Russian plane with relief aid for Haiti stranded in Caracas.

CARACAS, January 21 (Itar-Tass) - A Russian Ministry of Emergency
Situations plane with a relief cargo onboard has been stranded in
Venezuela for more than 24 hours unable to leave for the quake-stricken
Haiti.

Russia's Charges d'Affaires in Venezuela Vladimir Tokmakov told
Itar-Tass that the IL-76 plane was being grounded in Caracas because the
U.S. air traffic controllers, who are in control of the Port -au-Prince
airport, were constantly delaying permission to fly into the Haitian
capital.
The U.S. air traffic controllers are claiming the delay is caused by
excessive workload of the Port-au-Prince airport. At the same time, U.S.
planes are easily landing in the Haitian capital, the Russian diplomat
went on to say.
"The Russian Embassy in cooperation with the Venezuelan and Haitian
authorities is exerting every effort to have the IL-76 plane dispatched as
soon as possible," Tokmakov stressed.
The Russian Ministry for Emergency Situations sent two IL-76 planes to
Caracas under a program of cooperation with Venezuela, and the two
countries began a joint relief operation in Haiti last Sunday. The
Russian Embassy in Venezuela that also overlooks relations with Haiti and
the Dominican Republic provides logistics support for the delivery of
cargoes from Caracas to Port-au-Prince.
The Il-76 aircraft is carrying medical supplies, food and other
essentials for the victims of the devastating earthquake. It's also
supposed to deliver five tons of drinking water for Russian rescuers who
continue working in Haiti.

.Belarus set to achieve trade surplus in the next few years.

MINSK, January 21 (Itar-Tass) - Belarus should start exporting more
products than it purchases in the next few years.
"We decided to build our foreign economic activities in a way so as to
reach a trade surplus in the next three or four years. It's not an easy
task. So far we've been buying more than selling, " Belarusian Prime
Minister Sergei Sidorsky said on Wednesday as he was granting awards to
the best enterprises for achieving the best quality.
Sidorsky said that Belarus would significantly increase its exports
and cut imports in a bid to achieve trade surplus. In order to increase
its export volumes Belarus is planning to modernize the existing
productions and create dozens of new modern enterprises that will produce
competitive products that will be in demand in foreign markets.
Sidorsky said that the republic's economy should attract at least 2.7
billion dollars worth of direct investments in 2010 which is several times
more than in 2009.
Special requirements will be set for the quality of goods. Last year
alone Belarus designed about a thousand new standards, of which 80% meet
the EU standards.
"Our task is not to design standards for standards but to harmonize
them with European and world requirements," Sidorsky went on to say. He
also demanded that Belarusian food producers speed up certification in
conformity with EU standards.
Belarus is also pinning high hopes on the Customs Union. "Integration
within the Union's framework will make it possible for the republic to
trade freely and use transit potential more effectively, " Sidorsky said.
However, he also warned that the creation of the Customs Union would also
toughen competition.
The Belarusian prime minister stressed the need to introduce energy
saving technologies. The republic's foreign trade deficit stood at almost
6.4 billion dollars in January-November 2009. It should be noted that
energy resources, crude oil and natural gas, account for a large share of
Belarusian imports from Russia.

.Domestic gas explodes in southern Moscow, no one hurt.

MOSCOW, January 21 (Itar-Tass) - A domestic gas explosion has
allegedly occurred in a flat on the 14th floor of an apartment building in
southern Moscow.
"The shock wave destroyed a wall between a room and the kitchen but no
fire broke out," Moscow law enforcers told Itar-Tas early in Thursday.
According to preliminary reports, the flat's owner was at home at the
time of the blast. He must have been frightened and could have gone to
his mother who lives in the next entrance of the same apartment building.
No evacuation of tenants was carried out.
The cause of the blast is being established.

.Japanese scientists invent 'elastic' water.

TOKYO, January 21 (Itar-Tass) - Japanese scientists from the Tokyo
University have invented a new material, which consists of water by 95%.
It's safe for humans and environment and could, therefore, be used in
medicine in a long-term perspective.
A report on the work of the Japanese chemists has been published on
Thursday in the latest issue of the Nature scientific magazine.
The new material was obtained by adding about two grams of clay and a
small quantity of appropriate organic matters into normal water. The new
aqua substance is elastic and transparent and looks very much like jelly.
Its characteristics make it possible to use it in medicine for sticking
together tissues.
If its density is increased, the new material could be used for the
production of ecologically clean plastic materials.

-0-fil/