WORLD
* Yemeni opposition tribal chief Sheikh Sadiq al-Ahmar urged the king of Saudi Arabia to prevent President Ali Abdullah Saleh’s return to the country from Riyadh where he is undergoing medical treatment, Al Basheer news website reported
* Latvia will ask NATO for support if Russia deploys French-built Mistral warships in the Baltic Sea because it would change the balance of forces in the region, Defense Minister Artis Pabriks said
* Vegetables from the European Union will face new checks to ensure they are safe to be imported into Russia, the country’s sanitary chief said
* Dozens of people were detained in central Minsk for taking part in an unauthorized protest in the Belarusian capital
RUSSIA
* A 10-year old boy injured in the plane crash in Russia’s northern city of Petrozavodsk died in hospital, bringing the death toll to 45, a spokeswoman for the regional Emergencies Ministry said
* The Moscow City Court returned to the lawyers of jailed Russian ex-tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky and his business partner Platon Lebedev an appeal against a court decision to close an outdated case on the alleged theft of shares from the Eastern Oil Company, a court spokeswoman said
* On the 70th anniversary of Nazi Germany’s invasion of the Soviet Union, Russians commemorated the deaths of those who perished in the Great Patriotic War – candles were lit and flowers were laid at memorials in different Russian cities
BUSINESS
* Russia will offer offshore deposits for development only to those companies with sufficient means to repair possible damage, particularly from oil spills, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin says
* Rotorcraft makers Russian Helicopters and AugustaWestland have signed a 20 million euro joint venture deal at the Le Bourget air show in France for assembly of AW139 helicopters in Russia, the companies said in a joint statement
* Norilsk Nickel directors elected Andrei Bugrov, an executive of Interros holding, as chairman of the metals giant’s board of directors on Tuesday, in a move likely to intensify the long-standing dispute between Norilsk’s core shareholders Interros and RusAl, Kommersant business paper reported