Main news of April 4

RUSSIA

* The leaders of NATO members have agreed to resume the work of the Russia-NATO Council, suspended by the alliance unilaterally after the Georgian conflict last year, the German chancellor said

* Chile can become a platform for Russia to develop its relations with the rest of Latin America, President Dmitry Medvedev said on Saturday after talks with his Chilean counterpart, Michelle Bachelet

* President Dmitry Medvedev said Saturday that Russia would like to join the World Trade Organization but added that the process of joining it should not be endless

WORLD

* Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen will become NATO's new secretary general, the alliance's outgoing secretary general said

* NATO has confirmed in a statement after a NATO Council session its intention to admit Ukraine and Georgia when the countries fall in line with the alliance's standards

* Personal relations between the Russian and U.S. presidents, Dmitry Medvedev and Barack Obama, will contribute to the resolution of bilateral issues, the Russian foreign minister said

* U.S. President Barack Obama can expect a mixed reception when he arrives in the Czech Republic on Saturday for a U.S.-EU summit as Czechs wait to protest U.S. plans for a missile shield in their country

* Italy's prime minister violated ceremonial procedure at Saturday's NATO summit marking the alliance's 60th anniversary, snubbing German Chancellor Angela Merkel to talk on his mobile phone

* With security services around the world closely watching for North Korea's imminent rocket launch, Japan's Defense Ministry said on Saturday an earlier report that the rocket had blasted off was a "false alarm"