The latest: Russia’s Putin Orders Oil Pipeline Rerouted Over Environmental Concerns

26.04.2006
Russia’s Putin Orders Oil Pipeline Rerouted Over Environmental Concerns
President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday ordered a giant new oil pipeline to be routed away from Lake Baikal, the world’s deepest lake and home to hundreds of unique species.

26.04.2006
Russian Rocket Carries Israeli Satellite to Spy on Iran
A Russian booster rocket has been launched from the Svobodny cosmodrome, carrying an Israeli Eros B satellite. The Israeli military said it will be used to spy on Iran.

26.04.2006
Drunk Russian Paratrooper Breaks 24 Bottles Over His Head and Falls Asleep
At his birthday party, a paratrooper from St. Petersburg, fresh home from his 2 years of military service, broke 24 bottles against his head before sinking to the floor in a drunken sleep.

26.04.2006
Ukraine Marks 20th Anniversary of Chernobyl Nuclear Disaster
Ukraine is marking the 20th anniversary of the Chernobyl disaster on Wednesday. Studies by International Atomic Energy Agency and World Heath Organization estimated the death toll at 9,300 and 93,000 respectively.

26.04.2006
U.S. Asks Russia to Let It Prosecute Diplomat for Hitting Policeman
The United States asked Russia on Tuesday to let New York City prosecute a Russian diplomat. Ilya Morozov, an official at Russia’s Mission to the United Nations, has been accused of driving while drunk and hitting a police officer in his car last weekend.

26.04.2006
Ukrainian Supermarkets Blown Up By Racketeers
Blasts in two supermarkets in the northeastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv which injured 14 people, including a two-year-old child, were ordered by men trying to extort money from the shops’ owners, local Interior Ministry department officials said.

26.04.2006
Tenants Kill Landlady, Store Body in Bag for Months
A 46-year-old woman has been killed in the apartment she was letting to a married couple. Her tenants strangled her and put her body in a bag, which they kept in the apartment for four months.

26.04.2006
One Killed in Police Shootout With Protesters in South Russia’s Dagestan
At least one person has been killed and many more, including at least one police officer, were wounded as police clashed with demonstrators in the South Russian republic of Dagestan on Tuesday.

26.04.2006
Police Detain Greenpeace Activists, Journalists at Moscow Chernobyl Commemoration Rally
Police have detained Greenpeace activists and journalists who gathered Wednesday in the centre of Moscow for a rally dedicated to the Chernobyl nuclear disaster.

26.04.2006
Authorities Admit Fraud at Russia’s 2004 Presidential Elections
Russia’s Central Elections Committee has admitted fraud at the presidential elections of 2004, at which Vladimir Putin was re-elected for a second term. According to the new data, Putin got 2,278 fewer votes from the Adygea republic in the Caucasus.

26.04.2006
Bush Must Press for Human Rights Reform in Azerbaijan — HRW
U.S. President George W. Bush must press for concrete progress in Azerbaijan’s poor human rights record when he hosts Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev at the White House on Friday, an international rights watchdog has said. Aliyev arrived in Washington for talks with Bush and other top U.S. officials on Thursday.

26.04.2006
Police Detain Ukrainian Supermarket Bombings Suspects
Two people suspected of staging blasts in two supermarkets in the northeastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv which injured 14 people, including a two-year-old child, have been detained by security officers.

26.04.2006
Russia Ignores U.S. Request for Delay, Delivers Uranium to India
Russia has delivered fresh nuclear fuel for two Indian reactors. The United States had earlier asked for a delay until the rules of the Nuclear Suppliers Group are formally changed to allow such transfers.