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Main news of December 8

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* NEWS * ROUNDUP * #Main news of December 8# WORLD * The social equality of Russian and Belarusian citizens is a major... 08.12.2009, Sputnik International

2009-12-08T20:58+0000

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Main news of December 8

20:58 GMT 08.12.2009

* NEWS * ROUNDUP *

#Main news of December 8#

WORLD

* The social equality of Russian and Belarusian citizens is a major achievement of the union state, the president of Belarus said in a letter of congratulations on the alliance's 10th anniversary

* Mercosur trade bloc countries said they would not recognize the results of the Honduran presidential polls and condemned the July 28 military coup in the country, Latin American media reported

* At least 100 people were killed and more than 100 were injured as a result of coordinated bomb attacks in Iraq's capital of Baghdad, Euronews reported

* Afghan citizens in the eastern Laghman province staged a shocking demonstration condemning NATO for killing civilians during a military operation near the provincial administrative center, local television reported

* At least 20 people were killed when two powerful blasts occurred in Pakistan's eastern city of Multan in the Punjab Province, local television reported

* Eight children were killed and 26 other injured in a stampede at a school in China's central Hunan Province, Xinhua news agency reported

* Kyrgyzstan temporarily restricted electricity supplies due to problems with two of the four generators at its largest hydroelectric power plant, a spokeswoman for the dam's operator said

* Virgin Galactic, a U.S. space tourism company, has unveiled to the public its first SpaceShipTwo commercial six-passenger space vehicle

RUSSIA

* The death toll in a recent nightclub fire in Russia's Urals climbed to 118 people following the death of another injured person in hospital, a local emergencies spokesman said

* Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said that the deadly blasts in Baghdad would fail to damage the development of democracy in Iraq

* Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said both Russia and Belarus would benefit greatly from an adherence to the founding principles of the Union State

* Russia will start tests of its fifth-generation fighter in 2010, Deputy Prime Minister Sergei Ivanov said

* Russia will see a significant fall in its natural gas exports if it signs a ‘post-Kyoto protocol,’ a LUKoil executive said

* Climate change talks in Copenhagen are likely to end in a "roadmap" for future talks, with no legally binding agreement concluded, presidential aide Arkady Dvorkovich said

* A treaty due to replace the Kyoto Protocol will not satisfy Russia if it obliges only developed countries to cut emissions of greenhouse gases, a Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman said

* Russian Supreme Court's judicial chamber for civil cases upheld a decision to ban a southern Russian branch of the Jehovah's Witnesses

* Some 30 priests will be sent to serve at Russia's military bases as part of a program aimed at restoring full-scale military priesthood, a spokesman for the Russian Holy Synod said

* Russian legendary actor Vyacheslav Tikhonov, star of the legendary Soviet spy serial, was laid in state in Moscow with people lining up to pay their last respects

* The Russian Biathlon Union is taking strong measures against the use of doping in sports, the president of the union said

BUSINESS

* Russia will decide whether to join the WTO individually or as part of a customs union after completing talks with the U.S. in 2010, Kremlin economic aide Arkady Dvorkovich said

* Russia's MiG aircraft maker said it has delivered the first four MiG-29 Fulcrum-D carrier-based fighter jets to India

* Russia will decide by the end of 2009 whether to purchase a Mistral class amphibious assault ship from France, the chief of Russia's General Staff said

* Russia's aluminum giant RusAl said it had appointed two Hong Kong representatives as independent directors to its board of directors as the company was preparing an initial public offering (IPO) on the Asian trading floor

* Russia's Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin said the Russian economy needed to become more open to create innovative products and compete effectively on global markets

* Russian energy giant Gazprom plans to spend some 14.9 billion rubles ($505 million) on oil and gas offshore development in India and Vietnam in 2010, a business daily said