* The Russian Supreme Court rejected an appeal Friday filed by Rodina against a ruling barring its participation in the December 4 elections to the Moscow legislature
* The Finance Ministry said Russia would pay off $641.81 million in foreign debt in December 2005
* The Supreme Court of Uzbekistan sentenced 25 people to 12-25 years in prison for organizing the riots in Andijan
* A Russian hydrographic expert said the work to survey the seafloor segment of the North European Gas Pipeline would be completed by the end of the year
* The Russian Ministry of Industry and Energy said German automotive giant Volkswagen had confirmed plans to open a plant in the country, an investment tentatively estimated at 330 million euros
* The Russian fuel and energy watchdog said natural gas production in Russia had grown 1%, or 6.2 billion cu m, to 581.2 billion cu m in January-November 2005
* The Russian Federal Agency for Nuclear Power said it was planning to consider a number of contracts on supplies of uranium raw materials and nuclear fuel with Ukraine's state-run nuclear agency
* The Austrian chancellor and Russian premier met in Moscow, hailing bilateral relations and looking toward a new document to replace the cooperation agreement that expires next year
* A bus plunged into a ravine in the western Ukrainian region of Lviv leaving seven people dead and five injured
