* Russia does not intend to give up its nuclear capability, which still has a key role in defending its national interests, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov said in an article carried by the Wall Street Journal
* An unknown attacker stabbed eight people in a synagogue in downtown Moscow, prosecutors said
* Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko heavily criticized a decision made by parliament to dismiss the country's government
* Nursultan Nazarbayev was inaugurated as the president of Kazakhstan
* Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko said his country would honor its commitments to both Russia and the West under the Russian-Ukrainian natural gas agreement
* Ukrainian Prime Minister Yuriy Yekhanurov said Ukraine's government did not recognize the decision made by parliament Tuesday to dismiss the Cabinet
* Russian Railways said the country increased rail deliveries of its oil to China by more than 30% in 2005, to more than 7.6 million metric tons (150,000 bbl/d)
* LUKoil President Vagit Alekperov said the crude producer intended to expand its operations in oil-rich Kazakhstan
* Court found Vladimir Arutyunyan guilty of attacking Georgian and U.S. presidents, Mikheil Saakashvili and George Bush, and sentenced him to life imprisonment
* Moscow's Arbitration Court of Appeals rejected an appeal by the Moscow Oil Refinery against back taxes of $100 million for 2001
* The Georgian government said it would increase allocations to prevent bird flu from spreading to the country from Turkey, where at least three people have died from the virus in the last few days
* The last several hundred chickens with avian flu were slaughtered at three poultry farms on the Crimean Peninsula, Ukraine's autonomy, a local TV channel reported.
