By Kevin Spak 
Russia is getting (even more) serious about space exploration. Vladimir Putin today announced a plan to pump roughly $52 billion into the country’s space industry, and floated the idea of creating a special “space ministry,” Russia Today reports. “Russia should preserve its status of the leading space power,” Putin said…
From: http://www.newser.com/story/166145/russia-to-pump-52b-into-space-industry.html
By The Huffington Post News Editors
Not much may be able to stop Darth Vader in the fictional “Star Wars” universe, but in Ukraine, apparently all it takes is a few security guards.
On Tuesday, an individual dressed as Darth Vader and accompanied by a coterie of Stormtroopers marched on the Ukraine’s Justice Ministry and demanded recognition for the Internet Party of Ukraine.
In a video posted on YouTube, Vader and his Stormtroopers are seen approaching the entrance of the Justice Ministry and ordering the security guards to open the doors “In the name of the Emperor,” according to a translation by Russia Today. Surrounded by photographers and curious onlookers, the costumed gang are denied entrance and forced to step outside.
French actor Gerard Depardieu got a new permanent address in Russia — 1 Democracy Street — on Saturday, adding a final touch to his quest to get Russian citizenship.
After receiving his Russian passport from President Vladimir Putin last month, Depardieu had it stamped with the new address in Saransk, a city of 300,000 about 400 miles east of Moscow.
The actor has been at the center of a heated debate over tax exiles as France’s Socialist government proposes a hefty tax on the rich, but he has denied that he accepted the passport to escape the taxman.
Saransk is the provincial capital of the Mordovia region, home to a sprawling web of Soviet-era prison camps, where one of the members of the Pussy Riot band is serving her two-year sentence for an irreverent “punk prayer” against Putin.
He said at the ceremony that he appreciated the symbolism of his new address.
“I want to be an ambassador of democracy to the world,” he said, according to Russia Today television, which quoted him as saying that “Russia is a country with a great democracy.”
Saransk has otherwise mostly retained Soviet-era street names. Democracy Street is surrounded by Proletariat, Communist, Soviet and Bolshevik streets.
Depardieu, who has starred in films such as “Green Card” and “Cyrano de Bergerac,” enjoys broad popularity in Russia and received an enthusiastic welcome in the city. Showing off his knowledge of local history, Depardieu likened himself to Yemelyan Pugachev, the chief of a peasant rebellion in the 18th century.
“Yemelyan Pugachev was a peasant tsar who came to Kazan and to Saransk,” Depardieu said, according to Russia Today. “I am like Pugachev: I am a peasant, and I want to be tsar of Saransk.”
Depardieu was registered at an apartment belonging to the relatives of his Russian friend, the head of the Gosfilmofond state film archive, Nikola Bordachev. It is not clear if Depardieu will actually live in the apartment, and he has no requirement to spend any particular amount of time there — though he promised to visit the city often.
Depardieu’s decision to accept citizenship has earned sarcastic comments from Putin’s critics, who say the actor is a tool of Kremlin spin.
Late last night reports and videos began to emerge of what appears to have been a meteorite (or fragments of a meteorite) soaring over the skies of Siberia in what seemed more like a scene from a Hollywood film than a real-life event. Watch:
Hundreds of people have been reported to be injured, though no deaths have been recorded at this time. The injuries apparently resulted from the intense boom that accompanied the event, causing broken glass and damage to the buildings in the area.
According to the New York Times, the Russian Academy of Sciences believes that the blast was caused by a 10-ton meteor which created a powerful shock wave when it reached the Earth’s atmosphere, exploded and evaporated at around 20 to 30 miles above the Earth’s surface. Humorously, Russia Today reported that the meteorite might have been blown up by Russia‘s air defense, something which scientists were claiming today is highly unlikely.
…read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at IGN Movies
By Neal Colgrass 
Source: FULL ARTICLE at Newser – Home