From the Blogs

Hundreds of terrified workers at an isolated mining compound in Russia’s Far East are refusing to return to work after a pack of hungry bears killed and ate two guards.

About 30 Kamchatka brown bears have been prowling the area around two mines in Russia’s Pacific Kamchatka region, searching for food. Now, a team of snipers is being dispatched to hunt the bears after receiving authorization from the government.

“These predators have to be destroyed,” village leader Viktor Leushkin told the ITAR-Tass news agency. “Once they kill a human, they will do it again and again.”

L.A. UNLEASHED

Bears create a terror in east Russia

But experts told the Times of London that a “mass slaughter is unnecessary” and that they could instead focus on the few bears that killed the workers and try to frighten the rest of the group back to forest areas.

Kamchatka brown bears, similar to grizzlies, can stand 10 feet tall on their hind legs and weigh up to 1,500 pounds. Bears are revered and honored in Russian culture -- the equivalent of bald eagles in the United States -- an irony that has made the attacks even more disturbing.

The bears usually feed on salmon, but environmentalists say widespread fish poaching in the scarcely populated region, home to 16,000 bears, has forced them closer to human settlements to root through garbage and, at times, attack humans.

-- Tony Barboza

From L.A. Unleashed: All things animal in Southern California and beyond

For more, go to latimes.com/unleashed

L.A. LAND

Buyers: Don’t forget your euros

For sale: A new, three-bedroom contemporary Mediterranean in the north-of-Sunset area of 90210. The private hillside manor has a pool, views and 3,600 square feet. Price: 2,486,398 euros. That’s right, euros.

Builder and co-owner Joe Folender will include the $3,895,000 price tag when he lists the house for sale in mid-August, but his goal is to also attract foreigners seeking a “bargain” (everything is relative) amid this country’s economic turbulence.

“The dollar is weaker,” Folender said. “We’re capitalizing on the strength of other currencies.”

Marketing a home in both currencies isn’t a trend yet in Los Angeles, but it is being seen in New York City. “Lots of Europeans will now get what that dollar amount is in their currency,” said Mark Goldsmith, a Beverly Hills Coldwell Banker agent who’s listing the home.

Can’t hurt.

-- Diane Wedner

From L.A. Land: Peter Viles on the rapidly changing landscape of the Southern California real estate market and beyond

For more, go to latimes.com/laland

HERO COMPLEX

Keanu Reeves gets his alien on

Keanu Reeves is playing an alien in December’s “The Day the Earth Stood Still,” and he couldn’t be more thrilled.

Reeves bounded on to the main stage of Comic-Con in San Diego all smiles and welcomed the crowd. One guy in the audience was extra affectionate: “I love you, Keanu!” Reeves eyed him in the crowd and yelled back, “I love you too, man!”

In “Day,” a remake of the 1951 sci-fi classic, Reeves plays Klaatu, an alien sent to take in the human condition.

“The original Klaatu was warm and fuzzy, more human than humans. I’m not that guy,” Reeves explained. That’s for sure. Preview footage demonstrated Klaatu 2.0’s painful-looking mind control capabilities. (Think electric shock therapy).

But if you’ve already seen the trailer, be warned: “The Day the Earth Stood Still” isn’t all aliens and special effects. In the original “Day,” Klaatu was sent to warn civilization that it would destroy itself if humans didn’t change their ways, a not-so-subtle commentary about the Cold War and nuclear threat.

The new “Day” will again assess the state of humanity and the environment through the eyes of Klaatu. It’s a message movie, to be sure, but it also arrives on the heels of the critically acclaimed “Wall-E,” Pixar’s story of a lovable but lonely trash compactor set against the future of a used-and-abused Earth.

Co-star Jennifer Connelly said the movie is actually rather tender. “The idea of an alien that comes to Earth to learn about humanity and Earth from an outsider perspective, it’s just such a good story,” she said. Connelly plays the mom of a boy who bonds with Klaatu.

Director Scott Derrickson added that it felt like the right time for a remake. “The original was so a product of its time, and commented so well on that early Cold War era,” he said. “The idea of updating it made sense since the times have changed and we now have different issues.”

-- Denise Martin

From Hero Complex: Fanboy culture, graphic novels and science fiction

For more, go to latimes.com/herocomplex

UP TO SPEED

Nissan Cube rolls onto the Web

Since there seem to be a lot of Nissan Cube fans in this neck of the cyber-woods, they might be interested to know that there’s now a dedicated website, www.nissanusa.com/cube. Aimed almost relentlessly at young people, it features all sorts of things -- some obviously Cube-related, others not so much.

One cool aspect is the “art car” feature. Nissan gave two Cubes each to the Pratt Institute in New York and the Brooks Institute film school in Santa Barbara, and told the students to do their things. The Pratt contingent went arty while the Brooks brothers and sisters made a short film. The results can be seen on the site, along with a photo gallery.

The production version of the Cube for North America makes its debut at the Los Angeles Auto Show on Nov. 19. Before then, however, viral marketing will take in things like Facebook, Twitter and whatever social networking sites happen to be hot at the time.

-- Colin Ryan

From Up to Speed: The latest buzz in car culture

For more, go to latimes.com/uptospeed