Main news of January 14

RUSSIA

* Russia's Foreign Ministry said the British Council's decision to keep two of its regional offices open in defiance of a closure order was an act of provocation

* Russia's advanced S-400 air defense missile systems will be initially deployed in central regions of the country, the Air Force commander said

*  Russia's Air Force will receive at least five advanced Su-34 fighter bombers in 2008, the Sukhoi plane maker said

* At least seven people were killed and ten injured in two separate household gas explosions in Russia

* Coca-Cola decided to remove a number of ads portraying Orthodox churches from the streets of the Russian city of Nizhny Novgorod, following accusations of blasphemy from local believers

* Russia's power industry is unlikely to exceed the 1990 level of greenhouse gas emissions until 2020, said Andrei Gorkov, who heads the Energy Carbon fund of Russian energy monopoly UES

WORLD

* Israeli and Palestinian negotiators have launched the most serious peace talks between the sides in seven years despite clear differences over what each aims to achieve, Israeli radio said

* At least seven Pakistani soldiers and 23 militants were killed in a special operation in northwest Pakistan, national television reported

* The condition of former Indonesian dictator Suharto, who recently suffered multiple organ failure, has improved, Indonesian media reported

* Prague is looking to sign an exclusive contract with Washington for the involvement of Czech companies in the construction of a planned European missile shield, national radio reported

* Turkey's military will continue cross-border attacks against Kurdish militants in northern Iraq with no clear date for the cessation of operations, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said

* A former Royal Family butler and confidant of the late Princess Diana told a London inquest into her death that she planned to marry heart surgeon Hasnat Khan

* U.S. F-15 military jets resumed flights from an air base on the Japanese island of Okinawa after being grounded for over a month for safety inspections

* South Korea's president-elect Lee Myung-bak is ready for dialogue with North Korea to improve relations and make progress on denuclearization, Yonhap news agency reported

* Over 100 people have died due to freezing weather in various provinces of Afghanistan in the past few days, the country's Ariana TV channel reported

* At least five people were killed and several injured when a bomb went off outside a luxury Kabul hotel, an Afghan police source said

* Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert spoke against an invasion of the Gaza Strip, despite continuing rocket attacks by Palestinian militants from the enclave

* At least 12 people were killed and over 60 injured in what police described as a terrorist attack in the southern Pakistani city of Karachi, local television has said

* Certain assets owned by the Russian government have been frozen in France over a claim by the Swiss trading firm Noga, the Paris bailiff service said

BUSINESS

* President Vladimir Putin has authorized Italy's Alenia Aeronautica to acquire a blocking stake of 25% plus one share in a subsidiary of Russian aircraft maker Sukhoi, the Kremlin said

* It will cost $1.78 billion to more than double Kazakhstan's share in the international project to develop the Kashagan oil field, the country's energy minister said

* LUKoil, Russia's largest independent crude producer, said its oil output increased by an estimated 1.5% year on year in 2007 to 96.6 million metric tons (708 mln barrels)

* Russia will contribute an additional $600 million to the charter capital of the Eurasian Development Bank, thus completing the bank's formation by February 1, Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin said

* Gazprom increased daily natural gas deliveries to Turkey by 2 million cubic meters to 40 million cubic meters along the Blue Stream pipeline from Monday, the Russian natural gas monopoly said