Moskovsky Komsomolets
Russian Prostitute Turns to Murder
Call girl kills her amorous client and covers her tracks
A Russian-born prostitute has gone on trial in Britain for murdering a client. Natalia Woolley, 39, beat up an elderly man and left him to die of his injuries.
Winston Fernandez, 69, from Epsom, Surrey, made a fatal call on January 16. A widower of 12 years, estranged from his children, he just wanted to lose himself once more in the arms of a call girl, The Daily Mail reports. Natalia Woolley arrived at the estate of the retired accountant but they got into an argument which resulted in a fight. The woman would later claim in court that she had been acting in self-defense to avoid performing perverted sex acts with a drunken old man. The court, however, was unimpressed by her story, considering that vice girls are usually keen to fulfil any kinky requests from a client.
The post-mortem report stated that the man suffered multiple fractures (allegedly, as a result of being kicked repeatedly by cowboy boots). Fernandez, whose decomposing body remained undiscovered for up to a month after the murder, suffered 17 broken ribs and a fractured throat. It is still unclear how long the man was left alone before he died.
The prostitute’s testimony reveals her to be a cold-blooded murderer who calculated her every move. She tried to cover up her tracks and even cut the phone lines in the victim’s home. She also called her mobile network to find out if her movements could be traced and later changed her phone number.
It transpired that Fernandez, a heavy drinker for the past few years, had a long-time association with Wolley. On an escort services website, the £600-a-night Russian described herself as “alluring to all men and incredibly sexy and curvaceous.” Fernandez wrote on her page, “All good – nay, outstanding. It is a pleasure to be with you every time! I have been addicted to you, I will spend [a] lifetime with you!!” The investigation is yet to find out what made the woman kill her client.
The Daily Telegraph quotes the police as saying that the prostitute was registered with two escort agencies as Lenka and Alice, and posed seductively in numerous photographs.
Nezavisimaya Gazeta
Russian Fleet Upgrade Impossible Without Ukraine’s Permission
Ukraine and Russia may sign new agreements on the deployment of the Russian Black Sea Fleet in November or early December. Russia needs Ukraine’s permission to upgrade its fleet, and Ukraine hopes to use this opportunity to convince Russia to reduce its gas prices. However, experts warn that this is unlikely to happen.
Fleet commander Rear Admiral Alexander Fedotenkov said the 10-year talks on the upgrade of the fleet could end this year. The 1997 basic agreements on the division of the fleet stated that new equipment should be of the same type and class, which suited Russia at the time because the fleet was only supposed to stay in Ukraine until 2017.
The situation changed in 2010, when the two sides signed the Kharkov agreements, extending the deployment period until 2042 and leaving open the possibility of an extension of the agreement. Russia needs to replace obsolete warships and equipment with new models. A fleet that is turning into a heap of scrap metal cannot safeguard Russia’s interests in the Azov-Black Sea and Mediterranean regions, said Valentyn Badrak, head of the Ukrainian Center for Army Conversion and Disarmament Studies.
The Russian Defense Ministry drafted several modernization plans but Kiev dragged out the talks, hinting at the need for concessions, in particular lower gas prices. But Russia eventually got what it wanted, Badrak said. For example, the Su-17 planes were replaced with Su-24Ms “on condition that the equipment for carrying nuclear missiles is dismantled.” Likewise, Russia was allowed to deploy the powerful Samum and Bora missile boats. “The next issue concerns submarines,” the Ukrainian expert said.
Russia wants to replace the fleet’s only (and obsolete) submarine with six modern Project 636 boats by 2017. This could be a good bargaining chip for Ukraine.
Last summer, the Ukrainian Constitutional Court reinstated the right of the Supreme Rada (parliament) to denounce international treaties. The opposition immediately said it would denounce the Kharkov agreements, which strengthened Russia’s presence in the Black Sea in return for a token $100 cut in gas prices. Analysts say that the court’s decision is a broad hint that Kiev expects reciprocity from Moscow.
“The point at issue could be gas supply conditions, or some aspects of military technical cooperation, or the delimitation of sea borders,” said Serhiy Kulik, head of the Ukrainian analytical center Nomos.
If Russia does not reciprocate, the documents prepared for the Yanukovych-Putin meeting will not be strategic but tactical, such as the inventory of the infrastructure and land areas leased by the Russian fleet and a 20% reduction of the duty on goods imported for the fleet.
Ukrainian energy expert Valentyn Zemliansky sees no reason why Gazprom should reduce its gas prices for Ukraine. Deputy Prime Minister Arkady Dvorkovich said in mid-September that Russia would only agree to cut prices if Gazprom’s losses were compensated by beneficial cooperation in other areas, which will only be possible if Ukraine joins the Customs Union.
Kommersant
U.S. Accuses 11 Russians of Espionage
Suspects were supplying military technology to Russia
A New York City court has announced that charges will be brought against a group of individuals and companies accused of illegally shipping hi-tech microelectronics to the Russian armed forces and intelligence services. The spy ring consists of 11 members.
Since 2008, the accused have allegedly been engaged in smuggling military technology as civilian manufacturers. The ringleader is Alexander Fishenko, 46, a citizen of Russia and the United States, founder and owner of Texas-based Arc Electronics. The U.S. prosecutor claims that Fishenko regularly provided the Russian armed forces with hi-tech microelectronics that could be used in surveillance systems, missile guidance systems, radars and detonation triggers.
The U.S. Department of Justice has revealed that Fishenko was born in Kazakhstan and graduated from the Leningrad Electro-Technical Institute. He moved to the United States in 1994 and was later recruited by the Russian intelligence service. The allegations are backed up by a letter sent by the Federal Security Service (FSB) to Arc Electronics stating that the microchips they had received were faulty.
The other espionage suspects are Shavkat Abdullaev, 34, Lyudmila Bagdikian, 58, Anastasia Diatlova, 38, Viktoria Klebanova, 37, Sergei Klinov, 44, Alexander Posobilov, 58, Yury Savin, 36, Sevinj Taghiyeva, 32, Svetlana Zagon, 31, and Dmitry Shegurov. Only the citizenship of Fisheko and Posobilov, both U.S. and Russian citizens, was revealed. Posobilov is said to have been shipping American technology as “fishing boats and not fishing/anti-submarine ones.”
Eight of the eleven defendants will be arraigned in Houston next Wednesday. Search warrants have been issued by the FBI for the three others. The defendants could face up to 25 years in prison.
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