News of the Day, 15:00 Moscow time

* Russia's proposal to establish an international nuclear fuel center under the supervision of the IAEA will be discussed in June, the head of the UN nuclear watchdog, Mohamed ElBaradei, told a conference in Beijing

* Officials from Russia, India and China confirmed their countries' interest in developing nuclear technology, including a fast neutron reactor

* Fidel Castro has hit back at criticism from U.S. President Barack Obama over Cuba's human rights record, calling on the United States to end the "cruel blockade against the Cuban people"

* The closure of a U.S. airbase in Kyrgyzstan will not impair security in Central Asia, the head of a post-Soviet security bloc CSTO said

* The organizing committee of the 2014 Sochi Olympic Games has invited domestic auto makers GAZ and AvtoVAZ to bid for the status of the Winter Olympics general partner, a business paper reported

* Russia's Federal Tax Service said tax revenue dropped 6.8%, year-on-year, in the first quarter to 1.9 trillion rubles ($56.7 billion)

* Colombia officially scrapped visa requirements for Russians traveling to the Latin American country, a spokesman for the Colombian embassy in Moscow said.

* Kazakhstan will not take part in NATO-led military exercises due in Georgia in May, a source in the Central Asian state's Defense Ministry said

* Israel recalled its ambassador to Switzerland for consultations after the Swiss and Iranian presidents had a dinner meeting before the start of the UN World Conference Against Racism in Geneva

* More than 15,000 people have been affected by an earthquake, measuring 5.5 on the Richter scale, in northwest China, the Sina news portal said