Microsoft chief Bill Gates has cautioned Russia against competing with India in the software business stating that it might lose out due to high production costs. Gates was in Moscow on Tuesday and Wednesday, meeting with the country’s software developers and government officials.
Popularity: 6% [?]
November 9, 2006
Nintendo plans to launch its videogame business in Russia later this year in a growth market, japanese daily Nihon Keizai Shimbun said on Sunday.
With the U.S., European and Japanese game markets maturing, the Japanese video gamemaker known, for game characters such as Mario and Pokemon, needs fresh markets with strong growth potential.
Nintendo’s European unit has already appointed a local agency to start selling its game hardware and software in November, the newspaper said.
Popularity: 4% [?]
November 3, 2006
An annual study for the U.S. Congress finds that in 2005 Russia, for the first time, sold more arms to the developing world than the United States did, UPI said.
Russia’s sales included eight new aerial refueling tankers to China and surface to air missiles to Iran, The New York Times reported. Both deals make the U.S. government nervous because of the possibility of a crisis with China over Taiwan and with Iran over its nuclear ambitions.
The report, “Conventional Arms Transfers to Developing Nations,†found that Russia’s arms agreements with developing countries came to $7 billion, up from $5.4 billion in 2004. France was second with agreements totaling $6.3 million and the United States just behind at $6.2 billion.
India was the largest buyer among developing countries. Russia’s largest customers were India and China.
The United States continued to rank first in total arms sales, followed by France and Russia.
Popularity: 4% [?]
October 30, 2006
Britain and France on Tuesday presented a draft sanctions resolution on Iran to Russia and China, UN Security Council sources cited by Kyodo news agency said.
The sources said the resolution warns Tehran additional sanctions will be imposed under Article 41 of the UN Charter’s Chapter 7 if Iran continues to defy a UN Security Council ultimatum to freeze uranium enrichment and sharply improve cooperation with the UN probe of suspect Iranian atomic activities.
According to part of the text read out to Kyodo News, the resolution said in part: “States shall take necessary measures to prevent the supply, sale or transfer directly or indirectly from their territories or by their nationals or using their flag vessels or aircraft to, or for the use in or benefit of, Iran and whether or not originating in their territories, of all items, materials, equipment, goods and technology which could contribute to Iran’s nuclear and ballistic missile programs.â€
The resolution also says UN member states should also “take the necessary measures to prevent the provision to Iran of technical assistance or training, financial assistance, investment brokering or other services and the transfer of financial resources or services related to Iran’s nuclear or ballistic missile programs.â€
Reuters news agency earlier reported that Britain, France and Germany on Tuesday circulated their draft sanctions resolution against Iran.
The three key European nations took the action after failing to reach agreement with the United States, splitting over such issues as a U.S. demand that Russia be forced to halt work at Iran’s Bushehr nuclear power plant, the report said.
The draft exempts “construction†of Bushehr and appears to allow some 1,500 Russians to continue working at the site in southwestern Iran, Reuters quoted a European diplomat as saying.
The United States and its European allies said Iran’s nuclear program is designed to make weapons while Iran insists its nuclear program is for energy production.
The Associated Press said in a dispatch from Vienna that the Western moves are narrowly focused in hopes of winning Russian and Chinese backing for sanctions.
A Security Council resolution passed last week imposed similar sanctions on the sale or transfer of technology that could contribute to North Korea’s nuclear and ballistic missile programs after that nation’s Oct. 9 nuclear test.
Popularity: 2% [?]
October 27, 2006
Russia’s state-controlled natural gas monopoly Gazprom has started building the West Siberia-China pipeline in the Altai region, the official Xinhua news agency reported on Tuesday, Oct. 17.
The agency quoted Altai government official as saying that Gazprom will invest 2 billion rubles to build supporting public utilities for the pipeline within five years.
The pipeline link is part of an $11 billion Gazprom program involving two gas pipelines supplying China with 80 billion cubic meters of natural gas annually.
A western pipeline, linking the western Siberian gas reserves to the Xinjiang region, where it will link up with China’s west-east pipeline, will cover 2,800 kilometers and have a designed production capacity of 30 billion cubic meters a year.
A second, eastern pipeline will connect to Heilongjiang province would be supplied from Sakhalin Island.
The pipelines are due to be operational by 2011.
In March, Gazprom and China National Petroleum Corp, parent of PetroChina signed a memorandum on gas supplies during President Vladimir Putin’s visit to China.
Popularity: 3% [?]
October 18, 2006
