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Main news of March 20

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RUSSIA * Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said on Friday he hoped for a real fresh start in relations with Washington after his first meeting with the new... 20.03.2009, Sputnik International

2009-03-20T19:00+0000

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Main news of March 20

19:00 GMT 20.03.2009

RUSSIA

* Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said on Friday he hoped for a real fresh start in relations with Washington after his first meeting with the new U.S. leader on April 1

* The number of service personnel killed in a special operation in Russia's North Caucasus Republic of Daghestan has risen to five, a spokesman for Daghestan's interior ministry said

* An Uzbek national was murdered on Friday afternoon in the western Russian city of Kaliningrad, a spokeswoman for the local investigation department said

* Three service personnel were killed and three police officers wounded in a special operation conducted over two days in Russia's North Caucasus Republic of Daghestan, Daghestan's interior ministry said

* Russia has created 20 motorized infantry brigades as part of ongoing military reforms, the commander of the Ground Forces said

* Italian midfielder Gaetano D'Agostino has admitted deliberately stopping the ball with his hand to prevent a Zenit St. Petersburg goal during Thursday's second-leg UEFA Cup match

* A prototype of the advanced Su-35 Flanker multi-role fighter plane has conducted its 100th test flight, to complete testing of flight control systems, the Sukhoi aircraft maker said

* About 10 submarines from the Russian Navy are accomplishing various tasks throughout the world's oceans, a source in the Navy General Staff said

WORLD

* The head of Georgia's foreign intelligence service accused Moscow on Friday of trying to oust the current Georgian leader in an attempt to bring its southern neighbor under control

* Co-chairs of a Russian-U.S. group said in Moscow on Friday that they expected to see progress in bilateral relations at an upcoming meeting between the two countries' presidents next month in London

* Russian Pacific Fleet aircraft have been conducting scheduled patrol exercises this week over the Sea of Japan, where U.S. Navy ships have been holding exercises, the Pacific Fleet said

* The USS Klakring (FFG 42) frigate has entered the Black Sea, and is being closely monitored by Russia, the Russian Navy said

* The leaders of the 27 EU member countries have approved the inclusion of Belarus in the bloc's Eastern Partnership program, the Czech prime minister's spokesman said

* North Korea informed the South on Friday that it would reopen the countries' military communications channel, which was cut in protest against South Korean-U.S. military drills, the Yonhap news agency said

* Moscow has seen nothing to convince it that there is a military element to Iran's nuclear program, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov told journalists

* A Greek-owned cargo ship has been seized off the coast of Somalia, Greece's merchant marine ministry said

* Six people were killed and four others are still missing following flooding at a coal mine in southwest China's Guizhou province early on Friday, the Xinhua news agency reported, citing local officials

* Two U.S. astronauts have successfully completed the first spacewalk of the current Discovery shuttle mission to the International Space Station (ISS), the U.S. space agency NASA said