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Main news of June 17

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RUSSIA * The presidents of Russia and the United States issued a joint address to participants of the fourth meeting of the Global Initiative to Combat Nuclear... 17.06.2008, Sputnik International

2008-06-17T18:16+0000

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Main news of June 17

18:16 GMT 17.06.2008

RUSSIA

* The presidents of Russia and the United States issued a joint address to participants of the fourth meeting of the Global Initiative to Combat Nuclear Terrorism, underway in Madrid

* The withdrawal of Russian peacekeeping forces from Georgia's breakaway republic of Abkhazia will aggravate the situation and provoke a wider conflict in the Caucasus, a Foreign Ministry spokesman said

* Russian President Dmitry Medvedev met former U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger in the Kremlin

* Pakistan's nuclear arsenal poses a greater threat to security in the region than Iran's uranium enrichment, due to the volatile political situation in the country, a Russian expert said

* The Moscow Court rejected an appeal by an opposition party led by former prime minister Mikhail Kasyanov against a lower court, which had ruled that the authorities' refusal to register the party was legal

WORLD

* Israel and Palestinian Islamist group Hamas have agreed on a ceasefire in Gaza starting June 19, Egyptian mediators told the MENA news agency

* Georgia's Interior Ministry said that four Russian peacekeepers have been arrested for trying to smuggle guided missiles into the breakaway province of Abkhazia

* Japan's Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda said an upcoming G8 summit would not solve problems facing the global economy, but would be a step toward tackling soaring energy and food prices

* A senior Iranian diplomat reiterated that the country will not accept new nuclear incentives offered by major world powers, and will continue enriching uranium

* Iranian officials denied reports that the government had withdrawn about $75 billion from European banks amid fears the funds could be frozen under planned new sanctions over the Iranian nuclear program

* Heavy rain and floods have claimed 171 lives across China, the China Daily newspaper said, quoting the Office of State Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters

* A high-level PNA and Fatah delegation arrived in the Gaza Strip to lay the groundwork for reconciliation with Hamas, which seized control of the territory a year ago

* A NATO delegation visiting Ukraine was met in Kharkov, a major industrial center in eastern Ukraine, by anti-NATO slogans and a burning American flag

* Prosecutors in Georgia's breakaway province of South Ossetia said they would launch a criminal case against Tbilisi over the shelling of regional capital Tskhinvali last Saturday

* An outbreak of bird flu has been confirmed in southern China, the Xinhua news agency reported

* Lizards, jackals and birds of prey caused delays of up to three hours for some 100 flights at an airport in the Indian capital of New Delhi, the Hindustan Times newspaper reported

BUSINESS

* Oil prices may level out at $120-130 per barrel, a spokesman for Russia's largest private crude producer LUKoil said

* A deal through which Gazprom will buy the operator of the Kovykta gas condensate field in East Siberia from TNK-BP for around $1 billion will be closed in the near future, the Russian company said

* Russian Railways (RZD) is drafting proposals to be submitted to the government on buying a stake in German rail operator Deutsche Bahn AG, the head of the Russian company said

* Russian energy giant Gazprom will increase its natural gas reserves by 10 trillion cubic meters by 2020, Vlada Rusakova, a board member, said at a conference