Today: Russia’s relations wtih UK and Ukraine in trouble; Greenpeace Russia to focus on Kyoto Protocol and possibly sue the IOC; Moscow’s building boom; movie-going culture on the up. The British Council says that its legal position in Russia is “rock solid” despite facing pressure and accusations that its continued activities are “illegal”. The council’s offices are due to reopen on January 14, after holiday closure, but Foreign Ministry spokesman Mikhail Kamynin said in a statement that Russia expects the operations to be permanently closed and “any other actions would be provocative and build up bilateral tensions.” Ukraine’s government is asking the United Nations to recognize the 1932 famine as an act of genocide, “worsening already frosty relations with Russia”.