Alitalia, Aeroflot to launch more flights.

MOSCOW, December 4 (Itar-Tass) -- Italy's and Russia's Alitalia and
Aeroflot airlines agreed to increase the number of flights between the two
countries, according to a Memorandum of Understanding signed on Thursday
on the sidelines of the visit of President Dmitry Medvedev.

"The talk is about additional flights between our countries. We are
also interested in expanding the African direction, which we shall do with
Alitalia through Italy, while the Italian company asked us to increase the
volume of its transit to southeast Asia through Russia," Transport
Minister Igor Levitin said.
"The MoU does not envisage any legal changes in both airlines," he
added.

.Russian opposition brands Putin's TV interview as "talk-show".

MOSCOW, December 4 (Itar-Tass) -- Russian State Duma factions split in
assessing the question-and-answer televised session held by Prime Minister
Vladimir Putin for the eighth time on Thursday and opposition factions
branded it as "outdated talk-show".
Naturally, Putin's ruling United Russia Party welcomed the "detailed
and constructive dialogue with the people." "I believe the main result is
not only that people received answers to important questions, but also
that the state learned the most painstaking problems," United Russia
faction deputy head Vladimir Pekhtin said.
However, comments of Just Russia Party of Federation Council speaker
Sergei Mironov, which positions itself as opposition, were surprisingly
critical.
Faction leader Nikolai Levichev said the interview was a "talk-show"
and the huge number of questions that exceeded one million confirmed the
situation in the country was complicated.
"TV screen with the prime minister cannot become a single window for
the whole of Russia. It is necessary to give quality assessments of what
was said, what caused most response, and what has changed. I hope the
number of questions asked by 1.5 million citizens would decrease rather
than increase for the next talk with the country," he said.
Opposition Communists said the live question-and-answer format was
"outdated". "I believe society does not need such a format any longer. The
event is very costly and it is hardly appropriate to spend major state
funds on it in conditions of deteriorating social and economic situation,"
Communist deputy speaker Ivan Melnikov said, adding the long televised
interview "mounts protest moods" and the refusal to cancel the event was
"a miscalculation".
The Liberal Democratic Party of Vladimir Zhirinovsky backed the event,
but said it also wants to hold similar televised interviews with the
voters.
"I believe such a communication format is successful, as it allows
citizens to get first-hand information on most acute problems", LDPR
faction leader Igor Lebedev said, adding similar question-and-answer
sessions shall be organized "for representatives of political parties".

.Guinea junta chief wounded in attack.

LONDON, December 4 (Itar-Tass) -- Guinea's junta leader Captain Moussa
Dadis Camara was wounded in an attack on Thursday by his own soldiers,
Reuters reported from Conakry.
The attack happened as U.N. investigators in the capital of the West
African country wound up their inquiry into the September crackdown, in
which more than 150 protesters were killed.
"An unfortunate incident has been provoked by the Lieutenant Aboubacar
Diakite," according to a statement read out on state television.
Reuters said Diakite is Camara's former aide de camp, widely cited by
witnesses and human rights groups as a leading figure in the September
violence.
"President Moussa Dadis Camara was slightly wounded. Very fortunately,
his life is not in danger," the statement said.

.Russia says Yugoslav, Rwanda tribunals' mission over.

UNITED NATIONS, December 4 (Itar-Tass) -- Russia said on Thursday
international criminal tribunals for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) and
Rwanda (ICTR) have fulfilled their mission of restoring peace and
political balance in corresponding regions and national judiciaries shall
now do the job.
"The tribunals contributed to the development of national judiciaries
and investigative bodies, which allows national agencies to work
independently without prompting," Russia Ambassador to the United Nations
Vitaly Churkin told the Security Council.
"Independent judiciaries are operating now in Rwanda and the states
that emerged on the territory of the former Yugoslavia. Russia sees no
grounds to deprive them of the sovereign right to administer national
justice as the countries stated their readiness to persecute those accused
by the ICTY and ICTR themselves," Churkin said.
"Due to that we believe it is time for the Security Council to begin
adopting concrete decisions to implement the tasks of the Strategy set for
the tribunals six years ago in Resolutions of the Council 1503 and 1534.
The issue of mandate prolongation for current judges shall be decided in
the same context," he said.
-0-nec