IOC Panel Praises Sochi

SOCHI, Krasnodar Region -- A top International Olympic Committee official praised Russian organizers of the 2014 Winter Games for their "open and constructive" attitude Wednesday while warning against delays in preparations.

Jean-Claude Killy, the Frenchman who heads the IOC panel overseeing the Sochi Olympic Games, and other members of the coordination commission are spending two days examining proposed Olympic venues and provisions for accommodation, transportation and communication.

Killy gave a glowing assessment of preparations to revamp the city and construct the Olympic facilities. "The Russian diamond" is shining more and more with each passing day, Killy told reporters. (AP)

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Fake Police Guilty of Killing

A police officer and seven accomplices posing as other officers have been convicted of killing seven people in a series of armed robberies targeting small businesses, court spokeswoman Anna Usachyova said Wednesday.

The Moscow City Court sentenced two of the men to life in prison Wednesday and gave prison sentences ranging from nine to 25 years to the others, she said. The police officer was sentenced to 21 years, she said.

The murder charges were related to attacks that took place in and around Moscow from 2003 to 2007. Prosecutors said gang members wore police uniforms and carried fake documents as well as guns and handcuffs. (AP)

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Medvedev Jabs Putin's Party

President Dmitry Medvedev has taken a thinly veiled swipe at United Russia, saying it should be mandatory for parties seeking seats in the State Duma to participate in debates.

"If a party does not take part in debates, then it's not very clear what it stands for," Medvedev said a meeting with Communist leaders on Tuesday.

United Russia refused to take part in televised debates before elections in 2007. Medvedev himself did not take part in debates during his successful presidential campaign last year.

Also Tuesday, Medvedev signed a law allowing a party that wins 6 percent to 7 percent of the vote to get two Duma seats and a party winning 5 percent to 6 percent to get one seat. (AP, MT)

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Odnoklassniki.ru Killing

YEREVAN, Armenia -- An Armenian teenager was killed after a dispute on Odnoklassniki.ru, the popular social networking web site, police said.

Tigran Tadevosian, 17, died in a hospital shortly after being assaulted by four teenagers on April 26 for insulting a young woman in a chat room on Odnoklassniki.ru, police said Wednesday. One suspect has been arrested. (AP)

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For the Record

The Federal Space Agency said Wednesday that it will charge U.S. astronauts $51 million per return trip to the international space station from 2012 and will resume selling seats to space tourists. (Reuters)

Russia on Wednesday vetoed a plan for keeping OSCE monitors in Georgia, insisting on terms that drove home its view of breakaway South Ossetia as an independent territory. (Reuters)

An explosive device planted by rebels in Chechnya blew up a vehicle Wednesday, killing two police officers and a civilian, officials said. (AP)

President Viktor Yushchenko won a tactical victory on Wednesday when a top Ukrainian court struck down the October date set by the parliament for the next presidential election. (Reuters)

Moldova's parliament said Wednesday that it would vote for a new president May 20, and the Communists, who are one seat short of controlling the parliament, named Prime Minister Zinaida Greceanii as their candidate. (MT)