Russian, Serbian football clubs Zenit, Crvena Zvezda become partners.

ST. PETERSBURG, December 11 (Itar-Tass) -- The Russian and Serbian
football clubs Zenit, of St. Petersburg, and Crvena Zvezda (Red Star), of
Belgrade have become partners. Zenit's press service said on Friday the
clubs signed a five-year agreement on cooperation.
The agreement envisages active interaction, especially in youth
football. The clubs have plans for holding joint training and friendly
matches, international tournaments, joint seminars and training sessions.
For the coaches there will be exchanges of information on methodological
and practical support for the training process. Budding footballers will
be able to undergo training at either club.
Veterans of the two clubs will be playing friendly matches and
gathering for social events. Also, Zenit and Crvena Zvezda will be
organizing for activities to exchange experience in maintaining relations
with fans, promoting tolerance and countering extremism.
To coordinate the implementation of the agreement the clubs have
created a Council of Partners, which consists of three representatives
from either side. Representatives from Crvena Zvezda and Zenith will take
turns as council presidents annually.

.Turkmen, Afghan, Pakistani presidents to discuss pipeline project.

ASHGABAT, December 11 (Itar-Tass) -- Ashgabat on Saturday will host a
meeting of the presidents of Turkmenistan, Afghanistan and Pakistan. After
the meeting Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov, Asif Ali Zardari and Hamid Karzai
will sign an intergovernmental agreement to implement the
Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) pipeline project.
"The summit is expected to initiate practical implementation of the
TAPI gas pipeline - one of the largest energy projects in the Asian
continent," the press service of the Turkmen government said. The total
length of the pipeline will be more than 1,700 kilometers - from gas
fields in eastern Turkmenistan to Fazilka village (on the Pakistani-Indian
border. The pipeline will have an annual throughput of 33 billion cubic
meters.

.Deputy PM Zhukov to visit KAMAZ truck manufacturer.

KAZAN, December 11 (Itar-Tass) -- Russia's Deputy Prime Minister
Alexander Zhukov on Saturday will visit the science and technology center
of the JSC KAMAZ truck manufacturer in Naberezhnyie Chelny to see an
exhibition of automotive industry projects and a pilot production facility.
He will also visit the training base of the Kamaz-Master team - the
Center of Motor Sport - and the industrial park Master. He will be briefed
on the operation of joint ventures - Fuso Kamaz Trucks Rus and
Mercedes-Benz Trucks East, created at the end of last year as part of
strategic partnership between KAMAZ and the concern Daimler AG.
Also, during his working trip to Naberezhnyie Chelny Zhukov will
participate in the opening an upgraded ambulance hospital and in the
transfer of motor vehicles to the city's pharmacies and medical
institutions.

.Russian FM to protect rights of Aziza Yakubova, extradited to US.

MOSCOW, December 11 (Itar-Tass) -- The Russian Foreign Ministry will
continue to consistently protect the rights of Russian citizen Aziza
Yakubova (Mirzoyeva) in order to ensure her right to justice and proper
treatment, a source at the Foreign Ministry said following the decision by
a court in Virginia, the USA, to remand in custody the Russian citizen,
extradited from Germany.
Previously, the woman was detained in Frankfurt-am-Main at the request
of the American branch of Interpol on trumped-up charges of kidnapping her
own sons (six and nine years old), who had left the U.S. together with her
after her divorce with her husband, a citizen of Tajikistan, occupying a
high position at the IMF. Obviously under pressure from the American side
she was kept in a Frankfurt jail without charges for more than three
months, which considerably exceeds the maximum term of preliminary
detention existing in Germany.
"It was only after insistent demands and after a great delay that the
Russian embassy in Washington received official notification from the US
Department of State that Aziza Yakubova (Mirzoyeva) has been put in jail,"
the source said. "This runs counter to the provisions of the Russian-US
Consular Convention."
"The Russian diplomatic missions in Germany have intervened actively
in the Mirzoyeva affair," he continued. "Now, that the U.S. has achieved
her extradition with some questionable methods, the Russian Embassy in
Washington is extending to her all necessary assistance and maintains
constant contact with her lawyers."
The issue of unlawful actions against the Russian citizen was raised
by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov during his recent meetings with
Germany's Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle and U.S. Secretary of State
Hillary Clinton.

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