LOCAL NEWS

RUSSIA WIPES OUT PARIS CLUB DEBT

MOSCOW — Russia completed on Monday paying off its Soviet-era debts to the Paris Club of creditor nations, drawing on its new-found oil wealth to seal a dramatic recovery from its 1998 financial crash.

Vnesheconombank, the state-owned bank which acts as Russia’s debt agent, said it had made an early repayment of $22.5 billion as well as servicing costs of $1.3 billion.

The Finance Ministry hailed the repayments, made to 17 Paris Club creditor nations from Aug. 15 to 21, a period spanning the eighth anniversary of its $40 billion domestic debt default and rouble devaluation.

“The early repayment to creditor nations was made possible by growth in the economic and financial might of Russia,” the ministry said in a statement.

10 KILLED IN MOSCOW MARKET BLAST

MOSCOW — A bomb killed 10 people and wounded about 40 at a Moscow market on Monday.

Prosecutors said the attack was likely linked to organized crime, though terrorism could not be ruled out.

HIV/AIDS PROGRAM REACHES OUT TO SEX WORKERS

KAZAN — Alfiya Novikova nears the women selling themselves by the side of the road. “Is Lena coming today, the chubby one?” Novikova says. “Tell her I have her HIV test results, and she’s clean.”

Novikova hands out condoms, brochures and business cards from Simona, the health center where she’s the administrator.

PETERSBURG WOMAN KILLED IN JAPANESE CABARET CLUB

A 23-year-old Russian dancer, who was stabbed to death by a deranged male client at a cabaret club in Japanese town of Kobe last week, was identified as St.

NATIONAL NEWS

MILITARY POLICE SEEN AS ANSWER TO HAZING

MOSCOW — In an effort to combat violent hazing in the armed forces, the Defense Ministry has drafted regulations that would empower military commandants’ offices to perform military police functions, newspapers reported late last week.

The new regulations, which could be approved before the end of the year, provide for military police to serve in all branches of the armed forces.

KLEBNIKOV’S BROTHER SEEKS ANSWERS

MOSCOW — The elder brother of slain U.S. reporter Paul Klebnikov is trying to renew pressure on Russian authorities to solve the case. “We want to find out who ordered this killing, which individual or individuals,” said Michael Klebnikov, 51.

LOCAL BUSINESS

PUTIN, BASF TALK LARGE PLANT

Top executives of German energy and chemicals group BASF met for informal talks with President Vladimir Putin at his Sochi residence Friday, and told reporters that an agreement with Gazprom on the construction of the North European Gas Pipeline would be signed late August.

GAZPROM INCREASES RUSSIA MSCI SHARE UP TO 12%

MOSCOW — MSCI Barra boosted Russia’s share in its benchmark emerging markets index, largely because of the doubling of Gazprom’s weighting in the index.

LUKOIL EYES U.S. REFINING ASSETS, GAS STATION CHAINS

NEW YORK — The country’s biggest oil producer, LUKoil, is looking to buy U.S. refining assets as it pushes ahead with plans to ship Russian crude to the U.S. East Coast in the coming years, a company executive said.

LUKoil is also looking increase its U.

IPO GREATER THAN PULP FICTION

The Ilim Pulp Enterprise has revealed its plans for an IPO. The timber company’s director outlined forthcoming steps they’ll take to finance technical modernization and development, Interfax reported Friday.

IN BRIEF

Voluminous Loans

ST. PETERSBURG (SPT) — The volume of consumer loans in St. Petersburg reached 60 billion rubles ($2.24 billion) in the first half of the year, RBC reported Friday.

Car loans accounted for 5.5 billion rubles ($205.8 million), mortgages — for 6.

GAZPROM TARGETS ASIA WITH FIRST LNG SALE

MOSCOW — Gazprom said Friday that it sold its first spot liquefied natural gas cargo to Asia, which was bought by Japan’s Chubu Electric.

Gazprom, which has no LNG production of its own, said it had bought the cargo from Japan’s Mitsubishi, which in turn bought the cargo from Celt, a joint venture between Mitsubishi and Tokyo Electric, or TEPCO.

DOMESTIC FUEL PRICES HIKES OUTPACE U.S.

MOSCOW — Domestic fuel prices jumped in the past month, Industry and Energy Ministry data showed Friday, as traders said oil firms sought to offset lower export gains, which are curbed by high oil and product export duties.

The government said last week that it was concerned by the recent spike in local fuel prices, which could put at risk its inflation target for this year, and called on oil firms to curb the growth or face antitrust scrutiny.

DECLARATIONS OF LOVE EMBRACE THE TEXTUAL TOUCH

Margarita Vasilieva, general director at Paprika Branding, has always been in love with words. Having started her career as a journalist twenty years ago, she soon moved into the advertising business where she launched successful campaigns for many foreign and Russian brands and eventually started her own agency.

ONLY PATIENCE CAN SERVE SHOCKING STATE OF SUPPLY

“While I was on my way to the real estate agent the price of the flat I was after rose by $500,” claimed an acquaintance. According to her, the agent’s office was crowded with people all in a mad rush to buy property, so that a bidding war broke out and prices rose beyond the means of savings or even loans.

STABILITY THE KEY TO CONVERTIBILITY

A national currency is not just an instrument to facilitate trade, but also to promote economic development and raise a country’s profile in international relations.

OPINION

WTO TALKS ARE A WHOLE DIFFFERENT BALL GAME

Soon after becoming president in 2000, Vladimir Putin energized Russia’s previously half-hearted attempts to enter the World Trade Organization. At the time, he said the country was committed to acceding to the WTO by 2003. Today, in 2006, Russian officials have returned to the stock phrase of the 1990s: that membership will be achieved within the next year.

EMERGING FROM ANDROPOV’S SHADOW

I remember being surprised by the reaction of some members of the Russian intelligentsia when, in late 1982, Yury Andropov, then head of the KGB, was named leader of the Soviet Union.

WORLD

IN BRIEF

JonBenet Suspect Arrives

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) — The American schoolteacher suspected of murdering child beauty queen JonBenet Ramsey arrived on Sunday night in the United States, where he will face questioning about the 1996 killing.

John Mark Karr, 41, landed in Los Angeles at around 9:30 p.m. after traveling for 15 hours in business class from Bangkok, Thailand, with U.

SPORT

Mourinho Pleased With Chelsea After Thrashing Man City 3-0

LONDON — Chelsea coach Jose Mourinho was delighted with his side’s roaring start to the defence of their Premier League title on Sunday but worried they might not be able to sustain such intensity with three games in a week.

The English champions ran rings around Manchester City at Stamford Bridge to win 3-0.