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RUSSIA * A Russian boycott on Czech beer in response to the placement of a U.S. missile defense radar in the Czech Republic could deliver a serious blow to the... 23.07.2008, Sputnik International

2008-07-23T18:07+0000

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Main news of July 23

18:07 GMT 23.07.2008

RUSSIA

* A Russian boycott on Czech beer in response to the placement of a U.S. missile defense radar in the Czech Republic could deliver a serious blow to the Czech economy, a Russian analyst said

* The Russian national side's Dutch trainer, Guus Hiddink, is set to sign a new, improved contract, a top Russian soccer official said

* Russia's top migration official said that the lack of a valid employment contract for the head of the Russian-British joint oil venture TNK-BP was not a violation of Russian migration laws

* Russia should respond to U.S. missile defense plans for Central Europe by reopening a 'spy' facility in Cuba to gather intelligence on the United States, a Russian analyst said

* The likelihood of Russian military bases in Venezuela is highly improbable due to the absence of the resources necessary to maintain them, a Russian political analyst said

* The first Soyuz-ST carrier rocket will be launched from French Guiana in the first half of 2009, the Russian Space Agency Roscosmos said, citing the French satellite launch firm Arianespace CEO

* A senior Russian Finance Ministry official in custody on embezzlement charges said in a letter to a newspaper that his arrest was aimed at damaging Russian interests

* Russian, U.S., U.K., and French warships will take part in a major Russia-NATO interoperability exercise off the Russian coast in the Sea of Japan on August 15-23, a Russian Navy spokesman said

* Russia will deliver some $1 million worth of medical equipment and a team of sappers to Belgrade on Wednesday, a spokesperson for the Russian Embassy in Serbia said

* A two-meter (seven-foot) pet boa constrictor fell out of an apartment window in the Russian Urals city of Yekaterinburg, giving locals a scare, a local animal protection charity said

* An arbitration court in West Siberia's Tyumen Region said that the secondment of foreign technical staff to the oil company TNK-BP by British major BP was illegal

WORLD

* Sudanese President Omar al-Beshir, recently accused of genocide in the country's Darfur region, dismissed the allegations at a rally in the area

* Serbia said it had agreed to open talks on reshaping the UN mission in Kosovo, stressing, however, that it must be in compliance with Resolution 1244 and subject to UN Security Council approval

* Two cases of anthrax have been registered in western Georgia's Imereti Region, the national disease control center said

* Switzerland has advised its citizens to abstain from trips to Libya amid a diplomatic spat triggered by the arrest of Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi's youngest son, Hannibal, Swiss media reported

* The foreign ministers of the six countries involved in negotiations on North Korea's nuclear disarmament held a meeting in Singapore

* Georgia's breakaway republic of South Ossetia said on Wednesday, citing Russian peacekeepers, that it had detected an illegal flight over the de facto independent region

* A convertible Rolls Royce owned by the former Iraqi dictator, Saddam Hussein, has been put up for sale on eBay, the Ananova news portal said

* Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko assured his Venezuelan counterpart Hugo Chavez that he could find a solution to any problem facing Caracas

* Most Czechs questioned in a survey oppose the deployment of a U.S. radar in the country, a pollster said

* A Palestinian civilian has been injured on Israel's northern border with the Gaza Strip, Palestinian medical sources reported

* Bosnian Serb war crimes suspect Radovan Karadzic is likely to be extradited to the Netherlands within the next few days, to face genocide charges at the UN war crimes tribunal, a Serb official said

* Venezuela may purchase weaponry from Russia worth $5 billion over the next 10 years, a Russian political analyst said

* The foreign ministers of Russia and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations approved a roadmap of cooperation until 2015 in Singapore, the Russian Foreign Ministry said

* Russia's foreign minister said during a visit to Singapore on Wednesday that the U.S. had done little to ensure transparency over its missile defense plans for Central Europe

* Authorities in northeast Mexico are preparing to evacuate around 22,000 people to shelters as Hurricane Dolly approaches the state of Tamaulipas, a local defense official said

* The foreign ministers of the six countries involved in negotiations on North Korea's nuclear disarmament have started a meeting in Singapore

* China hopes to build a nuclear power plant within five years in the Sichuan province, which was devastated by an earthquake in May, state media said

* Five Serb nationalists were arrested in central Belgrade in clashes with riot police during a rally against the arrest of war crimes suspect Radovan Karadzic, the Interior Ministry said

* Six people have been killed in rainstorms in China's Hubei province, and almost 12,000 have been evacuated from their homes, the country's Xinhua news agency said

* At least seven people were killed and over 30 injured when a bus collided head-on with a truck in east China, Xinhua news agency reported

* Russia's foreign minister has arrived in Singapore on a two-day visit to participate in meetings at an annual forum of southeast Asian nations and for six-nation talks on the North Korean nuclear problem

* Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has signed off on an agreement with Latvia on the status of Soviet military burial sites, the Kremlin press service said

BUSINESS

* Belarus and Venezuela agreed to boost energy cooperation and develop projects currently being implemented by the Petrolera BeloVenezolana joint oil venture in the South American country

* The board of directors of Russian energy giant Gazprom has approved an increase in the company's 2008 investment program by 16% to 821.66 billion rubles ($35.42 billion)

* Russia's largest gold producer, Polyus Gold, announced that its fine gold output had increased 20% year-on-year in January-June to 559,000 ounces

* Polymetal, Russia's largest silver producer and one of the largest gold producers, said its gold output grew 20% year-on-year in January-June to 136,000 ounces

* Kiev and Russia's state-run energy giant Gazprom have reached an agreement on natural gas prices for Ukraine in 2009, Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko told a Cabinet meeting

* The president of the Onexim investment vehicle has filed a lawsuit with a Moscow court to defend his business reputation against Interros holding company head Vladimir Potanin, an Onexim representative said