Main news of December 22

* Russia's election authorities barred seven independent candidates from running in presidential elections on March 2, 2008

* Two workers suffocated in a mine in the southern Russian region of Rostov allegedly after ignoring safety requirements, local emergencies officials said

* Tajikistan's emergencies official said the bodies of two people have so far been recovered after a series of avalanches in the mountains, dismissing earlier reports on the death of at least 16 people

* Russia's Progress M-61 cargo spacecraft has been detached from the International Space Station (ISS), mission control said

* Belgian authorities released 14 people suspected of a plot to free an Al-Qaeda prisoner and stage terrorist attacks, but maintained enhanced security measures imposed after the detention, the Interior Ministry said

* Iran's first nuclear power plant being built by Russia will start generating electricity before March 2009, the Islamic Republic's government spokesman said

* French President Nicolas Sarkozy said France could boost its military presence in Afghanistan to help the Afghan army and police fight terrorism and drug production

* Australia will continue providing military and economic aid to Afghanistan, Prime Minister Kevin Rudd said during his surprise visit to the Muslim state

* A fresh, eighth, outbreak of H5N1 bird flu has been confirmed in the north of the country, where the deadly virus was discovered earlier this month, the chief sanitary official said