Russian drivers blockade city centre in wage protest

Drivers and transport workers in the northeastern Russian city of Magadan blockaded city streets with petrol tankers, buses and heavy lorries in protest at unpaid salaries on Wednesday, ITAR-TASS news agency reported.

The protesters concentrated on blocking traffic in the city near the Magadan Regional administration offices, it said.

The drivers are owed a total of 100bn old roubles in wage arrears, the report added.

BBC Monitoring (http://www.monitor.bbc.co.uk), based in Caversham in southern England, selects and translates information from radio, television, press, news agencies and the Internet from 150 countries in more than 70 languages.