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Main news of November 18

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RUSSIA * Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said: - he hoped the new U.S. administration could look at bilateral ties "at a different angle and more... 18.11.2008, Sputnik International

2008-11-18T19:01+0000

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Main news of November 18

19:01 GMT 18.11.2008

RUSSIA

* Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said:

- he hoped the new U.S. administration could look at bilateral ties "at a different angle and more pragmatically"

- the government could increase the current rescue package of 5 trillion rubles ($182 billion) against the backdrop of the deepening financial crisis

- Russia must never become a parliamentary republic

- it would be wrong to change the current system of choosing Russia's regional leaders, which he described as "optimal."

* Russia is not satisfied with U.S. political guarantees on missile defense, the foreign minister said after talks with his Portuguese counterpart

* The Russian defense minister warned that Georgia's military buildup and drive to join NATO could cause a conflict worse than the five-day war over South Ossetia in August

* Iskander tactical short-range missile systems will be delivered to the Russian military on time, a senior official said

* Russian Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov called for a resumption of dialogue with NATO, frozen after a five-day war between Russia and Georgia in August, but the alliance indicated there would be no major compromise

* Russia's proven uranium reserves have increased 275% to 545,000 metric tons since 2006, the natural resources minister said

* The Russian Navy will commission the Nerpa nuclear submarine, on which 20 people recently died, rather than sell or lease it to India, the chief of the General Staff told a Russian daily

* Jury selection was completed for the trial in a Moscow military district court of three men over the October 2006 murder of Russian investigative journalist Anna Politkovskaya

* Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin will hold a live televised session with the public, his first as leader of the ruling pro-presidential United Russia party in December, a respected business daily said

* Moscow Mayor Yury Luzhkov has said Russia should reinstate direct elections for governors in the regions as a more democratic method of selecting regional leaders

WORLD

* U.S. President-elect Barack Obama has voiced support for Georgia's territorial integrity in a telephone conversation with Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili, the Georgian presidential office said

* A South Ossetian official accused the OSCE representatives in Tskhinvali of concealing information that Georgia was preparing for a major offensive against the breakaway republic on August 7

* A Saudi oil tanker has been seized by pirates in the Indian Ocean off the Kenyan coast, the largest vessel ever to be hijacked in the region, the U.S. Navy said

* The Czech parliament will not resume consideration of a Czech-U.S. missile defense treaty until Barack Obama officially assumes the U.S. presidency, the speaker of the lower house said

* U.S. Patriot missiles will be dispatched in Poland in 2009, the country's defense minister said while on an official visit to Ukraine

* Russian President Dmitry Medvedev's statement on the Stalin-era famine provoked disappointment in Ukraine, the country's ambassador to Russia said

* Seoul is still continuing to cooperate with authorities in North Korea's capital despite recent frosty relations between the South and the North, Seoul's assistant mayor said

* A Georgian delegation set to attend talks in Geneva will press for an international peacekeeping presence in its breakaway regions, the Foreign Ministry said

* Georgia is ready to normalize relations with Russia, but is concerned that there could be an escalation in tensions in the region, a Georgian deputy prime minister told Spain's EFE agency

* Talks on a new partnership agreement between Russia and the European Union will resume in early December, the head of the European Commission's Moscow office said

* The construction of the Nord Stream pipeline to pump Russian natural gas to Germany is important to the European Union, the head of the delegation of the European Commission to Russia said

* Israel closed border crossings with the Gaza Strip again, citing ongoing rocket fire at its towns, Israeli radio reported

* Rescuers brought to the surface 32 out of 34 workers from a flooded coal mine in central China early on Tuesday, almost 23 hours after an accident in which one died, Xinhua reported

* The world's largest particle collider, which was shut down soon two weeks after being launched in September, will not be restarted until summer 2009, a Swiss daily said

* The Iraqi government has agreed to provide $3 billion for the construction of a subway system in Baghdad, the city mayor said

BUSINESS

* Russia and China will soon resume talks on two loans to major Russian oil companies worth a total of $25 billion, Energy Minister Sergei Shmatko said

* Gazprom's deal to gain a 16.5% stake in Libya's Elephant oilfield under an asset swap with Italy's Eni S.p.A. has been postponed until later this year, the deputy head of the Russian energy giant said

* Russia's S7 Airlines said its net profit under Russian Accounting Standards almost doubled in January-September year-on-year to 157 million rubles ($5.7 million)

* Russian steelmaking giant Severstal said its net profit under International Financial Reporting Standards more than doubled in January-September from the same period last year to $3.24 billion

* Russia's industrial output increased 1.6% year-on-year in October and 5% in January-October 2008, the country's top statistics body said

* The cost of a Russian-Indian project to build a titanium facility in east India could double over rising expenses, a source in the Indian metals industry said

* The World Bank has downgraded its forecast for Russian GDP growth to 6% from 6.8% in 2008 and to 3% from 6.5% in 2009 due to effects of the global financial crisis

SPORTS

* Russian soccer authorities are set to investigate a banner unfurled by supporters at a recent Zenit St. Petersburg vs Dynamo Moscow game that insulted the memory of one of the country's greatest ever players