Victory Day Flyover Cancelled Due to Bad Weather

Despite uncharacteristically cold and rainy conditions for this time of year, Russia’s annual Victory Day military parade proceeded through central Moscow as planned. But one critical feature of the parade, the air force flyover, has been cancelled.

“Due to adverse weather conditions in the Moscow region,” the Defence Ministry press office was quoted by TASS as saying on May 9, “the participation of the air force in the Victory Day parade has been cancelled.”

Nigeria Chibok girls: Parents learning if daughters among those freed

Parents of the missing Chibok girls are slowly learning if their daughters are among the 82 freed by Boko Haram militants in Nigeria two days ago.

The girls' names were put on Twitter by the president's office on Sunday. They were flown to the capital Abuja.
But in Chibok, their home region in north-eastern Nigeria, not everyone has access to the social media site.
It is unclear if the government has made other attempts to let them know if their daughters are now safe.

A Foreigner’s Guide to Surviving Victory Day

 Teachers, Businessmen and Students of the Moscow expat community! You are about to embark on the Great Crusade, through which we must endure once per year.

Yes, my friends, Victory Day is upon us.

Each year, Russians dedicate an entire weekend to celebrating their victory in the Second World War. And each year, it is one of the best weekends in Moscow. Nuclear missiles are paraded through the streets, fireworks shrapnel rains down on the embankments, and the bars are packed.

But Victory Day weekend is also one of the most perilous in Moscow. Russian patriotism reaches feverish heights, making it difficult to avoid talking about World War Two. Or, as your Russian interlocutors will no doubt insist on calling it, the Great Patriotic War against fascism.

This can lead to undesirable outcomes, such as lost friends, breakups, and/or bar fights.