Main news of November 9

A roundup of what has happened in the past 24 hours

WORLD

* Implementation of three-party projects between Russia and South and North Korea will help normalize the situation on the Korean Peninsula, President Dmitry Medvedev said

* Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili said Tbilisi is ready for negotiations with Russia "without preconditions" if Moscow shows "good will"

* Saakashvili thanked security service officers for the recent operation in which 15 suspected Russian spies were arrested

* A former CIA agent serving a 23-year prison term in the United States for spying for Russia has confessed that he has been maintaining contacts with Moscow, BBC Russia said

RUSSIA

* Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said he has asked the United States to explain why it has been denying visas to two prominent Russian nationals

* A group of Russian scientists and environmentalists urged Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin to deal with the capital's critical environmental situation

* Finland supports the bilateral cancellation of visa requirements between Russia and the European Union, the country's president Tarja Halonen said

BUSINESS

* Reform of the International Monetary Fund should continue to give emerging economies a greater role in running the organization, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said