Main news of March 5

A roundup of what has happened in the past 24 hours

WORLD

* A "black list" of Russian officials allegedly linked to the death of lawyer Sergey Magnitsky in a pre-trial detention center in November 2009 is illegal and deceitful, chairman of the Russian council of judges Yury Sidorenko said

* The Libyan authorities have asked the UN Security Council to suspend sanctions against Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, which were imposed in response to his violent suppression of protests in the country, Al-Arabia TV channel reported

* The Cairo Court of Appeals upheld a ruling freezing all domestic and foreign bank accounts held by ex-President Hosni Mubarak and his family, rejecting an appeal from his lawyers

* The White House has named the signing of a missile defense cooperation agreement with Russia and the issue of the country's accession to the World Trade Organization as two priorities in its relations with Moscow in 2011

* The United States has reiterated its call for the Belarusian authorities to release all opposition activists detained during protest demonstrations sparked by December's presidential elections

RUSSIA

* A "black list" of Russian officials allegedly linked to the death of lawyer Sergey Magnitsky in a pre-trial detention center in November 2009 is illegal and deceitful, chairman of the Russian council of judges Yury Sidorenko said

* All six people on board were killed when an Antonov An-148 airplane on a test flight crashed in the village of Garbuzovo in southern Russia's Belgorod region, an Emergencies Ministry spokesman said

* The Parliament of the Russian North Caucasus republic of Chechnya unanimously approved Ramzan Kadyrov as head of the republic for a second five-year term at an extraordinary session

* Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has instructed the government to improve legislation outlawing gambling, which has been widely flouted since it was introduced almost two years ago, the Kremlin press service said

BUSINESS

* Russian-British joint venture TNK-BP may participate in projects to develop the Arctic shelf if it offers good terms to the country's energy giants Rosneft and Gazprom, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said