Minsk/Moscow - The leadership of Belarus lifted a ban on two regime-critical newspapers after almost three years, the advisor to authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko said on Monday in Minsk.

The decision was taken out of domestic interests, but the country hopes for better relations with the West after the step, a source said.

The two papers affected - the Nasha Niva and the Narodnaya Volya - were banned in early 2006 due to "serious breaches." However, those wanting to purchase the papers will have to register by name and have the papers delivered.

Moscow- Russia is prepared to make plans to deploy missiles in its Kaliningrad exclave "disappear" if the United States drops plans to base part of its missile defence system in Poland and the Czech Republic, Russia's prime minister said Monday.

If the new administration of US president-elect Barack Obama drops deployment plans for a missile shield in what Russia considers to be within its sphere of influence, then "questions of our retaliatory measures will disappear by themselves," Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin told journalists at a forum in St Petersburg.

Moscow - Russia said Thursday it would deploy more warships to battle piracy in the seas off the coast of Somalia, a top navy commander announced.

"After the Neustrashimy, Russia will be sending warships from other fleets to this region to the region," Admiral Vladimir Vysotsky said, alluding to a warship, the Fearless, now patrolling the coast, news agency Ria-Novosti reported.

The measures are being taken because of "the current situation off the Horn of Africa and the Gulf of Aden, where Somali pirates have sharply increased their activities," he said.

Moscow - Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said Thursday the nation would rely on its massive reserve fund to emerge from the crisis ahead of other world economies, halt inflation and a fall in the ruble.

Putin's address at the congress of his party United Russia was full of economic patriotism, aimed at calming fears of coming shocks from the worst financial turbulence the country has seen in over a decade.

Moscow - A Russian court ruled Wednesday to bar the media and the public from the trial of three men charged with the murder of investigative journalist Anna Politkovskaya.

The judge at Moscow's Military Court reversed his decision to make the trial open to the public after the jury refused to hear the case in front of the press.

"This is in consideration of the security of the participants in the trial and that of their families," Judge Yevgeny Zubov was quoted by news agency Interfax as saying on Wednesday.

Moscow - A Russian court reversed its decision Tuesday to open to the public the trial of three men charged with the murder investigative journalist Anna Politkovskaya.

The Moscow District Military Court ruled that the media and public would be barred from the trial after the jury's refusal to hear the case in front of the press.