It was the calm before the storm in Moscow as the Russian capital prepared nervously for tonight's Champions League final. Manchester United and Chelsea supporters started arriving in their thousands yesterday afternoon, and three-quarters of the 42,000 expected British fans will arrive today. While Britons have been worrying about the logistics of getting around Moscow, the language barrier, and the possibility of police violence, Russia has been gearing up for the biggest English invasion in its history. With the riots by Glasgow Rangers fans after Zenit St Petersburg's Uefa Cup triumph in Manchester last week fresh in the memory, the city that has survived invasions by Napoleon and Hitler was waking up to the magnitude of the latest influx.Some officials appear to have only just realised what they might be letting themselves in for. The Minister for Sport, Vitaly Mutko, said last week he was "shocked" by the behaviour of Rangers fans in Manchester. "They were behaving awfully and relieving themselves in the street," he said. He called on visiting fans to take the behaviour of Zenit's fans in Manchester as an example.
It was the calm before the storm in Moscow as the Russian capital prepared nervously for tonight's Champions League final. Manchester United and Chelsea supporters started arriving in their thousands yesterday afternoon, and three-quarters of the 42,000 expected British fans will arrive today.
While Britons have been worrying about the logistics of getting around Moscow, the language barrier, and the possibility of police violence, Russia has been gearing up for the biggest English invasion in its history. With the riots by Glasgow Rangers fans after Zenit St Petersburg's Uefa Cup triumph in Manchester last week fresh in the memory, the city that has survived invasions by Napoleon and Hitler was waking up to the magnitude of the latest influx.
Some officials appear to have only just realised what they might be letting themselves in for. The Minister for Sport, Vitaly Mutko, said last week he was "shocked" by the behaviour of Rangers fans in Manchester. "They were behaving awfully and relieving themselves in the street," he said. He called on visiting fans to take the behaviour of Zenit's fans in Manchester as an example.
For a man facing yet another round of police questioning this week, as well as the prospect of a failing peace process, Ehud Olmert was remarkably relaxed in his office yesterday. The Israeli Prime Minister drew solace from the careers of two of his mentors, Tony Blair and Silvio Berlusconi, who have trodden this difficult path before him. "I look at the manner in which my friends Tony Blair and Silvio Berlusconi were in a similar situation. They were accused in similar ways, one of trading contributions for titles and one for trying to bribe a judge. They were cleared entirely and didn't stop taking care of the State," he said. Fraud investigators are to question Mr Olmert on Friday, while the Supreme Court rejected an appeal by his lawyers yesterday to block a deposition from an American Jewish businessman alleged to have handed him $500,000 (£250,000) in cash, much of it stuffed into envelopes.
For a man facing yet another round of police questioning this week, as well as the prospect of a failing peace process, Ehud Olmert was remarkably relaxed in his office yesterday.
The Israeli Prime Minister drew solace from the careers of two of his mentors, Tony Blair and Silvio Berlusconi, who have trodden this difficult path before him.
"I look at the manner in which my friends Tony Blair and Silvio Berlusconi were in a similar situation. They were accused in similar ways, one of trading contributions for titles and one for trying to bribe a judge. They were cleared entirely and didn't stop taking care of the State," he said.
Fraud investigators are to question Mr Olmert on Friday, while the Supreme Court rejected an appeal by his lawyers yesterday to block a deposition from an American Jewish businessman alleged to have handed him $500,000 (£250,000) in cash, much of it stuffed into envelopes.
That's a useful typing time saver. Earth provides enough to satisfy every man's need, but not every man's greed. Gandhi
War is peace.
Freedom is slavery.
Ignorance is strength.
And criminality is statesmanship.
A new truth is beauty revealed. Tho I think the Romans and the Borgias may have beaten the Bushes/Blairs/Berluconis/Olmerts to it. keep to the Fen Causeway