Main news of April 7

RUSSIA

* Russia's natural resources minister, Yury Trutnev, earned a whopping 369.9 million rubles last year, according to ministerial income declarations posted on the government website

* Dubai police said they have conclusive proof that a senior Chechen politician, Adam Delimkhanov, closely associated with President Ramzan Kadyrov was involved in last weekend's assassination of a Russian army commander Sulim Yamadayev

* Russia's Science and Education Ministry is in talks with the United States on a bilateral treaty to specify the responsibilities of U.S. parents who adopt Russian children, the education minister, Andrei Fursenko, said

* Chechen President Ramzan Kadyrov has said that men in the republic should take more than one wife to protect the honor of unmarried women, claiming that "it is better to be a second or third wife than to be dead."

* Jailed Yukos founder and Kremlin critic Mikhail Khodorkovsky said that the new charges against him were so vaguely worded he could not understand what he was accused of

WORLD

* Protests against the ruling Communist Party's election victory turned violent in Moldova's capital on Tuesday with rioters taking control of the presidential residence and nearby parliament

* The death toll in a powerful earthquake that hit the mountainous region of Abruzzo in central Italy has risen to 228, the Italian TV channel Sky reported

* Venezuela's president, Hugo Chavez, has backed the U.S. leader Barack Obama's call to avoid conflicts and resolve all disagreements through peaceful means, Venezuela's ABN radio reported

* Former Cuban leader Fidel Castro said he "valued the gesture" by members of U.S. congress, who are currently in Havana on a five-day visit to explore ways of improving bilateral ties

* NATO states have begun a series of air defense exercises in the Baltic states, involving fighter jet flights over the countries' capitals, the Estonian Defense Ministry said

* A Georgian coast guard vessel has detained a cargo ship with a crew of 14 Russians on board, the Sovfracht maritime bulletin said

BUSINESS

* The London-based oil company Sibir Energy has filed a suit against its two former directors - Chalva Tchigirinski and Henry Cameron, the firm said in a press release

* Russia energy giant Gazprom confirmed that Ukraine's national gas company Naftogaz had paid in full for gas delivered to the ex-Soviet republic in March

* Russian energy giant Gazprom has paid Italy's Eni $4.2 billion for a 20% stake in Gazprom Neft, the Eni head, Paolo Scaroni, said

* Russian oil exports to non-CIS countries fell by 4.6% to 32.673 million metric tons in January-February 2009 against the first two months of 2008, the Federal Customs Service said

* Russia's largest truck maker KamAZ manufactured around 5,000 vehicles in the first quarter of 2009, representing a 61% year-on-year decrease, a company spokesman said