TODAY: Murdered Mayor had exposed corruption; Matviyenko replaced with Putin ally; PARNAS registration denial upheld; Russia expresses hope for end of suffering in Libya as Lavrov blames NATO interference, rules out intervention in Syria; Nemtsov calls for election boycott; Russia supports displaced Afghans; Kim Jong-Il visit continues; Georgia-Russian friendship; champagne, sharks.

It has been reported that Yevgeny Dushko, the mayor of Sergiyev Posad who was shot dead yesterday morning, had recently aired corruption allegations against local officials.  A close ally of Vladimir Putin has been picked to replace Valentina Matviyenko as the Governor of St Petersburg: Georgy Poltavchenko was appointed in the acting role yesterday.  As the Washington Post recalls the suspicious nature of her registration, Boris Nemtsov denounces Matviyenko’s municipal elections wins as ‘100% fraud’.  Nemtsov attended a PARNAS gathering held in Moscow yesterday to mark the 20th anniversary of the reinstated Russian flag.  A court, meanwhile, has upheld the decision to deny registration to the party.  As Libya’s rebels seize power, Russia expresses hopes for an end to ‘misfortune and suffering’ in the country.  Sergei Lavrov commented that the conflict in Libya could have been solved much earlier by diplomatic means, and blamed NATO for interfering; he also said that military intervention in Syria is out of the question.