Medvedev to begin official visit, first by RF pres, to Singapore

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SINGAPORE, November 15 (Itar-Tass) -- Dmitry Medvedev after the APEC
summit will begin an official visit, the first by a Russian president, to
Singapore.
Though the president will stay in the country for over 24 hours by the
visit beginning, the official welcome ceremony will be held in his honour
this day.
Medvedev will have talks with Singaporean President Sellapan Rama
Nathan and Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew, the current premier's father and
the author of the "Singaporean economic wonder".
Next Monday, Medvedev will meet with Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong
and according to the Singaporean tradition will have talks with Senior
Minister Goh Chok Tong.
The Russian president's aide Sergei Prikhodko said that the visit was
expected to result in a joint Russian-Singaporean statement that will
reflect cooperation prospects. The whole range of bilateral partnership
development issues will be set down in the document, including legal basis
improvement, trade and economic cooperation and implementation of joint
innovation and investment projects in the context of international efforts
to overcome the global financial and economic crisis.
The trade turnover between Russian and Singapore amounted to 1.6
billion dollars in 2008 and 1.13 billion dollars over January-August this
year (62.2 percent more than in last year's same period).
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.Volcano on Kamchatka discharges lava.
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PETROPAVLOVSK-KAMCHATSKY, November 15 (Itar-Tass) -- Fresh lava has
appeared on Volcano Klyuchevskaya Sopka.
Scientists report that a lava flow is seen on the southeast slope of
the giant.
There is no danger for nearby residential sites, the Kamchatka office
of the Geophysical Service of the Russian Academy of Sciences said on
Sunday.
Continuous shaking of the volcano is recorded. Clouds of steam and gas
billow up to 100 metres over the top (7,750 metres above sea level). At
dark time, 200-metre hot lava discharges from the crater were seen from
the settlement of Klyuchi (32 kilometers from the volcano). The
temperature on the volcano is unusually high -- 56.85 degrees, with the
environment temperature of 20 degrees below zero.
High activity of Volcano Shiveluch was also reported on Saturday. It
is located 50 kilometers from Klyuchi. Over the past 24 hours, 110 quakes
were recorded there. The most powerful two quakes were accompanied with
ash discharges to an altitude of 4.7 and 4.5 kilometers above sea level.
There is no threat for the population. Volcanic dust did not fall on
nearby settlements.
Specialists continue monitoring the volcanoes.
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.Cyclone with snowstorm approaches Kamchatka.
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PETROPAVLOVSK-KAMCHATSKY, November 15 (Itar-Tass) -- A powerful
cyclone with a strong wind and heavy snow is approaching the southern
coast of Kamchatka.
Appropriate services and the fleet at the coast are warned about the
storm, the Kamchatka meteorological centre told Itar-Tass.
The cyclone is moving from Japan's coasts to the peninsula at a speed
of 30 kilometers an hour, gaining strength. Its influence is already felt
on Cape Lopatka (the southernmost site of Kamchatka). A snowstorm with a
wind of up to 23 metres a second is already raging there.
The cyclone attacks will become stronger in a few hours,
meteorologists warn. It will snow heavily in Kamchatka's southern region
on the night to November 16. Winds of up to 27 metres a second will hit
the coast. The windstorm will rage in the Yelizovo and Ust-Bolsheretsk
districts and Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky.
The cyclone centre will gradually move to the central part of the Sea
of Okhotsk where it will stop moving and lose its strength. Its will hit
the region most severely on Sunday night. The next day, the weather in the
south of Kamchatka will begin to gradually improve, the meteorological
service said.
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