FSN REPORTERS BLOG - NEWS COVERAGE AND ANALYSIS

Motorists have been left terrified and experts baffled after a bridge over the Volga River seemed to take on a life of its own.

In an incident reminiscent of Hollywood’s special effects wizards at their best, asphalt waves sent cars bouncing across the 7 km long bridge on Friday.  However, not only was no one hurt during the half hour long incident, but the bridge itself remained intact, with officials afterwards announcing that not even the paint has cracked.

While engineers have linked the problem to high winds, they remain puzzled as this is the first time this has happened to a bridge of this kind.

The bridge, opened eight months ago, cost almost 4 million US dollars to build, most of which came out of federal funds.

 

 

Anne Rutherford, Moscow

Russia looks to revive Soviet-era limo

A Zil on duty during a state visit to Switzerland - Photo: maiak.info via Flickr

They were one of the most famous symbols of the Soviet politburo - vast, luxurious limousines for the dictators of the proletariat. At almost 21 feet long, Zil limousines dwarfed anything else on the Moscow roads as they sped down special lanes reserved for top officials.

They have, however, faded from view in recent years, and the number produced by the Zil factory, which usually specialises in buses and trucks, in the last five years has been precisely zilch.

Now they could be set for a comeback. Vladimir Kozhin, who is in charge of Kremlin property, has told Russian radio station Ekho Moskvy that President Dimitri Medvedev had issued "an instruction to investigate in detail the question of buying new Zil model cars for the presidential car pool". He did not say when the new Zils might be available.

Russia’s leaders currently favour top-of-the-range BMW and Mercedes cars, although Prime Minister Vladimir Putin owns a Russian-made Lada jeep for off-road driving. The current ageing stock of Zils is usually restricted to appearances at the annual Victory Day parade, where Defence Minister Dimitri Kosygin this year saluted the troops from the back of a convertible model.

James Ellingworth, Moscow

FSN London busy at election time

FSN's London bureau is frantically busy with TV and radio work for various clients on election day here in the UK.

We're filing reports for numerous clients including Times Now TV of India, Radio New Zealand, Channel News Asia, Deutsche Welle and many others.

We're also providing production and shooting/editing support for the PBS Newshour, such as in this preview report by Simon Marks.

Moscow mayor: Don’t rain on my parade

Moscow city authorities have admitted spending more than a million US dollars to control the weather during celebrations commemorating the 65^th anniversary of the end of the Second World War.  Almost a third of the four million dollar sum that went towards preparations for the holiday was spent by Moscow Mayor Yuri Luzhkov on plans to keep the sky blue during victory celebrations on May 9.  Planes spreading crystal CO2 and liquid oxygen in clouds above the city will ensure that spectators don’t get wet while watching tanks rolling into Red Square.

This isn’t the first time Luzhkov has attempted to control the elements – only last autumn he suggested using the same technology to save Moscow from its annual winter blanket of snow, a plan dropped after inhabitants of Moscow’s suburbs complained that the extra snow would land on their streets instead.  Luzhkov’s 2002 campaign to reverse the flow of the vast river Ob also had to be abandoned – after scientists pointed out that it wasn’t actually possible...

Anne Rutherford, Moscow

US Gulf Coast battles oil slick

US Gulf states are contending with the approach of an oil slick that is being described as the country's worst natural disaster in decades. The leak was sprung when an oil rig exploded in the Gulf of Mexico on April 22. BP, the company that owned and operated the rig, has been unable to seal off the oil well 5,000 feet below the surface, and thousands of barrels of crude oil have been leaking into the water every day.

Our correspondent Nathan King has traveled to Louisiana, one of the states that is threatened by the approach of the oil slick. He's working primarily for France 24 (you can check out one of his pieces here) but he also called in to give us his impressions. Listen to his update by clicking here.

When President Barack Obama visited the area on Sunday, he described the spill as "a massive and potentially unprecedented environmental disaster." The federal government is mobilizing resources across the country to help contain and clean up the oil, although the costs will ultimately be borne by BP.

Kate Moody, Washington DC