The latest: Milosevic’s Moscow-based Relatives Stay in Russia on Funeral Day

18.03.2006
Milosevic’s Moscow-based Relatives Stay in Russia on Funeral Day
None of Slobodan Milosevic’s Moscow-based family will attend his funeral on Saturday, a senior official in Serbia’s Socialist Party has reported. Slobodan Milosevic who died last weekend in the Hague was to be buried in his hometown of Pozarevac.

18.03.2006
Belarus’ Lukashenko Vows to Stop Takeover, Violence on Election Day
Belarus voters are going to the polls on Sunday amid fears of a violent confrontation after the opposition vowed to protest vote-rigging. President Alexander Lukashenko’s government threatened to treat demonstrators as “terrorists”.

18.03.2006
2 Killed in Siberian Roof Collapse
A ceiling collapsed Friday in an office building in Tyumen, an industrial city in Siberia, killing at least one man and injuring at least eight others. On Saturday, one more person died of injuries in the hospital.

18.03.2006
Russian Capital Bids to Host Champions League Final
Moscow has submitted a bid to host the Champions League final in 2008 or 2009, Russia’s soccer chief Vitaly Mutko said on Friday.

18.03.2006
Russia’s UN Envoy Rejects Anglo-French Iran Proposals on Iran at UN
Russia’s UN ambassador rejected proposals Friday for the UN Security Council to demand a quick progress report on Iran’s nuclear program, saying — only half in jest — fast action could lead to the bombing of Iran by June.

18.03.2006
U.S. Concerned by Belarus Plans to Crackdown on Opposition, Mulls Sanctions
The White House said it was “deeply concerned” by reports of a Belarus government crackdown on opposition figures ahead of a weekend election and accused the authoritarian president of Belarus of being “among the most corrupt leaders in the world”.