News of the Day, 12:00 Moscow time

* The Russian Air Force will reduce the number of officers by 30% under the current military reform, the Air Force commander said

* The Kyrgyz parliament is unlikely to consider a bill on closing a U.S. military airbase this week, a senior legislator said

* The Russian government denied a foreign media report that it was holding talks on restructuring the foreign debts of domestic companies and banks

* A Russian research vessel will go to the Black Sea to probe into the long-term consequences of the 2007 oil spill in the Kerch Strait

* Gold mining companies in Chukotka, Russia's most northeasterly region, are planning to boost gold output 40%, year-on-year, in 2009 to 30 metric tons, the Chukotka government website said

* Israelis began voting in parliamentary elections that will decide who replaces Ehud Olmert as prime minister

* A Russian cargo spacecraft has successfully separated from its carrier rocket and is heading toward the International Space Station according to schedule, an official at Russia's Mission Control said

* The European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) expects to restart the world's largest particle collider this September, it said in a press release

* The Baikal pulp and paper mill, which was due to restart operations after closing in 2008 for financial reasons, has not resumed work as scheduled, a company spokesman said