Lawyers, activists and reporters against the govt are being killed in Russia mysteriously

October 6th, 2009 Brazil TV crime host hunted after arrest orderedBRASILIA, Brazil — Brazilian police say they are hunting for a TV crime show host and former state legislator who is accused of commissioning killings to boost ratings. Agents say they haven't yet been able to find Wallace Souza and they are staking out an airport in Manaus.

September 15th, 2009 Media watchdog: Russia neglects journalist murdersMOSCOW — A U.S.-based media watchdog on Tuesday blamed Russian authorities for a "devastating record of injustice" in failing to solve the murders of 16 journalists killed since 2000. The Committee to Protect Journalists released a report saying that Russia has become the world's third deadliest country for the news media, exceeded only by Iraq and Algeria.

August 26th, 2009 Russia to seek help probing Arctic Sea mysteryMOSCOW — Russian authorities say they will ask other nations to help answer questions about a freighter embroiled in a high-seas mystery. But an official suggests Russia wants firm control of the probe into the voyage of the Arctic Sea and its alleged hijacking.

August 14th, 2009 Russian police nab suspect in 15 racial killingsMOSCOW — A man suspected of committing 15 racially motivated killings was arrested in Moscow on Friday, according to officials. Vasily Krivets, 21, was detained at a railway station as he tried to board a train for Ukraine, police spokeswoman Yulia Kiselyova told Vesti 24 television.

August 11th, 2009 Chechen activist, husband found dead in car trunkSHALAZHI, Russia — The bullet-riddled bodies of a Chechen activist and her husband were found in the trunk of their car Tuesday, the latest in a string of high-profile killings in Chechnya under its Kremlin-backed leader. Zarema Sadulayeva and her husband, Alik Dzhabrailov, both 33, had been abducted on Monday from the offices of Save the Generation, the children's charity she runs in the southern Russian republic.

July 27th, 2009 Blasts hit Tajikistan ahead of high-profile summitDUSHANBE, Tajikistan — Two small explosions have hit the Tajik capital before a high-profile meeting between the leaders of Afghanistan, Pakistan and Russia, highlighting security concerns in the impoverished Central Asian nation. One explosion occurred Sunday outside a hotel just blocks away from the presidential palace in Dushanbe and another went off near the luggage storage at the airport, the Prosecutor General's office said Monday.

July 14th, 2009 Iran hangs 13 members of rebel Sunni Muslim groupTEHRAN, Iran — Authorities in southeastern Iran on Tuesday hanged 13 members of a Sunni Muslim rebel group convicted of bombings and killings in the area, the official IRNA news agency reported Tuesday. The report said Abdulhamid Rigi, brother of Abdulmalik Rigi, leader of the group known as Jundallah or Soldiers of God, had been scheduled to be hanged along with the 13 men on Tuesday but his execution was postponed.

July 9th, 2009 Russia: US-Russian summit was 'groundbreaking'MOSCOW — A high-level Russian diplomat says the recent U.S.-Russia summit was "groundbreaking" for relations between the old Cold War adversaries. U.S. President Barack Obama visited Moscow on Monday and Tuesday with the goal of resetting ties.

July 8th, 2009 SAO PAULO - A 17-year-old girl has confessed to the police that she participated in more than 30 murders since 2006, with all the killings committed with the same knife, a media report said. The teenager told the police she confessed to clear her conscience and avoid being tried as an adult once she turns 18, the police commander in the city of Sao Jose do Rio Preto, Mauro Truzzi, told the media.

June 24th, 2009 Feds arrest members of MS-13 gang in LA areaLOS ANGELES — Federal and local authorities in the Los Angeles area have arrested the head of a high-profile anti-gang organization as part of an action against the notorious Mara Salvatrucha street gang. FBI spokeswoman Laura Eimiller said Alex Sanchez, executive director of the nonprofit Homies Unidos, was arrested at his home in the Los Angeles suburb of Bellflower early Wednesday on federal racketeering charges.

June 17th, 2009 Teen accused of cat killings set to leave jailMIAMI — A judge in Miami says a teenager accused of more than a dozen cat killings is "competent" to be released from jail under electronic monitoring. Tyler Hayes Weinman had already posted bond before Wednesday's hearing, but the judge would not release him until the 18-year-old's psychiatric evaluation could be reviewed.

May 1st, 2009 Colombia soldiers charged in civilians' killingsBOGOTA — Colombian authorities have arrested a retired lieutenant colonel and seven other soldiers in the killings of two civilians who they allegedly presented as guerrillas slain in combat to inflate rebel body counts. Prosecutors say five active soldiers and three retired officers were detained, including former Lt.

April 28th, 2009 EU optimistic on renewing ties with RussiaLUXEMBOURG — The European Union's foreign policy chief says he is optimistic the European Union can follow the lead of the U.S. in rebuilding ties with Russia.

April 24th, 2009 Thousands of Armenians mourn WWI-era mass killingsYEREVAN, Armenia — Thousands of Armenians are marking the anniversary of what they call the 1915 genocide despite a diplomatic thaw between Armenia and Turkey. They marched through Armenia's capital of Yerevan on Friday holding torches and candles on the killings' 94th anniversary.

January 31st, 2009 MOSCOW - At least 25 people were killed in a fire at a retirement home in northwest Russia Saturday. Authorities said the exact number of people injured and rescued from the fire in the region of Komi was unclear as rescue operations were still ongoing.