Moscow (AP) – Lawmakers in Russia-occupied Crimea, which is grappling with a nearly two-week-long blackout, are suggesting parents name their newborn boys Generator to mark the ordeal. Unknown attackers blew up electricity pylons in Ukraine on Nov. 22, leaving the peninsula largely without power. After Russia annexed Crimea in March 2014, it began building an underwater electricity cable system to Crimea from Russia’s Krasnodar region, and Russia President Vladimir Putin traveled there on Wednesday to inaugurate the first delivery of Russian power. Russian news agencies on Friday quoted local parliament speaker Vladimir Konstantinov suggesting that parents name their newborn girls Sveta, or “light” in Russian, and boys “Generator” to highlight the government’s efforts to overcome the crisis. At least half of Crimea’s 2 million population was believed to be without electricity at mid-week.
Austrian police find more than 100,000 euros in Danube River
Vienna (AP) – The banknotes were wet, but Austrian police are not treating the find of more than 100,000 euros found in the Danube River as a classic case of money laundering. Firefighters fished the banknotes worth nearly $110,000 out of the water in Vienna on the weekend. On Monday, police remained mystified about how they got there, and who the owner is. Police spokesman Roman Hahslinger says there are no links to robberies or other crimes involving such a large amount of money. He suggests that if the search for the owner fails, it could be a case of finders’ keepers for a man who discovered the large denomination notes on Saturday and then dove into the water to start recovering them.
