Main news of May 4

RUSSIA

* Two foreign vessels carrying a total of six metric tons of fish and 13 metric tons of crabs were detained in Russia's Far East on charges of poaching, a local coast guard spokesman said

* A police officer was shot dead in the Vedeno District of Chechnya, Russia's North Caucasus republic, a police source said

WORLD

* Georgia's breakaway republic of Abkhazia shot down over its territory two Georgian surveillance drones, an Abkhaz presidential envoy said

* Georgia deployed almost 7,500 troops on its border with Abkhazia, the defense minister of the breakaway republic said

* Georgia's Foreign Ministry responded with a sense of humor to Russian media reports concerning an imminent Georgian military operation in Abkhazia

* U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice criticized the ongoing Israeli construction of settlements in occupied Palestinian territories and urged Tel Aviv to ease travel restrictions on Palestinians

* Barack Obama beat Hillary Clinton by a mere seven votes in the Democratic Party caucus on the tiny Western Pacific island of Guam, officials said

* Over 240 people are reported dead after a tropical cyclone hit Myanmar on Saturday, national media said

* Seventeen Taliban militants were killed in a two-day military operation in the east of Afghanistan, the local Tolo TV news channel said 

* A potentially fatal intestinal virus is spreading rapidly in China, with 766 new cases registered in the past 24 hours, national media said

* A luxurious cruise liner with 984 passengers on board ran aground in the Baltic Sea's Irben Starit, Latvia's Coast Guard Service said

BUSINESS

* Microsoft Corp withdrew its offer to buy Yahoo unwilling to pay an additional $5.5 billion for the Internet search provider