Jailed former oil tycoon accuses Russian prosecutors of withholding exonerating evidence

October 11th, 2009 Russian spacecraft with circus tycoon lands safelyMOSCOW — The Russian Soyuz capsule carrying Cirque du Soleil founder Guy Laliberte and two other space travelers landed safely in Kazakhstan Sunday, ending the entertainment tycoon's mirthful space odyssey. Laliberte, who wore a bulbous clown nose during his stay aboard the International Space Station, was extracted from the tiny Soyuz capsule Sunday morning following its landing in the steppes of northern Kazakhstan.

October 10th, 2009 Russian space official says Soyuz lands safelyMOSCOW — A Russian space official says the Soyuz capsule with circus tycoon Guy Laliberte, a Russian cosmonaut and U.S. astronauts, has landed in Kazakhstan.

October 2nd, 2009 Craft carrying circus tycoon reaches space stationKOROLYOV, Russia — A spacecraft carrying a Canadian circus tycoon and a two-man Russian-American crew has docked at the International Space Station. Billionaire Cirque du Soleil founder Guy Laliberte is the seventh paying space tourist to visit the orbital station.

September 30th, 2009 Ukraine PM to Russia: Hand over poisoning figuresKIEV, Ukraine — Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko has urged Russia to turn over important figures in his nearly lethal dioxin poisoning five years ago. Yushchenko said in an interview aired Sunday night on Channel 1+1 that the testimony of the three men who were at a dinner in 2004 at which he believes he was poisoned is crucial to finishing the investigation.

September 30th, 2009 Billionaire clown heads for space stationBAIKONUR, Kazakhstan — A billionaire Canadian circus tycoon is on his way to the International Space Station. A Soyuz capsule carrying Cirque du Soleil founder Guy Laliberte and two fellow astronauts lifted off on schedule Wednesday from the Baikonur launch facility atop a towering Russian rocket.

September 16th, 2009 Rights group: Dozens of protesters in prisonCARACAS, Venezuela — Over 2,000 opponents of President Hugo Chavez have gone to trial over the last seven years for crimes stemming from their participation in protests and dozens are currently in prison, a local human rights organization said Wednesday. Alfredo Romero, a representative of the Venezuelan Penal Forum, calls the prosecution of opposition-sided protesters between 2002 and 2009 "political persecution." The rights organization has brought many of the cases to the Netherlands-based International Criminal Court, he said.

September 16th, 2009 Pa. man gets 8 yrs for sex with Russian orphansPHILADELPHIA — A wealthy Russian-American car exporter in Philadelphia has been sentenced to eight years in prison for procuring girls for sex from a St. Petersburg orphanage in Russia.

July 28th, 2009 Reputed Russian 'godfather' wounded in MoscowMOSCOW — Moscow police say a gunman has wounded Vyacheslav Ivankov, whom U.S. prosecutors have called a godfather of Russian organized crime.

July 14th, 2009 Judge: 'Polygamy' out as word in Alamo trialTEXARKANA, Ark. — Prosecutors won't be able to mention polygamy at the trial of jailed evangelist Tony Alamo, a federal judge ruled Monday.

June 17th, 2009 Russia detains former lawmaker suspected of murderMOSCOW — Russian investigators say a former lawmaker has been detained on suspicion of organizing a triple murder. The Federal Investigative Committee said Wednesday that Mikhail Glushchenko was detained Tuesday in St.

June 15th, 2009 Khodorkovsky: Court reform crucial for RussiaMOSCOW — Ridding Russia's court system of corruption and political pressure is crucial to the country's future and must take precedence over other reforms, jailed former oil tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky said in an article published Monday. Efforts to enforce the rule of law or improve Russian democracy — two goals President Dmitry Medvedev has voiced — will not succeed without independent courts, Khodorkovsky said.

June 5th, 2009 Lukashenko accuses Russia of blackmailMINSK, Belarus — Belarus' leader has accused Russia of trying to blackmail Belarus into recognizing the independence of Georgia's separatist provinces. Alexander Lukashenko says Moscow has made recognition of South Ossetia and Abkhazia a condition for Belarus to receive the last $500 million of a $2 billion loan.

April 29th, 2009 Kasparov confronts prosecutor in Khodorkovsky caseMOSCOW — Kremlin opponent Garry Kasparov attended the trial of onetime billionaire Mikhail Khodorkovsky on Wednesday, getting in a brief, heated exchange with one of the Russian prosecutors during a recess. The impromptu debate took place a few feet from the glass defendant's cage where Khodorkovsky and his co-defendant, Platon Lebedev, stood watching.

April 27th, 2009 Russian tycoon to return stake in Austrian companyMOSCOW — Embattled Russian billionaire Oleg Deripaska will return his 25 percent stake in Austria's Strabag construction company to its shareholders, Deripaska's Basic Element holding company said Monday. Under a deal to be signed this week with Strabag's shareholders, Deripaska will transfer his stake while retaining one share and two seats on the supervisory board.

March 31st, 2009 MOSCOW - A Moscow court Tuesday rejected jailed ex-tycoon and Kremlin critic Mikhail Khodorkovsky's request that state oil company Rosneft be removed from a list of complainants in the second trial against him. The Khamovnichesky court began hearings Tuesday on new charges against Khodorkovsky of embezzling about $50 billion from his former company Yukos's affiliate, which could see his jail term extended by 21 years.