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Main news of April 24

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RUSSIA * Russia's Communist Party leader Gennady Zyuganov said he was against joining forces with A Just Russia pro-Kremlin party * Moscow... 24.04.2008, Sputnik International

2008-04-24T18:17+0000

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Main news of April 24

18:17 GMT 24.04.2008

RUSSIA

* Russia's Communist Party leader Gennady Zyuganov said he was against joining forces with A Just Russia pro-Kremlin party

* Moscow authorities said they will ban all attempts to hold unsanctioned events by the gay community over the May holidays

* Moscow police detained two students accused of throwing a smoke flare at opposition leader and chess grandmaster Garry Kasparov, a police spokesperson said

* Alexei Frenkel, the main suspect in the murder of top Russian banking regulator Andrei Kozlov, wants to be re-admitted to his trial after being removed from the court on Tuesday, his lawyer said

* The launch of a modified Zenit carrier rocket with an Israeli communications satellite on board from the Baikonur space center in Kazakhstan has been postponed again, a Russian space agency spokesman said

WORLD

* Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski said the country is ready to lift its objections to Russian-EU negotiations on a new partnership and cooperation deal

* North Korea is satisfied with the outcome of recent talks with the U.S. on unresolved issues relating to Pyongyang's nuclear program, the country's official news agency said

* Britain's defense secretary, Des Browne, said his country will not start pulling troops out of Iraq in the foreseeable future

* The Gas Exporting Countries Forum, an alliance of the world's leading gas producers will hold a ministerial meeting in Tehran on April 28, the head of Russia's Gas Society, Valery Yazev, said

* Belarus has demanded that the United States cut the number of its diplomats down to five, in protest against sanctions against the Belarusian petrochemical company, a U.S. Embassy source said

* Georgia failed to convince the UN Security Council in a closed-door session over Russia's alleged aggression towards Tbilisi following a row over the downing of a surveillance drone by a Russian fighter

* Over half of Ukrainians would vote in favor of joining the European Union if a referendum were held on the issue, the Democratic Initiatives Foundation said, citing a survey

* A Ukrainian ship that sunk after a collision with a Chinese vessel near Hong Kong on March 22 is expected to be pulled to the surface on April 26, Ukraine's Transportation Ministry said

* An elderly Palestinian was killed in an Israeli air strike targeted at militants in northern Gaza, a Palestinian medical source said

BUSINESS

* Russia's United Company RusAl, the world's largest aluminum producer, said it had closed a deal to buy a blocking interest of 25% plus one share in Norilsk Nickel from billionaire Mikhail Prokhorov

* Russian co-owners of TNK-BP said reports that they could sell their shares in the Russian-British venture to energy giant Gazprom were groundless

* Russia's United Company RusAl, the world's largest aluminum producer, said it had invested over $20 million in an aluminum smelter in Nigeria

* Russia's gas production grew 1.8%, year-on-year, in January-March 2008 to 178.06 billion cubic meters, the Industry and Energy Ministry said

* Russia's defense industry increased production by 2.2% in the first quarter of 2008, year-on-year, the Industry and Energy Ministry said

* Russia could increase oil export duty by $55-59 to $395-400 per metric ton, a senior Finance Ministry official said

* Rail monopoly Russian Railways and North Korea's Railways Ministry signed an agreement to build a railroad and container depot at the Rason seaport, near the border with Russia and China

* MICEX Group, the owner of Russia's leading stock exchange, could hold an IPO later this year, said Konstantin Korishchenko, a Central Bank deputy chairman and MICEX board chairman