MOSCOW — North Korea is ready to impose a moratorium on nuclear missile tests if international talks on its nuclear program resume, a spokesman for Russia’s president said Wednesday after talks between the two leaders at a Siberian military base. Russian news agencies, meanwhile, reported that North Korean leader Kim Gong Il said his country is ready to resume talks “without preconditions.” Kim and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev met Wednesday at the hotel of a military garrison near the city of Ulan-Ude in Buryatia, a predominantly Buddhist province near Lake Baikal. It was Kim’s first trip to Russia since 2002. Read full article > >

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Russia says North Korea ready to impose moratorium on mass-destruction weapons tests

TRIPOLI, Libya — Reports that a top official in the government of Moammar Gaddafi has defected gained strength here on Tuesday, as a spokesman for the Libyan government said the regime has been unable to make contact with the official. Shukri Ghanem, Libya’s oil minister and a former prime minister, left Libya on Monday to go to Tunisia on “official business,” said Moussa Ibrahim, spokesman for the Libyan government. But news agencies reported Tuesday that Ghanem had defected, citing an anonymous Tunisian security official. Ibrahim told The Washington Post that Libya had not been able to contact Ghanem since Monday night. Read full article > >

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Gaddafi oil minister appears to have defected

An attempted mutiny by inmates turned into a gun battle inside a high security prison in Baghdad on Sunday, news agencies reported.

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At Least 18 Killed in Fight at Iraqi Prison

The death toll from a plane crash in northwestern Iran has risen to 77, news agencies in the country reported Monday.

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Reports: Death toll rises in Iran crash

Former oil tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky is found guilty in his second trial on charges of embezzlement, Russian news agencies say.

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Russian oil tycoon ‘found guilty’

Three Russian satellites fail to enter orbit after launch, possibly crashing into the Pacific, Russian news agencies report.

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Russia satellites orbit failure

The Chechen parliament has come under attack, with reports of fatalities, Russian news agencies say.

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Chechen parliament ‘under attack’