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Main news of March 19

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RUSSIA * The Russian Navy will conduct at least three test launches of the new Bulava sea-based ballistic missile in 2009, a senior navy official said * Russia... 19.03.2009, Sputnik International

2009-03-19T19:56+0000

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Main news of March 19

19:56 GMT 19.03.2009

RUSSIA

* The Russian Navy will conduct at least three test launches of the new Bulava sea-based ballistic missile in 2009, a senior navy official said

* Russia will not back away from its recognition of Abkhazia and South Ossetia in order to begin a dialogue on relations with Georgia, the Russian Foreign Ministry said

* There is scope for Russia and the United States to reach an agreement on missile defense, the Russian Foreign Ministry's official spokesman said

* Russia will not interfere in the trial of an alleged Russian arms dealer arrested in Thailand, but will provide him with legal assistance, a Foreign Ministry spokesman said

* The Russian Navy maintains a fleet of about 60 nuclear-powered and diesel-electric submarines, a senior Navy official said

* The head of Russia's military intelligence (GRU) is to retain his post for two more years and will focus on internal reform, an unidentified intelligence official said

* The Russian Air Force has launched a four-day exercise near the city of Vorkuta, north of the Arctic Circle, a spokesman said

* An outbreak of African swine fever has been confirmed at a farm in southern Russia's Stavropol Region, the region's chief veterinary official said

* A lucky man from Kolpino, near St. Petersburg, has won 100 million rubles, or nearly $3 million, in Russia's state lottery, a Gosloto spokesman said

* A Russian woman has been scratched from the list of applicants for the "best job in the world" based on the tropical island of Hamilton after she allegedly appeared in an "inappropriate video," the project's website reported

WORLD

* The Israeli Attorney General's Office charged the country's former president Moshe Katsav with several counts of rape and sexual harassment

* A high-security jail in Lower Austria is likely to be home to the country's two most famous criminals, following Thursday's conviction of Joseph Fritzl for murder, rape, incest and slavery

* Lawmakers in south Russia's Chechnya have protested against plans voiced by European Parliament members to form a faction to discuss Chechen independence, and branded it a diversionary tactic to avoid addressing EU problems

* Kyrgyzstan will hold presidential elections in October, the Central Asian state's Constitutional Court ruled

* Azerbaijanis have voted to scrap presidential term limits in a referendum held in the oil-rich former Soviet republic, the head of Azerbaijan's Central Election Commission said

* The leaders of Costa Rica and El Salvador have announced plans to re-establish diplomatic ties with Cuba, suspended after Fidel Castro's revolutionaries successfully overthrew the Batista government in 1959, local media said

* Two U.S. female journalists were detained by North Korean border guards at the border between China and North Korea, South Korean media said

* Israeli troops arrested 10 Hamas leaders in a pre-dawn raid in the West Bank, the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) said

* A group of scientists from the Indian city of Kharagpur have created a unique artificial human heart similar to the heart of a cockroach, the supervisor of the project said

BUSINESS

* Russia's federal budget deficit will reach 3 trillion rubles ($88 billion) in 2009 amid the ongoing financial crisis, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin

* The Russian government approved an adjusted draft budget for 2009, foreseeing the first budget deficit in eight years, the economics minister said

* Alumina Partners of Jamaica (Alpart), owned by Russian aluminum giant RusAl (65%) and Norway's Hydro Aluminum (35%), will suspend production from May 15 for at least 12 months, RusAl said

* Natural gas production in Russia is expected to reach around 620-644 billion cubic meters while gas exports could hit 190-196 billion cu m in 2009, the economics ministry said

* The Russian government will provide 50 billion rubles ($1.5 billion) to increase the charter capital of state nuclear corporation Rosatom, Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin said

SPORTS

* Russia's Vera Zvonareva cruised through to the semifinals of the Indian Wells hard court tournament in California while top-seed Dinara Safina surprised the crowd by losing in three sets to a 19-year-old Belarusian

* A group of CSKA Moscow fans were detained by border guards after illegally crossing into Ukraine, the UNIAN news agency said

* Russia is to build the world's first sports arena on permafrost in its northeastern Siberian Republic of Yakutia by 2012, a spokesman for the republic said

* An auction of drums and bamboo scrolls used at the 2008 Beijing Olympics opening ceremony has netted a total of $17.5 million, the China Daily said