* The Russian government said it would release 250,000 metric tons of fuel oil from the state's reserves in connection with the current extreme temperatures in the country

// Jan. 21, 2006 - 07:21 GMT

MOSCOW, January 21 (RIA Novosti) – Russians Tatiana Navka and Roman Kostomarov took their third successive European ice dance gold medal in Lyons, France Friday. The duo ended with a score of 202.32 over the three phases of competition. Ukraine's Yelena Grushina and Ruslan Goncharov won the silver with 196.73 points.

// Jan. 21, 2006 - 08:15 GMT

MOSCOW, January 21 (RIA Novosti) – According to the latest information, one person was killed and 10 hospitalized after a Friday blast in a furniture store in the town of Gus Khrustalny in European Russian, the Emergency Situations Ministry said Saturday.

// Jan. 21, 2006 - 08:25 GMT

1 man was killed and 27 were injured in central Russia on Firday by an explosion in a basement furniture shop that set fire to a five-storey apartment building.

// Jan. 21, 2006 - 08:47 GMT

TBILISI, January 21 (RIA Novosti) – The Georgian military police tried to seize the Russian military base near the Black Sea port of Batumi Friday night, the commander of the Russian Group of Forces in the Caucasus said Saturday. Major General Andrei Popov said 25 military policemen seized a number of facilities at the Gonio firing range, "which is jointly used by Russian and Georgian servicemen".

// Jan. 21, 2006 - 08:49 GMT

Russian ice dancers Tatiana Navka and Roman Kostomarov have clinched their third consecutive title at the European figure skating championships in Lyon following success of Irina Slutskaya, winner of the women's title and Tatiana Totmianina and Maxim Marinin, who won straight pairs title.

// Jan. 21, 2006 - 09:07 GMT

MOSCOW, January 21 (RIA Novosti) – Russia wants to boost the economic activities of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, the Russian deputy foreign minister said Saturday.

// Jan. 21, 2006 - 09:08 GMT

PETROPAVLOVSK-KAMCHATSKY, January 21 (RIA Novosti) – The Kamchatka Peninsula in the Russian Far East has no air communication with the continent due to a heavy cyclone raging in the region, a local air company said Saturday.

// Jan. 21, 2006 - 09:33 GMT

MOSCOW, January 21 (RIA Novosti) – It is too early to refer the Iranian nuclear file to the UN Security Council, former Russian Prime Minister Yevgeny Primakov said Saturday.

// Jan. 21, 2006 - 09:56 GMT

Russia's natural gas monopoly Gazprom has agreed to pay 25 percent more for natural gas from Uzbekistan. Russian oil and gas companies have recently stepped up activity in Uzbekistan as the ex-Soviet state has edged closer to Moscow, irritated by Western criticism of a brutal crackdown on mass protests in Andijan.

// Jan. 21, 2006 - 09:58 GMT