* Ten-hour talks with the Belarusian delegation have ended at the Russian economics ministry but the prime ministers of the two countries headed for the Government House to continue talks on oil transit across the territory of Russia's western neighbor, the ministry's press service said
* Russian President Vladimir Putin:
- said Russia has refused to ratify an additional protocol to the European Convention on Human Rights, but will not curtail the scope of its work at the Strasbourg court
- called for more active measures to counter nationalism, xenophobia, and religious and racial intolerance, which he said not only violate human rights but also threaten national stability and security
- harshly criticized the U.S. detention camp at Guantanamo Bay, which marked its fifth anniversary today
* Alexei Frenkel, a former banker who was detained Thursday, is suspected of ordering the murder of Central Bank First Deputy Chairman Andrei Kozlov last fall, his lawyer said
* Prosecutors in France confirmed that Russian metals tycoon Mikhail Prokhorov and several of his compatriots are in custody over their alleged involvement in prostitution-related activities
* Boris Gryzlov, the speaker of Russia's lower house of parliament, said Moscow does not support the U.S. decision to send more troops to Iraq, but would continue to back Washington's fight against terrorism.
* Russian spacecraft manufacturer Energia is in talks with NASA and ESA on contracts to build 12 booster rockets for the U.S. and European space agencies, the head of the corporation said
* Russia's gross domestic product (GDP) grew 6.8%, year-on-year, in January-November 2006, the economics ministry said
* Three militants have been killed in a 14-hour police operation that ended Thursday in Dagestan in Russia's North Caucasus, a deputy Russian interior minister said
* Estonia's president approved a law adopted Wednesday by the country's parliament on the demolition of Soviet war memorials, Toomas Hendrik Ilves's chancellery said
