Moscow/Kiev - Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin met Thursday with Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko for talks on natural gas and other energy issues.

Putin and Tymoshenko held the discussions in a Russian government country mansion in the village of Novo-Ogarevo, outside Moscow.

The top issue for the two prime ministers was gas shipments between the two countries, particularly Russian pricing for gas sold to Ukraine, and Ukrainian pricing for gas shipped by Russia via Ukrainian pipelines to European consumers.

Moscow/Kiev  - Russian President Dmitriy Medvedev and German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Thursday were at odds over the Caucasus in opening statements delivered at an international forum devoted to soothing rising tensions between Moscow and Western nations.

Merkel, in her opening remarks at the conference, called "The Petersburg Dialogue" called for increased understanding between Europe and the Kremlin, but at the same time criticized Medvedev and his government for Russia's hardline policies in Georgia.

Moscow/Kiev - A Russian Boeing 737 landed with its landing gear up on Thursday, suffering substantial damage but leaving passengers and crew unharmed.

The aircraft operated by the Russian airline KD Avia made the landing at the main airport of the Baltic port city Kaliningrad after a uneventful flight from Barcelona, Spain.

Kiev- A Boeing 747 passenger airliner bound for Netherlands lost the use of one of its engines while flying over Ukraine, the Interfax news agency reported Tuesday.

The plane had flown from Kuala Lumpur to the airspace of the former Soviet republic without incident, when one of the Boeing's four engines stopped working at 0345 GMT.

The report did not identify the carrier operating the aircraft.

Ukrainian airport personnel in the eastern city cleared a strip for an emergency landing, and airport staff in the cities Kiev and Simferopol were ordered to stand by.

Moscow/Kiev/Nairobi - Three Somali pirates were shot dead in an apparent argument with their mates aboard a hijacked Ukrainian cargo ship carrying tanks, the Itar-Tass news agency reported on Tuesday.

None of the 20 crew being held hostage on the freighter Faina were injured in the exchange of fire stemming from a alleged dispute between the pirates, according to a Moskovskiy Bulletin news report.

The cargo ship remained anchored near the island of Hobyo off the Somali coast. There was no damage reported to the vessel's cargo, including depleted uranium anti-tank shells, armoured personnel carriers, and 33 T-72 tanks.

Kiev  - Pirates operating near the shores of Kenya grabbed a Ukrainian cargo ship possibly loaded with military munitions and even tanks, the Interfax news agency reported Thursday.

Three motor boats loaded with armed men intercepted the Ukrainian bulk carrier Faini in international waters off Kenya's Indian Ocean coast, Ukrainian Foreign Ministry officials said.