RUSSIA: Even death will face restrictions as Russia throws an unprecedented security blanket over this weekend's G8 summit in St Petersburg - the city's main cemetery will be closed and funerals banned.
The burial ban comes along with the closure of airport, seaport, river and roads and railway links inside the city, while opposition groups have reported a new wave of harassment as activists try to travel to the city for weekend rallies.
Meanwhile, US president George Bush was last night reported to have agreed a deal to let Russia into the World Trade Organisation, which will be formally announced in talks with Russian president Vladimir Putin today.
Russian finance minister Alexei Kudrin was quoted by Moscow news agencies as saying the deal has already been agreed, while US officials said no deal had yet been fixed.
One senior western diplomat, speaking on condition of anonymity, told The Irish Times that the deal has been agreed, but that American officials want to leave it to Mr Bush to announce.
Reports in Moscow say Russia will be given entry in return for US firms being allowed to develop the giant Shtockman natural gas field in Siberia.
The diplomat said that, in the interests of good trade relations, the issue of democracy will be "very low down" the list of items to be discussed.
President Bush, en route for the city, promised "candid" discussions with his Russian counterpart.
Human rights group Institute for Globalisation Studies has complained about dozens of its supporters being pulled from trains and buses, and some thrown in jail, to ensure they do not stage anti-G8 protests.
Six activists were detained in St Petersburg and several more summonsed to court on charges of staging protests without police permission.
Meanwhile, aid agencies are calling for governments not to let trade eclipse humanitarian needs. "Even if oil and security dominate the talks, leaders must keep their promises," said Oxfam.
"G8 leaders must ensure that World Trade Organisation talks deliver a deal which allows the poor to work their way out of poverty, not one based on the narrow self-interest of rich countries."
Mr Putin, a former KGB officer, used TV interviews to criticise officials, including those from the US and Britain, who attended an "alternative G8" summit held by Russian opposition groups in Moscow.
"If officials from other countries are supporting such initiatives, this means that they are trying to influence the division of political forces in Russia a little bit," he said.
The Russian president also made an appeal to journalists not to feed his dog, a Labrador named Connie, in case she gets fat. "Sometimes Connie walks out of a room full of journalists with cookie crumbs on her muzzle and a pleased look on her face," he told the presidential website.