* Parliamentary elections were held in the North Caucasian Republic of Chechnya

MOSCOW

GROZNY, November 28 (RIA Novosti) – Russia's ruling party, United Russia, has taken a substantial lead in the parliamentary elections in the North Caucasus republic of Chechnya with votes from 128 of 430 polling stations counted as of 3 a.m. GMT Monday, the local election commission chairman said.

VLADIVOSTOK, November 28 (RIA Novosti, Veronika Perminova) – A group of Russian experts flew to the city of Harbin in northeast China Monday to check pollution levels in the Songhua River following an explosion at a petrochemical plant that dumped 100 tons of toxic chemicals into the river November 13, a local official said.

GROZNY, November 28 (RIA Novosti) – Kremlin friendly party United Russia has increased its substantial lead in Chechen parliamentary elections, after gaining two more seats in the 58-seat bicameral parliament in single-mandate election districts, the local election commission chairman said Monday.

MOSCOW, November 28 (RIA Novosti, Olga Lipich) – Monday marks the beginning of the 40-day Russian Orthodox Christmas Fast, one of four lengthy fasts on the Orthodox calendar.

MOSCOW, November 28 (RIA Novosti) – The Russian Space Agency is expecting a breakthrough in Russian-U.S. space cooperation following the bill on amendments to the Iran Nonproliferation Act of 2000, agency head Anatoly Perminov said Monday.

MOSCOW, November 28 (RIA Novosti) – Water samples have shown that polluted waters from China's River Songhua will reach the Russian Amur River in the Far East within two-three days, the Russian Ministry of Natural Resources said Monday.

MOSCOW, November 28 (RIA Novosti) – The Russian Emergency Situation Ministry said Monday that three undersea earthquakes had been registered in the far-eastern Kuril-Kamchatka zone November 27.

MOSCOW, November 28 (RIA Novosti) – Water samples have shown that the chemical spill carried by China's Songhua River will reach the Russian Amur River in the Far East within two-three days, the Russian Ministry of Natural Resources said Monday.