Main news of February 3

A roundup of what has happened in the past 24 hours.

WORLD

* The number of casualties from clashes on Tahrir Square in the Egyptian capital continues to grow, amounting to eight dead and 900 injured, Health Minister Ahmed Sameh Farid said

* Police and self-professed supporters of embattled Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak started attacking photo and television reporters in Cairo

* Russian President Dmitry Medvedev told embattled Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak he hoped the current political crisis would be resolved peacefully and swiftly, the Kremlin said

* A Norwegian lawmaker announced on his blog he has nominated controversial whistle-blowing website WikiLeaks for a Nobel Peace Prize for the role it has played in protecting human rights, democracy and freedom

RUSSIA

* Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez discussed joint finance, energy and military projects, Putin's spokesman said

* Russia will do whatever is necessary to ensure its security if NATO attempts to give Moscow a raw deal in building a joint European missile defense system, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said

* Yelena Baturina, the wife of Moscow's ex-mayor, Yury Luzhkov, may be questioned as part of a $440 million embezzlement probe, a Russian investigator said

* Russian investigators have brought attempted bribery charges against former director of the European Bank of Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) Yelena Kotova, the Interior Ministry said

BUSINESS

* The share of the state in state-controlled Russian banks, especially in Vneshtorgbank (VTB), should be reduced significantly, Russian presidential aide Arkady Dvorkovich said

* Drinks giant PepsiCo has acquired around 66% of Russia's largest drinks and dairy firm, Wimm-Bill-Dann, in a $3.8 billion deal and is set to buy the rest of the firm by March 11, PepsiCo said

* Egypt's stock market losses as a result of the current political crisis significantly exceed those caused by the global financial crisis, Finance Minister Samir Radwan said