The latest: Belarus Election Commission Dismisses Fraud Complaints

23.03.2006
Belarus Election Commission Dismisses Fraud Complaints
The Belarussian Central Election Commission has rejected a complaint by presidential candidate Alexander Kozulin and the non-governmental organization Belarussian Republican Voters Club aimed at declaring the recent presidential elections invalid.

23.03.2006
Court Clears Russian Driver of Governor’s Death
A Siberian railway worker sentenced earlier to four years in prison for allegedly causing a traffic accident that killed a regional governor was fully acquitted by a court in Barnaul Thursday.

23.03.2006
Parliamentary Elections in Ukraine to Test Orange Revolution Ideals
Ukraine holds a crucial election this weekend that could decide whether a resurgence of those backing renewed links with Russia could threaten the pro-Western ideals of President Viktor Yushchenko’s “Orange Revolution.”

23.03.2006
Belarus Opposition Activist Attacked in Capital Minsk
Assailants attacked an aide to the opposition leader in Belarus on Thursday after state TV broadcast a recording of an alleged conversation in which he consulted a Polish NGO on protest strategies, an opposition spokesman said.

23.03.2006
Khodorkovsky’s Foundation Says Last Ruble Account Arrested
Open Russia foundation that belongs to the jailed tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky reported on Thursday its last ruble account had been arrested.

23.03.2006
Russian Software Developer Beats Pirate in Boxing Ring
An employee of Cognitive Technologies computer company has beaten a man who sold the company’s software illegally.

23.03.2006
Chernobyl Killed 1,000 British Infants — Report
More than 1,000 British babies may have died following the Chernobyl nuclear disaster 20 years ago, an expert claimed Thursday. On the eve of the 20th anniversary of the tragedy, health records show infant deaths increased in the wake of Ukrainian reactor blast in April 1986.

23.03.2006
Russian Scientist Charged With Disclosing State Secret
Russian scientist, a PhD in physics and mathematics, Oleg Korobeinikov, has been charged with disclosure of state secret.

23.03.2006
Russia Rejects U.N. Draft Statement Pressuring Iran to Stop Uranium Enrichment
Russia’s foreign minister on Wednesday firmly rejected a draft U.N. Security Council statement aimed at pressuring Iran to stop enriching uranium, despite a new offer of amendments by Western powers.

23.03.2006
Despite Partnership, Russia Still Spying on U.S.
Even as the U.S. and Russia are cooperating to resolve international crises and track militant Islamic groups, Moscow is working at least as hard at stealing U.S. military and industrial secrets as during the Soviet era, current and former intelligence officials say.

23.03.2006
Russian Researchers Open UFO School for Lovers of Paranormal
Russian ufologists have opened a school where they teach people what to do if they encounter a UFO and where to look for extraterrestrials.

23.03.2006
Leading Human Rights Watchdog Tells Belarus to Stop Arresting Peaceful Protesters
Belarus should stop detaining demonstrators peacefully protesting the results of Sunday’s election, and respect their right to do so, Human Rights Watch said Wednesday. Earlier, opposition candidate and Lukashenko’s main opposition challenger conceded that protests were unlikely to topple the authoritarian leader.

23.03.2006
Russian Prosecutors Charge 3 More Yukos Officials
Russian prosecutors have charged three former employees of the shattered Yukos oil company, one of them a Spanish passport-holder, with money-laundering and theft.

23.03.2006
Russian Jury Acquits Man Accused of Murdering Tajik Girl, Others Found Guilty of Hooliganism
A jury acquitted a teenager accused of murdering a nine-year-old Tajik girl two years ago in Russia’s second largest city St. Petersburg, one of the most shocking hate crimes in recent years.