Duma Passes NGO Law

The State Duma on Friday passed in a first reading a presidential bill that would ease tight regulation of nongovernmental organizations, despite opposition from Communists, who called it a gift to U.S. President Barack Obama.

Communist Deputy Sergei Obu-khov said during debates that President Dmitry Medvedev had proposed the bill Wednesday to appease Obama, who will visit Russia in early July. "Not everything that is good for Obama is good for Russia," Obukhov said.

Communists also opposed the bill's elimination of a controversial clause in the current law that allows the government to close down NGOs that threaten Russia's "national unity, uniqueness and cultural heritage."

"The clause played a defensive role even if it did not work," Obukhov said.

The bill passed with a vote of 391 to 57.(MT, AP)

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Rosneft Suspect Charged

A Chechen woman has been charged in the kidnapping of the teenage son of Rosneft vice president Mikhail Stavsky, RIA-Novosti reported Friday.

The suspect, Grozny resident Zarema Datayeva, was detained earlier this month about the time that the 19-year-old son, also named Mikhail, was freed from two months in captivity.

"In line with investigators' request, Datayeva will remain in custody," the Investigative Committee said in a statement. The committee has not released any further details of the case.(MT)

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Yukos Supporters Detained

Police detained at least 16 supporters of jailed Yukos founder Mikhail Khodorkovsky in central Moscow after they tried to stage an unsanctioned rally to mark his 46th birthday and protest his imprisonment Friday, RIA-Novosti reported.

Khodorkovsky, meanwhile, told Gazeta.ru in an interview published Friday that he had taken an enormous risk in acquiring oil assets in the 1990s but has never regretted the decision to create Yukos, which was the country's No. 1 oil company when he was arrested in 2003. (MT)

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Iran Unrest Causes Concern

Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Friday that Russia was seriously concerned by the use of force in Iran after a disputed presidential election and urged Tehran to settle all issues in a democratic way.

Russia and China earlier this month congratulated Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on his controversial re-election as he attended a summit in Yekaterinburg.(Reuters)

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Teens Killed by Lightning

Lightning killed two students celebrating their high school graduation and wounded the police officer acting as their chaperone Saturday, RIA-Novosti reported.

The boy and girl were among a group of 15 students who went to the Pacific coast to watch the sun rise after their graduation ball in the Primorye region village of Zarubino, the report said, citing local police.

"A loud rumble of thunder was heard, and lightning flashed. Two students -- a boy and a girl -- died at the scene. Another girl and the police officer were hospitalized with burns," a police source said.

The source said other graduation balls in the area passed without incident, and all had police officers present to maintain order.(MT)

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