Main News of February 26

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

RUSSIA

* Russian opposition activists attempted Sunday to make a ring, holding hands in a circle around downtown Moscow in a flashmob protest to press for their demands for fair presidential elections on March 4, which Prime Minister Vladimir Putin is set to win

* An authorized rally in support of fair elections held by the opposition in the Far Eastern city of Khabarovsk on Sunday gathered some 200 people or five times less than the organizers planned

WORLD

* Syrian authorities declared the referendum on the new draft constitution valid despite an opposition boycott

* Egypt’s Islamist parties have won the majority of seats the upper house of parliament, the Shura Council, the country’s election authorities said

* Iran has refused to supply 500,000 barrels of oil to Greece in response to the European Union’s sanctions against the Islamic Republic, the Iranian news agency Fars reported

SPORTS

* Russian WBA heavyweight champion Alexander Povetkin defended his title late on Saturday in a tough battle against WBO cruiserweight champion Marco Huck