Moscow/St Petersburg - A car exploded near a metro station in the Russian city of St Petersburg on Tuesday, killing three people, including a 3-year-old child.
Russian news agencies quoted law enforcement officials as saying the blast was caused by a grenade.
But St Petersburg police chief Vladislav Piotrovsky ruled out terrorism on Tuesday.
"There was no act of terrorism - the grenade just went off by accident. It is not clear yet why the man had a grenade," Piotrovsky was quoted by Interfax as saying.
"We will have a clearer picture by the end the end of day," he said.
The explosion occurred near the Udelnaya station at 8:55 am, an Emergency Situation Ministry spokesman said.
Madrid - A planned deal for the Russian oil giant Lukoil to become the biggest shareholder of Spain's top oil company Repsol YPF could collapse over lack of financing and Spanish political opposition, media reported Tuesday.
Lukoil is interested in buying nearly 30 per cent of Repsol in a deal estimated at up to 9.8 billion euros (12.5 billion dollars).
The purchase would include a 20-per-cent stake now held by the debt-ridden construction company Sacyr Vallehermoso and part of a
Moscow /St Petersburg - A car exploded near a metro station in St Petersburg on Tuesday, killing three people, including a 3- year-old child, Russian news agencies said.
The blast went off near the Udelnaya station at 8:55 am, a local Emergency Situation Ministry spokesman said.
"A preliminary investigation shows that a man, his wife and their child were killed in the blast. The car driver has got wounds and is hospitalized," news agency Interfax quoted a Russian secret services source as saying.
Phnom Penh - The trial of a Russian businessman charged with sexually abusing 18 underage girls began Tuesday after a series of delays in getting legal representation for the defendant, national media reported Tuesday.
Alexander Trofimov, 41, was arrested in 2007 on charges of abusing the girls while working in the coastal town of Sihanoukville, The Phnom Penh Post reported.
Trofimov, was convicted in March this year of sexually assaulting a 14-year-old girl and is currently serving a 13-year sentence in a Phnom Penh prison.
If convicted of the remaining charges, Trofimov could face a further seven to 15 years in prison, the newspaper reported.
Lima - Russia was seeking to revive "privileged" ties with Latin America, which had been neglected after the collapse of the Soviet Union, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said Monday.
"The time has come to restore these relations. These are the states with which we would like to have special, privileged relations," he said.
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.
Madrid - A planned deal for the Russian oil giant Lukoil to become the biggest shareholder of Spain's top oil company Repsol YPF could collapse over lack of financing and Spanish political opposition, media reported Tuesday.
Moscow /St Petersburg - A car exploded near a metro station in St Petersburg on Tuesday, killing three people, including a 3- year-old child, Russian news agencies said.
Lima - Russia was seeking to revive "privileged" ties with Latin America, which had been neglected after the collapse of the Soviet Union, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said Monday.
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.
