General Musharraf's soldiers fight Chechens from Al-Qaeda
Two remarkable events occurred on Thursday in the history of the Pakistani army. Government troops suffered their first casualties in the fight against international terrorism (10 soldiers were killed). Moreover, Pakistani forces encountered for the first time a "non-traditional" enemy - Chechen warriors.

Historian Dr. Vladelen Sirotkin claims on Izvestiya website forum that Anastasia Romanova is still alive
Historian Dr. Vladelen Sirotkin has claimed on Russian daily "Izvestiya's" website forum that Anastasia Romanova is still living. He maintains that genetics experts have carried out 22 specialized studies. Moreover, photograph specialists conducted comparative expertise studies of young Anastasia and the elderly woman in question, and handwriting analyses were carried out.

American praise of Russia's investment climate no more than a polite gesture
Russia is eagerly looking to the United States for investment, but American capital is in no hurry to respond. Even the fact that Russia has acquired the status of a country with a market economy has not changed the situation.

Lost generations and values crisis mark a people's struggle for survival, says major study
Social scientists probing how Russia's disparate population goes about living have peeled back a graphic gauging the pain and gain of a society enduring more than a decade of turmoil.

(Russia should) make itself a leader in building up the G-8, as a way of enhancing its role in the world
Now that Russia has had a major success in the G-8, winning a full role in the group and slated to host a Summit in 2006, it can move on to something even more important for its interests: building up the G-8 as an institution, as a way of building up Russia's own role in the world. This should be the focus in the next stage of Russia's policy on the G-8.

Detection equipment manufactured in Russia
Presscenter.ru quotes Khabarovsk's customs checkpoint in Russia's Far East as saying an American delegation representing the U.S. Energy Department and the Los Alamos nuclear laboratory arrived in Khabarovsk on June 27. The purpose of the visit is to identify locations for radiation control systems. The equipment will be bought and installed with American money - the U.S. State Department has earmarked $24 million for the project.

Yasser Arafat: "I see George W. Bush's peace plan as a basis for further talks on a Middle East settlement"
Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat has told Izvestia he regards George W. Bush's peace plan as a basis for further talks on a Middle East settlement. "On the whole, we welcome Bush's statement on a MidEast settlement. I can even say that I liked some of the points he made very much, such as the need to end the Israeli occupation of Palestinian lands, and the construction of Jewish settlements in our territory."