Main news May 15

RUSSIA

* Yury Baluyevsky, chief of the Russian Armed Forces' General Staff, denied reports of Moscow's plans to open an air force base in Georgia's breakaway republic of Abkhazia

* Russian President Dmitry Medvedev appointed Viktor Ivanov, a former presidential aide and FSB officer, as head of the federal drug control service, the Kremlin said

* Danish coast guards detained two Russian trawlers on Thursday, Russia's State Fisheries Committee said

* The presidium of the Russian government will comprise 15 people, or three fifths of the Cabinet, the press secretary of Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said

* The Moscow City Court sentenced eight men charged with a series of race-hate bombings that claimed 14 lives in the Russian capital in 2006-2007 to prison, for terms between two years and life

* Russia needs to boost helicopter production to meet the demands of the police, firefighters, and the commercial market, a Russian deputy prime minister said

* Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said the country must continue to develop its Strategic Missile Forces (SMF) to meet global threats

* An inner Cabinet, comprising deputy prime ministers and issue-specific ministers, could be formed within the Russian government, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said

* Russia is taking steps to ensure the safety of its facilities and citizens in Iran following reports of a planned terrorist attack on the Russian consulate in Rasht, the Foreign Ministry said

* Algeria has asked Russia to deliver between 14 and 16 additional Su-30 Flanker fighters in exchange for the MiG-29 Fulcrum aircraft it was supposed to receive under a contract that was terminated this year, a Russian business daily said

* The third reactor at the Leningrad nuclear power station, located in northwest Russia, was shut down by an emergency protection system

* Russia has successfully launched a Progress M-64 cargo spacecraft to deliver fuel, food and other supplies to the International Space Station (ISS), a Mission Control spokesman said

* A police checkpoint has come under fire in Russia's troubled Caucasus republic of Chechnya, a source in local law enforcement agencies said

* Zenit St. Petersburg won the UEFA Cup for the first time in their history on Wednesday evening, goals by midfielders Igor Denisov and Konstantin Zyryanov breaking a solid Glasgow Rangers' defense

* A Zenit St. Petersburg supporter was stabbed in the back in the City of Manchester stadium after his club's victory in the UEFA Cup final on Wednesday

WORLD

* Georgia's foreign minister said the country would regard any increase in Russian peacekeepers in the breakaway republic of South Ossetia as encroachment on national sovereignty

* The government of Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi won a vote of confidence from the Senate, a necessary step before the government can fully assume power

* A total of 20,300 cases or around 26% out the total are pending against Russia in the European Court of Human Rights, Russia's envoy to the court said

* The death toll from the massive earthquake that hit southwest China three days ago could soar to over 50,000, the country's State Council said

* Palestinian militants could double the effective range of their rockets in two years, making every community within 40 km of Gaza vulnerable to attacks, Israel's Military Intelligence chief said

* The foreign ministers of Russia, India and China met in the Urals city of Yekaterinburg for discussions on Kosovo and the drug problem in Afghanistan

* The creation of a Russian military base in Georgia's breakaway republic of Abkhazia would increase the security of Russia's borders in the region, Russia's Air Force commander said

* Israel doubts the necessity of a Middle East peace conference in Moscow that has been scheduled for the summer of 2008, a deputy general director of the Israel Foreign Ministry said

* A suicide bomber killed four police officers and 12 civilians in a busy bazaar in southwestern Afghanistan's Farah province on Thursday, a police spokesman said

* Over 5,500 people have been rescued from under rubble following a devastating earthquake that hit southwest China three days ago, the Xinhua news agency said

* Israeli aircraft targeted a group of Palestinian militants late on Wednesday, killing at least two and injuring five others, local officials have said

* Russia have beaten Switzerland 6-0 to progress to the semifinals of the World Hockey Championships in Canada

*  Mongolian President Nambaryn Enkhbayar will arrive in Moscow on May 15-18 for a three-day working visit, the Kremlin's press service said

BUSINESS

* Russia wants to increase bilateral trade with Mongolia to $1 billion by 2010, a source in the Kremlin said

* Russia's largest beer producer Baltika has bought Azerbaijan's Baku Castel brewery, a subsidiary of France's Castel, an Azerbaijani news agency quoted the head of Baltika as saying

* France's Renault SA will launch production of its low-cost Sandero five-door hatchback at its Moscow plant by the end of 2009, the company said

* Gazprom Neft said its net profit calculated to Russian Accounting Standards increased 97% year-on-year to 22.6 billion rubles ($948 million) in January-March

* Rail monopoly Russian Railways said its net profit calculated to Russian Accounting Standards (RAS) trebled year-on-year to 84.5 billion rubles ($3.5 billion) in 2007

* Aeroflot posted net profit of 1.34 billion rubles ($56 million) in January-March calculated to Russian Accounting Standards, Russia's leading air carrier said

* Russian oil pipeline monopoly Transneft said its revenue calculated to Russian Accounting Standards (RAS) rose 18% year-on-year in the first quarter of 2008 to 59.3 billion rubles

* Russia's Economics Ministry predicted on Thursday that foreign direct investment in the country will reach $55-58 billion in 2008