Main news of November 22

RUSSIA

* Russian President Dmitry Medvedev arrived in Lima, Peru to attend a two-day summit of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC)

* Some 65% of Russians said they backed Moscow's plans to place Iskander-M short-range missiles in Russia's Kaliningrad Region, but were worried that the ties with the West would worsen following the move, an opinion poll said

* The legislature of the Irkutsk Region, in East Siberia, held a vote to formally approve the current acting governor, Igor Yesipovsky, as governor

* A group of armed men attacked a fur fair in southern Moscow, making off with 75 fur coats worth 930,000 rubles ($34,000), a police source said

WORLD

* Ukraine marked Freedom Day and commemorated the 75th anniversary of the Stalin-era famine, a coincidence President Viktor Yushchenko described as symbolic

* A blaze broke out at a hotel in Luliang, in northern China, killing eight people and injuring another 16, the Xinhua news agency has reported

* Armed militants threw hand grenades at a wedding party in northern Afghanistan, killing eight people and injuring over 60 others, including a bride, a local governor said

* The Greek authorities confirmed that Somali pirates had released the Greek tanker Genius after receiving a ransom payment, a government spokesman said

* Tibetan exiles have supported the Dalai Lama's policy of seeking greater autonomy from China, rather than full independence, a senior aide to the exiled leader said

BUSINESS

*  Russia's largest independent oil producer LUKoil applied to several Spanish banks on Friday for a 5.2 billion euro ($6.5 billion) loan to buy a stake in Repsol YPF, the EFE agency said

* Russia's energy giant Gazprom told a Russian TV channel that the ongoing financial crisis should not be an obstacle for solving the Russian-Ukrainian gas dispute

SPORT

* Zenit St. Petersburg beat Spartak Moscow 3-1, taking fifth place in the Russian Premier League with 48 points, and winning a chance to play in the 2009/2010 Europe League