Main news of March 24

A roundup of what has happened during the last 24 hours

RUSSIA

*Moscow calls on the international community to ratify the conventions against nuclear terrorism, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov wrote in an article, published by the Washington Times

*Sergei Udaltsov, the coordinator of the opposition Left Front movement, met with his supporters on Saturday in Moscow’s downtown Pushkinskaya Square to deliver opposition’s plans on the further anti-government rallies, RIA Novosti reported

*A Russian opposition leader Boris Nemtsov said he was expecting several famous inmates to be pardoned by May 7, the president-elect Vladimir Putin’s inauguration day, RIA Novosti reported

*The head of the Russian Orthodox Church has said a controversial performance at Moscow's largest cathedral by the all-female punk group Pussy Riot "desecrated" the church

*A drunk man threatening to blow up his block of flats in northeast Moscow has been detained after jumping off his balcony, police say

WORLD

*Russia has sharply criticized the UN Human Rights Council’s resolution on Syria, adopted on Friday, saying that it “went against the international efforts on settling the conflict,” Foreign Ministry said

*The Board of Executive Directors of the World Bank announced on Friday it would consider three nominations for the position of the bank’s next president

SPORTS

*Martin Jakubko’s early goal was enough for Amkar Perm to hold on for a 1-0 win away to FC Krasnodar on Saturday and leapfrog FC Rostov into 10th place in the Russian Premier League

*A hail of late goals for Traktor Chelyabinsk took the regular-season champion past Ak Bars Kazan 4-1 away on Saturday and into the KHL Eastern Conference final against Avangard Omsk

*Lokomotiv Moscow pulled to within a point of second-placed CSKA Moscow with a 2-0 derby win on Saturday that featured Roman Pavlyuchenko's spectacular first goal for his new club

*Russia face Canada in the quarterfinals of rugby's Hong Kong Sevens qualifier tournament after a win and a defeat on Saturday left them runners-up in Pool F