Mount Everest climbs depend on Sherpa guides — the Nepali ethnic group renowned for years for leading teams of climbers up the world’s highest mountain peak. But a deadly avalanche last week has some Sherpas calling for better conditions — or at least greater rewards.Mount Everest climbs depend on Sherpa guides — the Nepali ethnic group renowned for years for leading teams of climbers up the world’s highest mountain peak. But a deadly avalanche last week has some Sherpas calling for better conditions — or at least greater rewards.
A week after allegations of election fraud sent thousands of Russians into the streets chanting “Russia without Putin,” two prominent men have stepped forward to challenge Prime Minister Vladimir Putin in next year’s presidential election. Mikhail Prokhorov, a billionaire oligarch best known to Americans as the owner of the New Jersey Nets, and Alexsei Kudrin, a […]
Amidst reports of election tampering by international monitors and Russians via social media sites, Vladimir Putin’s party, United Russia, just barely carried 50 percent of the votes. United Russia will now hold 238 seats in the Duma, down from 315. An exit poll also revealed that Putin’s approval rating shrank from 64 percent in 2007 to 48.5 percent. […]