Free Republic

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 2006 BERLIN Marking a shift in relations, NATO and Russia will for the first time exchange classified information during new joint patrols between Russia and the alliance of shipping routes in the Mediterranean, NATO officials said Tuesday. The closer cooperation between NATO and Russia will be confirmed during an informal meeting of alliance defense ministers Thursday in Taormina, Italy. Officials said the improved ties marked a major change for Russia, which in 2004 accused the U.S.-led military alliance of threatening its security interests when the alliance admitted the Baltic States of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania along with...

Moscow, January 24, Interfax - Some five thousand pilgrims from various countries became witnesses to a sign that appeared on the holy River of Jordan on the Epiphany Day. Immediately after Patriarch Theophilos of Jerusalem performed the rite of the blessing of water, the Jordan boiled up and began to flow back, just as it happened after the baptism of Christ, the Zhizn (Life) daily writes. Right after silver crosses were thrown into its calm waters after the prayer, the river boiled up. A maelstrom developed and the current flowed back for a several minutes. An ecstatic cry of five...

The EU head office stopped imports of Chinese blouses on Friday after they hit the annual quota, saying shipments of bras, T-shirts and linen cloth were likely to breach trade limits in the next few days. "Last night the quota for category seven (blouses) was filled and we expect that others in the future — T-shirts, bras and linen — will be filled as well," said European Commission spokesman Rupert Krietemeyer. The European Union cut off Chinese imports of sweaters in July and men's trousers earlier this month after both broke through the quotas set for the rest of the...