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Main news of December 7

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RUSSIA * Russia increased production of weaponry and military equipment by almost 25% in 2007, year on year, First Deputy Prime Minister Sergei Ivanov... 07.12.2007, Sputnik International

2007-12-07T19:15+0000

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Main news of December 7

19:15 GMT 07.12.2007

RUSSIA

* Russia increased production of weaponry and military equipment by almost 25% in 2007, year on year, First Deputy Prime Minister Sergei Ivanov said

* The Kremlin denied reports that Vladimir Putin will become head of the Russia-Belarus Union after he steps down as Russian president next March

* Russia has successfully conducted preliminary tests of an engine for the first stage of the new-generation Angara carrier rocket, the Khrunichev State Research and Production Center said

* The SuperJet 100 production schedule has been completely filled with orders from Russian air carriers until the start of 2010, and partially through 2011, the Sukhoi plane maker said

* The pro-Kremlin A Just Russia party said it would not nominate its own presidential candidate for the March 2008 elections

* Russian police launched a murder investigation into the death of Oleg Zhukovsky, a top manager from the state-controlled VTB, Russia's second-largest bank

* The People's Democratic Union nominated ex-premier Mikhail Kasyanov as a candidate for next year's Russian presidential elections at its congress

* Nabucco, a trans-Caspian gas pipeline project bypassing Russia, would not hurt its interests or the interests of the country's energy giant Gazprom, a deputy industry and energy minister said

* U.S. plans to deploy a missile shield in Central Europe threaten Russia-NATO cooperation in missile defense, the Russian foreign minister said

WORLD

* Rescuers recovered 26 more bodies from a coal mine in north China, bringing the death toll following a gas explosion to 105, Xinhua news agency reported

* Japan hanged three convicted killers, bringing the number of executions this year up to nine, and publicly announced the names of the inmates for the first time

* A natural gas and high-quality 'light' oil field has been discovered in Brazil, the second in the last two months, the government-controlled Petrobras energy holding said

* A collision between a tanker and barge off the west coast of South Korea has caused an oil slick 7.4 kilometers long and two kilometers wide, the country's Yonhap news agency said

* NATO stated that it will maintain its KFOR Kosovo peace force at present levels, and will supply new troops as necessary to counter any violence in the province, as Serbia spoke of "war"

* Palestinian security forces in Nablus will receive 25 armored personnel carriers next week, despite concerns the hardware could end up in the hands of radical groups, The Jerusalem Post said

* A book suggesting that the parents of Madeleine McCann know what happened to their daughter, and were responsible for her disappearance, was released in Portugal

* Russian Europe-bound natural gas supplies were not affected by an explosion on a section of the transit pipeline in central Ukraine, the country's national oil and gas company said

* French police have detained a man in connection with Thursday's blast at a law firm in central Paris, which killed one person and wounded five others, the France Info radio station said

* The broadcasting equipment of Georgia's largest independent television channel was destroyed when it was raided during street protests in the capital in early November, Imedi managers said

* Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov will arrive in Cyprus on December 9 for a two-day visit, a Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman said

* Poland's prime minister will visit Russia in February 2008 for the first time since his October election victory, the Polish Foreign Ministry said

* A total of 100 children got married in a mass ceremony in Rajasthan, northwest India, local media said

* A group of international mediators in talks on Kosovo have submitted to the UN Security Council a report saying that the parties have failed to reach an agreement, an EU diplomatic source said

BUSINESS

* Hungary will join the South Stream gas pipeline project, Russian Prime Minister Viktor Zubkov said at a meeting with his Hungarian counterpart Ferenc Gyurcsany in Budapest

* The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) will invest around $1 billion in Kazakhstan in 2008, Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev said

* A 25% blocking stake in Russia's largest carmaker AvtoVAZ will be sold to French giant Renault, a spokesman for the state-run arms exporter Rosoboronexport said