Main News of July 19

A roundup of what has happened in the past 24 hours

RUSSIA

* A Russian court released opposition leader and anti-corruption blogger Alexei Navalny from custody Friday, as the five-year prison sentence handed down to him the day before will only come in force in ten days, after his appeal is heard

* Between 156 and 254 people by various estimates were held at protest rallies in Moscow and St. Petersburg on late Thursday and Friday, triggered by the jailing of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny

* Critics of Russia's extraordinary success at this month's World University Games need help with their sex lives, President Vladimir Putin suggested Friday, after the country’s record-breaking haul of medals drew skepticism earlier this month

* Thousands of pilgrims have come to Moscow's largest cathedral to touch and kiss the Cross of St. Andrew the Apostle, with psychologists recruited to mind the crowd and help keep conflicts to a minimum

* Fugitive US intelligence leaker Edward Snowden must not be an exception in maintaining good relations between Russia and the United States, Russian President Vladimir Putin’s spokesman said

* The head of one of the world’s largest transport companies, state-owned Russian Railways, this week dismissed as unfounded corruption allegations made against him by opposition protest leader Alexei Navalny, Prime news agency reported

* About 300 Cossack volunteers will help enforce law and order during the 2014 Winter Olympic Games in Sochi, a regional official said

WORLD

* Nine campaigners against police brutality were detained in downtown Kiev on Friday, the UNN Ukrainian news agency reported

* A US federal appeals court ordered a New York Times reporter to testify whether a US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) official disclosed classified information about a covert CIA operation against Iran, a ruling with implications for the US media’s ability to protect sources amid a government crackdown on leaks

* About 13,000 servicemen will participate in a Russian-Belarusian joint military exercise code named Zapad 2013 (West 2013) in September, a spokesman for Russia's General Staff said

* A Massachusetts State Police officer who gave a Boston magazine scores of pictures that he took of suspected Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev during his capture has been suspended from the force, the editor of the magazine that published the photos said