International Business News - RUS http://www.ibtimes.com All articles are copyrighted by IBTimes.com 400 100 http://www.ibtimes.com/ http://www.ibtimes.com/images/top_logo_ibt2_3.gif In the aftermath of Russia's invasion of Georgia, Latvia is talking with the United States about expanding joint military exercises and cooperation. The Latvian foreign minister, Maris Riekstins, discussed the issue this week with senior Bush administration officials, including Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20081011/latvia-discussing-new-military-exercises-with-us.htm Sat, 11 Oct 2008 03:22:06 EDT The United States is ready to drop North Korea from a terrorism blacklist, the Associated Press has learned, in the latest attempt by the administration to salvage a nuclear deal with Pyongyang before President Bush's term ends. http://www.ibtimes.com/data/articleimgs/149773-south-korea-koreas-nuclear.jpg http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20081011/ap-us-to-remove-north-korea-from-terror-blacklist.htm http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20081011/ap-us-to-remove-north-korea-from-terror-blacklist.htm Sat, 11 Oct 2008 03:36:51 EDT Ukraine's prime minister said Friday there will be no early parliamentary elections, defying a presidential decree and raising the stakes in her fierce political battle with the president. http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20081010/ukraine-pm-says-no-to-early-elections.htm Fri, 10 Oct 2008 15:52:14 EDT Leaders of a loose grouping of former Soviet republics met Friday in Kyrgyzstan for their first summit since Georgia quit the Moscow-dominated organization after its war with Russia. http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20081010/leaders-of-ex-soviet-states-meet-without-georgia.htm Fri, 10 Oct 2008 15:30:26 EDT The Bush administration plans to remove North Korea from a terrorism blacklist on Saturday after getting assurances the Stalinist nation has agreed to a plan to inspect its nuclear facilities, The Associated Press has learned. http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20081010/seeks-support-before-delisting-north-korea.htm Fri, 10 Oct 2008 23:33:09 EDT As this tiny, volcanic nation in the middle of the North Atlantic finds itself cut off from the outside world, Icelanders are wondering who, if anyone, will sail to their rescue. http://www.ibtimes.com/data/articleimgs/149204-iceland-meltdown.jpg http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20081010/isolated-iceland-wonders-who-to-turn-to-for-help.htm http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20081010/isolated-iceland-wonders-who-to-turn-to-for-help.htm Fri, 10 Oct 2008 15:13:14 EDT A look at what happened in some stock markets around the world Friday: ___ http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20081010/a-look-at-financial-developments-around-the-world.htm Fri, 10 Oct 2008 15:08:56 EDT The Russian government will start buying stocks next week, spending billions to help prop up stricken markets, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said Friday as parliament approved measures designed to get cash moving quickly into the troubled banking sector. http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20081010/russia-to-spend-almost-7b-on-domestic-stocks.htm Fri, 10 Oct 2008 13:41:40 EDT A U.S. official said Friday that a deal may be reached soon allowing natural gas from ex-Soviet nations to reach western Europe without crossing Russian territory. http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20081010/us-official-central-asia-gas-deal-is-close.htm Fri, 10 Oct 2008 11:42:53 EDT France, which famously opposed the Iraq war, is in talks to resume sales of military equipment to Baghdad for the first time in nearly two decades, French and Iraqi officials say. http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20081010/france-markets-arms-to-iraq-after-2-decade-lull.htm Fri, 10 Oct 2008 10:43:56 EDT Germany successfully persuaded its EU partners Friday to make the bloc's gas and electricity distribution networks more open to foreign investment. EU energy ministers also bowed to a Dutch demand to boost protection for gas and electricity sectors in the Netherlands, Britain, Denmark, Sweden and elsewhere from competitors in other EU nations less keen to deregulate their markets. http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20081010/eu-governments-compromise-on-energy-deregulation.htm Fri, 10 Oct 2008 11:40:59 EDT Russia's President Dmitry Medvedev said Friday he supports holding an emergency meeting of the Group of Eight leading industrialized nations to discuss the global financial crisis. http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20081010/russias-medvedev-supports-g-8-meeting-on-economy.htm Fri, 10 Oct 2008 11:09:04 EDT Anti-death penalty activists staged a mock hanging outside the Japanese embassy Friday to mark the European day against the death penalty, calling on nations around the world to stop executions. http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20081010/amnesty-protests-death-penalty-use-worldwide.htm Fri, 10 Oct 2008 10:02:43 EDT Dozens of bodies washed ashore Friday in Yemen after smugglers threw nearly 150 Somali migrants overboard in shark-infested waters, the latest such tragedy in one of the most lawless stretches of ocean in the world. http://www.ibtimes.com/data/articleimgs/149379-yemen-migrants-missing.jpg http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20081010/migrants-missing-feared-drowned-in-gulf-of-aden.htm http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20081010/migrants-missing-feared-drowned-in-gulf-of-aden.htm Fri, 10 Oct 2008 16:10:41 EDT Oil prices tumbled to a one-year low below US$83 a barrel Friday in European trading as fears mounted that governments around the world would be unable to keep the ongoing financial crisis from causing a severe global economic downturn. http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20081010/oil-plummets-below-us-83-on-global-slowdown-fears.htm Fri, 10 Oct 2008 09:55:47 EDT Friends and family of the world's next space tourist--including his astronaut father--watched Friday as the rocket for the voyage was placed on a launch pad in Kazakhstan for its weekend takeoff to the International Space Station. http://www.ibtimes.com/data/articleimgs/148884-russia-space.jpg http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20081010/spacecraft-moved-to-launch-pad-ahead-of-iss-flight.htm http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20081010/spacecraft-moved-to-launch-pad-ahead-of-iss-flight.htm Fri, 10 Oct 2008 09:17:45 EDT There's no doubt what Vladimir Putin's favorite birthday present is this year--a rare Ussuri tiger cub. State television showed the Russian prime minister tenderly petting the 2-month-old female cub Friday at his residence outside Moscow. The cub, weighing about 20 pounds, was curled up in a wicker basket with a tiger-print cushion. http://www.ibtimes.com/data/articleimgs/149220-russia-putin-tiger.jpg http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20081010/russias-putin-gets-tiger-cub-for-his-birthday.htm http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20081010/russias-putin-gets-tiger-cub-for-his-birthday.htm Fri, 10 Oct 2008 14:51:34 EDT The spiritual leader of the world's Orthodox Christians is calling for greater unity between the Orthodox Churches. Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I says the Orthodox Church often appears as a "federation of Churches" instead of "one unified Church." http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20081010/patriarch-wants-unity-between-orthodox-churches.htm Fri, 10 Oct 2008 09:16:46 EDT Russia has only partially met its obligations in Georgia under an EU-negotiated ceasefire, French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner declared Friday as he toured damaged villages and spoke to displaced people in Georgia. http://www.ibtimes.com/data/articleimgs/149122-georgia-russia.jpg http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20081010/french-fm-kouchner-visits-damaged-georgia-villages.htm http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20081010/french-fm-kouchner-visits-damaged-georgia-villages.htm Fri, 10 Oct 2008 13:03:38 EDT An analyst downgraded shares of H.J. Heinz Co. on Friday on fears that a slowdown in the European economy will crimp momentum for the ketchup maker. Deutsche Bank analyst Eric Katzman cut his rating on the stock to "Hold" from "Buy," saying he's concerned about economic weakness in France, Holland, Italy and the U.K. http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20081010/ahead-of-the-bell-analyst-cuts-heinz-to-hold.htm Fri, 10 Oct 2008 09:05:03 EDT