16:30
COLLATERAL DAMAGE V
DD vs CC? Denial and Deception versus Civilian Casualties. The war in Afghanistan proceeds with claim and counter-claim dancing a sickeningly predictable duet as the circus rolls on and the civilian casualty list rises steadily. More details...

14:44
RUSSIAN AND MACEDONIAN PRESIDENTS MEET
In his opening remarks at the meeting with Macedonian President Boris Trajkovski on Monday, Russian President Vladimir Putin expressed his support for the efforts of the Macedonian leadership and the international community to normalise the situation in Macedonia and the Balkans as a whole. Mr. Trajkovski is in Moscow with a working visit. More details...

14:26
RUSSIAN FOREIGN MINISTER TO MEET UN UNDERSECRETARY-GENERAL
Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov is to meet Monday UN Undersecretary-General for Humanitarian affairs - humanitarian aid coordinator Kenzo Oshima, the main aim of whose visit is discussion of the humanitarian situation in Afghanistan after the beginning of the US military operation. More details...

14:03
PRESIDENT OF PORTUGAL VISITS ST-PETERSBURG UNIVERSITY
President of Portugal Jorge Sampaio met students and teachers of the St.-Petersburg University on Monday. Jorge Sampaio is in Russia on a five-day official visit. More details...

12:45
GERMAN CHANCELLOR GERHARD SCHROEDER EXPECTED IN MOSCOW FRIDAY EVENING
Germany's federal chancellor Gerhard Schroeder is expected in Moscow on Friday evening, the German embassy reported. According to the source, the German leader will stay in the Russian capital for a few hours and return to his country already on the same night. More details...

16:40
COLLATERAL DAMAGE IV
Another night of heavy bombing over Afghanistan has seen three more United nations food warehouses hit, despite clear markings which are visible from the air at night. More details...

16:30
ANTI-COMMUNIST ASSASSINATIONS IN COLUMBIA
The Columbian Communist Party is being persecuted through assassinations despite the ceasefire signed between the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Columbia (FARC) and the US-backed government. More details...

15:26
RUSSIAN DUMA SPEAKER TO VISIT HUNGARY, SLOVAKIA
A Russian Duma delegation led by Speaker Gennady Seleznev is flying tomorrow to Hungary to hold talks with Economics Minister Gyorgy Matolcsy, co-chairman of the Russian-Hungarian intergovernmental commission for trade and economic cooperation. More details...

13:26
PORTUGUESE PRESIDENT AND SPOUSE IN ST. PETERSBURG ON OFFICIAL VISIT TO RUSSIA
President Jorge Sampaio of Portugal and Maria Jose Ritte, his spouse, arrived in St. Petersburg, 13:04, Moscow time, on an official visit to Russia. Mayor Vladimir Yakovlev, and top officers of the Leningrad Military District, the Leningrad naval base and of municipal law-enforcement bodies met them at the Pulkovo airport. More details...

12:40
RUSSIA TO NEGOTIATE WITH EGYPT, LAS
Russia's Andrei Vdovin, ambassador at large and the foreign minister's special envoy, who arrived in Cairo Saturday from Amman, is to hold today talks with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak's political adviser Osama Al-Baz, other Egyptian government officials and League of Arab States (LAS) secretary- general Amr Moussa. More details...

10:57
PRESIDENT BORIS TRAJKOVSKI OF MACEDONIA ARRIVES IN MOSCOW SUNDAY
President Boris Trajkovski of Macedonia is to arrive in Moscow on a short routine visit Sunday evening. More details...

10:38
CHINESE PARLIAMENT RATIFIES RUSSIAN-CHINESE TREATY ON GOOD-NEIGHBOULINESS, FRIENDSHIP AND COOPERATION
The Standing Committee of the All-China Assembly of People's Representatives considered and ratified the Russian-Chinese Treaty on Good-Neighbourliness, Friendship and Cooperation, a RIA Novosti correspondent reports. More details...

17:58
MOSCOW ENSURING ENHANCED SECURITY OF FOREIGN EMBASSIES
Police details have been reinforced and metal obstructions have been put in front of the US embassy in Moscow. Traffic police do not let cars having other than diplomatic numbers in the territory adjacent to the embassy. More details...

17:39
US HELICOPTERS FAIL TO RESCUE TALIBAN OPPOSITION LEADER
The Taliban have executed the commander of the opposition forces in Afghanistan, Abdul Haq, despite the efforts of US helicopters to rescue him. More details...

16:47
VLADIMIR PUTIN: PRESENT RELATIONS BETWEEN RUSSIA AND CHINA REACHED HIGH LEVEL OF INTERACTION
As opening a Kremlin meeting with Hu Jintao, vice-chairman of the People's Republic of China, Russian President Vladimir Putin said "relations between Russia and China have reached a very high level of interaction in every sphere." According to the Russian President, bilateral relations were successfully developing in the political and economic spheres, in the area of coordination of the two countries' international efforts, as well as in the military-technological cooperation area. More details...

16:42
COLLATERAL DAMAGE III
Cluster bombs dropped by US military aircraft over civilian areas have caused their first victims, according to the UNO spokesperson in Islamabad, confirmed by the Pentagon. More details...

15:17
PORTUGAL'S PRESIDENT JORGE SAMPAIO: CLOSER RELATIONS BETWEEN RUSSIA AND EUROPE PROVIDE FAVOURABLE OPPORTUNITIES FOR BOTH SIDES
The recent trend for closer relations between Russia and Europe provides favourable opportunities for both sides. Such an opinion was expressed Saturday by Portugal's President Jorge Sampaio during his meeting with students and professors of the Moscow State Institute of International Relations (MGIMO). According to Jorge Sampaio, this issue was in the focus of his meeting with Vladimir Putin. More details...

10:42
PRESIDENT PUTIN TO RECEIVE CHINA'S VICE PRESIDENT HU JINTAO
Russian President Vladimir Putin will receive China's Vice President Hu Jintao on Saturday. More details...

17:30
PORTUGUESE PRESIDENT IN RUSSIA
President Jorge Sampaio of Portugal is on a 5-day trip to the Russian Federation to sign bilateral economic and diplomatic agreements and to continue the process of friendship initiated between the two countries in 1994. More details...

13:37
RUSSIAN CONSULATE GENERAL WILL BE OPENED DUBAI
Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Kasyanov has signed instructions on opening a Consulate General of Russia in the city of Dubai /the United Arab Emirates/. More details...

13:37
RUSSIAN AND PORTUGUESE PRESIDENTS MEET IN MOSCOW
The Russian-Portuguese extended-format negotiations are currently under way in Moscow. Opening the meeting, Portuguese president Jorge Sampaio invited Russian president Vladimir Putin to Portugal in 2002. More details...

13:10
RUSSIAN PRESIDENT ACCEPTED INVITATION OF HIS PORTUGUESE COUNTERPART
Russian President Vladimir Putin has accepted the invitation of his Portuguese counterpart Jorge Sampaio to visit his country in 2002. Opening the negotiations between the two countries' delegations, President Putin stated that he was glad to accept the invitation of the Portuguese President. More details...

12:49
SPANISH FOREIGN MINISTER JOSEP PIQUE TO VISIT RUSSIA OCTOBER 29
Spanish Foreign Minister Josep Pique is to arrive in Russia for a brief visit on October 29, the Spanish Embassy in Moscow said. Pique will arrive in Moscow on Monday evening. He is scheduled to meet his Russian counterpart Igor Ivanov in the residence of the Russian Foreign Ministry. The Spanish Minister is to return to Madrid on that evening, the Embassy noted. More details...

12:42
PORTUGUESE PRESIDENT FAVOURS CLOSER COOPERATION WITH RUSSIA
The presidents of Russia and Portugal, Vladimir Putin and Jorge Sampaio, are holding negotiations in the Kremlin. Portuguese President Sampaio said at the beginning of the meeting that he favours the construction of a "new security and confidence-building system in Europe." More details...

12:39
US AMBASSADOR: RUSSIA IS US KEY PARTNER IN COMBATING TERRORISM
Russia is the key partner of the United States in its drive against terrorism, said US Ambassador to Russia Alexander Vershbow during a press conference in Moscow. According to him, the terror acts in the United States on September 11 resulted in "an unprecedented alliance" between our countries. More details...

12:25
CHINESE VICE PRESIDENT HU JINTAO ARRIVES IN MOSCOW
Chinese Vice President Hu Jintao will arrive in Moscow on October 27 for a one-day official visit, diplomatic sources told RIA Novosti Friday. The Chinese Vice President is scheduled to meet Russian top officials and to discuss vital international problems and Russian-Chinese relations. More details...

12:22
PRESIDENT OF RUSSIA SENT GREETING TO PARTICIPANTS IN 4TH MEETING OF RUSSIAN-CHINESE FRIENDSHIP COMMITTEE
President of Russia Vladimir Putin sent a message of greeting to the participants in the 4th meeting of the Russian-Chinese committee of friendship, peace and development which opened in Moscow. The text of this message was read out by Vice-Premier of the government of Russia Ilya Klebanov. More details...

12:07
PRESIDENT OF PORTUGAL INVITES VLADIMIR PUTIN TO VISIT PORTUGAL NEXT YEAR
The Russian-Portuguese high-level talks are underway in the Kremlin. In his opening remarks, the Russian president said that the visit by President of Portugal Jorge Sampaio to Russia would give a new impetus to the Russian-Portuguese relations. More details...

11:33
COLLATERAL DAMAGEII
More collateral damage has been caused by US/UK air raids on Afghanistan. Although many claims have been made by the Taleban, the Pentagon has admitted “rare errors”. More details...

11:00
AGREEMENTS ON STRATEGIC WEAPONS LIKELY TO BE SIGNED DURING VLADIMIR PUTIN'S VISIT TO USA
US Ambassador to Russia Alexander Vershbow does not rule out signing agreements on strategic weapons during Vladimir Putin's visit to the United States in November. The US and Russian Presidents' meeting in Shanghai cleared the way for future possible agreements in the sphere of strategic weapons, the American diplomat told a news conference in Moscow. More details...