oneworldtalk

This will give a broader angle to the conventional coverage by west European media.

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Russian tycoon and former KGB agent Alexander Lebedev vowed on Wednesday to back "free and independent" journalism in London's Evening Standard after buying a majority stake in the struggling newspaper.

Lebedev agreed to pay a nominal sum - reportedly one pound ($A2.14) - to buy what he called the "iconic" daily, which like other newspapers is battling amid radical upheaval in the industry in the face of the explosion of online news.

The deal, under which the Associated Newspapers group, DMGT's newspaper division, will retain a 24.9 per cent stake, is expected to be completed by next month. No other newspaper publication owned by DMGT plc is involved in the transaction.

Although many Russian oligarchs have made their mark in Britain - most notably Roman Abramovich who owns Chelsea Football Club - it is the first time that one of them has owned a major British newspaper.

Lebedev was a member of the Soviet Union's KGB foreign intelligence services, working under diplomatic cover in London from 1987-1991. He left with the rank of lieutenant colonel and launched a business career which incorporates banking and aviation.

The Guardian reported the deal was likely to have been discussed at the highest levels of government in Britain.

Relations between Britain and Russia have been frosty since the poisoning in London in November 2006 of the former Russian agent Alexander Litvinenko.

The Evening Standard deal came after a French court last week gave the go-ahead for a company owned by the son of Russian oligarch Sergei Pugachev to take over the evening newspaper France-Soir.

- Adapted from AFP