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Main news of December 26

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RUSSIA * Vladimir Zhirinovsky and Gennady Zyuganov, the leaders of the ultranationalist LDPR party and the Communist Party, became the first party... 26.12.2007, Sputnik International

2007-12-26T19:18+0000

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Main news of December 26

19:18 GMT 26.12.2007

RUSSIA

* Vladimir Zhirinovsky and Gennady Zyuganov, the leaders of the ultranationalist LDPR party and the Communist Party, became the first party nominees to be formally registered for Russia's presidential elections on March 2

* Russian Prime Minister Viktor Zubkov described economic sanctions introduced by the U.S. in mid-November against Belarus's national petrochemical company as "politicized and unacceptable"

* A Russian cargo spacecraft, Progress M-62, has docked with the International Space Station (ISS), Russia's mission control said

* A Russian Tu-154 military aircraft which was flying along the Finnish border did not violate the country's air space, a Russian Air Force spokesman said

* Food price inflation in Russia for 2007 is set to reach 16%, while the cost of services will rise by 13%, and nonfood prices will increase by 6.6%, the economics minister said

* Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said:

- Moscow expects Britain to take the initiative in improving bilateral relations with Russia

- Moscow sees no economic necessity for Iran to continue its controversial program to enrich uranium

* Boris Nemtsov, nominated by the Union of Right Forces, or the SPS, to run in next year's presidential polls in Russia has withdrawn from the race to give way to another opposition figure, Mikhail Kasyanov

* The three Glonass-M navigation satellites that Russia launched on Tuesday will be operational for seven years, a design and production bureau spokesman said

* Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko said:

- Russia is ready to extend the partnership and cooperation agreement annually with the European Union as talks on a new deal were blocked by Poland over a 2005 ban on Polish meat imports

- Russia will invite an OSCE election monitoring mission to the March presidential elections, but will draw up guidelines for its activities

* Construction of a base for the Black Sea Fleet in the port of Novorossiisk is proceeding according to schedule, Russia's defense minister said

WORLD

* Iran signed a contract with Russia on Tuesday for the delivery of advanced S-300 air defense missile systems to the Islamic Republic, an Iranian news agency reported

* Egypt blames Israel for a lack of progress in peace talks between the Palestinians and Tel Aviv which resumed recently after a U.S.-hosted peace conference in Annapolis, regional media reported

* Serbia's Army is ready to assist in protecting Kosovo Serbs if Kosovo peacekeepers fail to halt violence in the province, the president said

* Tbilisi's Imedi TV channel, which resumed broadcasts on December 12 has suspended its operations, the channel's director of political programs said

* Afghan President Hamid Karzai arrived in Pakistan on a two-day visit to discuss cooperation in fighting international terrorism, border security, and bilateral relations with the country's leaders

* France will decide whether to grant political asylum to Georgia's ex-defense minister and opposition leader, Irakly Okruashvili, before January 3, the acting head of his party said

* The death toll has reached 78 on Indonesia's largest island of Java following landslides triggered by monsoon rains, regional media said

* Egyptian rescue workers have pulled out five more bodies from under the rubble of a 12-floor residential building, bringing the death toll to 19, national media said

* A 25-year-old woman died of bird flu in Egypt, the country's health ministry spokesman said

* An Indonesian woman died from bird flu, bringing the death toll in the Southeast Asian country from the H5N1 virus to 94, China's Xinhua news agency said

* At least 15 people died and over 100 are still missing after a crowded bridge collapsed into a mountain river in western Nepal, China's Xinhua news agency said

* One person was killed and three injured when a private German airplane veered off the runway and exploded at Almaty International Airport in Kazakhstan, rescuers said

BUSINESS

* Iran and Malaysia signed a $16 billion contract to develop two natural gas fields in southern Iran, regional media said

* Investment in the Russian economy has exceeded forecasts by 20% this year, Economic Development and Trade Minister Elvira Nabiullina said

* Alexander Ananenkov, deputy chairman of the Gazprom management committee, said:

- Gazprom is against foreign companies developing Russia's mineral deposits

- Russia's deposits in east Siberia and the Far East are expected to produce and supply 207 billion cubic meters of gas by 2030

- Gazprom's total gas production for 2007 declined 1.4% year on year to 548 billion cubic meters

* The Central Japan Railway Company has unveiled plans to build the world's longest magnetic railway system or maglev by 2025, Japanese media said

* Tatneft, Russia's sixth largest oil company, said it was considering producing bitumen oil with U.S. oil giant Chevron

* Russia's M2 money supply stood at 12.163 trillion rubles ($493 billion) as of December 1, up 6.5% in a month, the Central Bank of Russia (CBR) said