Press

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will be in Moscow from March 18 to19. Despite the fact that her visit had long ago been scheduled to take place, it will be occurring after an important telephone conversation between presidents Dmitry Medvedev and Barack Obama.

In 1974, far out in the Pacific, a U.S. ship pretending to be a deep-sea mining vessel fished a sunken Soviet nuclear-armed submarine out of the ocean depths, took what it could of the wreck and made off to Hawaii with its purloined prize. Now, Washington is owning up to Project Azorian, a brazen mission from the days of high-stakes — and high-seas — Cold War rivalry.

The winter holidays have only just ended here, but many Russians are already planning their next European getaway, buying plane tickets and reserving hotels. They are also compiling bank statements, gathering insurance forms, paying fees, taking photographs, making photocopies, waiting in long lines and being interrogated by embassy officials — all to receive a European visa, a kind of permission slip to enter the rest of the Continent that like little else underscores the walls still dividing Russia from the West.

A spoof television report that President Mikheil Saakashvili had been assassinated in a new Russian invasion of Georgia led to mass panic and furious opposition protests yesterday.

Twenty four of the largest phone operators have banded together to challenge the dominance of mobile app stores, such as that operated by Apple. The Wholesale Applications Community, as it is known, aims to make it easier for developers to build and sell apps "irrespective of device or technology".

What a difference 30 years makes — in sports, and in politics. Now, as the United States team prepares for the 2010 Winter Olympic Games in Vancouver, do we really care if we beat Russia?