DNA proves Bolsheviks killed all of Russian czar's children

One of the most enduring mysteries of the 20th century has been put to rest: DNA analysis of bone fragments has proven that two of Czar Nicholas' children believed to have escaped were killed with their royal family during the Russian Revolution.

The chemically damaged and burnt remains were found in the Romanov family's makeshift grave outside the city of Yekaterinburg, Russia, in 2007.

In 2008, scientists used bone and tooth fragments to identify the remains as those of the two missing children of Czar Nicholas II: 13-year-old Crown Prince Alexei, the emperor's only son and heir to the throne, and his sister Grand Duchess Maria, about 19.

Researchers wanted to confirm their findings by comparing DNA from the remains with that of living Romanov relatives. The results of the DNA analysis were published online Tuesday in the journal PloS One.

The Romanov family, the last Russian monarchy, was executed in 1918 by Bolsheviks in the basement of a home in Yekaterinburg, about 900 miles (1,448 kilometers) east of Moscow. Several of their staff members and servants also were killed.

Nicholas' reign had ended when he abdicated the throne in 1917 at the time of the Russian Revolution.

The remains of the family were discovered in 1991, during the last days of the Soviet Union. In 1998, those remains -- of Nicholas, his wife, Alexandra, and three daughters -- were interred in a cathedral in St. Petersburg that contains the crypts of other Russian royalty.

At the time, many thought that Alexei and Maria might have escaped -- leading to hopes among royal supporters that one or both Romanovs were still alive. But clues left by one of the family's assassins led investigators to the grave where the remains of Alexei and Maria were unearthed in 2007.

The drama surrounding the Romanovs has been the subject of many books, movies and documentaries.

Several women have claimed that they were Anastasia, Nicholas' youngest daughter, contending that they escaped the executions.

The body of one such impostor, Anna Anderson, was cremated when she died in 1984. DNA tests showed she was not related to the Romanov family.

Drunken incident on plane will cost passenger $30,000

$20,000 in restitution costs added to $10,000 fine

A Russian citizen whose drunken behaviour forced a transatlantic flight to make an emergency landing in central Newfoundland last week was ordered Friday to make amends.

39-yr old Sergey Kotsur was fined $10,000 in provincial court in Gander.

As well, he has been ordered to pay $20,000 to Delta Airlines, which made an emergency landing on Sunday when Kotsur became belligerent with other passengers and airline staff.

Kotsur plead guilty to assaulting a member of the crew and to interfering with a flight crew. The Crown dropped a charge of mischief that was laid earlier this week.

Witnesses to the incident said it took eight people, including both crew and passengers, to restrain Kotsur.

Police said Kotsur remained difficult when he was taken into custody and tried to beat the window out of a police car.

The flight had originated in Moscow and was heading to Atlanta.

Travelling to Miami for vacation

Court was told that Mr. Kotsur, who owns restaurants in Russia, had been drinking before he boarded the flight from Moscow to Atlanta, and that he continued to drink liquor that someone had brought on board. Kotsur and his family had been heading to Miami for a vacation at an upscale hotel.

Court was told that he started arguing with his family, and had been banging his head against the wall of the cabin.

A disclosure statement presented to the court said that Kotsur grabbed a flight attendant's thigh under her skirt.

Defence lawyer Juan O'Quinn said a combination of alcohol and medications led to the outburst, and that his client is sorry and embarrassed about his behaviour.

"Mr. Kotsur had been drinking on the plane and that there was some medication taken, some sleeping medication, I suspect, that had a reaction. It's not some kind of activity he would normally engage in," O'Quinn said.

"He's a fairly mild fellow but the concoction of the medicine he took and the alcohol, I suspect, probably had an impact on the way he behaved."

Kotsur has one year to pay the fine and the restitution.

Before Kotsur left the courtroom, Judge Bruce Short wished him a more uneventful flight.

The Delta Airlines flight was delayed through its unplanned, four-hour stopover in Gander on Sunday.

What I don't understand is, why do people feel they need to drink on the plane? The longest flight is what? A day at most? Do you really need to drink everyday? If you do, you "may" have a drinking problem.

Are there any of my readers that take flights, even occasionally, that also order drinks while flying that would like to perhaps enlighten me?