Russia

Et cetera Ovechkin says he's ready to play full season in Russia While he has yet to sign a contract, there is little doubt that Alex Ovechkin will play in Russia's Kontinental Hockey League during the NHL lockout. It's just a matter of where. On Monday, the Washington Capitals star left wing told Sovetsky Sport that he believes the lockout could cost the NHL a full season. Via Yahoo blogger Dmitry Chesnokov , Ovechkin told Sovetsky Sport's Pavel Lysenkov : "If the [NHL]

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And then there was one. Michael Phelps came up golden again today swimming his last individual race, the 100-meter butterfly. He has just his leg in the 400-meter medley relay left to swim in these Olympic Games - or any other for that matter. “I'm just happy that the last [individual] one was a win,” Phelps said. “That's all I really wanted coming into the night.” His gold medal in the 200 IM on Thursday marked the first time a male swimmer has won the same event in three straight Olympics.

As the world struggles to deal with its two largest foreign-affairs dilemmas, Syria and Iran, resolutely standing in the way are the BRICs. That's the acronym foreign-policy wonks use for the block of nations that routinely refuses to join the multilateral world of diplomacy, dominated by the United States and the West. They seem to glory in being contrary. The nations are Brazil, Russia, India and China. Russia and China, of course, routinely veto any United Nations Security Council resolution criticizing Syria, as they did for the third time last week.

Today's decision by Russia and China to veto a United Nations Security Council resolution to impose sanctions on the brutal regime in Syria is, at most, a hollow victory for President Bashar Assad. Russian officials say they opposed the measure for fear that it would lead to regime change, possibly with the assistance of western military forces, as in Libya. But given the events on the ground this week in Syria, the veto appears likely only to ensure that regime change comes through blood and chaos, not diplomacy.

Last week, Mitt Romney described Russia as America's "No. 1 geopolitical foe," prompting Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to respond: "I think it's somewhat dated to be looking backwards instead of being realistic about where we agree, where we don't agree. " While Mr. Romney's basic sentiment is correct, Mrs. Clinton is also right in suggesting that Mr. Romney's characterization of Russia is both dated and diplomatically unproductive. Not to mention that it makes for awkward dealings later when you inevitably have to sit down across the table from someone like Vladimir Putin and ask him a favor.

So Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putinhas just been re-presidented for at least another six years, during which we can all watch his newly tucked eyes migrate back to where they used to be. And as surely as a pound dog comes with fleas, this election came with "irregularities" -- cloaked in "democracy," as Russian powers like to do it. For instance, there were 200,000 webcams to monitor the polling stations, but all fed directly into the Kremlin....

A momma tiger named Iris plants a big wet one on one of her 7-week-old cubs during one of their first walks though their open-air cage at the Royev Ruchey zoo in Russia. Doesn't the little one look just like a kid embarrased by his mom's excessive display of affection?