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Main news of July 15

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RUSSIA * Russia's president set out new foreign policy guidelines, stating that the country would resist being pulled into a new arms race and criticizing... 15.07.2008, Sputnik International

2008-07-15T18:02+0000

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Main news of July 15

18:02 GMT 15.07.2008

RUSSIA

* Russia's president set out new foreign policy guidelines, stating that the country would resist being pulled into a new arms race and criticizing NATO's ongoing expansion, the Kremlin said

* Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said that the placement of a U.S. missile shield in Europe will harm regional security

* The Russian Federal Antimonopoly Service launched proceedings against Russia's five largest oil companies over high prices for aviation and diesel fuel

* Russia imposed temporary restrictions on meat imports from eight countries as of July 15, following the discovery of banned substances, the national agricultural regulator said

* Russia began the active stage of large-scale military exercises in several regions of the Southern Federal District, which includes the highly volatile North Caucasus republics, a senior military official said

* Seven soldiers were killed and six injured in an accidental explosion in Russia's North Caucasus republic of Chechnya, the Russian Defense Ministry said

* The Russian ambassador to Britain denied claims by London that Moscow has increased its intelligence activity in the U.K.

* Russian nuclear power plant builder Atomstroyexport said it has received approval from Bulgarian authorities for the construction of a plant in the north of the Balkan country

* Russia hopes U.S. authorities will conduct a thorough investigation into the circumstances surrounding last week's death of a baby adopted from a Russian orphanage, the Foreign Ministry said

* Closed court sessions began in Russia's Penza Region to decide whether the leader of a doomsday sect that spent more than six months underground should be held criminally responsible for his actions

* Russia is planning to agree on the licensed production of Tu-204SM medium-haul passenger airliners in Iran, the United Aircraft Building Corporation head said

* A Russian company showcased an unmanned helicopter due to enter service with the country's police force

WORLD

* U.S. President George W. Bush said Tuesday he was "displeased" with Russia for blocking a UN Security Council resolution on Zimbabwe last week

* A joint Georgian-U.S. military exercise, Immediate Response 2008, has started near Georgia's capital, Tbilisi, and will continue throughout July, the Georgian Defense Ministry said

* Georgia's parliament has approved a presidential initiative to increase the armed forces by 5,000 personnel to 37,000 amid growing tensions with Russia over two breakaway provinces

* Two Russian astronauts on the International Space Station have started a spacewalk, which is expected to last five and a half hours, Russia's mission control said

* Russia's foreign minister could discuss the handover of two border river islands to China during his official visit to the country on July 21-22, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said

* Brazil's state-controlled oil company Petrobras has announced the discovery of a high-quality off-shore oil deposit in the Espirito Santo Basin

* The search for the well-known billionaire- adventurer Steve Fossett, who disappeared last year and was declared dead in February, has been resumed, the head of the search team said

* A Hamas government spokesman in Gaza accused Israel of pressuring ex-British Prime Minister Tony Blair to abort his visit to the blockaded Palestinian enclave

* Iran's military will hold a major air exercise soon to demonstrate its military and defense capabilities, the commander of Iran's Air Force said

* The powerful earthquake that struck southwest China in May has left 1.4 million people in remote villages completely impoverished, the China Daily said

* The Israeli government gave the final go-ahead for a prisoner exchange with the Islamic group Hezbollah, a government spokesman said

* Beijing expects to earn around $400 mln from tourists during the 2008 Olympic Games, the deputy head of the Beijing Tourism Administration said

* A total of six people have been hospitalized with anthrax in southern Kyrgyzstan after eating contaminated beef, the country's emergencies ministry said

BUSINESS

* Indian oil and gas company ONGC intends to buy 100% of shares in Imperial Energy, a British oil company operating in West Siberia and Kazakhstan, a business daily reported

* Gazprom and the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) have signed a memorandum of cooperation in oil and gas production and transportation, business daily Kommersant said

* The Russian wholesale power generating company OGK-4 said its net profit calculated to International Financial Reporting Standards fell 70.59% year-on-year in 2007 to 1.58 billion rubles ($67 million)

* Gazprom has increased the size of its investment program for 2008 by 15.7% to 821.66 billion rubles ($35.4 billion), the Russian state-run energy giant said

* Russian flagship carrier Aeroflot signed a contract with Airbus for the delivery of five A-321 medium-haul airliners at the Farnborough air show in England