Russian journalist dies after setting herself on fire

A Russian journalist died on Friday after setting herself on fire in front of the local branch of the interior ministry in the city of Nizhny Novgorod, a day after her apartment was searched by police, her news outlet said. Prior to her self-immolation, Irina Slavina wrote on her Facebook page: "I ask you to blame the Russian Federation for my death."  She said they seized notebooks, her laptop and other electronics, as well as her daughter's laptop and her husband's mobile phone. She worked as editor-in-chief at Koza Press, a small local news outlet that advertised itself as having "no censorship, no orders 'from above'". Russia's Investigative Committee said it was opening a preliminary inquiry after a woman self-immolated in Nizhny Novgorod, a city of 1.3 million around 400 km (250 miles) east of Moscow. It did not name Slavina in its statement.