The latest: Russian Official Detained on Spying Charges

24.10.2006
Russian Official Detained on Spying Charges
Russia’s Federal Security Service has detained a high-ranking official on suspition of working for Lithuanian secret services.

24.10.2006
1 Dead, 14 Missing as Russian Vessel Sinks off South Korea Coast
Three of the 18 sailors from the wrecked Russian dry cargo ship Sinegorye have been rescued in the Sea of Japan, one has been found dead and 14 remain missing.

24.10.2006
Vodka Museum with Over 50,000 Bottles Opens in Russia
Russia has opened a vodka museum with more than 50,000 bottles of the national drink on display, Ananova reports.

24.10.2006
International Watchdog Says Russia, U.S. Host Most Internet Child Abuse
The United States and Russia host the bulk of the world’s child abuse Web sites, according to a British-based Internet monitoring group which identifies the UK as one of the countries with the best enforcement records.

24.10.2006
Russia, NATO to Hold Anti-Terrorism Exercises Near Rome
Rescue workers from several NATO countries, Russia and other European nations teamed up Tuesday in the countryside near Rome for anti-terrorism drills to prepare for the possibility of any attack using radiological material.

24.10.2006
Russian Far-right Groups Plan Anti-immigrant Rallies
Far-right groups plan to hold rallies across Russia next month under the slogan “It’s our country” as human rights organizations warned of a mounting racist campaign to drive out foreign workers.

24.10.2006
Russian Authorities Close Women’s Monastery Headed by U.S. Citizen
The Russian registration Service has shut down a women’s monastery in the Tyumen region of Siberia. The monastery, headed by a U.S. citizen, failed to meet the registration rules for NGOs in Russia.

24.10.2006
Unidentified Armed Men Detain Russian Yacht in Eritrea
A Russian yacht with a two-man crew that was sailing across the Red Sea on its way to the Kamchatka Peninsula in Russia’s Fast East has been detained in Eritrea, either by officials or an armed group, an official in the Kamchatka administration has said.

24.10.2006
Syria Has Not Deserved Sanctions, Says Russia’s Foreign Minister
Syria has done nothing to deserve international sanctions as it has cooperated with a UN probe into the killing of Lebanon’s former premier Rafiq Hariri, Russia’s foreign minister has said in an interview.

24.10.2006
Iraq Can Break Up if No Measures Taken — Top Russian Official
Iraq could break up if measures are not undertaken urgently to underpin national unity, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov says.

24.10.2006
S.Korean Stem Cell Scientist Says Paid Russian Mafia for Tissue to Clone Mammoth
Disgraced South Korean stem cell scientist Hwang Woo-suk said he spent part of private donations for research to pay the Russian mafia for mammoth tissues to clone extinct elephant species.

24.10.2006
Russia Preaches Caution in North Korea Nuclear Talks
Participants in talks on North Korea should not take hasty steps that could inflame the situation following Pyongyang’s nuclear test, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has said.

24.10.2006
Iran Tells Russia, Georgia to Resolve Conflict
Visiting Georgian Foreign Minister Gela Bezhuashvili held talks with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in Tehran to discuss bilateral relations.

24.10.2006
Russia Ranked 127th, U.S. 53d in Worldwide Press Freedom Survey
Restrictions on civil liberties due to the “war on terrorism” have undermined media freedom in the United States and Russia over the past year, journalists’ rights group Reporters Without Borders has ruled.

24.10.2006
Some of Suspended NGOs in Russia Granted Registration
The Russian government says it has begun registering private foreign organizations whose operations in Russia were suspended last week, and that it is rushing to review the amended applications of at least 65 other organizations, which remain idled.

24.10.2006
Russia Planning New Cooperation Treaty with EU — Foreign Minister
Russia is planning to start talks on a new cooperation treaty with the European Union (EU) before the end of this year, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov says.

24.10.2006
Belarus Rights Activist Sentenced for Calling President Demented
A Minsk court sentenced a Belarusian rights activist to two years at a prison colony Monday for saying authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko needed a psychiatric examination.

24.10.2006
Former Russian PM’s Political Party Denied Registration
The Federal Registration Service has refused to register the Russian People’s Democratic Union which is led by former Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Kasyanov.