The latest: Russia’s Supreme Court Overturns Verdict for Synagogue Attacker

20.06.2006
Russia’s Supreme Court Overturns Verdict for Synagogue Attacker
Russia’s Supreme Court has overturned the verdict of Aleksandr Koptsev, who had attacked parishioners in a Moscow synagogue.

20.06.2006
Sister of Abducted Russian Diplomat Calls for Captives’ Release in Iraq
The Muslim sister of a Russian diplomat abducted in Iraq has urged his kidnappers to be merciful to their captives and to release them. “I cannot understand why innocent Russian diplomats should suffer when the main purpose of their mission is to restore peace in a country friendly to us,” the open letter from Aliya, sister of Rinat Agliulin who was abducted in Baghdad on July 3, says.

20.06.2006
Russian Scientists Claim to Invent Drug-Free Cannabis, Suggest it to Replace Wild Cannabis Worldwide
Scientists from the Russian city of St. Petersburg have announced they had managed to develop a new, drug-free variant of cannabis which, if grown on industrial level, would cross with wild growing hemp end eventually force it out of existence.

20.06.2006
Ukrainian Court Jails 2 Russians for 2004 Elections Bombing Plot
The appeal court of the Ukrainian capital Kiev has sentenced two Russian citizens to 4 and 6 years in prison for an attempt to blow up a bomb in the electoral headquarters of the incumbent Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko during the second round of presidential poll in Ukraine in 2004.

20.06.2006
Russia’s Population Will Halve by End of Century — President Putin
Russian President Putin said Tuesday that Russia’s demographic problems are critical, and that urgent action needs to be taken. “If nothing is done, Russia’s population will halve by the end of the 21st century,” Putin said at a session of Russia’s Security Council.

20.06.2006
40$ Mln Russian Fighter Jet Destroyed by Fire as Refueling Truck Explodes
One person is believed to have been hurt after a $40 Mln fighter plane caught fire in Russia’s exclave in Europe, the head of the local emergencies service said.

20.06.2006
Turkmenistan Accuses French Diplomat, OSCE Official of Spying
A French embassy official and representative of the OSCE mission have been accused of spying on the terriotory of the former Soviet republic of Turkmenistan.

20.06.2006
Suspect in 2002 Moscow McDonald’s Bombing Pleads Guilty
A suspect in the bombing of a Moscow McDonald’s restaurant that took place in 2002 has pleaded partially guilty, but declined to elaborate, complaining of a poor state of health.

20.06.2006
Russia Preparing New Missile Systems to Overcome Any Shield — Defense Minister
New Russian strategic systems capable of overcoming any anti-missile shield will be ready in the near future, according to Russian Deputy Prime Minister and Defense Minister.

20.06.2006
OSCE Urges Kazakhstan to Scrap Controversial Media Bill
Europe’s largest security organization on Tuesday criticized a proposed Kazakhstan media bill as a setback to freedom of the press, and urged the ex-Soviet republic’s government to withdraw the bill. Kazakhstan is bidding to chair the OSCE in 2009.

20.06.2006
Gorbachev Predicts Brazil to Win Against Germany in Final
Mikhail Gorbachev earned his stripes as the advocate of Perestroika and Glasnost, but the last President of the former Soviet Union turned out to be a soccer aficionado who predicted a 2-1 win for Brazil against host Germany in the final of the ongoing World Cup.

20.06.2006
U.S. Extends Sanctions on Belarus’ Lukashenko, Assets Frozen
The U.S. extended sanctions on Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, following an election many Western governments say was rigged. All of Lukashenko’s assets in the U.S. have been frozen and Americans are now forbidden from doing business with him.

20.06.2006
Russia’s Putin, Bush Discuss North Korea Missile Program, Iran
U.S. President George W. Bush and Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke by telephone and agreed to close ranks on Iran and North Korea, a White House official said.

20.06.2006
Group Sounds Alarm Over Arrest of Rights Activists, Journalist in Turkmenistan
Authorities have arrested two rights activists and a reporter with U.S.-funded Radio Liberty in the tightly controlled Central Asian nation of Turkmenistan, an international rights group said Monday. The Helsinki Group said all the arrests were illegal since they were made without warrants and no official reason was given.

20.06.2006
Moscow Demands Release of Russian Diplomats Held Hostage in Iraq
Moscow called for the immediate release of Russian diplomats taken hostage in Iraq by a group linked to Al-Qaeda which has given Russia 48 hours to pull out of Chechnya. The Mujahedeen Shura Council, which groups eight armed factions led by Al-Qaeda, had claimed responsibility for the abduction.

20.06.2006
Russia Did Not Give UN Complete Data on its Weapons Export — Experts
The UN published official data on Russian export of conventional weapons for 2005. Experts estimate the UN Register of Conventional Arms (UNROCA) lacks data on Russian weapons export to the amount of a minimum of $1.2 billion.

20.06.2006
U.S. to Continue Financing of Russian Nuclear Weapons Dismantling
The United States and Russia have extended the U.S.-funded program that pays for the dismantling of weapons of mass destruction inherited by Russia from the former Soviet Union, the White House said Monday

20.06.2006
Ukraine Crushes Saudi Arabia 4-0
Ukraine revived their hopes of advancing to the World Cup’s second round with a crushing 4-0 victory over Saudi Arabia in World Cup Group H on Monday.

20.06.2006
Jews and Muslims Seek to Bridge the Gap at Moscow Forum
Jews and Muslims pledged to fight religious intolerance at a forum held in Moscow under the aegis of the Euro-Asian Jewish Congress (EAJC) this week. Senior clerics, diplomats, scholars and theologians discussed measures to bridge the gap between the two world religions.

20.06.2006
Riot Police Evict Dozens to Vacate Building Site Near Moscow
The standoff between bailiffs and residents of a village near Moscow continued on Tuesday morning, after dozens of tenants spent the night guarding their houses that a court had earlier deemed illegal. Riot police and court bailiffs arrived at the site a day earlier urging the tenants to move to new apartments provided by the local government.

20.06.2006
Putin Names Justice Minister as Russia’s New Top Prosecutor
Russian President Vladimir Putin has nominated the justice minister to become the nation’s new top prosecutor, officials said Monday. Senior officials at the upper house of Russian parliament who are to formally approve the candidacy later this week welcomed Putin’s choice of successor to Vladimir Ustinov.