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Main news of August 26

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RUSSIA * Russia's president signed decrees recognizing Georgia's breakaway South Ossetia and Abkhazia as independent states despite warnings by Western... 26.08.2008, Sputnik International

2008-08-26T18:00+0000

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Main news of August 26

18:00 GMT 26.08.2008

RUSSIA

* Russia's president signed decrees recognizing Georgia's breakaway South Ossetia and Abkhazia as independent states despite warnings by Western leaders not to do so

* Russia does not want a new Cold War but is not afraid of one should it occur, the Russian president told the Russia Today international news channel

* Russia will defend Abkhazia and South Ossetia with all necessary support if they come under attack, President Dmitry Medvedev said

* Russia has suspended all peacekeeping operations with NATO for at least six months, the Russian envoy to the military alliance said

* Russia's foreign minister said Moscow's decision to recognize Abkhazia and South Ossetia as independent states has no parallel with Kosovo's declaration of independence made earlier this year

* Russia is convinced that the Georgian people would get more deserved leaders in the future, the Russian Foreign Ministry said

* NATO countries are starting new arms deliveries to Georgia, the Russian foreign minister said

* NATO is helping to restore Georgia's air defenses and has deployed 10 warships in the Black Sea, with another eight expected soon, the deputy chief of the Russian General Staff said

* Russia's prime minister has ordered fuel to be provided to air alliance AiRUnion from state reserves to end mass flight delays caused by a payment crisis plaguing the carrier, a government spokesman said

* Russia's Pacific Fleet, Naval Aviation and coastal defense troops have launched a joint exercise off the Far East's Kamchatka Peninsula, a spokesman for the fleet said

* Scientists have found two more cracks in the bedrock of Siberia's Lake Baikal from which crude oil seeps into the lake, bringing the total to three, an expedition member said

* Police have seized almost 25 kg (55 pounds) of heroin from two Tajik nationals in Irkutsk, East Siberia, a police spokesman said

* An international motor show that opens on Tuesday through September 7 in Moscow will see nine global premieres

WORLD

* Foreign leaders spoke out against Russia's decision to recognize Abkhazia and South Ossetia, while people in the Georgian breakaway regions greeted the news with raucous celebrations

* Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili said he had urged Western leaders to accelerate the inclusion of Georgia in NATO and the European Union

* Japan is concerned over North Korea's decision to halt the disablement of its nuclear facilities and consider reactivating its Yongbyon reactor, a Japanese diplomat said

* A garrison of 100 U.S. military personnel will be based at an Army Patriot missile battery in Poland due to be established by 2012, a U.S. official said

* Cindy McCain, the wife of Republican presidential candidate John McCain, has arrived in Georgia on a humanitarian mission, the Georgian presidential spokesman said

* Israel closed border crossings with the Gaza Strip after two rockets were fired into the country last night, an Israeli radio station said

* Floods in the north Indian state of Bihar have left at least 42 people dead, and forced around 70,000 to flee their homes, local officials said

* Eleven people were killed, eight are missing and 57 injured in an explosion at a chemical plant in southwest China, local media said

* A strong earthquake of magnitude 6.6 hit Indonesia, prompting the meteorological service to declare a tsunami alert

* A boy who weighed just 440 grams (15.5 ounces) at birth has survived after receiving medical treatment in a Mexican hospital, local health officials said

BUSINESS

* Novolipetsk Steel, [LSE: NLMK], one of Russia's largest steel producers, said its net consolidated profit calculated to US GAAP rose 43.7% year-on-year to $1.53 billion in the first half of 2008

* Russia's M2 money supply stood at 14.21 trillion rubles ($581 billion) as of August 1, down 0.2% month-on-month, the Central Bank of Russia (CBR) said