The latest: Death Toll in Moscow Gas Blast Climbs to 3

16.06.2006
Death Toll in Moscow Gas Blast Climbs to 3
A suspected gas leak sparked an explosion in a Moscow apartment building early Friday, causing some of the walls to collapse, killing three people and injuring six, officials said.

16.06.2006
Successor May be Unknown Outsider — Russian President
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday introduced a new twist into the hot debate of who will succeed him, saying the Kremlin top job might be held by an as yet unknown outsider.

16.06.2006
Russian Orphan Claims African Royal Title
Not until he turned forty did a modest Russian professor, Sergei Kotov, learn of his affiliation to a royal house in Africa. A popular Russian tabloid presents this sensational life story.

16.06.2006
Moscow Court Jails 6 for Selling Forged Credit Cards over Internet
A district court in the Russian capital Moscow has passed prison sentences to six members of a criminal gang who made at least 5000 forged credit cards and sold them over Internet both in Russia and abroad.

16.06.2006
Son of Slain Chechen President Kadyrov Pledges Blood Feud Against Rebel Leader Basayev
Chechen prime-minister Ramzan Kadyrov called warlord Shamil Basayev his personal foe number one. He claims that Basaev will pay for the death of the former Chechen president Ahmad Kadyrov, Ramzan’s father, and many other Chechens.

16.06.2006
Uzbek Officer Gets 15 Years for Selling Military Secrets to West
Uzbekistan’s Military Court has sentenced a member of the Defense Ministry staff, Colonel Erkin Musayev, to fifteen years in prison for spying. According to media reports that the colonel sold classified information to one of the NATO countries.

16.06.2006
Russia, U.S. Launch Dialogue on Terrorism, WMD — U.S. Official
A top U.S. diplomat said Thursday that Moscow and Washington are launching a regular dialogue on terrorism, weapons of mass destruction, arms control and other security issues — a signal that the two countries are seeking common ground in an increasingly divisive relationship.

16.06.2006
Two Killed in Moscow Gas Blast
A powerful blast apparently caused by a gas leak rocked a residential building in western Moscow, collapsing its third and fourth stories and killing at least two people, local news agencies report. At least three tenants were hospitalized, according to preliminary reports.

16.06.2006
Russia, China Seek Protection From Web Threats to Their Regimes
A Russian and Chinese-led bloc of Asian states said Thursday it plans to set up an expert group to boost computer security and help guard against threats to their regimes from the internet. China has some of the world’s tightest internet restrictions. Russia is the alleged home of many computer hackers and gangs that commit fraud over the internet.

16.06.2006
Russian Court Overturns Acquittal in 1999 Apartment Block Bombing Case
Russia’s Supreme Court on Thursday overturned the acquittal of a man convicted in a 1999 apartment bombing that killed 64 people and helped spark the second war in Chechnya, the court’s spokesman said.

16.06.2006
Russian Prosecutors Ban Clowns’ Show for Illegal Drug Propaganda
Prosecutors have banned two clowns’ performance of the show called ’Fly’, saying it propagandizes “unwholesome interest in intoxicating substances”.

16.06.2006
Harassed Belarusian Newspaper Editor Seeks Asylum in Ukraine
Reporters Without Borders today voiced support for the political asylum request which Andrei Shentorovich, the founder and editor of the Belarusian independent weekly Mestnaya Gazeta, made yesterday in Ukraine.

16.06.2006
Russian Burglar Forces Lock to Steal Guinea-Pig
An unidentified robber forced the lock of an apartment situated in the south-east of Moscow to steal a guinea-pig.

16.06.2006
Russian-Israeli Composer Joseph Dorfman Dies at 65
Joseph Dorfman, a Russian-Israeli composer, concert pianist and scholar of the composer Dmitri Shostakovich, has died.

16.06.2006
Iran Ready to Discuss Incentives — Putin
Iran is ready to enter into negotiations over an incentives package offered by the UN powers who hope it will encourage the Middle Eastern country to abandon its nuclear fuel enrichment program, Russian President Vladimir Putin said Thursday.

16.06.2006
3 Blasts Rock Tajik Capital — Officials
Three overnight explosions rocked the capital of Tajikstan, Dushanbe, the country’s Interior Ministry said Friday. No casualties have been reported. Tajik authorities have launched an investigation into the bombings.

16.06.2006
Putin Critical of U.S., Denies Plans to Pursue Third Term
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday accused the U.S. of throwing its weight around and defended the growing clout of an Asian security group dominated by Russia and China. Putin reaffirmed that he wouldn’t seek a third term in 2008, saying that he wouldn’t have the moral right to govern if he does.