* Russian energy major Gazprom, natural gas producer Itera and metals giant Norilsk Nickel are interested in buying assets of the bankrupt oil company Yukos, a spokesman for the Yukos bankruptcy manager said
* The experience of the six-party talks on North Korea could be used to resolve Iran's nuclear problem, Russia's foreign minister said
* Kyrgyzstan's former prime minister, Felix Kulov, announced that he will lead the country's opposition
* The State Duma, the lower house of Russia's parliament, ratified agreements between Russia and the European Union on eased visa regulations and readmission
* Russia's anti-monopoly service has formally approved a merger of aluminum giants RusAl and SUAL, and the alumina assets of Glencore, a deputy head of the service said
* Two of three crewmembers of the Challenger-850 plane that crashed at a Moscow airport February 13 are in coma, the acting transportation prosecutor of the Moscow Region said
* Russian tax authorities have accused the local branch of U.K.-based PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), the auditor for the now bankrupt oil company Yukos in 2002-2004, of deliberately delaying the lawsuit in the Yukos case
* Russia's Communist Party (KPRF) will nominate a candidate for the 2008 presidential election, party leader Gennady Zyuganov said
* Ukraine's outspoken former prime minister, Yulia Tymoshenko, said intermediaries in energy relations with Russia were a threat to national security
* Russian soccer will not be affected if the Dutch head coach of the country's national team, Guus Hiddink, is found guilty of tax evasion in the Netherlands, the president of the Russian Football Union said
* American WBO Heavyweight Champion Shannon "The Cannon" Briggs (48-4, 42KOs) has pulled out of his March 10 title defense bout against Russia's Sultan Ibragimov (19-0, 16KOs) due to a form of pneumonia.
