* French specialists working at the site of the crash said they had detected a radio signal, possibly from one of the plane's black boxes
* An Emergency Situations Ministry official said a second radio signal had been picked up at the site the crash, and was believed to be coming from a flight recorder's radio beacon
* Russia's transportation minister said the flight recorders from the plane were too deep in the sea to be recoverable by available equipment, and Russia may ask other countries with experience in deep-sea recovery operations for help
* The head of Armenia's Armavia Airlines said each family who lost relatives in the crash would receive about $20,000 in compensation
* Russia's ambassador to the UN, Vitaly Churkin, said the Security Council should avoid threatening the use of force to solve a long-running crisis around Iran's controversial nuclear program
* The Russian government has provided $10 million in urgent financial aid to the Palestinian National Authority, the Foreign Ministry said
* Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko said a new national government would be formed in June
* A delegation source said Moldova would rejoin the Joint Control Commission regulating the ongoing conflict around the country's breakaway Transdnestr region after a year-long absence
* The Russian Air Force said a second aircraft with Russian peacekeepers on board had left for Sudan to join UN troops
* The Federal Statistics Service said Russia's consolidated budget surplus had declined 2.4% in the first two months of 2006 year-on-year to 448.4 billion rubles (about $16.3 billion)
* Kazakhstan's energy minister said the country was considering the construction of a new gas pipeline to supply natural gas to Europe across the Caspian Sea
* A Moscow jury is likely to reach a verdict Friday in the trial of two men accused of murdering Russia Forbes editor Paul Klebnikov
* The Central Bank of Russia said the value of its assets reached 6,338 billion rubles (about $230 billion) on April 1, up 4% month-on-month
* The Central Bank stripped Neftyanoi Bank of its operating license following alleged multiple breaches of the federal law on money-laundering and financing terrorism
* The federal health oversight agency said Russia could start producing generic versions of patented antiretroviral drugs to treat HIV as early as next year
