Main news of January 4

RUSSIA

* Russia will not give up test launches of the Bulava intercontinental ballistic missile, a deputy chief of the Russian General Staff said

* Two policemen were injured in the Russian North Caucasus republic of Daghestan on Sunday when an unidentified explosive device went off in the town of Khasavyurt, police said

WORLD

* The European Union does not intend to support either party to the gas dispute between Russia and Ukraine, a deputy prime minister of the Czech Republic, which is currently holding EU presidency, said

* Georgia denies redeployment of its troops toward the border with Abkhazia, a spokesman for the Georgian Interior Ministry said

* Ukraine illegally tapped 50 million cubic meters of Russian natural gas bound for European consumers, a spokesman for Russian energy giant Gazprom said

* Russia is calling for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, the Foreign Ministry said

* Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has signed a law to ratify the convention to avoid double taxation and tax dodging between Russia and Venezuela, the Kremlin said

BUSINESS

* Russian energy giant Gazprom offers its natural gas to Ukraine at $450 per 1,000 cubic meters and hopes the proposal will prompt the country's energy company Naftogaz to resume talks, the Gazprom CEO said