News of the Day, 18:00 Moscow time

* Russian GDP fell 9.5% in the first quarter of the 2009, year-on-year, and 23.2% on the fourth quarter of 2008, the Federal Statistics Service said

* Moscow police will stop any attempts by organizers to hold an unauthorized gay parade expected to take place in the Russian capital on May 16, a deputy head of the police public order department said

* Chechen President Ramzan Kadyrov said that organizers of a terrorist attack in the capital planned to spread fear among the Chechen population and praised police officers for preventing mass casualties

* The German Embassy in Moscow has issued a visa to a seriously ill Abkhazian teenager who has to undergo an urgent medical procedure in a German clinic, a spokesman said

* Ukraine's parliament demanded a probe into reports of the interior minister's detention over a drunken brawl at Frankfurt airport and moved to suspend him until an investigation is completed

* The South Stream pipeline to pump natural gas from Russia to the Balkans and onto Europe will be built by 2016, a source at energy giant Gazprom said

* The World Health Organization confirmed 7,520 cases of swine flu in 34 countries, with 65 deaths

* An Igla portable air defense system has been discovered near Magas Airport in Russia's North Caucasus republic of Ingushetia, local police said