iTunes Store in Russia: Users who clicked on movie rentals in different languages were hit with a barrage of X-rated offerings, something Apple does not allow. |
| Russian writer Vasily Belov dies at 80 |
 Vasily Belov, a writer who paid homage to old rural Russia in his books, has died. He was 80. |
| Soccer-Hulk threatens to quit Zenit after Spalletti spat |
| St Petersburg, Dec 5 (Reuters) - Zenit St Petersburg's record signing Hulk has threatened to quit the Russian club following a heated exchange with coach Luciano Spalletti during Tuesday's Champions League win at AC Milan. |
| Apple launches iTunes Store in 56 new countries |
 Apple (AAPL) announced on Thursday its iTunes Store is now available in 56 new countries including India, Russia, South Africa and Turkey, bringing the company's digital store to a total of 119 countries. All customers will have access to music available in DRM-free format with high-quality 256 kbps AAC encoding as well as iCloud. Along with popular international artists such as The Beatles and Coldplay, Apple says the new iTunes Stores includes music from local artists including "Elka in Russia, Sezen Aksu in Turkey, AR Rahman in India, and Zahara in South Africa." Movies for rent or purchase are available only in the four aforementioned countries. MacRumors also has a great breakdown of every single new country that now has the iTunes Store. Apple's |
| Russia's leaders battered by 'sports injuries' |
 First, Russian President Vladimir Putin begins to hobble because of what the Kremlin describes as a sports injury. Then, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov shows up with a bandaged left wrist, again the result of a "sports injury." |
| Windows Phone lives or dies on cheap smartphones |
 The AdDuplex data on Windows Phone market share is based on apps using AdDuplex software to serve ads, so it may not be completely accurate. Nevertheless, some of the patterns are so clear they are likely to be meaningful. In November, 59% of Windows Phones using on AdDuplex's network consisted of Nokia's (NOK) budget smartphone models including the Lumia 610, Lumia 710 and Lumia 800. The Lumia 900, Nokia's high-end flagship phone that has shipped in volume for a long time now, held only 9%. This, of course, is quite understandable considering the largest Windows Phone markets are U.S., China, India, Mexico and Russia. Four out of five are emerging markets. In places like India and China, the high price |
| Cargo Ship Sinks Off Turkey, at Least 1 Dead |
At least one person has been reported dead after a cargo ship capsized in storm off the Turkish coast on Tuesday. Three crew members have been rescued so far, while at least nine are missing, RIA Novosti says. Twelve crew members were on board the Volgo Balt 199 - reportedly 11 Ukrainian nationals, and one Russian. The ship, owned by the Solna Maritime Company and sailing under the flag of St Kitts and Nevis, was carrying coal from Russia to southern Turkey. The Volgo Balt 199 sank off the town of Sile, in Istanbul province to the east of the city. A second ship is said to be in difficulty amid stormy weather, according to BBC. |
| Assad Facing Setbacks as Syrian Capital Is Besieged |
| After a Turkish official said that Russia had backed a move seeking regime change, fresh signs emerged of a sustained battle for control of the capital. |
| Obama seeks renewal of nuclear arms control deal with Russia |
| He offers to renegotiate terms of the Nunn-Lugar program that helped rid the world of more than 7,500 nuclear warheads and related weaponry.WASHINGTON — Hoping to salvage his arms control legacy, President Obama called Monday for the renewal of a major post-Cold War agreement between the United States and Russia to secure and dismantle nuclear weapons left over from the former Soviet Union. |
