Magas mayor was at home when bomb exploded - Ingush police.

NAZRAN, July 29 (Itar-Tass) - Magas mayor Aslambek Sagov was at home
with his family when a car bomb exploded nearby, an official at
Ingushetia's Interior Ministry told Itar-Tass.

The explosion caused considerable damage to the house closer to the
road, while the mayor's house sustained lesser damage. In all, the blast
damaged 15 to 18 houses, police said.
Preliminary reports said the yield of the bomb left in a car by
criminals made up 15 to 20 kilograms of TNT.
The explosion occurred in the Gamurzieyvsky neighborhood, Nazran, at
23:37, on Tuesday. There were no human casualties.


.Patriarch urges to practice restraint, rational use of resources.

KIEV, July 29 (Itar-Tass) - Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia Kirill
expressed concern over the depredation of natural resources by the modern
civilization.
"If the society embarks on the road of such reckless consumption, our
earth will go under. It has already been proven that if the average level
of consumption of the whole world matches that of the USA of today, the
basic resources will run out in 40 to 50 years. This means the Earth is
unable to support this civilization project. God has not given resources
to live like this," the patriarch said in a live broadcast by the
Ukrainian television channel "Inter" on Tuesday.
"In this sense, the crisis may teach us much - restraint and rational
use of our financial opportunities. The most important thing is to learn
Christian asceticism," he said.
He explained that this did not imply "a life in a cave or permanent
fasting. It's the ability to regulate one's consumption and the condition
of one's heart, and win a victory over passions and instincts. It is
important that the rich and the poor alike possess these qualities," the
top Russian hierarch said.
"This is the Church's answer - we must learn to control our instincts
and passions and then the civilization we will build will not be a
civilization of extermination," the patriarch stressed.


.Russia, Nicaragua sign visa-free travel agreement.

MANAGUA, July 29 (Itar-Tass) - Russia and Nicaragua signed a visa-free
travel agreement, and a memorandum of intentions in cooperation in the oil
field between Nicaragua's Petronic and the Russian national oil consortium
on Tuesday. The documents were signed in the course of the visit to
Nicaragua by a Russian delegation led by Deputy Prime Minister Igor Sechin.
The parties also initialed a cooperation agreement between the Russian
fisheries committee and Nicaragua's fisheries ministry.
"The documents will facilitate the development of Russian-Nicaraguan
ties. I believe it is very important that we've stepped up our contacts to
a considerable extent in the recent past. Nicaragua is our old partner;
and we very much value our relations with it," Sechin said after the
signing ceremony.


.Jury to pass verdict in FOMS corruption case.

MOSCOW, July 29 (Itar-Tass) - A panel of jurors at the Moscow City
Court on Wednesday is expected to hand down a verdict in a high-profile
case over corruption at the Obligatory Medical Insurance Foundation (FOMS).
On Tuesday, the jury did not have enough time to answer all 26
questions on 90 pages. After a five-hour discussion, the jury asked for a
pause until Wednesday morning.
Since they have been unable to arrive at one opinion, they will take
decisions by voting.
The defendants are top FOMS executives. "The officials are accused of
several dozen bribe-taking episodes involving suppliers of medicines," a
representative of the Investigations Committee said.
"Charges of bribery have been brought against FOMS director Andrei
Taranov. Similar charges were brought against FOMS officials Dmitry
Shilyayev, Natalia Klimova, Dmitry Usenko, Tatyana Markova, Nina Frolova,
Yuri Yakovlev and Galina Bykova.
Director general of the Tsentr Vnedreniya "Protek" Vitaly Smerdov was
charged with giving a bribe," the SKP said.
The investigators said Taranov and Usenko, together with other FOMS
executives, took bribes from heads of regional foundations and
pharmaceutical supplier companies that participated in the state program
to provide additional medicines.


.Russia, Cuba to discuss development of bilateral ties.

HAVANA, July 29 (Itar-Tass) - Russian Deputy Prime Minister Igor
Sechin will discuss the development of Russian-Cuban ties during his
meeting with top Cuban officials.
Sechin arrived in Havana on Tuesday evening. He leads a delegation
that includes representatives of Russian ministries and departments.
The Russian deputy prime minister will hold talks with Cuba's
Vice-President of the Council of Ministers Ricardo Cabrisas, who co-chairs
the Russian-Cuban economic cooperation commission. Members of the Russian
delegation will have meetings with Cuban colleagues over military
cooperation issues, power generation and finance.
Several documents are expected to be signed, including the agreement
on a 150-million-dollar export loan for Cuba for supplies of construction
and agricultural equipment from Russia.
Russia and Cuba will also sign agreements on cooperation in fisheries
and oil production.