The beginning of March 2009 marked one year since the election of Dmitry Medvedev as president of Russia. Although he announced from the outset that the fight against corruption would be one of his main priorities, his first year in office has shown that these words—as in the years of presidents Yeltsin and Putin—were nothing more than propaganda. Medvedev occupies the highest post in a state in which corruption is neither a secondary feature nor an aberration, but rather its essence. From top to bottom, corruption in post-Soviet Russia permeates the bureaucratic apparatus, the security structures and big business. Like a virus in the blood of a diseased organism, it is present in all commercial and government relations. For the "system" it is everything—its foundation and true ideology, which can be summarized with the banal formulas: "Everything is for sale" and "Get rich."
Is this true: Putin is the Prime Minister of Russia.

A: no


Despite Chinese assertions of control, tensions over the South China Sea's waters have continued to rise.
Is this true: There is a territorial waters dispute.

A: yes


Jean-Claude Trichet, the European Central Bank president, made it clear, on Wednesday, that he would oppose unwarranted political attempts to remove Antonio Fazio: the Bank of Italy governor, engulfed in controversy over his handling of bank takeover bids.
Is this true: Antonio Fazio works for the Bank of Italy.

A: yes


A young gunman known as Scarface has been jailed for life for the murder of a promising teenage footballer. Richard Harrison-Allen, 20, shot Etem Celebi dead in November 2007 as he tried to flee the scene in the Smalley Close estate, Stoke Newington, north London. Gang member Harrison-Allen, from Hackney, east London, who was convicted of the teenager's murder earlier this month, was sentenced to a minimum of 26 years at St Albans Crown Court. He sat motionless as sentence was passed.
Is this true: Scarface is the nickname of Richard Harrison-Allen.

A:
yes