The latest: Anti-Georgia Campaign Heats Up Across Russia

04.10.2006
Anti-Georgia Campaign Heats Up Across Russia
Russian police targeted Georgian nationals and their businesses Wednesday, closed two large casinos and raided a hotel and two restaurants run by Georgians, saying they could also be closed for legal violations.

04.10.2006
NATO Has No Reason to Expand Further — Russia’s Lavrov
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Wednesday that there was no reason for NATO to expand further. “There are so many other ways to solve common security issues. Let’s not erect new dividing lines,” Lavrov told reporters after addressing the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe.

04.10.2006
Russia Urges Belarus to End Visa-Free Travel for Georgians
Russia on Wednesday moved to expand a transport blockade on Georgia with plans for tighter control on visitors from Belarus. Russian secret police officers in Minsk said they sought to prevent Georgian citizens from entering Russia visa-free via an indirect route through Belarus.

04.10.2006
60,000 People Take Their Lives in Russia Every Year
As many as 60,000 people commit suicide in Russia annually, a senior Russian psychiatrist said Wednesday.

04.10.2006
U.S. Joins EU in Urging Russia to Lift Sanctions Imposed on Georgia
The United States has urged Russia to lift sanctions it imposed on Georgia this week at the height of a dispute over the arrest in Tblisi of four Russian officers on charges of spying.

04.10.2006
Russia’s Putin Warns Georgia Against Provoking Moscow
President Vladimir Putin warned Georgia not to provoke or blackmail Russia on Wednesday as Moscow ignored international appeals to drop economic sanctions against its southern neighbor.

04.10.2006
Chechen Commandos, Former Rebels to Guard Russian Builders in Lebanon
Soldiers of a division permanently deployed in Russia’s restive province of Chechnya will guard Russian builders dispatched to the war-hit Lebanon earlier this week on a cautious mission to repair bridges destroyed in Israel’s offensive against Hezbollah guerrillas.

04.10.2006
Iran Says Russia May Help Resolve Nuclear Standoff
Iranian National Security Council head Ali Larijani has expressed the hope that Russia would settle the dispute over Iran’s controversial nuclear programme.

04.10.2006
Italian Couple Apologizes to Belarus for Acting Wrongly in Orphan Case
A foster parent to Vika Moroz, a 10-year-old orphan girl who refused to return to her orphanage after a summer break she had spent with an Italian couple and was later ordered to go home by an Italian court, apologized to Belarus ambassador to Italy, Alexei Skripko.

04.10.2006
Russia Orders Nationwide Crackdown on Georgian Diaspora in Wake of Spy Row
Russia pursued sweeping checks on the country’s massive Georgian diaspora as the Russian parliament prepared to back tough measures against Georgia in a spiraling row over alleged spying.

04.10.2006
Maria Sharapova Confirms Will Play for Russia in Fed Cup
U.S. Open champion Maria Sharapova has made herself available for Russia’s Fed Cup team for the first time, the 19-year-old has said on her Web site.

04.10.2006
Former Ukrainian PM Appeals U.S. Jail Sentence
Ukraine’s former Prime Minister Pavlo Lazarenko has asked a U.S. appeals court to overturn his sentence of nine years in prison on extortion and money laundering charges.

04.10.2006
Georgia Urges Russia to Stop Military Excercises at Its Border
Georgia has urged Russia to stop naval exercises near the countries’ sea border, calling them a threat to regional peace and a violation of the United Nations Charter.

04.10.2006
Russia Asks North Korea Not to Push Nuclear Tests
Russia has asked North Korea to show restraint over its intention to hold nuclear tests saying it could aggravate the situation in the Korean peninsula.

04.10.2006
Poll: Russians Praise President Putin’s Performance
Adults in Russia believe Vladimir Putin has had a significant influence in two specific areas, an all-Russian poll has shown. 62 percent of respondents think their president’s administration has been positive in international relations, while 61 percent feel the same way about its impact in their quality of life.

04.10.2006
Human Rights Watch Faults UN for Little Action in Uzbekistan Massacre Case
The watchdog group Human Rights Watch has accused the UN Human Rights Council of missing a “crucial opportunity” to expose a “massacre” that took place in the eastern Uzbek city of Andijan in May 2005.

04.10.2006
Russia to Orbit New Generation Telescope by End 2008
Russia will orbit its Radioastron telescope by the end of 2008, says head of the Russian Physics Institute’s Astro-Space Center.

04.10.2006
Canadian Firm Sues Russian Government in $43m Hotel Case
A Canadian firm is suing the Russian government for $43 million in a last-ditch legal push to regain its investment in a Moscow hotel that was suddenly occupied by armed guards two years ago.

04.10.2006
Japanese Seeks to Perform Research in Russian ISS Segment
Japanese scientists are interested in carrying out a range of scientific experiments in the Russian segment of the International Space Station.