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Main news of April 22

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RUSSIA * Russian Communists mark the 139th anniversary of Vladimir Lenin's birth with low-key events on Moscow's Red Square and across Russia * Russia... 22.04.2009, Sputnik International

2009-04-22T18:00+0000

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Main news of April 22

18:00 GMT 22.04.2009

RUSSIA

* Russian Communists mark the 139th anniversary of Vladimir Lenin's birth with low-key events on Moscow's Red Square and across Russia

* Russia views NATO as a key factor in Euro-Atlantic security, and not as a threat, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said

* Russian President Dmitry Medvedev posted his first live blog on the LiveJournal.com website on the theme of the Internet

* The Russian crew of a tanker in the Gulf of Aden prevented Somali pirates from boarding their vessel by using onboard fire hoses, a sailors' union spokesman in Russia's Far East said

* Svetlana Bakhmina, a former Yukos legal executive and mother of three, could be released on May 1, 10 days after a court upheld her parole request, a defense lawyer said

* Two Russian nationalist groups have received permission from Moscow authorities to hold on May 1 a rally to call for preserving jobs for Russians, one of the organizers said

* A southwest Siberian court released on a 1 million-ruble ($30,000) bail the U.S. owner of the New York Pizza restaurant chain in Novosibirsk, who has been accused of tax evasion

WORLD

* U.S. President Barack Obama misconstrued Cuban leader Raul Castro's recent comments on Havana's willingness for dialogue with Washington, Fidel Castro has said

* Washington is ready to adopt "very tough sanctions" against Iran if Tehran refuses to abandon its controversial nuclear program, the U.S. secretary of state, Hillary Clinton said

* U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said that Washington was ready to resume nuclear talks with North Korea but urged countries "not to give in" to Pyongyang's "unpredictable behavior"

* G8 environment ministers began a three-day meeting in the Sicilian city of Syracuse

* Talks between the Greek and Turkish Cypriot leaders on the island's reunification made no progress, Cyprus President Demetris Christofias said

* Moldova's Constitutional Court approved at a meeting the results of the parliamentary election recount, confirming victory for the Communist Party

* The Georgian opposition is beefing up its protests in the country's capital as supporters began arriving in Tbilisi from other Georgian regions

* The Russian-backed former Georgian republic of South Ossetia accused the OSCE of trying to provoke tensions, following an alleged border violation by observers from the Vienna-based group

* A painting by Russian seascape master Ivan Aivazovsky sold for $1.35 million at Sotheby's spring sale of Russian Art in New York, the auction house said

BUSINESS

* Mechel has signed a final agreement to buy U.S. Bluestone Coal for $436 million plus 83.3 million preferred shares in Mechel, the Russian steel giant said

* MegaFon, Russia's third largest mobile operator, said its U.S. GAAP net profit grew 30.5% year-on-year in 2008 to 44.32 billion rubles ($1.3 billion)

SPORTS

* Russian international Andrei Arshavin dominated world football headlines after scoring all four of Arsenal's goals in a 4-4 draw away to Liverpool

* The Russian Football Union has fined Spartak Moscow $14,700 over an obscene banner used by fans in a match against a Caucasus side, which insinuated the opposition enjoyed intimate relations with sheep