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Main news of February 6

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RUSSIA * The OSCE's election monitoring arm said it would send a team of five technical experts ahead of the arrival of observers for Russia's... 06.02.2008, Sputnik International

2008-02-06T19:09+0000

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Main news of February 6

19:09 GMT 06.02.2008

RUSSIA

* The OSCE's election monitoring arm said it would send a team of five technical experts ahead of the arrival of observers for Russia's presidential elections March 2 elections

* Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Losyukov said:

- Russia believes six-nation talks on North Korea's nuclear program must press ahead despite denuclearization delays, and that data must be fully shared between parties

- Russia is concerned over Iran's attempts to develop a long-range ballistic missile following the recent launch of a research rocket into space

* A Moscow court halted the trial of the terminally-ill Yukos ex-vice president, Vasily Aleksanyan, and sent him for medical treatment

* Russia is encouraged by Poland's willingness to improve bilateral relations, and aims to find constructive solutions to problems between the countries, the Foreign Ministry said

* The Kremlin front-runner in next month's Russian presidential elections, Dmitry Medvedev, has the backing of 63% of voters, state-run VTsIOM pollster said

* Dmitry Medvedev has raised the most campaign funds for the March polls while ultra-populist Vladimir Zhirinovsky has spent the most, the Central Election Commission said

* Taiwan's plans to hold a referendum on joining the United Nations could jeopardize regional stability, the Russian Foreign Ministry said, echoing China's concerns on the issue

* A U.S. computer game developer and his backup an Australian entrepreneur are undergoing training near Moscow to be the next space tourist, a training center spokesman said

* No evidence has been found to confirm that Russia's Alexander Pichushkin killed 11 people in addition to the 48 murders he has been convicted of, the Moscow prosecutor said

* Laboratory tests have confirmed that oil spilled into the Caspian Sea after a recent accident on a pipeline in the Russian North Caucasus republic of Daghestan, a local lab official said

* Russia's Supreme Court upheld a ruling referring the 2004 murder case of Russian Forbes editor Paul Klebnikov back to prosecutors due to the absence of a key defendant

* Up to 440 militants are active in the Russian troubled North Caucasus republic of Chechnya, a deputy interior minister told a ministerial meeting

WORLD

* Italian President Giorgio Napolitano dissolved parliament, paving the way for snap elections, in an attempt to end a political crisis that has paralyzed the legislature

* A U.S. military attack on Iran is possible while George Bush is U.S. president, a deputy chief of Iran's General Staff said

* Israeli Vice Premier Haim Ramon said his country would continue its economic blockade of the Gaza Strip in addition to military strikes against Palestinian militants in response to Hamas terrorist attacks

* Poland has not yet decided on the possible deployment of elements of the U.S. missile shield on its territory, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said

* Israel has decided to reinforce its border with Egypt by constructing a barrier to prevent terrorists from entering Israeli territory, the Haaretz newspaper said

* The UN will withdraw from Eritrea unless the east African country immediately lifts its restrictions on fuel supplies to its mission, the organization said in a press release

* The Super Tuesday U.S. presidential primaries saw John McCain forge ahead in the race for the Republican Party's nomination while Democrats Barack Obama and Hilary Clinton continued their struggle

BUSINESS

* Iran's crude production has reached its highest level since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, the country's oil minister said

* The aircraft building plant in Uzbekistan's capital, Tashkent, has become part of Russia's United Aircraft Corporation, the Central Asian state's president said

* Armenia signed an agreement to join an international uranium enrichment center in Siberia during a visit to the Caucasus state by the Russian premier

* Moscow is ready to lift its ban on a number of Indian agriculture imports, including tobacco, Russia's agricultural watchdog said

* Armenia will be the first country to receive new Sukhoi SuperJet 100 airplanes from Russia, the Russian transport minister said

* Russia and Uzbekistan reaffirmed plans to modernize a Soviet-era gas pipeline to boost supplies, consolidating Moscow's monopoly on Central Asian gas

* The Priargun uranium ore-mining and processing factory, which accounts for 91% of Russia's uranium production, said its output had increased 4% in 2007, year-on-year, to 3,000 metric tons