MOSCOW, December 1 (RIA Novosti) – All schools and kindergartens in Far-Eastern cities will be closed when the polluted water from China reaches the Amur River, the Russian Federal Service for the Oversight of Consumer Protection and Welfare said Thursday.

TBILISI, December 1 (RIA Novosti, Marina Kvaratskhelia) – The Georgian parliament will pass a law on non-deployment of foreign military bases in the country if Russia makes concessions on the settlement of the conflict between Georgia and its breakaway republics of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, a Georgian parliamentarian said Thursday.

MOSCOW, December 1 (RIA Novosti) – The Supreme Court will hold hearings Friday on a motion to appeal a lower court's ruling against controversial nationalist party Rodina, party leader Dmitry Rogozin said Thursday.

MOSCOW, December 1 (RIA Novosti) – The head of Rosbank, one of the largest privately owned banks in Russia, said Thursday that the bank was seeking to acquire all six banks in the OVK Group from Rosbank majority shareholder Interros Holding.

* President Vladimir Putin instructed the government to revise and submit to parliament a bill on cutting army conscription term from 24 to 12 months starting January 1, 2008