Бесплатный фрагмент - Новости из прошлого на английском языке

Такими разными были новости в 2010 году

Daughter of Kiev Mayor Reports $5.5 Million Worth of Jewelry Stolen From Her Purse in Paris

PARIS — The daughter of Kiev’s mayor told police that she was robbed of 4 million euros ($5.5 million) worth of jewelry as she traveled by car from Charles de Gaulle airport to the French capital, Paris police said Tuesday.

A spokesman for her wealthy father, however, immediately denied the report, which could be embarrassing considering that his daughter heads a charity organization funded by his own city government and many Ukrainians are struggling amid a widespread recession. A Paris police official said Kristina Chernovetska reported that a man broke into her luxury car Monday as it stopped on a highway north of Paris, then stole her purse. Chernovetska reported the incident to authorities and said the purse contained valuable rings and earrings, the official said. The official was not authorized to be named according to police policy and gave no further description of the jewelry. But a spokesman for Kiev Mayor Leonid Chernovetsky denied that there was a robbery. «This is somebody’s bad joke. We completely deny these reports about a robbery. There was no robbery,» spokeswoman Marta Hrymska said.

Chernovetsky was one of the first banking magnates in Ukraine after the fall of the Soviet Union and sold his Pravex Bank for 493 million euros to Italy’s lntesa Sanpaolo in June 2008. His term as mayor since 2006 has been marked by persistent corruption scandals, and he has often boasted of his daughter’s charity work to bolster his scarred public image. This would be the first public flap involving Kristina.

French police said they contacted the Ukrainian Embassy about the incident, but the embassy would not comment on it Tuesday. Hrymska insisted that Chernovetska was in Kiev on Tuesday, but her whereabouts remained unknown. A receptionist at the luxury George V hotel just off the Champs-Elysees confirmed that a «Christina» Chernovetska was registered, but it was not clear whether that was the same person. At the George V, the least expensive room is 750 euros ($1,025) a night. Luxury limousines lined up in front of the hotel for guests in furs and designer sunglasses, while diners inside lunched beneath crystal chandeliers. Among goods on sale at the George V are 100,000 euro ($136,700) pearl necklaces.

Chernovetska, 30, has degrees in law and economics, and she heads the charity organization Luchshy Dom, or «Best House,» a home for poor older people funded by the city of Kiev. She has also previously worked on her father’s political campaigns. The report of the jewel theft led to a political backlash Tuesday, as Volodymyr Bondarenko of the Yulia Tymoshenko Bloc, her group of lawmakers in the parliament, poked fun at both daughter and father. «Chernovetsky needs to immediately call up his favorite grandmas and grandpas so that they could sacrifice part of their pensions to buy Kristina back her jewels,» Bondarenko said in a statement.

According to          В соответствии, согласно…

Amid                     Среди, посреди

Backlash               Отрицательное последствие

Beneath                Под

Boast                    Хвастаться

Bolster                  Поддерживать

Break into (broke broken)    Вломиться, проникнуть

Chandelier            Люстра

Charity                  Благотворительность

Completely            Полностью

Confirm                 Подтверждать

Consider                Принимать во внимание

Degree                   Диплом

Deny                      Отрицать

Description            Описание

Diner                     Обедающий

Earrings                 Серьги

Embarrassing         Смущающий

Embassy                 Посольство

Expensive              Дорогой

Flap                       Шлепок, удар

Fund (v)                 Финансировать

Fur                         Мех

Give (gave, given)  Дать, передать

Guest                     Гость

Immediately           Немедленно

Involve                   Касаться, затрагивать

Jewel                      Ювелирное изделие

Jewelry                   Драгоценности, ювелирные изделия

Joke                        Шутка

Lead (led, led)         Вести

Neckless                 Ожерелье

Pearl                       Жемчуг

Persistent               Постоянный

Poke fun                 Подшучивать над кем-либо

Previously               Ранее

Purse                      1) дамская сумочка, 2) кошелек

Recession               Спад, регресс, кризис

Remain                   Оставаться

Sacrifice                  Жертвовать

Scar                         Шрам

Steal (stole, stolen) Украсть

Struggle                  Бороться

Term                        Срок, продолжительность

Theft                       Кража

Valuable                  Ценный, дорогостоящий

Wealthy                   Богатый

Whereabouts           Местонахождение

Widespread             Широко распространенный

Worth                      Имеющий стоимость

Russia Sends Aid to Quake-Hit Chile

President Dmitry Medvedev has ordered the Emergency Situations Ministry to send two cargo planes loaded with humanitarian aid to Chile after the South American country was rocked by a powerful earthquake last week, a Kremlin spokesman told reporters Tuesday.

The first cargo plane carrying tents, blankets and electric power generators will arrive in Chile on Wednesday, and a second plane with other humanitarian aid will follow a day later, a ministry spokeswoman told The Moscow Times on Tuesday. «No Russian rescue teams will be sent there, only the aid,» she said.

More than 700 people have died and about 2 million have been displaced after the magnitude-8.8 earthquake hit the Chilean coast last Friday. No Russian citizens were killed or wounded during the quake, but the Russian Embassy in the capital of Santiago was slightly damaged. Russian rescue teams recently took part in a relief operation in Haiti after the Caribbean Island was devastated by a powerful earthquake in January.

Aid                           Помощь

Arrive                       Прибывать, приезжать

Blanket                    Шерстяное одеяло

Cargo                       Груз

Devastate                Опустошать,

Displace                   Вытеснять, выдавливать

Earthquake              Землетрясение

Follow                      Идти за, следовать

Load                         Грузить, нагружать

Order                        Приказывать, давать распоряжение

Powerful                   Мощный

Recently                    Недавно, в последнее время

Relief (n)                   Помощь

Rescue                      Спасать

Rock (v)                     Колебать, трясти

Slightly                      Незначительно, слегка

South — North           Юг     Север

Take part in (took, taken)  Принимать участие

Team                          Команда

Tell (told, told)           Говорить, сказать

Wound                       Ранить

Investigator Released in $15M Bribe Case

A senior federal investigator has returned to work while under indictment for purportedly extorting $15 million from a local businessman, Interfax reported Thursday.

Andrei Grivtsov, in charge of high-priority cases with the Investigative Committee, was detained Jan. 15 on suspicion of soliciting the enormous bribe from Vladimir Palikhata, head of Rosenergomash, a leading electrical engineering manufacturer. A Moscow court, however, released Grivtsov from pretrial detention late Wednesday, Interfax reported.

Grivtsov’s lawyer, Alexander Zabeida, told Interfax on Thursday that his client had returned to work because he had not been «fired or suspended from his post» while under investigation. Grivtsov’s suspected accomplice, Sergei Karimov, was detained Jan. 14 while collecting $8 million as a first installment of the bribe at Interkommertsbank, investigators say.

Investigators accuse Grivtsov of demanding the bribe in exchange for not opening a criminal case against Palikhata. Moscow’s Basmanny District Court had sanctioned the arrest of the two men, but the Moscow City Court ruled Wednesday that investigators had insufficient evidence to hold the two men in custody, Kommersant reported Thursday. The Basmanny court must now issue a new ruling on whether to place the two suspects under arrest, the report said. Investigators earlier said Grivtsov conspired with several former and current law enforcement officials who have not been arrested.

Accomplice                  Сообщник

Accuse                         Обвинять

Be in charge of            Быть ответственным за

Bribe                            Взятка

Case                             Судебное дело

Conspire                      Войти в сговор о совершении преступления

Court                           Суд

Demand                      Требовать

Detain                         Задерживать, арестовывать

Detention                   Задержание

Electrical engineering manufacturer    Производитель электрооборудования

Enormous                    Огромный

Evidence                      Подтверждение, доказательство

Extort                          Вымогать

Fire (v)                         Увольнять

Former                         Бывший

High-priority case        Дело первостепенной важности

However                      Однако

In custody                    В тюрьме

Indictment                   Обвинительный акт

Installment                  Часть взноса долга

Insufficient                  Недостаточный

Investigator                 Следователь

Issue a ruling               Издать постановление

Law enforcement         Правоохранительные органы

On suspicion                По подозрению

Pretrial                         Предварительное слушание дела

Purportedly                  Предположительно

Release                        Освобождать

Return                          Возвращаться

Rule                             Решать, устанавливать

Solicit                           Требовать, запрашивать

Suspect (n)                   Подозреваемый

Suspect (v)                   Подозревать

Suspend                       Временно отстранять

While                           В то время как

Baritone Singer Goes Skydiving to Conquer Fear

NEW YORK — Star baritone Dmitry Hvorostovsky is fearless when reaching for musical heights. But the Russian singer says he’s always been scared of physical heights, even on stage sets. So he decided to tackle his fear by reaching sky-high — literally.

The 47-year-old, silver-haired opera singer parachuted from a plane over Florida in December. The proof is a photograph on his new Facebook page that was taken as he dropped at more than 160 kilometers an hour. «I had to do that, because it’s another way to challenge yourself, and life is all about challenges,» he said in a recent interview. «I’m so used to adrenaline, in everything I do.» He acknowledges that «in some crazy productions, when I’m up very high, I’m trembling.» On Saturday, the Metropolitan Opera star will take on another sort of adventure: a show at New York’s Radio City Music Hall featuring the pop songs of Russian composer Igor Krutoi. Next month, Hvorostovsky is to sing a Carnegie Hall recital with American soprano Sondra Radvanovsky, after appearing with her in late March at Toronto’s Roy Thomson Hall, the Place des Arts in Montreal and the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.

And he wants to parachute again sometime soon. «When I jumped out of the plane, it was the most glorious moment in my life,» he said. «You really feel on top of the world.»

Acknowledge          1) Подтверждать, 2) признавать

Adventure                   Приключение

Appear                        Появляться

Challenge                   Бросать вызов

Conquer                  1) Преодолевать, 2) завоевывать

Crazy                           Сумасшедший

Decide                         Решать

Dive                             Нырять

Drop                            Падать

Fear                             Страх

Fearless                       Бесстрашный

Feature                        Содержать особенный элемент

Glorious                       Выдающийся, яркий

Height                         Высота

Jump                            Прыгать

Literally                       Буквально

Page                            Страница

Proof                           Доказательство, подтверждение

Reach                          Достигать, доходить

Recital                         Сольный концерт, творческий вечер

Scare                           Пугать, испугать

Silver-haired               Седой

Skydiving                    Затяжной прыжок с парашютом

Stage set                    Сцена

Tackle                         Пытаться (найти решение), преодолевать

Take a photo               Фотографировать

Tremble                   1) Дрожать, 2) страшиться, опасаться

Consumers to Pay Commission on Utilities

Sberbank Moscow has announced that the commission for utility services, which will be collected from May 1, will be 2 percent. Previously it was assumed that it would be 3 percent. Maxim Poletayev, the chairman of Sberbank Moscow, announced that the commission will be levied only according to official documents.

The date it will take effect remains the same — May 1. Previously, the service was free for the majority of Muscovites because the Moscow government paid costs for the bank to receive payments for housing and communal services, but this year the responsibility for payment is being passed on to consumers. As a result, Sberbank expects that customers will increasingly use remote channels for payment such as the Internet or ATMs, where commission will be 0.5 percent.

Residents are already searching for ways to save on payments. In some Sberbank branches, pensioners said they had come to pay quickly before the commission took effect. Many had gone to post offices for the same purpose, since they take payments without any commission.

According to              В соответствии с…

Announce                  Объявлять

Assume                      Предполагать, допускать

Branch                       Филиал

Consumer                  Потребитель

Costs                          Затраты, издержки

Expect                        Ожидать

Housing and communal services    Жилищно-коммунальное хозяйство

Increase (v)                 Увеличивать

Levy                            Взимать налог, облагать налогом

Majority                      Большинство

Pass                            Передавать

Pay (paid, paid)           Платить

Payment                     Оплата

Previously                   Ранее

Purpose                       Цель, намерение

Remain                        Оставаться

Remote                        Удаленный

Responsibility              Ответственность

Save on payments       Экономить на платежах

Search                         Искать

Take effect                  Вступать в силу

The same                    Такой же самый

Utilities                       Коммунальные услуги

Utility services            Коммунальные услуги

Hundreds of WWII Artillery Shells Found

Hundreds of rusty World War II-era artillery shells were found beneath a road in northwestern Moscow, prompting the evacuation of dozens of people. Sappers removed 916 field artillery shells of various calibers after workers expanding Prospekt Marshala Zhukova stumbled upon the cache. Residents of two nearby apartment buildings were evacuated immediately, and the road was closed to traffic. At least 28 of the shells were armed, said Igor Chemego, chief of the district office of the Emergency Situations Ministry for northwestern Moscow. But he downplayed the danger they posed.

The shells were loaded into trucks for safe disposal, said Major Serge’ Novikov of the sappers unit. The shells were destroyed at a Moscow airfield late Wednesday, Interfax reported. Such finds are relatively common in Russia, which experienced some of World War II’s fiercest battles. Some residents at the scene claimed that the cache which featured 76mm and 152mm shells — was part of a wider network of ordnance depots located in the area since the 1930s. Zufiar Nurimanov, 72, who has been living in the area for nearly 40 years, said residents routinely found shells in the ground and some boys were killed while playing with them during Soviet times. «Many children played with the ammunition, like throwing shells into the fire, and were killed,» he said.

Ammunition                 Боеприпасы

Arm (v)                          Заряжать

Battle                            Битва

Beneath                         Под, ниже

Cache                            Тайник

Common                        Распространенный

Danger                          Опасность

Deport                           Вывоз

Destroy                          Ликвидировать

Disposal                        Устранение, избавление

Downplay                      Преуменьшать, сглаживать

Expand                          Расширять

Experience                     Знать по опыту

Fierce                             Жестокий

Ground                           Земля

Immediately                   Немедленно

Network                          Сеть

Ordnance                        Артиллеристское снаряжение

Pose                                Представлять собой