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Main news of September 2

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RUSSIA * Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said Russia will respond calmly to the presence of NATO warships in the Black Sea * Russia believes the declaration... 02.09.2008, Sputnik International

2008-09-02T18:00+0000

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Main news of September 2

18:00 GMT 02.09.2008

RUSSIA

* Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said Russia will respond calmly to the presence of NATO warships in the Black Sea

* Russia believes the declaration adopted by the EU at its summit on Monday fails to recognize Georgia's role in the recent conflict over South Ossetia, the Russian Foreign Ministry said

* Georgia is mobilizing commando units near its border with South Ossetia, a senior Russian military official said

* A second stage URM-2 booster for a new Russian carrier rocket has been delivered to an engine test facility in the Moscow Region for "cold" firing tests, the Khrunichev Space Research and Production center said

* Researchers studying Siberia's Lake Baikal have said they plan to use the lake to test the potential use of methane clathrates as an energy source, but that the lake itself would not be tapped for the fuel

* Russia and Uzbekistan agreed on Tuesday to build a new pipeline through Uzbekistan to export Turkmen and Uzbek natural gas, and to switch to a European gas pricing formula, the Russian prime minister said

* The Russian emergencies ministry said it would send four planes with humanitarian aid to Cuba, hit by a devastating hurricane over the weekend

* Transneft fears new delays could hit the construction of the East Siberia-Pacific Ocean oil pipeline after problems with contractors, the Vedomosti daily said

* Russian space freighter Progress M-64 has undocked from the International Space Station and been turned into an orbital laboratory, the federal space agency said

* More than 800 police officers were called in to break up protests in Russia's southern Republic of Ingushetia after a prominent government critic was accidently shot in police custody over the weekend

WORLD

* Georgia has officially notified Russia of its decision to sever diplomatic relations, the Georgian Foreign Ministry said

* The U.S. has voiced its support for the EU's decision reached in Brussels at an emergency summit on Monday to postpone talks on a new partnership deal with Russia until it pulls it troops out of Georgia

* The U.S. Coast Guard cutter Dallas left Sevastopol Tuesday morning after anti-NATO protests in Ukraine's Crimean port

* The Greek parliament voted to ratify an agreement with Russia to build the Greek section of the South Stream gas pipeline

* The Japanese government has decided to postpone joint exercises with the Russian Navy citing recent events in the Caucasus and tensions between Russia and the West, a Japanese defense source said

* Abkhazia will not host new Russian military bases on its territory, the leader of the region recently recognized by Russia as independent said

* A joint Ukrainian-Polish-British tactical exercise began at the Nova Demba military training grounds in Poland, the Ukrainian Defense Ministry said

* Two employees of a Swiss hotel who filed assault charges against Muammar Qaddafi's son, Hannibal, dropped their complaints, national media reported

* Bolivia's top election authorities rejected President Evo Morales' bid made last week to hold a constitutional referendum on December 7, the country's Erbol radio said

* The death toll from floods and storms that have battered China since the start of the year has climbed to 436, while another 113 people are still missing, local officials said

BUSINESS

* Russia's third largest mobile operator Megafon has signed an agreement with U.S. company Apple to sell the popular iPhone 3G handset in Russia, Megafon said

* LUKoil announced plans to produce 12 billion cubic meters of gas annually at Uzbekistan's Kandym and Gissar fields, the CEO of Russia's largest independent oil producer said

* VTB Bank, Russia's second largest bank in terms of assets, said its net profit calculated to Russian Accounting Standards grew 73.7% year-on-year in January-August to 16.76 billion rubles ($679 million)

SPORTS

* Russia's Yelena Dementieva advanced to the semifinals of the 2008 U.S. Open tennis tournament beating Patty Schnyder of Switzerland in straight sets

* European soccer's governing body has confirmed that the September 5 Under-21 match between Russia and Georgia will take place in Minsk, the capital of Belarus

* Andrei Arshavin could leave Zenit St. Petersburg in the winter, the player's agent told Sovetski-Sport on Tuesday, the day after the European transfer window closed