Main news of November 20

RUSSIA

* Russian President Dmitry Medvedev ordered energy giant Gazprom to recover $2.4 billion in debts from Ukraine for natural gas supplies

* Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has signed a decree allowing logistics supplies for Spanish troops in Afghanistan to pass through Russian territory

* Russian President Dmitry Medvedev's first meeting with Barack Obama will be fixed shortly after the U.S. president-elect is sworn in on January 20, the Kremlin said

* Russia's Prime Minister Vladimir Putin addressed a congress of the pro-Kremlin United Russia party outlining a number of proposals to tackle the financial crisis in Russia

* Russia will put into orbit three Glonass navigation satellites on December 25 from the Baikonur space center in Kazakhstan, Russia's space agency said

* Russia has given Germany the go-ahead to use its rail network to transport weapons, military equipment and supplies to Afghanistan, a Foreign Ministry spokesman said

* Russia and India will conduct joint naval exercises in the Indian Ocean in January next year, a spokesman for Russia's Pacific Fleet said

* Syria is interested in establishing a joint bank with Russia with the purpose of a possible switchover to the Russian ruble in mutual settlements, the Russian communications minister

* The Vladikavkaz diesel-electric submarine will return to service with Russia's Northern Fleet in 2011 after an extensive overhaul at the Zvezdochka shipyard in north Russia, the company said

* Russia will keep funds earmarked for the 2012 APEC summit in the Far East unchanged while extra expenses will be optimized, a deputy minister of regional development said

* Drug abuse kills up to 30,000 people in Russia annually, the head of the Russian Federal Drug Control Service said

* A Moscow military court announced a break until December 1 in the trial of suspects in the murder of Russian investigative journalist Anna Politkovskaya

* A submariner suspected of causing the deaths of 20 people by mishandling a temperature sensor on board the Nerpa submarine will undergo psychological testing, an investigation spokesman said 

* Russia's first Borey class strategic nuclear submarine will start sea trials by the end of 2008, the Sevmash shipyard said

* Russia's top investigative body said that 12,500 children are currently officially listed as missing in the country

* Russia will deploy its warships off the coast of East Africa on a regular basis to prevent pirate attacks on merchant ships, the country's Navy commander said

* Russia's ruling pro-presidential United Russia party unanimously voted for a merger with the much smaller Agrarian Party at its congress

WORLD

* Thursday marks the 10th anniversary of the International Space Station (ISS), the unique research project that heralded a new era in space cooperation

* Iran's top nuclear official said the country will continue to cooperate with the UN nuclear watchdog, after the agency issued a report criticizing Tehran for failure suspend uranium enrichment

* The UN Security Council adopted a British-proposed resolution on tougher sanctions against Somalia over the country's failure to prevent a surge in sea piracy

* Georgia prefers dialog and cooperation with Moscow to Russia's international isolation, the Georgian parliamentary speaker told Latvian lawmakers during a visit to Riga

* German judge Christoph Flieger will hear the case of former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic at the Hague tribunal, replacing new court president Patrick Robinson, Serbian B92 radio reported

* Saudi Arabian authorities are currently not considering using force to free a supertanker being held by Somali pirates, but have refused to rule out the option, a Saudi daily said

* A total of 1,040 children suffering from kidney damage caused by melamine-tainted baby formula remain in Chinese hospitals, the Chinese Health Ministry said

* A court has ruled that an eight-year-old American boy accused of the killing of his father and another man with a hunting rifle can spend Thanksgiving with his mother

BUSINESS

* The price of the natural gas Gazprom sells to Ukraine could rise to over $400 per 1,000 cubic meters as of the start of next year, the head of the Russian energy giant said

* Russian metals giant Norilsk Nickel is considering the possibility of becoming an operator in a metals plant construction project in Cuba, the company's CEO said

* Russia's international reserves declined by $21.9 billion to $453.5 billion in the week of November 7-14, the Central Bank said

* Russia's state-controlled power plant builder Technopromexport and Libya African Investment Portfolio have agreed on a joint venture to build power plants in Africa, the Russian company said

* The chief executive of Russia's metals giant Norilsk Nickel has asked Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin to repurchase a blocking stake of 25% in the company from RusAl, a business paper said

SPORTS

* The head of Russia's National Soccer Academy has said that there is a real danger that Guus Hiddink, the national side's Dutch trainer, could leave Russia