* Russia is preparing a new draft of its military doctrine to reflect the growing importance of the use of force in foreign polices conducted by leading global powers, the Security Council said
* An investigation has been launched into the death of a correspondent at the business daily Kommersant, Moscow prosecutors said
* Moldova's president has signed a decree recalling the country's ambassador to the European Union, Eugen Karpov, the presidential press service said
* Russia's Health and Social Development Minister Mikhail Zurabov promised to dismiss heads of regional public health regulating bodies following a row over a shortage of prescription drugs
* The head of Russia's service overseeing healthcare and social development, Ramil Khabriyev, has been dismissed over the situation in the provision of prescription drugs, Prime Minister Mikhail Fradkov said
* A 100% stake in Klimov, Russia's leading producer of gas-turbine engines, has been transferred from federal ownership to state-owned jet-manufacturer MiG, the Russian president's press service said
* Three teams of rescue workers were dispatched to search for possible survivors following an avalanche that hit a popular ski resort in southern Russia Sunday, a local emergencies ministry spokesperson said but later denied that anyone was believed to be missing
* The controversy over Iran's nuclear program can only be resolved through diplomatic means, the director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said
* Mikhail Gorbachev has canceled a planned trip to Denmark to meet with former U.S. Vice President Al Gore as the result of a leg injury, an adviser to the ex-Soviet leader said
* Russia intends to launch its first research micro-satellites in 2008, the Federal Space Agency said
* The flight commander and navigator of an Aeroflot Tu-134, due to fly from a Black-Sea town to Moscow, were banned from flying after traces of alcohol were discovered in their systems, the transport police said
* Russia's population will fall to 135 million by 2016, from the current 142.2 million, a senior sociologist said
* Russia will showcase a new concept car at the 77th International Auto-Show in Geneva, which opens on March 8 through 18, the show organizers said
* Russian airlines transported 38 million passengers on domestic and international routes in 2006 or 8.5% more on the previous year's figure, the Federal Air Transport Agency said in its report
* Oil production in Russia in January 2007 rose 3.9% year-on-year to 41.4 million metric tons, whereas natural gas production dropped 0.1%, the Economic Development and Trade Ministry said
* Russia's foreign trade hit $32 billion in January, with a surplus of $11.2 billion, the economics ministry said
* Russian President Vladimir Putin has nominated the incumbent governor of the Tomsk Region, Viktor Kress, for a fifth term, the Kremlin press service said
* Russia's Navy Commander-in-Chief said:
- Russia is planning to launch ballistic missiles carrying foreign satellites from a submarine in 2007
- Russia has called for an international agreement on the safety of submarine navigation to be signed soon
* Russia's Commander of the Strategic Air Force said:
- Russia's strategic aviation has sufficient potential to suppress elements of a U.S. missile defense shield should it be deployed in Central Europe
- Russia will commission two modernized Tu-160 bombers in 2007
* Russia wants to discuss the resumption of military aid to Afghanistan during the upcoming visit of the country's defense minister to Moscow, a Russian diplomat said
* A party that has pushed for the relocation of Soviet-era war memorials has won 27.7% of Sunday's parliamentary vote in Estonia, according to preliminary reports
* Russia will help Georgia rebury the remains of its first post-Soviet president, Zviad Gamsakhurdia, which were discovered last week in Chechnya, the Russian Foreign Ministry said
* Kyrgyzstan's ex-prime minister and opposition bloc leader Felix Kulov urged early presidential elections in the Central Asian state
* The signing of an intergovernmental agreement on the construction of a $1 billion oil pipeline in the Balkans has been postponed until next week, an informed source said
* The continued slide on global stock markets will not cause an economic crisis in Russia, and there is no need for investors to dump Russian securities, the economics minister said
* A Moscow court has sentenced two former executives of the bankrupt oil company Yukos's subsidiaries to 11 and 12 years in prison for embezzling $13 billion, a RIA Novosti correspondent reported
