Move Over, Russia: U.s. Is Now The World’s Biggest Oil And Gas Producer

Citigroup Buy Swells Yandex Jump to 78%: Russia Overnight

“Hopefully one day well get a Jack Russell terrier. Right now, we just want simple human happiness.” Victoria and Dasha are just two of the fourteen LGBT subjects profiled in photographer Anastasia Ivanova’s touching series, ” From Russia with Love .” The project, covered in the queer arts and culture journal, Muff Magazine , features images of gay women living under Putin’s presidency, a regime that’s become infamous for its harsh anti-gay legislation . Victoria, 24 and Dasha, 27 “Sometimes our gay friends in Germany, America or England talk about their lives, and we feel as though its another world,” Olgerta and Lisa, two other subjects, told Ivanova. “No doubt they think the same about us, when we tell them of the situation in Russia. Our future is simple. We must leave.” Ivanova, and artistic director EA Bukanova, present the images of LGBT couples of all ages accompanied by personal stories about their relationships and personal lives. The women freely discuss how they met their significant others, the hardships they face as LGBT individuals, and the various hopes and dreams they have for their country. The stories range from beautiful accounts of romance in cities like Moscow and St. Petersburg to disheartening experiences that shed further light on the dismal human rights situation occurring overseas. Scroll through the photos of couples profiled in the story and head over to Muff Magazine for the full accounts. “In the future, all we want is to keep our little family together. Maybe if were lucky one day well have a child.” -Irina, 27 and Antonina, 31 “In public, we try not to hide our feelings, and are determined to hold hands and kiss each other freely, but the gay rights situation in Russia will end badly. The way we live makes us outlaws.” -Kate, 29 and Nina, 32 “We like to believe that one day the country will be free and happy, but in reality the policies our government is trying to implement do not seem to be ones that lead to a bright future.” -Katerina, 20 and Zhanna, 25 “There are no gay rights in Russia. Fighting for them feels like being involved in a criminal cabaret show and we dont want any part of it.” -Olga, 32 and Ulia, 28 “Weve been activists for almost fifteen years.

Olympic Games – Olympic flame in Russia for epic trip to Sochi Games

reached the highest level in 15 months yesterday. Internet penetration in Russia was at 53.3 percent in 2012, which compares with 81% in U.S., according to the World Bank. Citigroup recommends buying Yandex as the company, which gets about 90 percent of revenue from text-based advertising, benefits from economic growth and increasing Internet penetration in Russia, according to the report. The bank started coverage of Mail.ru with a buy and a 12-month target price of $44 per share, implying a 12 percent gain. Mail.ru was also added to Citigroups focus list for the region. Mail.ru added 0.9 percent to $39.34 in London yesterday, the highest level since May 8, 2012, and traded at 25 times estimated earnings. The company has been trading at a discount to Yandex since March, the data show. Totally Unjustified The discount is totally unjustified, Alexander Vengranovich, an analyst at Otkritie Financial Corp. in Moscow, said by phone from Moscow yesterday. There should be no discount and Mail.ru has a chance to catch up. It looks more attractive to investors because its cheaper and because it is expected to pay a special dividend following sale of stakes in Facebook and Qiwi. Vengranovich cut his recommendation on Yandex to a hold July 29 and reiterated a buy on Mail.ru in September. Internet advertising remained the fastest-growing segment as it increased 30 percent, the data show.

will end 2013 as the worlds largest producer of petroleum and natural gas, surpassing Russia and Saudi Arabia, the Energy Information Administration said Friday. The EIA estimated combined U.S. petroleum and gas production this year will hit 50 quadrillion British thermal units, or 25 million barrels of oil equivalent a day, outproducing Russia by 5 quadrillion Btu. Petroleum production includes crude oil, natural gas liquids, condensates, and biofuels. U.S. and Russian energy production over the past two years have been roughly equivalent. Since 2008, U.S. petroleum production has increased 7 quadrillion Btu, with dramatic growth in Texas and North Dakota, the EIA said. U.S. natural gas production has risen 3 quadrillion Btu over the same period, the agency said, while Russia and Saudi Arabia each increased their combined petroleum and natural gas production by about 1 quadrillion Btu since 2008, the EIA said. The EIA data confirm an analysis by The Wall Street Journal on Wednesday, saying the U.S. was poised to overtake Russia as the worlds largest producer this year if it hasnt already. Tapping shale rock for oil and gas has fueled the U.S.

Reuters 1 hour 17 minutes ago Print Eurosport – The Olympic torch of the Sochi 2014 Winter Games is lit (Reuters) President Putin was to signal the start of the torch relay at a ceremony in Red Square 123 days before Russia ‘s first-ever Winter Olympics begin in the Black Sea resort city of Sochi on February 7. Protected by a small lantern, the flame was flown in from Greece after being lit at the birthplace of the ancient Olympics and handed over to Russia on Saturday at the marble Athens stadium that hosted the first modern Games in 1896. Gingerly carrying the lantern, Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Kozak stepped off the plane and onto a red carpet as an honour guard of rifle-toting soldiers in wooly Astrakhan collars stood by, chins jutting high. “Today can truly be called a historic day for us,” Kozak said. “We – all Russians – have a right to be proud. The longest torch relay before a Winter Olympics will show off Russia’s variety as well as its sheer scale of taking the flame though all 83 regions in a more than 65,000 km (40,400 mile) journey around the world’s biggest country. It will go to the North Pole, to the top of Mt. Elbrus, Europe’s highest peak, to the depths of Siberia’s Lake Baikal and aboard a rocket to the International Space Station, whose crew will take the torch – unlit – on a spacewalk. More than 90 percent of Russia’s 142 million people will be within one hour of the flame, which Sochi Games chief Dmitry Chernyshenko said should help “ensure that all residents of Russia will feel involved in the Olympic celebrations”. But six years after he secured the 2014 Winter Games for Sochi with an impassioned pitch, it is Putin – who turns 61 on Monday – who is the most invested in making the only Olympics staged in an independent Russia a success. Putin has faced international criticism over a law he signed this year prohibiting the spread of gay “propaganda” among minors, which activists and Western governments say is discriminatory and curtails basic human freedoms.