The latest: Moscow Mayor Bans Gay Parade in Russian Capital

18.05.2006
Moscow Mayor Bans Gay Parade in Russian Capital
Moscow Mayor Yuri Luzhkov has lived up to his ’homophobic’ reputation, by imposing a ban on a gay parade in the Russian capital. Earlier, a leading rights watchdog denounced Moscow’s mayor as homophobic for vowing to ban the event.

18.05.2006
Beslan School Drama to Hit Big Screens
Universal Studios has bought the rights to an article about the 2004 rebel raid on a school in the southern Russian town of Beslan, near the border with Chechnya, which left more than 300 people dead, most of them children.

18.05.2006
Russian Muslims Condemn “Da Vinci Code”
A Russian Muslim group has condemned “The Da Vinci Code” as “blasphemy” and urged the government to ban its showing in the country. The group said the film reminded them of the recent Prophet Muhammad extremist cartoons as both the novel and the film desecrate Prophet Isa (Jesus Christ) worshipped by the Muslims.

18.05.2006
Russia, China to Hold Joint Military Exercises Under SCO Aegis
Two regional security organizations comprising post-Soviet nations and China are planning joint military exercises. “We are currently discussing a joint exercise under the aegis of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO),” the chief of Russia’s general staff Yury Baluyevsky said Thursday.

18.05.2006
Anti-NATO Protesters Seek to Disrupt Russia-NATO Photo Exhibition
A group of protesters tried to disrupt the opening of a Russia-NATO photo exhibition in Moscow Thursday by attempting to seize microphones from dignitaries attending the ceremony, and shouting inflammatory slogans. Young people shouted “NATO is worse than Gestapo!” and “NATO is Russia’s enemy!”

18.05.2006
Russia’s Former Tennis Star Kournikova Ranked 72nd on Maxim’s Hot 100 List
Maxim Magazine unveiled its 7th annual Hot 100 list of the most successful women in show business. The only Russian on the list, former tennis player Anna Kournikova has ranked 72nd, descending from her 29th position in 2005.

18.05.2006
Labor Migrants From Central Asia Open to Harassment in Russia
Thousands of Central Asian labor migrants in Russia continue to face difficulties over their status in the country, leaving them open to harassment by local law enforcement officials. According to various estimates, there are over 1 million Central Asian migrant workers in Russia, the overwhelming majority of whom are working illegally.

18.05.2006
Russia Demands Explanation on Arrest of Diplomat Accused of Driving Drunk in U.S.
Russia has demanded an explanation from the U.S. following a brief detention of a Russian diplomat who was accused of hitting a policeman while driving drunk. The U.S. earlier asked Russia to strip the man of immunity.

18.05.2006
Russia to Launch Helium Production on the Moon
Russia’s spacecraft manufacturer Energiya said Thursday it planned to lauch extraction of lunar reserves of helium-3 to boost terrestrial energy supplies, once a re-usable cargo is commissioned. Energiya’s chief Nikolai Sevastyanov said helium-3 could eventually supplement dwindling reserves of natural oil and gas.

18.05.2006
Former PM Kasyanov Blames Energy Woes on Russia, EU
Russia’ s former Prime Minister Mikhail Kasyanov said that Russia and the European Union were both to blame for a climate of mistrust over energy supplies since a New Year’s price fight with Ukraine that temporarily decreased Russian gas deliveries to Europe.

18.05.2006
Siberian Region Rejects Top Russian Lawmaker’s Call to Dismiss Its Senator
A provincial legislature in a Siberian region refused Wednesday to endorse the ouster of their representative in the Russian upper house of parliament in a rare show of defiance to the Kremlin. The vote in Khakasia represented a challenge to President Vladimir Putin’s government from provincial authorities, who usually toe the Kremlin line.

18.05.2006
NATO to Discuss Peacekeeper Presence in Georgia’s Breakaway Abkhazia
A senior member of the upper house of Russian parliament will lead the Russian delegation to a session of NATO’s Parliamentary Assembly, which is to discuss the peacekeepers’ presence in the Georgian-Abkhazian conflict zone.

18.05.2006
Beslan Victims, Prosecutors Question Death Penalty Ban As Trial Nears End
Prosecutors and relatives of victims killed in the 2004 Beslan hostage crisis have urged a judge in southern Russia to impose a death sentence on the only surviving suspect, already found guilty of murder and terrorism. 10 years ago Russia imposed a moratorium on death penalty but still has not ratified the CE protocol against capital punishment.

18.05.2006
“Da Vinci Code” Uproar Similar to Mohammed Cartoons Scandal — Russian Paper
The much talked about film “The Da Vinci Code” opened the 59th Cannes Film Festival on Wednesday and was launched in theaters across Russia on the same day. A Russian observer has suggested that polemics surrounding the film reflect a clash between religious and secular values reminiscent of the recent furor over the Prophet Mohammed cartoons.

18.05.2006
EU Ignoring Rights Abuses in Chechnya, China, Other States — Report
The European Parliament has issued a report on human rights in the world in 2005 where it blasted the EU for its failure to respond to rights abuses in non-EU states and said it ignored abuses by big trading partners, such as Russia. The parliament urged the EU nations to raise the issue of extrajudicial killings, disappearances and torture in Chechnya.

18.05.2006
Russia’s Lavrov Calls for Dialogue With Iran
The world must engage with Iran and not give up on finding a negotiated solution to international concerns over Tehran’s nuclear program, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said. He urged the West “to concentrate on solutions that would engage Iran in dialogue.”

18.05.2006
Forest Fires Raging Across Russia
Fires are currently raging in Russia over the total area of 29,500 hectares, emergency officials report.

18.05.2006
Russia to Double Soyuz Output, Expand Glonass Navigation System
Russia’s leading spacecraft corporation has announced plans to boost its global navigation satellite system (GLONASS) with five new satellites this year and three more next year. The company also said it planned to double the production of piloted Soyuz rockets with the help of foreign investors.

18.05.2006
Russian Duma Set to Restrict Party Affiliation
Russia’s lower house of parliament gave preliminary approval Wednesday to a bill that would strip lawmakers who switch party affiliation of their seats. Opposition critics said it marked a final step in Kremlin efforts to create a rubber-stamp parliament and boost its own powers.

18.05.2006
Russia’s Putin Talks Middle East With Chirac, Merkel
Russia’s President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday spoke over the phone with French President Jacques Chirac and German Chancellor Angela Merkel to discuss the Middle East situation and other issues, the Kremlin said.

18.05.2006
Relatives Denied Bodies of 95 Killed in South Russia Raid Last Year
The bodies of 95 people killed in an attack in southern Russia last October will not be returned to their relatives as there was evidence that the dead people had committed crimes, officials said. Russia imposed a ban on the return of bodies of terrorists following the 2002 rebel raid on the musical theater in Moscow.