THE WEEK IN REVIEW

Russian investigators raided the country’s biggest airport in an effort to confirm exactly who owns it. Domodedovo, the privately owned airport to the south of Moscow, was stormed by police earlier this month – with no explanation given at the time.

But, on the day that a court hearing into the Jan. 24 suicide bombing in the arrivals lounge was ordered to continue in closed session, a separate media release from the investigative committee confirmed the raid was intended to track down who exactly has the final say at the airport.

Lebedev’s tabloid?

Doomed tabloid The News of the World could be brought back to life by Russian media tycoon Alexander Lebedev.

The owner of Britain’s Evening Standard and Independent titles could add the scandal-hit paper to his portfolio.

But he says he wants to return it to its traditions of campaigning investigative journalism and wipe away the stain of the phone-tapping allegations which have rocked UK journalism.

“I would need the journalists to really investigate, and during investigations you have to observe the laws,” Lebedev said.

Beer ban delayed

Beer has officially become alcohol, but it won’t be subject to stricter regulations until 2013.

Rather than immediately impose night-time bans for off-licence beer sales, President Dmitry Medvedev has ordered a period of grace to help small retailers cope with the change in beer’s legal status.

And it means that lighter beers, with less than 5 per cent alcohol, will still be freely available to nocturnal tipplers.

Online underground

The information superhighway is heading underground – by 2016 Moscow’s metro will offer free Wifi to passengers.

City IT bosses have pledged to get full internet access across the network within five years, and plan to set web-fans loose on city buses if a trial Wifi scheme in Mitino is a success.

Those on the move can already access the net at major rail terminals in the city, and this year saw the launch of free Wifi in Gorky Park and Tsaritsyno.

Serbian ‘hiding in Russia’

The arrest of suspected Serbian war criminal Goran Hadzic on Wednesday prompted reports that he had hidden in Russia for several years – with the apparent connivance of the Belgrade authorities.

Hadzic, who faces a tribunal in The Hague to establish his role in the destruction of Vukovar during the Balkan conflict, is believed to have been in Russia from 2004-2008, Serbia title Pravda reported.

And the paper claimed that special forces in Serbia, and the country’s leadership, had been aware of Hadzic’s whereabouts at that time.

Good week for…

Creative cats

Moscow is set to host the world’s first ‘Temple of Cats’, thanks to showman Yury Kuklachyov.

He plans to open his feline showcase in 2013, creating a haven for animal lovers – and a special home for pampered pussies.

Plans include speciallythemed homes where cats will live in an environment inspired by their routes: Persians will recline on woven carpets and US breeds will have their own moggy Manhatten, Kuklachyov promised.

Bad week for…

Belarusian retro rock

The late Viktor Tsoi, poster boy for Soviet rock dissidents, has caused new controversy in Belarus.

Tsoi, whose group Kino became a focal point for anticommunist rallies in the perestroika era, finds himself of the hit-list of embattled President Alexander Lukashenko.

And his anthem “Khotim peremen” (We want change) has been driven from the airwaves by the Minsk authorities after a sudden surge in popularity, Moskovsky Komsomolets reported.

Belarusian singer Lyapis Trubetskoi is also out of offi cial favor.