US, Russian leaders discuss need to ease tensions in Georgia.

WASHINGTON, August 5 (Itar-Tass) - Russian President Dmitry Medvedev called on Tuesday President Barack Obama to congratulate the U.S. leader on his birthday.

The two leaders also discussed the situation in Georgia,
said a statement on behalf of White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs,
circulated after the conversation.
The presidents stressed a need to ease tensions in Georgia, the White
House noted. President Obama reminded President Medvedev about the
importance of cooperation through the mechanisms set up for the settlement
of crises, such as the joint incident prevention mechanism (in the region)
and emphasized the necessity of the presence of international observers
there.
According to the statement, the two presidents also discussed a need
of a quick progress on agreements reached at the summit in Moscow in July.
It said the presidents had confirmed their commitment to the completion of
talks by December on the treaty that is to replace the START-1 Treaty.

.Over 120 people die of H1N1 flu in Brazil.

RIO DE JANEIRO, August 5 (Itar-Tass) - A total of 129 people have
already died of H1N1 influenza in Brazil. As many as 37 deaths were
officially reported on Tuesday.
The richest and most populous state of Sao Paolo leads as to the
number of deaths. Fifty patients have died there. According to Minister of
Health Jose Gomes Temporao, the number of H1N1 flu patients has increased
in Brazil over the past few days. He said that for 80 days the virus was
restrained, but now it has intermixed with the virus of seasonal flu and
"is competing" with it. The minister warned that the number of illnesses
would keep growing.
The health minister said medics in Brazil had received instructions to
prescribe Tamiflu, used for flu treatment, to all people with symptoms of
the disease without waiting for the confirmation of the diagnosis. Now
this medicine is available free at hospitals and first-aid posts on a
prescription.

.Record 162,000 tons of salmon caught in Kamchatka.

PETROPAVLOVSK-KAMCHATSKY, August 5 (Itar-Tass) - Record 162,000 tons
of salmonid fishes have been caught in Kamchatka this summer, region's
fisheries minister Vladimir Galitsyn reported on Wednesday.
"This is the biggest ever amount caught by this time of the year on
the peninsula," the minister stressed. It beats the record of 2007, when
134,000 tons were caught. In the preceding years, the amount of salmon
caught on the peninsular varied between 84,000 and 85,000 tons.
The minister stressed that this record amount will not tell on natural
reproduction of salmon on Kamchatka peninsula. According to Galitsyn,
spawning grounds of the main rivers are full.

.Released US reporters leave North Korea together with Bill Clinton.
SEOUL, August 5 (Itar-Tass) - Two released media woman have left North
Korea together with U.S. former president Bill Clinton, Clinton's
spokesman told reporters. He said they are now on their way to Los Angeles.
On Tuesday, the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported that North
Korean leader Kim Jong Il had pardoned two U.S. media women sentenced to
twelve years of corrective labor for illegally crossing the North Korean
state border, and had ordered to set them free.
The decision was made public soon after Kim Jong Il had met in
Pyongyang with Bill Clinton.
Laura Ling, a 32 year-old American of Chinese descent, and Euna Lee,
a 36-year-old ethnic Korean, both of them working for the American cable
channel Current TV, were detained by North Korean border guards March 17.
In early June, they were sentenced to twelve years of corrective labor
for illegally crossing the North Korean state border and making a video
recording for the purposes of a slander campaign spearheaded against the
country.

.Bolivia to ask Russia for 100-million-dollar credit.

BUENOS AIRES, August 5 (Itar-Tass) - Bolivia intends to ask Russia for
a loan worth about 100 million dollars to buy a presidential plane and
different hardware, including helicopters, trucks and ships, Bolivian
Defence Minister Walker San Miguel Rodriguez told reporters on Tuesday.
According to the minister, the loan will make it possible to replace
outdated hardware, that has been in use for the past 20 years, in
particular helicopters, trucks and ships.
"Owing to cooperation with Russia, Bolivia will be able to buy an
Antonov plane, specially equipped for work of the head of state," the
defence minister said. He added that the presidential plane will cost
about 30 million dollars, and apart from state-of-the-art equipment it
will have a session hall.
Russian Ambassador Leonid Golubev, who took part in the news
conference, said the plane for the Bolivian leader could be ready already
by 2011. He stressed that Russia was ready to develop cooperation with
Bolivia on all directions.
"After an historic official visit of Bolivian President Evo Morales to
Russia, our countries have entered a new stage of cooperation - more
intensive, more productive and constructive," the Russian diplomat said.
Agreements on cooperation in the energy and military sectors sector as
well as on fight against drug trafficking were signed after an official
visit by the Bolivian leader in Russia in February.
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