The latest: Russian Expert Says Bird Flu May Come to U.S. Soon

17.03.2006
Russian Expert Says Bird Flu May Come to U.S. Soon
The deadly bird flu virus, which has hit Asia, Europe and Africa, may spread to the United States late this year and risks mutating dangerously there, Russia’s top animal and plant health inspector Sergei Dankvert said.

17.03.2006
Russian Envoy to South Korea Condemns Russian Textbooks Featuring Obscenities
A Seoul university professor has developed new unique ways of teaching South Korean students to speak Russian. His textbook — “Russian through anecdotes and jokes” - shocks readers as early as the first page. The Russian ambassador in Seoul has forwarded a note of protest to the South Korean Foreign Ministry.

17.03.2006
Two Blasts Hit South Russia Republic Bordering Chechnya
A bomb went off on a railroad near the town of Karabulak in Ingushetia, a Caucasus republic bordering the breakaway Chechnya early on Friday. A short time later another explosion ripped through a cell phone base transmitter in Ingushetia’s Nazran district, local media reported. No one was injured in the attacks.

17.03.2006
Russian Stunt Pilots Start Air Show in China, Plan to Fly Through Cave
The Russian aerobatic team “Russian Knights” launched its first aerobatic show in Zhangjiajie, Central China’s Hunan Province. The pilots plan a risky flight through the Tianmen (Skygate) Cave.

17.03.2006
Pro-Kremlin Party Supports Driver Prosecuted Over Governor’s Death
Pro-Kremlin United Russia party has thrown its support behind a driver who was found guilty of the death of a regional governor in a road accident and sentenced for four years of prison.

17.03.2006
Kyrgyz Rooster Praises Allah — Report
Rooster in the Kyrgyz city of Osh has started to call out the name of Allah instead of crowing, a local web-site reports.

17.03.2006
Khodorkovsky’s Foundation Accounts Frozen
Foundation belonging to the jailed tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky said on Friday its bank accounts had been frozen on the order of court bailiffs.

17.03.2006
Russia Needs More Democracy — White House
Russia must embrace democracy if it is to improve its relations with the U.S., Europe and its neighbors, a new U.S. national security strategy document says.

17.03.2006
Georgian Election Monitors Stuck in Belarus Airport
A delegation of Georgian deputies, who came to Belarus to monitor the election as members of the observation mission of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly, has been detained in a Minsk airport.