Main news of May 24

* Russian President Dmitry Medvedev began the second day of his visit to China by laying a wreath at a monument on Tiananmen Square, and later met with the chairman of the National People's Congress

* Russian President Dmitry Medvedev told students of Peking University:

- Russia and China will continue to develop their strategic partnership despite any objections from third countries

- Russian and Chinese universities are the key to creating innovative economies

- Russia, which will host the 2014 Winter Olympics, will use this summer's Beijing Olympics as an example

- New spheres of cooperation should be developed through the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), particularly the sphere of energy

* Russia and China consider cooperation in nuclear power to be a priority of bilateral economic ties, a communique rounding off President Dmitry Medvedev's two-day visit to the country said

* The death toll from the May 12 earthquake in China's Sichuan province has risen to more than 60,000 and may hit 80,000 as most of the missing are presumed dead, the country's premier said

* The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry said:

- Ukraine does not plan to prolong the term of Russia's Black Sea Fleet presence in the country after May 28, 2017

- Moscow's statements on banning a number of Ukrainian politicians from entering Russia are ungrounded and illogical

* Russia will send nine military planes to China on Saturday carrying equipment for the ongoing relief operation following the May 12 earthquake that has left over 60,000 dead, a defense official said

* A Russian Mi-26 helicopter left for China carrying two rescue teams to help with the relief operation following the May 12 earthquake that has left over 60,000 dead, the emergencies ministry said

* A failure of a pyrobolt separating spacecraft's modules caused the ballistic landing of Russia's Soyuz TMA-11 capsule in April this year, the head of the Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos) said

* Russian nuclear power agency Rosatom dismissed rumors circulating in the country's Baltic exclave of Kaliningrad of a radioactive leak from a plant in neighboring Lithuania

* France and Latvia have signed a strategic partnership agreement on energy cooperation, defense policy and international relations, French media reported

* Eleven people were killed in Ukraine late on Friday evening when a minibus crashed into a truck, the country's emergencies ministry said

* Russian Interior Ministry troops were involved in a shootout with militants on Saturday morning in the North Caucasus republic of Ingushetia, a local police source said