Unsanctioned rally sparks more arrests

Police in Moscow cracked down hard on an unsanctioned election protest for the second weekend in a row yesterday, detaining more than 800 people at a rally against the exclusion from city council contests of some independent and opposition candidates. Officials rejected signatures several candidates needed to qualify for a local ballot. The decision tapped dissatisfaction with a political environment dominated by the Kremlin-aligned United Russia party, in which dissenting voices are marginalised or repressed.