Morning re-cap of main news, December 22
* Local authorities said the number of Chechen residents poisoned by an unidentified substance had reached 72
// Dec. 23, 2005 - 05:25 GMT
Toxic slick in Amur River under control
VLADIVOSTOK, December 23 (RIA Novosti) – The toxic slick that formed in the Amur River after an explosion at a Chinese petrochemical plant and arrived in Russia's Far Eastern city of Khabarovsk early Thursday is now passing through city, the local department of the Russian Emergencies Ministry said Friday.
// Dec. 23, 2005 - 06:59 GMT
Belarus' Lukashenko Ready to Be Nominated Candidate for President Again
Belarus' President Alexander Lukashenko has made a request to the Central Election Committee to register an initiative group that would nominate him for president. If he is nominated and wins the elections in March, he will become president of Belarus for the fourth time.
// Dec. 23, 2005 - 07:08 GMT
Russian monetary base up $1.4 billion in week
MOSCOW, December 23 (RIA Novosti) – Russia's Central Bank announced Friday that the country's narrowly defined money supply (M1) was 2.1035 trillion rubles ($72.94 billion, based on the current exchange rate) as of December 19, up 39.9 billion rubles ($1.4 billion) in the week since December 12.
// Dec. 23, 2005 - 07:16 GMT
Poisoning cases in Chechnya hit 83
GROZNY, December 23 (RIA Novosti) – More people have been poisoned with an unknown substance in Chechnya, the first deputy head of the Shelkovskoi district administration said Friday.
// Dec. 23, 2005 - 07:19 GMT
Fire Destroys Tsar's Palace Near St. Petersburg
A palace in a suburb of St. Petersburg has been badly damaged by fire.
// Dec. 23, 2005 - 07:33 GMT
BBC Knocked off Air in Russia After Legal Dispute
A legal dispute has knocked the BBC's Russian service off the air in Moscow, officials said on Thursday, although the corporation insisted all its licenses were in order.
// Dec. 23, 2005 - 08:05 GMT
Russia supplies 14kg of low-enriched uranium to Libya
MOSCOW, December 23 (RIA Novosti) – The Russian Federal Atomic Energy Agency has delivered 14kg of low-enriched uranium to Libya, the agency said Friday.
// Dec. 23, 2005 - 08:13 GMT
Poisoned Chechens examined at center for emergency medicine
MOSCOW, December 23 (RIA Novosti) – Doctors from the All-Russian Center for Emergency Medicine are examining people poisoned by an unknown substance in Chechnya, a spokesman for the Russian Emergencies Ministry said Friday.
// Dec. 23, 2005 - 08:15 GMT