Morning re-cap of main news of June 18
* A Russian carrier rocket launched from the Baikonur space center delivered Kazakhstan's first communications satellite into orbit, the Russian Federal Space Agency said
// Jun. 19, 2006 - 04:30 GMT
Khodorkovsky defense team appeals 2nd solitary confinement
MOSCOW, June 19 (RIA Novosti) – Defense lawyers acting for Mikhail Khodorkovsky have appealed a decision to place the former Yukos chief executive in solitary confinement for a second time, a lawyer said Monday.
// Jun. 19, 2006 - 05:17 GMT
Suspect arrested in Chechnya over August 2005 killings
GROZNY, June 19 (RIA Novosti) – A man suspected of being involved in a bloody attack last summer in Chechnya has been apprehended, a local law enforcement source said Monday.
// Jun. 19, 2006 - 06:06 GMT
RUXX investment index set to open down 1.88%
MOSCOW, June 19 (RIA Novosti) – Russia's newest investment index will open Monday at 556.73 points, down 1.88% on the previous day's trading, following Friday evening's sessions on major world trading floors.
// Jun. 19, 2006 - 06:20 GMT
Belarus Opposition Activist Jailed For 3 Years for Slandering Lukashenko
A court in Belarus sentenced an outspoken opposition activist to three years in jail for slandering President Alexander Lukashenko. During the presidential campaign earlier this year Razumov claimed that Lukashenko was involved in the disappearance of opposition politicians.
// Jun. 19, 2006 - 06:25 GMT
Chechen Separatists Name Successor to Slain Warlord
Chechen separatists announced appointment of an experienced militant commander, Doku Umarov, as their new president following the killing of his predecessor in a police raid during the weekend.
// Jun. 19, 2006 - 06:27 GMT
India Plans to Buy More Russian Spy Planes
To bolster Navy's reconnaissance capabilities, India is to buy more IL-38 spy planes from Russia and the decks for the supply would be cleared during Naval Chief Admiral Arun Prakash's weeklong visit to Moscow starting Monday.
// Jun. 19, 2006 - 06:37 GMT
Russia urges new UN body to avoid politicizing human rights
GENEVA, June 19 (RIA Novosti) – Russia hopes the UN's new Human Rights Council will avoid the mistakes of its predecessor, which used human-rights issues to exert political pressure on nations, a deputy foreign minister said Monday.
// Jun. 19, 2006 - 06:38 GMT
Commission Keeps Ban on Whaling in Russia
A slim majority of nations on the International Whaling Commission have voted in support of a resumption of commercial whaling, but pro-whaling nations still lack the numbers needed to overturn a 20-year-old ban.
// Jun. 19, 2006 - 07:21 GMT