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President Dmitry Medvedev blasted Russia’s lack of a leading ‘e-government’ computer infrastructure Monday, saying “the situation is unacceptable.”
“The state computerization expenses are absolutely comparable to the expenses of European countries,” Medvedev said at a meeting on the modernization of the Russian economy. “[Comparing] Russia and Germany, we spend about the same percentage of the GDP, but the effectiveness of this spending is very low,” he added.
Leading by example, the Kremlin launched a new website and YouTube channel today, coinciding with the nationwide Sept. 1 back to school day. The video leading the new channel is an address from Medvedev to students, one of just four videos on the page so far but the Kremlin plans to continually update the Web site with Medvedev’s direct addresses to the country as well as snippets of his speeches.
On June 2009, one of the gaudiest and glitziest parties of the year was staged in what was once the budget Turkish resort of Antalya. Mariah Carey and Tom Jones performed - and Sharon Stone, Richard Gere, Paris Hilton and Monica Bellucci are on the guest list - for the opening of the $1.4 billion 560-room Mardan Palace hotel. Built by Azerbaijani billionaire Telman Ismailov, chairman of Russia`s biggest property developers AST, the opening will highlight one of the few major tourist destinations still experiencing a property boom, not least because Ismailov has plonked his own 40-room, Ј50million marble and gold-domed mansion in the grounds of his hotel.Visiting friends and family will be housed in five other brand-new villas on site. It is an astonishing investment in the resort, where more modest properties, with prices starting at Ј35,000 for a two-bedroom apartment in Antalya, has been rising by ten to 20 per cent this year - a strong market even when the 6.5 per cent local inflation rate is taken into account.
Turkey Real Estate has been booming in recent years, helped by a fast-growing population and a seven per cent growth in GDP every year since 2001. The Bank of America says that Turkish property offers a `safe haven` during these difficult times. Last year, nine million tourists descended on Antalya to make the most of a 35-mile stretch of beach that includes the classical site of Side and Belek, a burgeoning upper class family beach & golf resort. Antalya, a place that has hosted 7 civilizations with over 10,000 year old historical sites, has been transformed into a cosmopolitan city of about 700,000, a fascinating old town, with ancient ramparts dating from Roman times and a pretty port, all of which are a big draw for the tourists. Retired policemen Andrew Perry and Bob Cotgrove, both 52, were quick to see the opportunity of buying in the area four years ago.
Bob and his wife Nicky bought a two-bedroom villa with garden and shared swimming pool on a new development five minutes from the beach for Ј40,000, and Andrew, who lives in Leeds when he`s not in Turkey, quickly followed. Sensing that the area was about to take off - their villas are now worth Ј75,000 each - the pair joined Turkish Property World to sell Antalya to British buyers. `Britons were very slow to appreciate this area, whereas the Scandinavians have been buying here for years. Demand is increasing every year,` says Carol, of Turkish Propwerty World, Antalya who has sold 25 properties to Britons in the past year and more to buyers in mainland Europe. `The great golf courses, cultural history, fantastic beaches and, of course, the prices, have been a big draw.` Nor is it all new-build. There is a maturing resale market, as Phil Rodda, 47, a trainer in child protection, and his wife Lorraine, 53, a dental hygienist, discovered. They have bought a ten-year-old two-bedroom top-floor apartment in a three-storey block on the Green Apart apartments in Belek.
They paid Ј40,000 in November and intend to use it as a holiday home, while also renting it out to family and friends. `We were looking in Spain, but were put off by all the problems there and oversupply. We`d been to Turkey before and liked it and were amazed at the prices,` says Phil who lives near Hebden Bridge, West Yorkshire, and flies to Antalya from Manchester. Phil, who paid just Ј2,000 in fees, adds: `The flat has two balconies and used to be part of a hotel that has now been beautifully refurbished as individual flats around a central pool.` A four-bedroom duplex apartment in Kemer, an ancient Greek city with ruins on the beach, can be bought for Ј100,000 and a smaller villa for Ј80,000. `Prices at the low end are rising in line with inflation,` says Cotgrove, `although in some of the most sought-after areas around marinas it`s more like 15 to 20 per cent.` Taxes and solicitors` fees work out at three per cent of the purchase price, and Turkish bank accounts pay interest of between 12 and 14 per cent. `It helps that the pound has been relatively strong against the Turkish lira,` says Cotgrove, who rents out his villa for Ј300 a week in high season. He lets only to family and friends, but says he could easily rent it out for at least three months a year, which would give him a ten per cent return on his investment.
The Association of British Travel Agents said that Turkey overtook Spain last year as the most popular overseas destination for UK tourists, and overall tourism has risen 14 per cent to 24 million visitors, according to the Turkish Tourist Office. With the continued strength of the euro, numbers from the UK are likely to go up again this year.`Antalya is the same flight time from the UK as Tenerife, but property is about a quarter of the price,` says Cotgrove. `It really is boom time here.`
Reporting from Moscow — President Obama and his family arrived in Russia early this morning, stepping off Air Force One under a gray sky ahead of a day of meetings at the Kremlin.
After a visit to the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, Obama met with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev in the Kremlin.
Medvedev said he expects that, in their talks, the two will be closing some debates of the past and opening some debates of the future.
Obama said he thinks the Russians and Americans "have more in common than they have differences." The two shook hands and smiled for photographers.
Even before the president arrived for the round of nuclear-arms talks, administration officials were already predicting the two leaders would announce tentative agreements as early as today.
They also may announce formally a deal with the Russians to allow the Americans use of their airspace to travel to and from Afghanistan.
The ultimate goal is to replace the START arms-reduction treaty, which expires at the end of this year. And there are still significant obstacles to that.
Speaking with Russian television over the weekend, Obama said only that he hoped to get the "framework" of a treaty together during his meetings with Medvedev.
"For us to send a strong signal that we want to reduce our stockpiles, I think, would help us internationally, to give people a sense that we’re moving into a new era and we want to get beyond the Cold War," Obama said in an interview with ITAR-TASS TV.
Gary Samore, the White House pointman on weapons of mass destruction, acknowledged that a major point of contention is the U.S. push for a missile defense system based in Poland and the Czech Republic.
Russian officials consider that a direct challenge to their nuclear program — and a stumbling block to the "New Start" agreement.
The president, First Lady Michelle Obama and their two daughters met a small greeting party at the airport.
As they made their way from the airport into the city of Moscow, the streets were intermittently lined with people watching the motorcade pass. A few waved the "peace" sign, but mostly they just looked on silently.
At the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, a military band played a mournful tune as a military escort accompanied President Obama and the first lady in a slow procession to a bowl with a flickering flame. The soldiers placed a wreath before the flame, and Obama adjusted it a little before the band struck up the U.S. national anthem.
Michael Jackson Neverland Ranch address is at 5225 Figueroa Mountain Rd, Los Olivos, California. The public can go to Neverland Ranch from Friday onwards to view Jackson’s body. Michael Jackson’s funeral could be held on after the Jackson family finalizes funeral plans. Starting Friday, July 3, Jackson’s body will be at his Neverland Ranch for public viewing. Jackson’s body will be brought from LA or whatever location he is held to Neverland. There will be a special motorcade carrying Jackson’s body to Neverland Ranch, in Santa Barbara County.
On Sunday, there would be a private memorial for the Jackson family and relatives.
Jackson’s body might be buried at his Neverland Ranch. Sources quoted his mother, Katherine Jackson, talking about the initial plans for Jackson’s funeral.
Neverland Ranch.
Michael Jackson Neverland RanchMichael Jackson Neverland Ranch
