TODAY: Britain came close to dangerous clash with Russia over ships to Syria; U.S. defends further ships, trade official urges resuming normal trade relations; Chechnya funding is half original sum; Pussy Riot members denied bail ahead of trial; Navalny witness was pressured, says his lawyer; Sechin accuses Navalny of working for Hermitage Capital; nationalist party registered.

The Independent reports that British relations with Russia over a ship delivering Russian helicopters to Syria earlier this week neared a dangerous clash, as the British government contemplated ‘an armed boarding and seizure of the vessel’.  A Pentagon spokesperson says that the three further ships Russia planned to send to Syria may have been intending to send supplies to its naval facility at Tartus, rather than to deliver arms to the government.  A top U.S. trade official is urging the approval of legislation that would improve trade ties with Russia, saying that normal trade relations are important for both sides, ‘not a gift to Russia’.  Dmitry Medvedev pledged support and attention for Chechnya yesterday, but the funding currently allocated for the North Caucasus is actually less than half of the original sum pledged in July 2011.  The three incarcerated members of Pussy Riot have been ordered by a Moscow court to remain in jail for a further 30 days whilst awaiting trial for hooliganism charges, instead of being released on bail.