Main news of February 19

A roundup of what has happened in the past 24 hours.

WORLD

* Hundreds of people have staged a peaceful Green March in Oman demanding major reforms in politics, economy and education, local media have reported

* Kiev should step up dialogue with Russia and the EU on modernizing the Ukrainian gas transportation system to secure its competitiveness, Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Serhiy Tihipko said.

* Libyan security forces stormed a protest camp in the eastern city of Benghazi, with eyewitnesses claiming some people have been killed and injured in the crackdown.

* Algerian police are preventing the attempts of the opposition to stage an anti-government march in the capital, Algiers, local media said

* Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko  said he does not care about the criticism which came form the European Union following the conviction and sentencing of Belarusian opposition representative Vasily Parfenkov

 

RUSSIA

* Over half of Russians have trust in Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, a pollster said

* Russia hopes that Japan will choose in favor of calm discussion on the possible conclusion of a formal peace treaty, the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement

* Unknown killers shot dead local official Ramzan Friev in the Russia's North Caucasus city of Nalchik, a source from the law enforcement agencies of the Russia's republic of Kabardino-Balkaria