The latest: Rice Urges Russia’s Lavrov to Send Strong Message to Hamas

11.02.2006
Rice Urges Russia’s Lavrov to Send Strong Message to Hamas
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice urged Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Friday to send a clear, strong message in any meetings with Hamas officials that the militant group must stop terror attacks on Israel. The conversation took place shortly after Russian president Vladimir Putin welcomed the Hamas leaders to Moscow for talks.

11.02.2006
Russia Probes Adoption by U.S. Couple Charged With Child Abuse
Russia’s General Prosecutor Office has ordered investigation into the legality of the adoption of a disabled Russian boy by a western New York couple who have been accused of abuse. On Saturday, prosecutors in the boy’s native province of Rostov said the probe had been launched.

11.02.2006
Protesters in Russian Capital Condemn Muhammad Cartoons
About 30 people rallied outside the European Commission Delegation headquarters in Moscow on Friday in protest against the Prophet Muhammad cartoon published in European media.

11.02.2006
7 Killed in Moscow Apartment Fire
Seven people were killed when fire consumed four stories of an apartment building in eastern Moscow. Prosecutors blamed the tragedy on a faulty heater.

11.02.2006
U.S. Rumsfeld Concerned About Russian Arms Sales
Donald Rumsfeld, US defense secretary, has voiced concern about Russian arms sales to countries such as Syria and Iran but dismissed concerns that the US-Russian defense relationship was deteriorating. Earlier, Pentagon said it was worried about Russian “sales of disruptive weapons technologies abroad”.

11.02.2006
19 Killed in Clashes With Militants Near Russia’s Chechnya
Two days of fighting in a town in Russia’s troubled Caucasus region left 12 suspected militants and seven policemen dead, officials said Friday, in the latest spate of violence in the area. The dead suspects were alleged mercenaries for a radical Islamic group based in Chechnya, the Interior Ministry reported.