Quake measuring 4,5 points occurs in Sea of Okhotsk.

VLADIVOSTOK, April 10 (Itar-Tass) - There has been an earthquake
measuring 4.5 points in the Sea of Okhotsk at a depth of 200 kilometres
early on Saturday. According to the Geophysical Service of the Russian
Academy of Sciences, the epicentre of the earthquake was located some 50
kilometres west of the uninhabited Simushir Island.
The earth tremor was registered at 05:04, Sakhalin time (22:04, Moscow
time on April 9). The earthquake was not felt at inhabited islands of the
Kurils chain, there is no tsunami threat.
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.Ukraine govt intends to collect $600 mln in luxury tax in 2010.

KIEV, April 10 (Itar-Tass) - The Ukrainian government has offered the
parliament to introduce in 2010 the luxury tax in the country that will
ensure additional budget revenues of about 600 million US dollars
annually, Prime Minister Nikolai Azarov said on the Inter television
channel on Friday.
"We propose to introduce taxes on expensive cars, on various luxury
items - a total of over 30 positions that gives in sum about 5 billion
hrivnas," said the Ukrainian government head. "If you want to bring into
the country a Rolls Royce or Maserati - pay five prices, it costs 1
million, pay 5 million and ride," Azarov explained.
He promised that the government in the short run will complete
drafting the 2010 budget. He confirmed that the tax collection so far lags
behind the schedule. "I hope that by June we will enter a normal rhythm,"
Azarov forecasted.
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.100th anniversary of polar explorer Fyodorov to be marked in RF.

MOSCOW, April 10 (Itar-Tass) - Russian polar explorers on Saturday are
marking the 100th anniversary since the birth of the "man-icebreaker" as
the colleagues called one of the Soviet leading Arctic explorers,
Academician Yevgeny Fyodorov.
One of the main achievements of the legendary geophysicist, Hero of
the Soviet Union Yevgeny Fyodorov is considered to be his work in
1937-1938 on the first in the world drifting polar station "North Pole-1"
jointly with Ivan Papanin, Pyotr Shirshov and Ernst Krenkel. "The most
characteristic feature of the life of Fyodorov that impressed me then - is
his amazing ability to work," Krenkel wrote in his memoirs. "Despite his
young age - 27 years - he was already an experienced polar explorer." The
expedition became a breakthrough in the exploration of the Arctic, and the
created with Fyodorov's participation technology of the maintenance of the
work of drifting stations is "unique and is considered to be an
exclusively Russian know how," the Rosgidromet hydrometeorology service
specialists say.
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.Pirates attack Nada container ship in Gulf of Aden.

VLADIVOSTOK, April 10 (Itar-Tass) - Pirates in the Gulf of Aden on
April 9 attacked the large container ship Nada flying the Panamanian flag.
The vessel manage to avoid the hijacking by increasing its speed and
manoeuvring, the press service of the European Union's Naval Force
reported.
The attack on the container ship with the capacity of more than 35,000
tonnes took place 100 miles east of the Socotra Island. The Nada crew
consists of 24 members, their nationality is unknown, nobody of the seamen
was hurt.
As of today, over a dozen of various vessels are held by Somalia
pirates, including the South Korean super tanker Samho Dream with a
deadweight of over 319,000 tonnes. It was hijacked on April 4 at a
distance of 600 miles off the African coast when it was on its way with a
cargo of oil from Iraq to the United States. The pirates led it to one of
their bases.
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.Putin reprimands heads of 4 regions for high medicament prices.

NOVOSIBIRSK, April 10 (Itar-Tass) - Russian Prime Minister Vladimir
Putin said on Friday that an inspection conducted in the first days of
April has shown that the government's resolution limiting the retail
prices on vital medicines "works, but is poorly administrated."
He said at a conference of the United Russia party that "chemist's
shops must hang out clear-cut lists of all the pharmaceuticals and their
ultimate prices of which the consumers should be informed. Most of chemist'
s shops have no such lists of medicines the prices on which are regulated
by the state." He said "prices several times exceed the norm on a number
of pharmaceuticals."
Putin urged regional heads to "most seriously engage in the
organisation of this (price regulation) work, administration of the made
decisions." "It is necessary to ensure the fulfilment of the resolutions
(of the government)," he noted.
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