Morning re-cap of main news, January 15
* The speaker of the State Duma, Russia's lower house of parliament, said he was alarmed over recent acts of extremism and intolerance in Russia
// Jan. 16, 2006 - 05:22 GMT
Vladivostok fire kills 8, injures 15
VLADIVOSTOK, January 16 (RIA Novosti, Anatoly Ilyukhov) – At least eight people have died in a fire in an office center in the Pacific port city of Vladivostok, the Russian Emergency Situations Ministry said Monday.
// Jan. 16, 2006 - 06:35 GMT
German chancellor Merkel set for first visit to Russia
BERLIN, January 16 (RIA Novosti, Olga Semyonova) – German Chancellor Angela Merkel will face her packed agenda on her first working visit to Moscow Monday, a diplomatic source in Berlin said.
// Jan. 16, 2006 - 06:42 GMT
EU trio, Russia, China, U.S. to discuss Iran nuclear dispute
LONDON, January 16 (RIA Novosti, Alexander Smotrov) – Representatives of Europe, Russia, China and the United States will meet in London Monday to discuss the escalating dispute around Iran's nuclear research, the UK Foreign Office said Monday
// Jan. 16, 2006 - 07:29 GMT
Russia Calls for Talks to Return Crimean Lighthouse
The Russian navy said on Sunday it had boosted security around Black Sea fleet installations and called for further talks with Ukraine to resolve a fresh dispute over a key lighthouse on the Crimean peninsula, a Ukrainian region where the Russian fleet is based.
// Jan. 16, 2006 - 07:36 GMT
Germany's Merkel in Moscow to Meet Vladimir Putin
German Chancellor Angela Merkel arrives in Moscow Monday to meet President Vladimir Putin, on a visit that may signal a cooling of the close ties the Russian leader enjoyed with her predecessor Gerhard Schroeder.
// Jan. 16, 2006 - 07:40 GMT
One More Synagogue Attacked in Russia
In the southern Russian city of Rostov-on-Don, an intoxicated young man shouting anti-Semitic slogans was detained on Friday as he tried to enter a synagogue. During a questioning the hooligan said he was inspired by the Wednesday attack on a Moscow synagogue, in which eight people were wounded.
// Jan. 16, 2006 - 07:44 GMT
Fire Kills Office Workers in Russia's Far East
A fire in a large office building in the center of Vladivostok, in Russia's Far East, killed at least eight office workers on Monday.
// Jan. 16, 2006 - 07:54 GMT
Kazakh Opposition Leader Returns Home After 3 Years in Jail
The leader of the now disbanded Democratic Choice of Kazakhstan had been released from prison after serving almost half of his seven-year prison sentence.
// Jan. 16, 2006 - 07:54 GMT