* Russia and Belarus signed an agreement on measures to develop economic ties during a meeting of the Council of Ministers of the Russia-Belarus Union State
* The Kyrgyz president said he is ready to negotiate with the opposition which is planning an indefinite protest action demanding early presidential elections.
*Russia's embassy in Estonia denied media reports about ongoing diplomatic talks on the removal of a Soviet-era Red Army memorial in the Estonian capital, Tallinn
* Pyongyang wants Russian banks to transfer money from its unfrozen accounts in China, South Korea's top negotiator at the six-party nuclear talks on North Korea said
* Preliminary reports say a Mi-8 helicopter crash in the northwestern Urals, which killed at least two, may have been caused by poor weather conditions, a source in the emergencies ministry's department in the Republic of Komi said
* Russia will launch an astrophysical space lab in 2011 from the Baikonur or Kourou (French Guiana) space center, the Russian Federal Space Agency (Roskosmos) said
* An uncle of the North Caucasus republic of Ingushetia's president has been kidnapped following an armed assault on his family, the local Interior Ministry said
* A district court in Moscow upheld an indictment of the key suspect in the murder of a senior Russian Central Bank official last September
* Eurasia's highest volcano, Klyuchevskoi, on the Kamchatka Peninsula in Russia's Far East, is spewing lava to a height of 100-150 meters (up to 490 feet), local scientists reported
* Russia will introduce restrictions on rice, sesame and peanut imports from India from May 1, if India fails to comply with food safety requirements, the food safety watchdog said
* Russia and the European Union should start a more active dialogue on contentious issues to avoid creating a dividing line on the continent, a Russian presidential aide said
