Main news of November 28

RUSSIA

* Three people were killed and another four injured in a fire that broke out in a two-storey cafe in southeast Moscow, a local emergencies spokesman said

* The Dmitry Donskoi Typhoon-class strategic nuclear-powered submarine has carried out another test launch of a Bulava intercontinental ballistic missile, a Defense Ministry source said

* A Sukhoi Superjet 100, Russia's new passenger airliner, has completed 10 flights as part of certification tests, the plane maker said 

* More than 1,000 casinos have been closed down in Moscow in the past 18 months under a law passed last year to move gambling from large cities to far-flung regions, a Moscow government official said

* Former Yukos executive Svetlana Bakhmina, jailed on embezzlement and tax evasion charges, has given birth to a baby girl, a radio station said 

WORLD

* Indian troops stormed a Jewish center in Mumbai which was under siege for almost two days since the city was hit by a series of terrorist attacks, a standoff is continuing at the luxury Taj Mahal hotel, local officials said

* Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili said justifying his decision to launch an offensive in the breakaway region of South Ossetia that it was aimed at protecting ethnic Georgians 

* Crowds of angry Afghan citizens in Kabul took to the streets protesting the death of a civilian, who was killed by British troops after being allegedly mistaken for a suicide bomber, local officials said

* Russian President Dmitry Medvedev summed up the results of his Latin American tour by saying that Russia had staged a return to the region

* President Dmitry Medvedev and former Cuban leader Fidel Castro met in the Cuban capital Havana during the Russian leader's Latin American tour aimed at expanding Russia's influence in the region

* Russian President Dmitry Medvedev expressed satisfaction with a U.S. decision not to push for Georgia and Ukraine's fast-track membership of NATO

* Russia's Neustrashimy (Fearless) missile frigate will continue protecting commercial vessels from pirate attacks off the Somali coast for another month, a senior officer on board the ship said

* Russia wants to resume full and open dialogue with NATO, which was broken off after the Russia-Georgia war, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said

* The United States is planning to replace Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili with former parliamentary speaker Nino Burdzhanadze, Russia's NATO envoy said

* Hamas authorities that control the Gaza Strip have lifted their ban on hajj pilgrims leaving the Palestinian enclave with documentation issued through the Fatah-controlled West Bank

* U.S. space shuttle Endeavour undocked from the International Space Station ending a 12-day "home improvement" mission, NASA said 

* Russia will continue mine clearing operations in Serbia until 2012 as part of humanitarian aid to the country, which was heavily bombed by NATO warplanes in 1999, the Russian Emergencies Ministry said

* China's first regional jet, the ARJ21-700, completed its maiden flight in Shanghai, Xinhua reported

* A unique collection of 122 erotic ink drawings by the Russian artist Konstantin Somov (1869-1939) has been sold for $1.8 million at MacDougall Auctions in London, the auction house said

BUSINESS

* Russia's Central Bank allowed the national currency to weaken against the euro-dollar basket by 1% while raising its key refinancing interest rate by a full percentage point

 * Russia's Norilsk Nickel cut nickel production by 0.5% in January-September 2008 to 218,000 tons on the same period last year, and increased copper production by 1.3% to 316,000 tons, the company said

* LUKoil, Russia's largest independent crude producer, has secured a 400 million euro loan to purchase a refinery in Italy, the company said

* Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said at a meeting with the head of German power company E.On that his country would fulfill all its commitments to the energy sector and has no plans to reduce or change them