.Space shuttle Discovery begins final mission.

NEW YORK, February 25 (Itar-Tass) -- Space shuttle Discovery began its
final mission on Thursday and was successfully placed in orbit after the
blast-off from Cape Canaveral.
The vehicle is on an 11-day mission to the International Space Station.
Discovery is the first of three NASA space shuttles expected to be
retired this year as the space agency ends the shuttle program.


Judge denies pressure in Khodorkovsky case.

MOSCOW, February 25 (Itar-Tass) -- Judge Viktor Danilkin, who
sentenced former YUKOS CEO Mikhail Khodorkovsky and his partner Platon
Lebedev to another six years in jail late last year, denied claims he was
pressured by superiors to pass such a sentence.
"It was me who wrote the sentence, I signed it and read it out and I
bear responsibility for it until the end of my life. I am convinced I was
right," Danilkin who chairs the Khamovnichesky district court of Moscow
told the Man and Law TV program on the nationwide Channel 1 late on
Thursday.
The judge was responding to claims of Khamovnichesky court spokeswoman
Natalya Vasiliyeva who publicly claimed Danilkin did not write the
sentence himself, but received it from superiors in the Moscow City Court.
"It is clear for a lawyer that it is impossible to claim the sentence
was written in the Moscow City Court as the trial lasted for two years and
comprised hundreds of court hearings. The circumstances established during
the two years could not be known to such a degree to any person outside
Khamovnichesky court so that he could write the sentence," Danilkiin said.
"This is impossible because it is impossible," he stressed.
As for Vasilyeva's clam, the judge said she was in charge of media
outreach and could know nothing how the sentence was written.
"She accused me of a grave crime, she slandered me by claiming
deliberate miscarriage of justice. I do not want to meet her at least for
the time being," Danilkin said adding he would not sue Vasiliyeva until
the Moscow City Court considers the appeal against his sentence.
"I myself have already assessed her actions. Until the instance of
appeals considers the sentence I will not make any legal claims against
Vasiliyeva," Danilkin said.
The judge also said he would not quit office because of the
allegations. "It is clear they failed to break me and I will continue to
work," he said.
He did not specify who attempted "to break" him, but admitted he and
his family received threats before the sentence.
"Unknown people called by telephone, they learned my home telephone
number and also wrote dirty things on the website of my son. There were
direct threats during the four days of reading the sentence. They came to
the website of the Moscow City Court, but they did not inform me about
them. I arrived to the court building and left with bodyguards," Danilkin
said.
He denied any attempts from both sides to pressure him and "reach an
unofficial agreement."
"Nobody from among trial parties contacted me and tried to establish
contacts with me outside the court framework," the judge said.
He also rejected claims he had passed a very harsh sentence on
Khodorkovsky and his partner Platon Lebedev who will have to stay in jail
until 2017. "Criminal Code articles, of which investigators accused
Khodorkovsky and Lebedev, allow a harsher sentence," he said.
The judge recalled that both convicts were found guilty of embezzling
close to one trillion rubles and most of the money was taken abroad.
Prosecutors demanded 14 years for Khodorkovsky and Lebedev, while
Danilkin reduced it to 13.5 years and added half a year remaining for the
two men from the first conviction. Both were arrested in 2003 and
sentenced to eight years in jail for tax dodging.

.SPORT - Two Russian football clubs progress in Europa League.

MOSCOW, February 25 (Itar-Tass) -- Two Russian football clubs
succeeded to progress to the next round of the UEFA Europa League on
Thursday.
Spartak Moscow drew the home game against Basel Switzerland 1:1 and
qualified for the 1/8 finals due to the 3:2 first leg guest victory.
Police said over 40 drunk Spartak supporters were detained after the
game.
Also on Thursday Zenit St. Petersburg, which lost to Young Boys from
Bern 1:2 in the first leg game, succeeded to beat the Swiss club 3:1 at
home.
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