* The Russian Emergencies Ministry said three-fourths of the 200-km toxic slick in the Amur River had passed Komsomolsk-on-Amur in Russia's Far East, and the concentration of chemicals in the river did not exceed the maximum permissible level

* Iran positively assessed progress in nuclear talks with Russia in Tehran and expressed hope that both parties would come to mutual agreement during their negotiations, the Iranian Foreign Ministry said

* Europe's "double standards" in nuclear research are unacceptable, the Iranian Foreign Ministry said Sunday commenting on the European Union's statement condemning Iran's plans to resume nuclear research

* Russia's passenger jet bound from Siberia to the Philippines was denied entry into Mongolian air space and could pass Mongolian territory only after receiving the relevant permission

* The organizers of a bomb attack at a military air field in Russia's North Caucasus, which killed 19 people in June 2003, appealed the court ruling, seeking more lenient sentences or not-guilty verdicts

* A fire broke out at a home for disabled children in the Tajik capital of Dushanbe, killing 13 children

* The Russian chief epidemiologist recommended Russian tourists against visiting northeastern Turkey due to an outbreak of bird flu in that country

* Several thousand people in nearly 100 apartment blocks in a Siberian city were left without heating and hot water all day Sunday due to a pipe rupture

* The sixth international festival of snow sculptures opened in the Siberian city of Novosibirsk