Ball grenade explodes in central Chisinau - experts.

CHISINAU, October 15 (Itar-Tass) - According to early reports of
experts, a ball grenade RG-42 went off late on Wednesday in the central
square of Chisinau where thousands of people were celebrating City Day,
specialists investigating the blast told Tass early on Thursday.

According to them the powerful grenade did not explode in full force,
which explains that injuries received during the blast were not grave.
Apparently, it had been kept in a damp place for a long time and lost much
of its properties, they said. Experts believe the malefactors could have
got the grenade during an armed conflict in the breakaway Dniester region.
Investigators look into who and why threw the grenade into the crowd of
young people who had garnered in the central square for a concert devoted
to City Day.
The mayor of Chisinau told reporters that the number of injured people
had grown to 26. However, only four of them have major fragmentation
wounds of legs. Many people refused to be hospitalised after receiving
first aid at the site, medics said.
The blast occurred at 22:30 (23:30, Moscow time), when a concert was
in progress in the square.

.BEAC to discuss international cooperation in Barents region.

MOSCOW, October 15 (Itar-Tass) - The 12th foreign ministerial session
of the Barents Euro-Arctic Council (BEAC) on Thursday will discuss the
development of economic ties in the Barents region. The Russian delegation
is led by Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, who will sum up the results of
Russia's chairmanship of BEAC in 2007-2009.
Participants in the meeting will discuss international cooperation in
the region as well as the upcoming Swedish chairmanship.
"Russia has chaired the Council in an active and enterprising
manner," sources from the Russian Foreign Ministry stressed. "It managed
not only to maintain, but in certain spheres also to build up the dynamics
of international Barents cooperation," they said.
Murmansk Governor Dmitry Dmitriyenko told reporters that "the very
fact that cooperation in the north of Europe has continued for more than
15 years, confirms its necessity and efficiency". "The importance of the
BEAC will be only growing with due regard for a future development of the
Arctic Region and the growth of its importance as a source of natural
resources," he stressed.
The Barents Euro-Arctic Council was set up in 1993. The organization
brings together Russia, Finland, Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Iceland. The
European Commission also takes part in its work. Nine countries - Great
Britain, Germany, Italy, Canada, the Netherlands, Poland, France, the USA
and Japan have observer status.
The main goal of the Council is to assist the region's sustainable
development, the bilateral and multilateral cooperation in the sphere of
the economy, trade, science and technology, environment, infrastructure,
education and cultural exchanges, tourism, as well as the improvement of
the living conditions of the indigenous population of the North.
The Russian foreign minister will have several bilateral meetings with
his counterparts within the framework of the Council. It is expected that
Lavrov will take part in the Murmansk International Economic Forum that
will be held on October 15-17. This meeting will focus on discussing
problems of socio-economic development of the European North and Arctic
Region in the context of the Russian development concept 2020.
Over 1,000 business people from seven countries will take part in the
forum apart from diplomats and government agencies' representatives.
A presentation of the strategy of Murmansk region's development up to
2025 will be held within the forum's framework - featuring major and most
important investment projects implemented and planned in the territory of
the region and areas of the North-West federal district.
Its participants will discuss, in particular, the joining of efforts
of different countries in the implementation of such large-scale projects
as the development of the unique Stokman gas field and the development of
the Murmansk transport hub, Itar-Tass reports from Murmansk.
The BEAC meets at the foreign ministerial level in the chairmanship
country at the end of term of office. The chairmanship rotates every
second year, between Norway, Finland, Russia and Sweden.
The area of the Barents Euro-Arctic Region is roughly 1 755 800 square
km which is equivalent to the combined surface of France, Spain, Germany,
Italy and the Netherlands, with a population of approximately 6 million
inhabitants. The region is very rich in natural resources such as fish,
timber, minerals, oil and gas. It also has important processing and
engineering industries as well as high-quality universities, research
institutions and science centres. The Barents region is characterised by
harsh climate conditions, vulnerable environment and long distances which
pose challenges to people, business and authorities alike.
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