News of the Day, 18:00 Moscow time

* A Mi-24 Hind combat helicopter crashed in the Saratov Region in Russia's Volga Federal District, killing the crew, a spokesman for the Russian Air Force said

* Moscow and Minsk signed an agreement on the joint protection of the Russia-Belarus Union State's airspace and the creation of a joint regional air defense network

* Russia is prepared to give Belarus an additional loan of several dozen billion rubles after its terms and purpose have been discussed, Kremlin aide Sergei Prikhodko said

* Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki reiterated that the country's space program was intended solely for peaceful purposes, following the launch of Iran's first domestically-build satellite into orbit

* A production unit controlled by Polyus Gold, Russia's leading gold producer, has said it is planning to ask for an extension in launching operations at a major gold deposit, a Russian daily said

* UC RusAl will suspend production for a year at its Windalco alumina-producing enterprises in Jamaica from March 31, as global metal demand falls amid the financial crisis, the Russian aluminum giant said

* Russia's WBA Heavyweight Champion Nikolai Valuev has opened a professional boxing school in his hometown of St. Petersburg, the boxer's website said

* Andrei Arshavin's move to Arsenal may not go ahead due to the deal being completed after the closure of Monday's transfer window, the English FA's director of communications said