Russian riot police disperse opposition rally
St. Petersburg
Russian riot police detained the leaders of an opposition party Sunday and violently dispersed what officials described as an illegal rally and march in St. Petersburg.
Among those detained were Nikita Belykh, chairman of the Union of Right Forces, and Boris Nemtsov, a deputy prime minister in the 1990s. Both men are candidates for the Union of Right Forces in parliamentary elections next Sunday, and Nemtsov was chosen Friday as the party’s candidate in the March presidential election.
Nearly 200 people were detained in Moscow.
Punta Arenas, Chile
Passengers, crew back on mainland
The last group of passengers from the Antarctic cruise ship that struck an iceberg Friday and slipped into the icy sea were flown back to the South American mainland Sunday.
A Chilean military-transport plane ferried the final 77 of the 154 passengers and crew to Punta Arenas, Chile’s southernmost city. Sunday’s airlift was composed of 11 passengers and 65 crew members, most of whom declined to comment, on advice from lawyers.
A Chilean air-force plane flew the ship’s first 77 survivors back from the King George Island air base, 660 miles south of this remote tip of South America, on Saturday.
All on board the Canadian-operated MS Explorer made it into lifeboats and were rescued by a Norwegian cruise ship.
Tbilisi, Georgia
President resigns; vote set for Jan. 5
Mikhail Saakashvili stepped down Sunday as president to campaign for elections as demonstrators rallied to demand authorities put a top independent TV station back on air.
Some 30,000 people demonstrated in the capital in the first major opposition rally since police violently dispersed anti-government demonstrators earlier this month in what was Saakashvili’s worst crisis since his 2004 election.
Saakashvili resigned Sunday as president as required by law, turning powers over to parliament speaker Nino Burdzhanadze, presidential spokesman Vano Noniashvili said. Parliament endorsed Saakashvili’s order to set the presidential vote for Jan. 5.
Also
Bombings in India: A string of bombings killed one person and wounded 15 others Sunday in northeastern India’s insurgency-ravaged Assam state, police said.
Indonesian quakes: Two strong earthquakes struck eastern Indonesia and killed at least three people, including a child, and injured 45 others, a senior official said today. Dozens of buildings were reportedly destroyed or damaged.
Seattle Times news services