CEC head to report on results of local elections on Oct 23.

MOSCOW, October 18 (Itar-Tass) - Vladimir Churov, the head of the
Russian Central Electoral Commission, said on Saturday that it would be a
great honor for him to meet Russian State Duma deputies and tell them
about the results of local elections that were held in 75 Russian regions
on October 11.

In an interview with the 'Vesti on Saturday' program on the 'Rossia'
television channel Churov promised to present accurate and verified
information to State Duma deputies on October 23.
"I am going to show the information which we have already distributed
among high-ranking government officials: the president, the prime minister
and the leaders of the four factions in the Russian State Duma," Churov
emphasized.
"It's going to be a short preliminary report on voting that took place
at 6,500 polls :and complaints and applications received by electoral
commissions," Churov went on to say.
"The final version of this 'green book' will be available for public
discussion as well as to state leaders and the heads of political parties
on October 31. We are fast. Last time it took us six weeks to prepare
this 'green book'. This time we will do it in a month," the head of the
Russian Central Electoral Commission said.
Churov said that 419 complaints had been submitted on 6,500 polls.
"The biggest number of complaints - 118 - concerned decisions of
electoral commissions not to register candidates," Churov explained.
"There were 94,355 nominated candidates at local elections on October
11, while only 87,713 of them were actually registered. That means 6,642
or about 7% of the candidates were not registered," he said.
The United Russia party suffered the hugest losses: 5.5% of its
nominees were turned down. The Just Russia party comes second with 3.57%,
the Communist Party is third with 3.5% of its candidates turned down; the
figures for the LDPR and the Patriots of Russia are less than 3%, for
Yabloko - one percent and for Right Cause - less than one percent.


.Reps from 180 countries gather for World Forestry Congress.

BUENOS AIRES, October 18 (Itar-Tass) - About 4,500 delegates from 180
countries, including Russia, will gather for the 13th World Forestry
Congress in Buenos Aires.
The congress opening on Sunday is being held under the aegis of the
United Nations Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO). The forum's main
theme is that forestry development establishes life essential
equilibrium. The program includes seminars, presentations and
"roundtables."
The delegates include experts from state, public and private
organizations, research institutes and associations. Russia will be
represented by a delegation of the Federal Forestry Agency.
An international exhibition will be held on the sidelines of the 13th
World Forestry Congress. It will feature the latest technologies and
achievements in forestry - from preliminary production to the final use of
timber products and woodwork.
The World Forestry Congress is one of the most significant forestry
events. It's a good ground for discussing forestry problems and searching
for joint solutions. It has been held every six years since 1926.
The Congress will close on October 23.


.Venezuela, Russia, Iran plan to give up dollars in oil deals.

BUENOS AIRES, October 18 (Itar-Tass) - Venezuelan President Hugo
Chavez told journalists on Saturday that Venezuela, Russia and Iran
suggested giving up dollar settlements in oil deals.
"We discussed this issue within the OPEC," Chavez said after the end
of the summit of the Bolivarian Alliance for the People's of Our America
(ALBA) in Bolivia.
"Venezuela welcomes the idea, and countries like Iran and Russia have
made a similar proposal," Chavez went on to say.
On October 6, the British newspaper "The Independent " reported,
referring to banking sources in the Persian Gulf states and Hong Kong,
that a group of countries that are the biggest oil produces and oil
consumers are planning to give up settlements in dollars in international
oil deals and switch over to payments based on a basket of other
currencies.


.Two people died, seven wounded in a motor boat accident.

MOSCOW, October 18 (Itar-Tass) - Two people died and seven were
wounded in Russia's Krasnodar territory in the south when a motorboat
collided with a concrete base of a floodgate.
Oleg Grekov, the press service chief of the Southern regional centre
for the Russian Emergencies Ministry, told Itar-Tass by telephone that
nine people were returning home from the liman (coastal lake) in a private
motor boat which ran into the concrete foundation of a flood-gate near the
village of Sadki.
Two people died. The other seven were wounded and taken to hospital.
"The rescue operation was carried out by the local rescue centre,"
Grekov said.

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