Russia can bid to host World Martial Arts Games.

BEIJING, August 30 (Itar-Tass) -- Russia can bid to host the World
Martial Arts Games in the future, co-chairman of the Russian Union of
Martial Arts Sergei Kiriyenko said here on Sunday at an inauguration
ceremony of the Russian House, which is a center of cultural events of a
delegation of Russian athletes, who compete in this large-scale sport
event underway in Beijing.
"We arrived here to study in particular. We have a good opportunity to
gain the experience of hosting such competitions," he said. "Since it is
the first games, but they will be traditional, Russia can bid to host the
World Martial Arts Games, we have something to learn here and it is one of
our goals," he noted.
Addressing to Russian athletes Sergei Kiriyenko said, "Your victories
are important not only for you, but also for your coaches and federations,
which sent you here and they are very important for the country."
"Certainly, there are no losers in such holiday of sport and martial arts,
all participants win from this, but we wish victories to our athletes all
the same," he stated.
"We should stress that Russian masters of martial arts are among the
strongest ones in the world. For the past year our masters of martial arts
won for the country more than 600 medals at European and world
championships, but the first World Martial Arts Games envisage special
responsibility, particularly when they are held in the homeland of
Oriental martial arts," he told reporters.
The World Martial Arts Games are held under the aegis of SportAccord,
the former General Association of International Sports Federations, and
under the patronage of the International Olympic Committee. Athletes from
60 countries show their master skills in 13 Olympic and non-Olympic kinds
of martial arts (aikido, boxing, judo, jiu-jitsu, karate, kendo,
kickboxing, Thai boxing, sambo, sumo, Tae Kwon Do, wresting and wushu).
About 60 Russian athletes, who passed the qualification and received
invitations from international sports federations, are participating in
the World Martial Arts Games.
After the second day of the competition Russian athletes won 14 medals
and are leading in the medal standing.

.Ashgabat fountains put on Guinness Record Book as world largest.

ASHGABAT, August 30 (Itar-Tass) -- The fountain ensemble "Oguzhan and
Sons" in Ashgabat was put on the Guinness Record Book as the world largest
fountain ensemble, the press service of the Turkmen government reported on
Sunday.
The fountain ensemble, which consists of 27 colored fountains
operating on the solar energy, spreads on 14.82 hectares. A statue of the
horse rider, Oguzhan, who is the founder of the Turkmen nation, and his
six sons, is located in the center of the fountain architectural ensemble.
They "welcome" Ashgabat guests on the highway leading from the
international airport to the center of the Turkmen capital.
For the first time Turkmenistan was put on the Guinness Record Book in
2001 with its world largest 301-square-meter handmade carpet (14 meters
high, 21.5 meters wide) and with the weight of 1,200 kilograms. The next
Turkmen record was the world highest flagstaff 133 meters high. The
flagstaff was placed in Ashgabat in 2008 in front of the main national
museum in the country. The flagstaff is impressive with 52.5 meters by 35
meters and the weight of 420 kilograms.

.URGENT - Two Russian pilots kidnapped in Darfur - SUNA.

CAIRO, August 30 (Itar-Tass) -- Two Russian pilots, who worked under
the contract with the Sudanese Badr Airlines, were kidnapped in the city
Nyala, western Sudanese province Darfur, on Sunday evening, the Sudanese
news agency SUNA reported on Monday.

.Drought inflicts RUR 37 bln of damages to agriculture in Russia.

MOSCOW, August 30 (Itar-Tass) -- An unprecedented drought triggered by
the abnormal heat wave this summer inflicted 37 billion roubles of damages
to Russian agriculture, but there is no deficit of food products,
Agriculture Minister Yelena Skrynnik said in an interview published in the
Rossiiskaya Gazeta on Monday.
"Food products are enough. We have made an analysis of the balances of
production, import and consumption, so, there is no deficit," she noted.
The minister also noted that "we have already completed an expertise
of direct damages in all 37 drought-hit regions." Meanwhile, she
emphasized that the ministry had made this expertise two months earlier
than in the last few years. "Therefore, farms will receive the aid already
in October rather than December. The damages in direct expenses have made
37 billion roubles," Skrynnik underlined.
The government decided to allocate additional 35 billion roubles to
support the drought-hit regions, including 25 billion roubles of budget
credits and 10 billion roubles of direct subsidies, she noted. Meanwhile,
14.8 billion roubles of budget credits have already been transferred to
the regions, the agriculture minister said.
Federal constituents have allocated more than ten billion roubles to
cover direct damages, the minister stressed. The government decided to
provide state subsidies for short-term credits, which the banks extend for
up to three years. The similar work is done on the leasing.
"We have the full information on each of about 19,000 farms affected
in the drought. We also sent this list to the Finance Ministry, banks and
leasing companies. So, the assistance will be targeted," Skrynnik pointed
out.

.Sudan army searching for kidnapped Russian pilots.

CAIRO, August 30 (Itar-Tass) -- Sudan's army is searching for two
kidnapped Russian pilots, a representative of the Sudanese Armed Forces
Col. Khalid Saad as-Savarmi told the Sudanese news agency SUNA.
Several Sudanese military units surrounded several residential areas
in the city Nyala, which is the center of South Darfur, where Russian
pilots are supposed to be kept, the colonel noted. For his part, the
governor of the South Darfur province noted that the government had
mobilized all the police and many law enforcers for the search operation.
Two Russian pilots, who worked under the contract with the Sudanese
Badr Airlines, were kidnapped on Sunday evening in the city Nyala, western
Sudanese province Darfur. Eyewitnesses stated that the kidnappers had
taken away the hostages in a Toyota Land Cruiser jeep.
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