The 2006 “Second Lebanon War” began on July 12, 2006 and concluded on August 14 with a UN brokered cease fire. The conflict began when Hezbollah terrorists opened fire with rockets on mortars on the Israeli border towns of Zar’it and Shtula, wounding several civilians. During the war, about 1,200 Lebanese were killed, of whom about 500 - 700 were estimated by Israel or the UN to have been Hezbollah guerillas. About 149 Israeli soldiers and 44 civilians were killed. Upward of 4,000 civilians on each side were injured, and hundreds of thousands of people were displaced from their homes temporarily or permanently. United Nations Security Council Resolution 1701 terminated the hostilities by securing Lebanese agreement to take control of Southern Lebanon from the Hezbollah with the help of an enlarged United nations emergency force. July-August 2006

Paintings of masterpiece copier Konstantin Ekshibarov are seen in his house in the town of Chudovo, some 600 km northwest of Moscow. Ekshibarov, a former Red Army toxicologist during World War Two, decided to recreate the beauty of old paintings on his own canvases after witnessing soldiers trampling a French masterpiece during the war. The 82-year-old repeatedly extends his house, which currently holds over 400 copies of the likes of Titian, Rubens and Rembrandt, to make room for more pieces. Ekshibarov, who said he had never received a formal art education, claimed he does not sell his works, wanting to fill his personal museum with his own paintings. August 2007

St. Nikolas nunnery

Since the National Bolshevik Party (NBP) was refused registration as an official party, its preferred political activity has consisted of direct action stunts, mostly against prominent political figures. One of its most famous direct actions consisted of taking over the Ministry of Health in Moscow on August 2, 2004 in order to protest the cancellation of social benefits in Russia. On the national arena, the party is highly critical of the government of Vladimir Putin and considers state institutions such as the bureaucracy, the police and the courts to be corrupt and authoritarian. In return the Russian authorities often employ repressive methods against the NBP, although they have not officially proclaimed it to be an extremist organization. 2004-2009