Main news of October 27

RUSSIA

* Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has signed into law an array of measures aimed at ensuring stability in the banking system through December 31, 2011, the Kremlin press service said

* Russia has called UN Security Council consultations on the situation in the Georgian-Abkhazian and Georgian-South Ossetian conflict zones, the UN said

* Russia is greatly concerned over reports that U.S. forces carried out a strike within Syrian territory, the Foreign Ministry said

* Moscow should pursue "a constructive dialogue" with Washington regardless of the outcome of the November 4 U.S. presidential elections, the former Soviet leader Mikheil Gorbachev said

* The Amur shipyard in Russia's Far East said it had started sea trials of a newly built nuclear-powered attack submarine, which according to media reports may be leased to India

* Russians will be able to enter Macedonia without visas for a period of up to 90 days starting on October 31, Russia's Foreign Ministry said

* Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin spoke out against the "tempting" policies of "aggressive protectionism" and restricting the movement of capital during the ongoing financial crisis

* The Russian Finance Ministry plans to issue $1.1 billion in loans to airlines to buy fuel, a deputy prime minister said

* Russia and Vietnam have signed 12 cooperation documents, including joint ventures for oil and gas exploration, a statement said

* The situation in Abkhazia may again deteriorate, as the OSCE mission in the region is not coping with its tasks following the withdrawal of Russian troops, a senior Russian lawmaker said

* Russia is continuing talks with Iceland on a stabilization loan to the Nordic country left on the verge of bankruptcy by the global financial crisis, Russian Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin said

* A Russian heavy nuclear-powered missile cruiser will visit a French naval base for the first time in November, an aide to the Navy commander said

* The new Vice Admiral Zakharin minesweeper will join Russia's Black Sea Fleet in November, the Navy headquarters said

* Russia expects its best grain harvest in 16 years this year and is planning to develop eastern export markets, the country's agriculture minister said

* A monument to the famous late cellist and conductor, Mstislav Rostropovich, was unveiled at Moscow's Novodevichy cemetery

* Additional excavations could be carried out in the Urals area where the remains of the family of Russia's last tsar Nicholas II were found, a local archeologist said

* A Russian communist group has attacked the newest Bond girl, Olga Kurylenko, for her "moral and intellectual betrayal" in starring in a film about the "enemy of the Soviet people."

* CSKA Moscow beat Dynamo Moscow 3-1 away from home on Monday evening to move back within seven points of leaders Rubin FC

WORLD

* Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili proposed Grigol Mgaloblishvili, the Georgian ambassador to Turkey, for prime minister

* Ukraine's prime minister said that a contract with Russia for natural gas supplies in 2009 could be signed in November

* The eldest son of North Korean leader Kim Jong-il traveled to Paris to recruit a top brain surgeon and bring him home to treat his father, Japanese TV channel Fuji reported

* The center-right conservative party has won Sunday's parliamentary elections in Lithuania, according to preliminary results, the Baltic state's top election authority said

* British Business Secretary Peter Mandelson played down the media storm over his meetings with Russia's richest man, saying the discussions had largely focused on Russia's WTO bid

* The leader of the breakaway Georgian region Abkhazia Sergei Bagapsh has instructed that a special unit be set up to prevent attacks in the Gali District, near the de facto border with Georgia

* Abkhazia doubts the ability of EU observers in Georgia to play a constructive role in preventing further conflict, Abkhazia's foreign minister said in a letter to the UN Security Council president

* Vietnam is to invest $1.5 billion in the construction of an ammonia and nitrogen fertilizer plant in Kalmykia, a republic on Russia's Caspian coast, Kalmykia's President Kirsan Ilyumzhinov said

* Ukrainians are rapidly losing trust in their president, Viktor Yushchenko, according to an opinion poll carried out by the Public Opinion-Ukraine foundation

* A missile frigate from Russia's Baltic Fleet is to start patrolling waters in the Gulf of Aden on October 28 to protect Russian ships and crews from pirate attacks, a Navy spokesman said

* The top Polish representative on a bilateral commission on Russia and Poland's joint history urged Moscow to open up archives on the World War II Katyn massacre

* Ukraine's largest carmaker, ZAZ, a subsidiary of the country's motor corporation UkrAVTO, is to cut production by 40%, a business daily said

* Ukraine will receive over $20 billion in foreign loans by the end of 2008 to stabilize its economy amid the global financial crisis, the country's National Bank said

BUSINESS

* Many economists in Russia say a ruble devaluation similar to the 1998 collapse is very likely, but authorities reject their analysis, saying the country has enough resources to prevent the scenario

* The Russian state-run energy companies Gazprom and Rosneft have applied for a western Kamchatka shelf license, the head of the Federal Subsoil Agency said

* Russian billionaire Alexander Mamut has bought 100% of Russia's largest mobile handset retailer Euroset and then sold 49.9% of its shares to mobile operator VimpelCom, a business daily reported

* LUKoil's crude output in January-September decreased 2.1% year-on-year to 71.2 million metric tons (522 million bbl), Russia's largest independent oil producer said

* The supervisory board of the Russian national development bank Vnesheconombank approved the purchase of 99% of shares in the struggling Globex bank

* The head of LUKoil, Russia's largest independent oil producer, proposed establishing a consortium led by a state-owned company for offshore development projects

* The Russian government could cut export duty on crude oil from the current $372.2 to $304-309 per metric ton as of December 1, in line with trends on world oil markets, a government official said