The latest: Moscow Synagogue Attacker Gets 13 Years in Prison

27.03.2006
Moscow Synagogue Attacker Gets 13 Years in Prison
A court in Moscow has sentenced Alexander Koptsev to 13 years in prison after the 21-year-old was found guilty of a brutal attack on members of the congregation at a local synagogue last January. At least nine people were injured in the attack.

27.03.2006
EU Demands Release of Belarus Opposition Figure Kozulin
The EU is demanding the immediate release of Belarus opposition figures, including former presidential candidate Alexander Kozulin, arrested during the weekend protests and denouncing 19 March elections that saw long-time ruler Alexander Lukashenko win a third term in office.

27.03.2006
2 Belarus State TV Journalists Badly Beaten by Opposition
Two journalists of Belarus state television channel allegedly beaten by opposition forces during an unsanctioned rally in Minsk are currently in hospital with severe injuries.

27.03.2006
2 Killed in Russian Copter Crash
Mi-8 helicopter crashed in Russia’s East Siberian republic of Yakutia on Monday. Two people were killed, seven injured.

27.03.2006
EBay Helps Shut Down Russian Fraudsters Website
The online auction site eBay has helped to shut down a Russian website that was offering to sell stolen customer account information for as little as $5 a time.

27.03.2006
Ukrainian Soccer Star Shevchenko Says No to Chelsea
Famous Ukrainian soccer player Andrei Shevchenko has said he wants to stay at AC Milan for the rest of his career and is not interested in a move to Chelsea.

27.03.2006
Germany Probes Russians in Equipment Exports to Iran
Seven people are being investigated over exports of German equipment to Iran via Russia. The equipment could be used for Iran’s nuclear program, prosecutors in Germany said.

27.03.2006
Early Returns in Ukraine’s Parliamentary Poll Put Tymoshenko’s Bloc in Lead
A count of a very small proportion of votes in Ukraine’s parliamentary election gave the lead Monday to former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko’s party, but the count represented only 3.48 percent of the ballots and contradicted three exit polls that showed President Viktor Yushchenko’s key rival Viktor Yanukovych in a commanding lead with nearly a third of the vote.

27.03.2006
U.S., Russian Diplomats Seek to End Iran Deadlock
U.S. and Russian diplomats were meeting in a new bid to end the impasse over a UN response to Iran’s controversial nuclear program, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said. She admitted that differences persisted over the language of a UN Security Council statement seeking to keep Iran from pursuing sensitive nuclear work.

27.03.2006
Moscow Man Throws Typewriter at Passing Ukrainian
Moscow police have detained a man who threw a typewriter out of his window onto the head of a passer-by. The wounded man has been rushed to hospital.

27.03.2006
Iran May Resume Uranium Enrichment Consultations With Russia — Ambassador
Iran’s ambassador to Russia, Gholamreza Ansari, has not ruled out the possibility of resuming Iranian-Russian consultations on uranium enrichment.

27.03.2006
U.S. Will Ask Russia for Details on Iraq Intelligence Report — Rice
The U.S. will ask Russia about a report that Moscow turned over information on American troop movements and other military plans to Saddam Hussein, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said. A top U.S. lawmaker said the U.S. should reconsider its ties with Moscow if the report is found true. Russia has dismised the allegation.

27.03.2006
2 Inmates Killed, 2 Police Injured in Georgia Prison Riot
Two inmates have been killed and two policemen wounded in a special police operation aimed at putting down a prison riot in Georgia’s capital Tbilisi.

27.03.2006
Belarus Condemns Western “Interference”, Says EU, U.S. Seek to Fuel Unrest
Belarus accused the West on Sunday of fomenting unrest on its streets, while an opposition beset by discord pledged to maintain protests aimed at toppling Alexander Lukashenko. Belarussian Foreign Ministry has urged the EU and U.S. “to stop attempts to destabilize the country from abroad.”

27.03.2006
Russian Motorists Celebrate a Bitter Victory
A Russian driver sentenced earlier to four years in a labor colony after he had failed to give way to a speeding chauffeur carrying a local governor to a birthday party was acquitted of all charges this month. Supporters of Oleg Shcherbinsky said that was a bitter victory, as it showed that Russia still had a long way to go before it became a true rule-of-law state.