Main news of May 9

RUSSIA

* A military parade involving over 9,000 personnel and dozens of military vehicles and airplanes was held on Moscow’s Red Square to mark Victory Day

* Russian President Dmitry Medvedev congratulated his counterparts in Abkhazia, South Ossetia and the CIS on Victory Day

* Russian President Dmitry Medvedev congratulated Jacob Zuma on his inauguration as South Africa’s president

WORLD

* The European Union wants to help resolve the political crisis in Georgia that has seen a month of opposition protests calling for the president’s resignation

* Ukraine’s president and prime minister, bitter political rivals expected to run in presidential elections later this year, stood together at the Victory Day parade in Kiev

* Estonian police on Saturday removed a replica of the Bronze Soldier monument to Soviet World War II dead from the central Tallinn square where the original stood until two years ago

* Azerbaijan blamed Armenia for the lack of significant progress towards a settlement of the Nagorny Karabakh conflict during a recent summit in the Czech Republic

* Forty-four candidates, including two women, have registered for the upcoming elections in Afghanistan, the Central Election Commission said

* Thousands of Muslims in Egypt have canceled their plans to conduct a pilgrimage to the Islamic holy cities of Mecca and Medina this year due to the threat of swine flu

* A lucky ticket holder in Spain has won a 126 million-euro ($171.6 million) jackpot in the EuroMillions lottery

SPORTS

* World No. 1 Dinara Safina took revenge on fellow Russian Svetlana Kuznetsova for defeat in last week's final in Stuttgart with a straight-sets win in Rome

* Ukraine's preparations to host Euro 2012 have been given a boost by UEFA observers, who have pronounced themselves satisfied with the country's progress