SOME RUSSIAN MINERS STILL ON STRIKE.

Despite a call from the Independent Miners’ Trade Union to halt protest actions as of December 12, some 85,000 miners have reportedly not yet returned to work. The striking miners, many of them from the Rostov and Tula regions, continue to demand payment of wage arrears. The Rostov miners continue also to insist on the government’s dismissal. (Interfax, Itar-Tass, December 16)

Scientist Sounds Warning As Russia Leads Europe in Alcohol Consumption.