Moscow  - One of the leading human rights activists in Russia, Lev Ponomaryov, was attacked and seriously injured, a colleague said Tuesday.

The 67-year-old leader of the All-Russia movement "For Human Rights" was taken to hospital for treatment, the colleague told radio broadcaster Echo of Moscow.

He speculated that the attack was connected to Ponomaryov's human rights advocacy.

Initial investigations showed that Ponomaryov, who once served in the legislature, was seized by at least three attackers who severely beat him in front of his house.

Dubai  - The United Arab Emirates has asked the Russian police for cooperation in the mystery of the death of a former Russian army commander in Dubai, the chief of Dubai Police said on Tuesday.

"We expect the Russian authorities to cooperate with Dubai's police to reach the murderers. Both authorities should intensify their efforts to bring such perpetrators to justice," General Dahi Khalfan Tamim said.

Dhaka - Bangladesh and Russia on Tuesday began a three-day dialogue toward signing an agreement for the peaceful use of nuclear energy that could pave the way for cooperation in setting up nuclear power plants in Bangladesh, officials said.

"We will discuss the possible deal to pave the way for cooperation in this field," said MM Neazuddin, a joint secretary of Bangladesh's science and ICT ministry, who is leading the Bangladeshi side to the talks.

Moscow  - A Moscow court on Tuesday began hearing a case bringing serious charges of embezzlement and fraud against jailed ex- oil tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky and his partner Platon Lebedev.

Khodorkovsky denounced the trial as unfair as long as state prosecutors had charge of the case.

"The trial is absurd. It goes against all logic," he was quoted as news agency Interfax as saying in his statement.

Moscow - Russia and the United States need to clear "toxic assets" souring their relations and work together on key global issues, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said on Tuesday in an article in the Washington Post.

Neither country can afford to tolerate "drift and indifference" to perpetuate their ties, the Kremlin leaders said.

Moscow, Mar. 31 : A Russian academic has predicted that the United States will disintegrate into six blocs by the summer of 2010, and warned that world leaders attending the second G-20 Summit in London will not be able to reverse the global recession or halt the inevitable collapse of the US economy.

In his interview with Sky News, Professor Igor Panarin said he came up with his grim forecast back in 1998 while analyzing the parallels between the Soviet Union in its final years and the current situation in the US.