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Main News of March 11

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A roundup of what has happened in the past 24 hours 11.03.2013, Sputnik International

2013-03-11T20:19+0000

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Main News of March 11

20:19 GMT 11.03.2013

A roundup of what has happened in the past 24 hours

WORLD

* Texas authorities are sticking to their guns amid complaints from senior officials in Moscow that they have been unable to access investigative materials in the case of a 3-year-old adopted Russian boy who died in Texas in January.

* Russia should cut arms supplies to Damascus in order to pressure Syrian President Bashar al-Assad into negotiations with the opposition, members of Syrian moderate opposition said.

* Belarus and Russia must join efforts tapping into promising and lucrative Latin American markets, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said.

* Ukrainian journalist Ankhar Kochneva, abducted by Syrian militants in October and held for a $50 million ransom, has escaped and is now safe, she told RIA Novosti by telephone.

RUSSIA

* A senior Russian lawmaker vehemently denied media reports that she had failed to declare ownership of a luxury apartment in central Moscow.

* The Russian Navy has begun setting up a permanent task force to defend Russia’s interests in the Mediterranean, Navy Commander Adm. Viktor Chirkov said.

* The Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute in St. Petersburg officially confirmed that probes from Lake Vostok in the Antarctic contained an “unclassified” species of bacteria.

* A Moscow court postponed a posthumous trial for late Hermitage Capital lawyer Sergei Magnitsky, whose 2009 death in pre-trial detention triggered an international outcry against Russia's justice system.

* Customs officers at the Moscow Sheremetyevo international airport arrested on Monday a Russian citizen who attempted to smuggle 26,000 diamonds with a total weight of 166 grams (830 carats) into the country.

* The Russian government said it will give the World Anti-Doping Agency extra funding with the express aim of gaining clout at the organization in the run-up to hosting next year’s Winter Olympics.

* A Russian state watchdog accused of unfairly censoring thousands of websites defended its actions, claiming that censorship is an efficient way of preventing suicide among minors.

BUSSINESS

* Russia's largest grocery store chain, X5 Retail Group, posted a $126.5 million IFRS net loss in 2012 on asset impairment after a net profit of $302.2 million a year earlier, the company said.