Main news of May 6

RUSSIA

* The Russian government has approved the creation of the Vega concern that will integrate 20 firms producing radio equipment for the aircraft industry, Deputy Prime Minister Sergei Ivanov said

* Russia's Progress M-66 cargo spacecraft undocked on Wednesday from the International Space Station to become a temporary space lab before being "buried" in the Pacific Ocean, Mission Control said

* Forward Ilya Kovalchuk put Russia ahead 4:3 against Belarus and into the semifinals of the world ice hockey championships in Berne

* Canada's foreign minister criticized on Wednesday Russia's decision to expel two Canadians working for the NATO office in Moscow, calling it a 'strange' response to NATO's recent conciliatory efforts

* The Russian Orthodox Church is commemorating St. George's day on Wednesday with church services devoted to the saint being held around the country

* Despite the latest flap with NATO over the expulsion of its diplomats from Brussels, Moscow seeks partnership with the alliance, Russia's foreign minister said

* Russia's foreign minister embarks on a U.S. visit on Wednesday to prepare for a bilateral summit due in July as part of the two countries' pledges to rebuild ties

WORLD

* Members of Georgia's opposition and police clashed on Wednesday near the main police department building in the capital Tbilisi, injuries have been reported, Georgian TV channels said

* The United States had nothing to do with a number of unsuccessful launches of Russia's new Bulava sea-based ballistic missile, the Russian defense minister said in an interview with a respected daily

* The number of confirmed cases of human infection with H1N1 swine flu has risen to 1,112 in Mexico, including 42 deaths, the country's health secretary said

* A Russian diplomat in Kosovo warned on Wednesday that Serb protests in the north of the province could lead to violent clashes with ethnic Albanians

* A total of 27 people have died and another 8 are missing following a typhoon that hit the northeast Philippines on May 2, regional media said

* Around 100 civilians died and several others were wounded in a recent NATO air strike in the western Afghan province of Farah, the local police chief told reporters

* Russia's Foreign Ministry announced on Wednesday the expulsion of two Canadian diplomats working for the NATO office in Moscow, in an apparent retaliation to a similar step by NATO

* NATO started an exercise in ex-Soviet Georgia on Wednesday despite Russia's fierce criticism of the drills and following a revolt at a military base outside the capital Tbilisi the day before

* A Russian MP has proposed responding to NATO military exercises in Georgia by inviting Cuba and Venezuela to take part in full-scale drills in the Caribbean Sea

* The British government has granted a short-term 5 million-pound ($7.5 million) loan to stave off administration at the struggling LDV van maker

* The Chinese authorities have allocated 5 billion yuan ($725 million) for measures to keep the swine flu virus at bay, the Xinhua news agency reported