* Russia is preparing proposals on the early repayment of $11–12 billion to the Paris Club of creditor nations, a source in the Finance Ministry said

// Feb. 08, 2006 - 05:25 GMT

MOSCOW, February 8 (RIA Novosti) – A total of 13 people have been killed and 20 injured in an explosion at a Russian military facility in Chechnya, a local spokesman for the republic's Interior Ministry said Wednesday.

// Feb. 08, 2006 - 05:56 GMT

MOSCOW, February 8 (RIA Novosti) – Russian President Vladimir Putin will arrive in Spain Wednesday on a two-day visit, where security and cooperation is expected to be at the focus of his talks with the country's leadership.

// Feb. 08, 2006 - 06:57 GMT

At least two soldiers in Russia's turbulent Chechnya region were killed on Tuesday when their barracks collapsed on top of them after a domestic gas explosion, a local official at the scene said. Some local media agencies reported the blast had claimed over 20 lives. Officials said the incident was by no means a terrorist attack.

// Feb. 08, 2006 - 06:57 GMT

Poland hopes to see Ukraine join NATO in 2008 and wants better relations with Russia while urging Moscow to drop ideas of having a "zone of influence" in the region, Poland's new president said. Lech Kaczynski said he disapproves of Russia's campaign in Chechnya and Putin's efforts to centralize political control.

// Feb. 08, 2006 - 07:15 GMT

An aid group that provides food to tens of thousands of people in war-ravaged Chechnya suspended its operations on Tuesday after Chechen officials banned all Danish organizations because of the publication of Prophet Muhammad cartoons.

// Feb. 08, 2006 - 07:16 GMT

KEMEROVO, February 8 (RIA Novosti) – One miner was killed and another seriously injured in a methane blast in a West Siberian coal mine in the early hours of Wednesday, the local administration said.

// Feb. 08, 2006 - 07:20 GMT

At least two soldiers in Russia's turbulent Chechnya region were killed on Tuesday when their barracks collapsed on top of them after a domestic gas explosion, a local official at the scene said. Some local media agencies reported the blast had claimed over 20 lives. Officials said the incident was by no means a terrorist attack.

// Feb. 08, 2006 - 07:24 GMT

Prison is "not a rest home," Russian President Vladimir Putin told jailed oil tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky, answering complaints from his supporters. The Russian leader denied politics were behind the sentence handed on Russia's former richest man.

// Feb. 08, 2006 - 07:26 GMT

The recent decision by the UN's nuclear safety agency to report Iran to the Security Council is "balanced" and encourages further efforts to resolve peacefully the standoff over Tehran's nuclear program, Russian President Vladimir Putin said Tuesday.

// Feb. 08, 2006 - 07:29 GMT