TODAY: Pussy Riot videos banned, Samutsevich appeal rejected; E.U. chief concerned about anti-gay law; ambassador to convey senators’ concerns over adoption ban; Putin champions multiethnic harmony; Moscow to help Cyprus with aid; low Press Freedom Index position ‘deserved’; Russia slams Israeli attack on Syria; Bolshoi dancer emigrates over threats.

Internet providers will now face fines of up to $3,000 if they do not block Pussy Riot’s protest videos, after they were banned under extremism laws.  The ban came after a Moscow court rejected the appeal of one of the group’s members, Yekaterina Samutsevich, saying that she was not regarded as an interested party.  Samutsevich says that the ban (largely symbolic, due to access to foreign servers) amounts to censorship.  E.U. foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton has expressed concern over new moves for a nationwide ban on ‘homosexual propaganda’.  Russia’s ambassador to the United States has agreed to convey senators’ concerns about the recent ban on adoptions by American families, but warned that any action taken will be governed by Russian law.  Why don’t Russians adopt U.S. children?  A U.S. State Department spokesperson says the U.S. ‘regrets’ Russia’s decision to terminate a bilateral agreement on cooperation in law enforcement and narcotics control, mourning ‘very fruitful cooperation’ and calling the move ‘self-defeating’.  U.S. NGO International Republic Institute denies that it relocated staff from Russia over fear of persecution.