GROZNY, August 24 (RIA Novosti) – Two policemen and a Chechen gunman suspected of involvement in a series of attacks against police and civilians were killed in a shootout in Chechnya, the local interior minister said.
// Aug. 24, 2007 - 05:16 GMT
MOSCOW, August 24 (RIA Novosti) – Russia's investment index will open Friday at 731.20 points, up 0.45% following Thursday evening's sessions on major world trading floors.
// Aug. 24, 2007 - 05:41 GMT
It is reported in the Russian press that BP has offered to Gazprom a stake in its Trinidad LNG facility (worth 3$BN). Gazprom should not be distracted from its European strategy: This would be the result of going to the Caribbean. Europe has the technology to expand the technological base of Russian industry. America does not. Example: Huge funds are fleeing Russia in order to pay car imports and other consumables such as furniture when all this could be done in Russia by a duly modernized car and furniture industry. Assembling cars from abroad is not a good paying job because of its low skill. Making engines entails better wages. Better wages produce bigger aggregate demand, a richer country and a more self sufficient one. Better build an LNG factory in Russia and learn the technology than buy an old one and be dependent on BP.
// Aug. 24, 2007 - 05:49 GMT
MOSCOW, August 24 (RIA Novosti) – Credit institutions' balances on correspondent accounts with the Russian Central Bank totaled 435.3 billion rubles ($16.9 billion at the current exchange rates) at the beginning of the business day, up 11.9% from Thursday, the CBR said Friday.
// Aug. 24, 2007 - 05:50 GMT
YUZHNO-SAKHALINSK, August 24 (RIA Novosti) – Russia's environmental regulator said Friday it had found new legal violations committed by Gazprom-controlled Sakhalin Energy, which operates the Sakhalin II oil and gas project off the country's Pacific Coast.
// Aug. 24, 2007 - 05:56 GMT
MOSCOW, August 24 (RIA Novosti) – Russia's Central Bank said Friday the country's narrowly defined money supply (M1) was 3 trillion 656.7 million rubles ($142.1 billion at the current exchange rate) as of August 20, up 41.1 billion rubles ($1.6 billion) in the week since August 13.
// Aug. 24, 2007 - 06:00 GMT
SEOUL, August 24 (RIA Novosti) – South Korea will send 37.4 billion won (US$39.6 million) in construction materials and equipment to help North Korea recover from flood devastation, Unification Minister Lee Jae-joung said Friday.
// Aug. 24, 2007 - 06:07 GMT
(Recasts lead, adds details, background in paras 4–8)
// Aug. 24, 2007 - 07:00 GMT