Main news of March 28

RUSSIA

* Russia's Soyuz TMA-14 spacecraft carrying the 19th Expedition and space tourist Charles Simonyi docked Saturday with the International Space Station (ISS), a RIA Novosti correspondent said

* Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has expressed condolences over the death of Soviet hero Arnold Meri accused of genocide in Estonia who died of lung cancer Friday and decorated him posthumously with a Medal of Honor, the Kremlin said

* Roman Pavlyuchenko scored one and set up the other as Russia beat Azerbaijan 2-0 in a World Cup qualifier in Moscow on Saturday to move to within a point of Group 4 leaders Germany

* Russia has not yet seen the peak of the global financial crisis, although the most acute period has passed, a presidential economic aided said

* Russia is continuing its analysis of human remains, believed to be that of a bomber pilot shot down in August over Georgia, a deputy chief of Russia's General Staff said

* Russia's Oksana Domnina and Maxim Shabalin gave a commanding performance in the free dance program to take the gold at the World Figure Skating Championships in Los Angeles

WORLD

* Ukraine's Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko dismissed reports on Saturday that the country had taken on a begging role in negotiations with other countries and international organizations amid the current financial crisis

* Russia is in favor of increasing the International Monetary Fund's kitty by $0.5-1 trillion and committing the organization to reform within 2-3 years, a Russian presidential aide said

* Japanese companies are willing to take part in modernizing Ukraine's aging gas supply system, the country's prime minister told journalists on her return to Kiev

* The launch of a missile by North Korea would complicate peace and stability in northeast Asia, the UN secretary general said

* The joint efforts of participants at an international conference on Afghanistan in Moscow will help restore peace in the country, the UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said

* Moscow has postponed indefinitely planned Russia-Ukraine intergovernmental talks after Ukraine signed a deal with the EU on modernizing the country's aging gas supply system, a source in the Kremlin said

* Japan dispatched two destroyers from their base in the Nagasaki Prefecture to the Sea of Japan on Saturday prior to a planned missile launch by North Korea, the country's defense ministry announced