LOCAL NEWS

KLEBNIKOV SLAYING PROBED AT TOP LEVEL

MOSCOW - In a sign that the government has come to see the killing on Friday of Forbes Russia editor Paul Klebnikov as not just another murder, the unit of the Prosecutor General's Office that handles high-priority cases was put in charge of the investigation Monday.

KHODORKOVSKY OFFERS HIS SHARES TO PAY YUKOS' TAX DEBTS

MOSCOW - Mikhail Khodorkovsky renewed his offer to surrender his shares to pay off Yukos' mounting tax debts Monday as the oil magnate and his business partner Platon Lebedev returned to a Moscow courtroom cage for the resumption of their fraud and tax evasion trial.

Crimes By Police Irk Consulates

While St. Petersburg diplomatic missions say they are closely monitoring crimes committed by the police against foreigners, foreign tourists and residents complain that consulates can do little to influence the city's law enforcers.

"Consulates shrug their shoulders and keep a low profile," St.

NATIONAL NEWS

CITY JOURNALIST NOT SEEN IN A FORTNIGHT

St. Petersburg journalist Maxim Maximov, 41, special correspondent for the city's Gorod magazine, has been missing since the end of June.

Maximov's colleagues went on alert Monday, after the journalist could not be reached on the telephone for days and didn't show up at work, said Sergei Baluyev, editor of Gorod.

"Maxim was also due to file a story for an upcoming issue of the magazine about this time.

CHIVALRY ON SHOW AT KNIGHTS' MEET

PRIOZERSK, Leningrad Oblast - One of the disadvantages of being a 21st century knight is that without your trusty steed you may find yourself stranded and hostage to technology.

IN BRIEF

Murder Trial Adjourned

ST. PETERSBURG (SPT) -
The St. Petersburg city court will adjourn the trial of suspects in the 1998 murder of State Duma Deputy Galina Starovoitova until Aug. 23 while staff take vacations, Interfax reported Friday.

The defense plans to present its case after the break, the report said.

LOCAL BUSINESS

ICE CREAM COMPANIES ATTEMPT MARKET DEVELOPMENT

The Russian ice cream market remains the slowest in the dairy industry, growing by only 4 percent annually.

There are about 300 ice cream manufacturers operating in the country, but few of them are competitive due to the market's high entrance barriers, said Alexander Kudryashev, marketing manager at St.

TAP WATER DANGERS OR A COSTLY CHOICE OF BOTTLED WATER?

"Don't drink the water!"

That's probably one of the first warnings tourists get from overly-helpful friends and family before travelling to Russia and especially to St.

KASYANOV'S BANK PROPOSAL MEETS KUDRIN'S RESISTANCE

MOSCOW - Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin wants the government to bury a proposal by his former boss to create a multi-billion-dollar investment bank, media reported Monday.

Former prime minister Mikhail Kasyanov last month said he had sent a proposal to President Vladimir Putin asking for permission to establish a bank that would fund major infrastructure projects like building new pipelines and railways.

IN BRIEF

Alpla Builds in Oblast

ST. PETERSBURG (SPT) - Austrian manufacturer Alpla plans to invest about $15 million in building a factory for plastic packaging production in the Leningrad Oblast, Vedomosti reported Monday.

CANADIAN CONSUL TELLS BUSINESSES: GO NORTH

Anna Biolik, the Consul General of Canada in St. Petersburg, finishes her term at the end of July, after which she will return to Canada to spend time with her family and then head abroad for another posting at an as yet unknown location.

Biolik's parents immigrated to Canada from Poland after WWII.

EUROPEAN SHARES SLIP ON LOW EARNINGS, OIL

LONDON -European shares eased Monday as downgrades in semiconductors, continuing high crude oil prices and nervousness before top earnings later in the week kept investors on edge.

OPINION

STRONG ECONOMY MASKS POLITICAL INEPTITUDE

President Vladimir Putin has had a fantastic run. The economy has grown by 6.5 percent per year for the last half-decade. Macroeconomic problems have been resolved in resolute fashion. Putin routed his opponents in both the recent parliamentary and presidential elections.

KLEBNIKOV MURDER BLOTS RUSSIA'S IMAGE

The murder of Forbes Russia editor Paul Klebnikov last Friday should serve as a wake-up call to all those who believe, as he did, that Russia has changed.

IT'S NOT WHAT YOU DO, BUT THE WAY YOU DO IT

Two-thirds of managers of 127 large Russian companies surveyed conducted by the Association of Managers and Kommersant believe there is a national banking crisis.

This number comes as no great surprise. One after the other, well-known Russian banks are failing.

CHRIS FLOYD'S GLOBAL EYE

Master Class

It's about oil. It's about Israel. It's about democracy. It's about terrorism. It's about global dominance. It's about Bush family dynamics.

SURVEY: PUTIN'S POPULARITY DROPS BELOW 50 PERCENT

MOSCOW - Four months after a landslide re-election victory in March, President Vladimir Putin's ratings have plunged to below 50 percent, their lowest since he was first elected in 2000, according to the latest poll. Some contributed the decline to the start of unpopular social reforms.

GORGE REMAINS NOT BODROV'S

The human remains found in the Karmadon Gorge in the North Caucasus on Sunday are not those of film star Sergei Bodrov Jnr, it was announced Monday.

The remains, those of a man in his 30s, were found 150 meters north of a tunnel, where relatives and searchers had hoped the actor turned director and his crew had sheltered.

WORLD

IN BRIEF

Indian Flood

GUWAHATI, India (Reuters) - The worst monsoon flooding in years has forced more than two million people from their homes in northeastern India, officials say.

Floodwaters have swept away thousands of bamboo and straw homes, as well as power lines and more than two dozen small dams.

SPORTS WATCH

Women's Fed Cup Win

MOSCOW (SPT) - Vera Zvonareva, a late replacement for Svetlana Kuznetsova, clinched victory for the Russians against Argentina in their quarterfinal tie in Buenos Aires Sunday.