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Main News of May 21

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A roundup of what has happened in the past 24 hours 21.05.2013, Sputnik International

2013-05-21T20:12+0000

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Main News of May 21

20:12 GMT 21.05.2013

A roundup of what has happened in the past 24 hours

RUSSIA

* Russia has made a mistake by branding some of its NGOs as "foreign agents," Council of Europe Secretary General Thorbjorn Jagland said

* A soldier has been nicknamed “the Russian Terminator,” after a video was recently posted on the internet showing a bullet being removed from his forehead with pliers

* Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov condemned the disappearance of votes awarded by Azerbaijan to Russian singer Dina Garipova at the recent Eurovision Song Contest as “an outrageous action,” and vowed on Tuesday that Russia would respond to the incident

* The visa requirement for travel between the European Union (EU) and Russia should be scrapped as soon as possible, Council of Europe Secretary General Thorbjorn Jagland said

WORLD

* Former Georgian Prime Minister Vano Merabishvili, who is considered a key ally of embattled President Mikheil Saakashvili, has been detained on corruption charges, prosecutors said

* Search and rescue efforts continued in Moore, Oklahoma on Tuesday, where the hope of finding survivors was growing dim a day after a killer tornado ripped through the town, flattening homes and buildings including an elementary school full of students and teachers, killing at least 24 people, at least nine of them children

* Russia and Azerbaijan are negotiating a new oil transit agreement, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said during a news conference

* Iraq's Central Criminal Court has resumed an investigation into officials suspected of corruption in a $4.2 billion deal to purchase Russian weapons, the head of the Iraqi Parliament's Integrity Committee, Bahaa al-Araji, said

* A massive tornado ploughed through populated areas near Oklahoma City on Monday, demolishing homes, schools and businesses, hurling cars and trucks through the air and leaving a stunning trail of wreckage and human agony in its wake, all documented on live TV

DEFENSE

* Russian President Vladimir Putin criticized the United Shipbuilding Corporation (USC) on Tuesday for delays in delivery of warships to the Russian Navy and demanded the shipbuilders improve efficiency

* Russia is developing an advanced target simulation system for its air defense units based on the short-range Pantsyr system, the Defense Ministry said

CRIME

* A case against five men suspected of being involved in the 2006 high-profile murder of Russian investigative reporter Anna Politkovskaya has been sent to court, the prosecutors said