The latest: Russia Condemns Terrorist Attack in Tel Aviv, Calls on Israel for Restraint

17.04.2006
Russia Condemns Terrorist Attack in Tel Aviv, Calls on Israel for Restraint
Russia’s Foreign Ministry has condemned the terrorist attack in Tel Aviv. It said there could be no justification for such an attack.

17.04.2006
Jailed Yukos Founder Khodorkovsky Will Not Charge Attacker
Jailed Russian oil tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky will not press charges against a cellmate who attacked him with a knife. The tycoon’s lawyer said he needed stitches after a fellow inmate at his Siberian prison camp slashed him with a cobbler’s knife while he slept.

17.04.2006
Kalashnikov Says His Rifle Still the Best in Iraq
Mikhail Kalashnikov, designer of the popular Soviet assault rifle, has said that U.S. soldiers in Iraq are using his weapon in preference to American models, which proves his gun is still the best.

17.04.2006
Russia Denies Reports on Missile Systems Transfer to Iran
Russia’s Defense Ministry has denied reports in the U.S. media that S-300 missile systems supplied to Belarus could later be transferred to Iran.

17.04.2006
Russian, Armenian Detained in Uzbekistan for Attempt to Sell $1M Bill
A Russian and an Armenian have been detained in Uzbekistan while trying to sell a $1 million banknote at half price, Uzbek prosecutors said Friday.

17.04.2006
3 Killed, 15 Injured in St. Petersburg Gas Blast
An explosion in a kebab stand in St. Petersburg killed three people and injured 15 on Sunday evening. Emergency officials said the blast was apparently caused by a leaking gas canister.

17.04.2006
Russia’s Patriarch Condemns Gospel of Judas as Heresy
Russian Orthodox Patriarch Alexei II has condemned as heresy the “Gospel of Judas” made public earlier this month after a manuscript that had been considered lost for centuries was discovered by an international team of scientists.

17.04.2006
Russian Student Paid $150,000 to Strangers for “Lifting Curse”
Russian police have been looking for two mystics who persuaded a student of an elite university to part with over $150,000 in exchange for lifting a curse.

17.04.2006
Russian Green Party Set to Merge With Liberal Yabloko “Out of Despair”
The Russian Green Party has announced it is going to merge with liberal-democratic Yabloko “out of despair”. The party currently has a membership of 20,000 and insufficient funds, but Russian law will soon ban parties with less than 50,000 members.

17.04.2006
British Traveler Set to Appeal Expulsion from Russia
A British adventurer attempting to walk around the world is set to appeal a Russian court ruling ordering his expulsion from the country, his lawyer said. Last week a court in far eastern Russia ruled that Karl Bushby and his U.S. companion Dmitry Kieffer should be deported for illegally crossing the border.

17.04.2006
Two Gypsies Shot in Central Russia
Two Gypsies have been shot by a drunk man in a village in the Pskov region, a regional police source reported Monday. The attack occured days after a gypsy camp was raided by young men wielding steel rods in central Russia, in what appeared to be a racially-motivated attack.

17.04.2006
Voters Approve Merging of Two Russian Regions
Voters in two Siberian provinces overwhelmingly approved the merging of the two regions, which is part of an effort by the Kremlin to consolidate control over Russia’s vast territory, authorities said Monday. Nearly 90% of voters in Irkutsk Region and just under 98% in the much smaller Ust-Ordyn Buryat autonomous district supported unification.