* The South Korean delegation's press center said there was "sweeping progress" during the discussion of a final document containing a plan of the initial stage of North Korea's nuclear disarmament
* Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani, the emir of Qatar, said he backed Russia's proposal to hold an international conference on the Middle East in a bid to resolve the region's conflicts
* Moscow has demanded Washington's explanation of the U.S. defense secretary's Wednesday statement on uncertain prospects of developments in Russia, North Korea, Iran and China, a Russian foreign ministry spokesman said
* President Vladimir Putin said Russia is still considering the idea of establishing an international natural gas cartel similar to OPEC and will coordinate its actions on the issue with other major gas producers
* Iran is ready to start talks on suspending its uranium enrichment program, the Foreign Ministry said
* Russia's RIA Novosti news agency signed a cooperation agreement with the state-run Saudi Press Agency (SPA)
* LUKoil Overseas Holding Ltd, a subsidiary of Russia's largest crude producer LUKoil, and Qatar Petroleum have signed a Memorandum of Understanding on cooperation in the prospecting, development and recovery of hydrocarbon deposits
* The bankrupt Yukos Oil Company said its debt to creditors has reached nearly $27 billion
* The completion of a laboratory module for the International Space Station depends on financing, but it should be ready for launch in 2009, the head of the Khrunichev State Space Scientific Production Center said
* Russia has experienced difficulties with the construction of India's Kudankulam nuclear power plant, but the first unit will nevertheless go online in 2008, the head of Atomstroyexport said
* Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov's visit to the United Arab Emirates February 14-16 will focus on the resolution of the Middle East conflict, including the idea of an international conference, an official spokesman of the Foreign Ministry said
* The Turkish company KURUM Holding intends to build a $150 million metals plant in the Rostov Region in Russia's south, the press secretary of the regional economics ministry said
* The name of Turkmenistan's new president will be announced Wednesday, an election committee source said
* AIG-Interros Russia Century Fund, a private equity fund focusing on investment in Russia, will buy a 10% stake in the auto dealer Incom-Auto, the company said
* President Vladimir Putin signed a federal law allowing the transplantation of human organs and tissues not only in state but also in municipal hospitals, the Kremlin press service said
* Police said human remains advertised for sale on the Internet as sacred relics and confiscated by St. Petersburg police last week had been written off from the Anthropology and Ethnography Museum's collection in 1940 as having no scientific value
* The asset value of Russia's top 30 banks increased 45.3% year-on-year in 2006, to 9,515 billion rubles (about $361.1 billion) as of January 1, the Central Bank said
