* China presented its draft plan of initial steps for North Korea's nuclear disarmament to the other parties at the six-nation talks on the issue, diplomatic sources in Beijing said
* Warring Palestinian factions Fatah and Hamas reached an agreement in principle on the structure of a new power-sharing Cabinet at Saudi-sponsored negotiations in Mecca
* Iran has successfully tested Soviet-designed SSN-4 Sark anti-ship missiles, Iranian television reported, citing the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps responsible for the country's missile forces
* Russian analysts argue that Washington's consistent efforts to redeploy its missile defense system closer to Russia's borders may be an indication the U.S. administration seeks to revive the "Cold War" against Moscow and its allies
* Norway's Defense Ministry confirmed the expulsion of its advisor from Russia, a local TV channel said
* Kyrgyz President Kurmanbek Bakiyev has appointed new foreign, economics, and energy ministers, almost completing the formation of the new Cabinet, his press service said
* A leader of the Kyrgyz opposition movement For Reforms rejected the new prime minister's proposal to head the Economic Development and Trade Ministry, Temir Sariyev said
* Israel intends to discuss the possibility of purchasing 2-5 billion cubic meters of natural gas per year from Russian energy giant Gazprom, the Israeli minister of national infrastructure said
* Norilsk Nickel has received approval from the European Union's executive body for the purchase of nickel assets in Finland from U.S.-based OM Group Inc., the Russian company said
* The head of Gazprom has met with the United States ambassador to Russia to discuss energy cooperation, the natural gas giant said
* Gazprom has set out a plan of measures on the construction of a platform at the Prirazlomnoye oil field on the shelf of the Barents Sea
* Gazprom and the Siberian Coal Energy Company (SUEK) said they had signed a letter of intent to form a joint venture to combine their electricity and coal assets
* Russia's Federal Property Fund said it had delayed until March 14 an auction to sell a 25.5% government stake in S7 Airlines, formerly Sibir, a leading Russian air carrier
* Russia's Foreign Ministry denied a statement made by the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia saying that the fugitive former Serbian General Vlastimir Djordjevic is hiding in Russia
* The Kazakh emergencies ministry said a hydraulic system failure was a possible reason for the crash of an Uzbek helicopter on the border with Kazakhstan that killed one person
* Russian prosecutors filed embezzlement charges against Levon Chakhmakhchyan, a former member of the upper house of parliament
* Platon Lebedev, a business associate of jailed Yukos founder Mikhail Khodorkovsky, will await trial on new fraud charges in a pre-trial detention center until March, his lawyer said
* Two members of the 14th crew of the International Space Station made their third spacewalk in nine days, NASA said
