Main News of March 5

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

WORLD

* The U.S. State Department issued a statement praising the results of presidential elections in Russia, which will return Prime Minister Vladimir Putin to the Kremlin for a third, non-consecutive term

RUSSIA

* With 100 percent of the ballots counted, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin won 63.6 percent of the vote in Sunday’s presidential election, securing victory in the first round to take the post of the president for the next six years, the Central Election Commission (CEC) reported

* A Moscow arbitration court rejected a 2.58 billion ruble ($80 million) claim from artillery maker Ametex to state-controlled arms exporter Rosoboronexport

* Russia's March 4 presidential election , which was won by Vladimir Putin, was transparent and conducted fully in accordance with Russian law according to an observer mission from the CIS states

* Russian President Dmitry Medvedev ordered the Prosecutor General’s Office to probe the legality of the verdicts handed down to 32 prisoners, including former Yukos head Mikhail Khodorkovsky and his business partner Platon Lebedev, the Kremlin said

* Russian President Dmitry Medvedev instructed the Ministry of Justice to prepare a report by March 15 on why opposition organization the People’s Freedom Party (abbreviated in Russian as Parnas), was denied official registration, the Kremlin said

* Prime Minister Vladimir Putin pledged to fulfill all his campaign promises

SOCIETY

* Thousands of opponents of president-elect Vladimir Putin rallied on Pushkinskaya Square in downtown Moscow to denounce his victory at the presidential polls as illegitimate, an event that ended with dozens of protesters detained

* About 10,000 rallied at the Manezh Square by the Kremlin walls to hail Prime Minister Vladimir Putin’s victory at the presidential polls, police said

* International monitors gave different assessments of Russia’s presidential elections that secured Vladimir Putin a third term in the Kremlin

DEFENSE

* The Russian Navy's Northern Fleet has accepted into service a modernized Ilyushin Il-38N anti-submarine warfare aircraft, which will also carry out electronic intelligence (ELINT) duties, the Northern Fleet's press spokesman Captain Vadim Serga said