Russia:
* Russia stands against the use of force and the presence of military blocs in the Arctic, a senior Russian diplomat said
* Russian billionaire Mikhail Prokhorov said he would not quit as the leader of the Right Cause party despite speculation
* Russia should develop environmental protection infrastructure in its segment of the Arctic, including oil spill response centers, Emergencies Minister Sergei Shoigu said
* A comedy sketch parodying the dance moves of President Dmitry Medvedev has been cut from a popular TV show, Russian media said
World:
* China wants to help Europe emerge from its debt crisis by increasing investment but would like to see its economy acquire a market status, Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao said
* Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko pardoned 11 opposition activists jailed for taking part in last year’s post-election protests in Minsk, the Belta news agency said
* British Prime Minister David Cameron told parliament that he had raised a number of human-rights issues with the Russian authorities during his recent visit to Moscow
Business:
* Crisis-hit Belarus may abandon plans to raise an $8-billion loan from the International Monetary Fund and will put a $1-billion credit from Russian bank Sberbank to a local company into state reserves, central bank Deputy Chairman Taras Nadolny said
* Trade between Russia and China is recovering after the global economic crisis and may hit $70 billion this year, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said at a meeting with China’s top legislator
* Ukraine wants assurances from Russia and the European Union that they still need the country’s gas transit system to pump Russian gas to Europe, otherwise it may be scrapped, a spokesman for Prime Minister Mykola Azarov said
* Russian gas giant Gazprom expects to produce 520 billion cubic meters of gas in 2011, up from 515 bcm last year, Vsevolod Cherepanov, head of gas, gas condensate and oil production, said