Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah said on Tuesday that "Islam is under attack, but Muslims are defending themselves with all their might," AFP reported . Abdullah called on believers not to fear for their religion, because all Muslims are united in its defense. However, the king did not specify where the danger that, in his opinion, threatens Islam comes from. The Saudi monarch also expressed his solidarity with those Muslims who are fighting al-Qaeda, calling the group's members renegades.

During a preventive inspection carried out by a group of British experts, minor traces of radiation were found at the British Embassy in Moscow, which do not pose a danger, RIA Novosti reports . A representative of the diplomatic mission clarified that the radiation level was below that dangerous to human health. The embassy is operating as usual, “there is no reason for concern,” British diplomats assured.

The inspection at the LANIT company is also related to the investigation of a criminal case regarding the supply of computer equipment to the Russian Pension Fund (PFR), RIA Novosti reported on Wednesday with reference to the head of the public relations and advertising department, Konstantin Vasiliev. Employees of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs were interested in the tender for the provision of IT services for the Pension Fund of Russia.

The State Duma approved in the first reading a bill on the reform of the nuclear energy industry in Russia and the creation of the state holding company Atomenergoprom, RIA Novosti reports . The document proposed by the Russian President allows Russian legal entities to own nuclear materials, nuclear installations and storage facilities for nuclear materials that do not have military purposes.

On Tuesday in the United States, the Senate Armed Services Committee unanimously supported the candidacy of Robert Gates for the post of Secretary of Defense, AFP reports . Now the nomination proposed by US President George W. Bush must be approved by the Senate itself for Gates to succeed the retiring Donald Rumsfeld .

The newest multi-purpose nuclear submarine (hunter-killer according to the American classification) of the US Navy "Hawaii" has returned from a test cruise, Defensetalk reports . The submarine, built at the Newport News Shipbuilding shipyard, went to sea for the first time. During the tests, the basic capabilities of the boat were checked - immersion, maximum speed on the surface and underwater, and noise level.

A new Aeroexpress route has been opened, allowing Muscovites to quickly get to Domodedovo International Airport. High-speed trains, consisting of 8 comfortable cars, have been running from the Belorussky railway station since November 2006. The new route includes stops at the Kursky railway station, Kalanchevskaya station and will take 1 hour 10 minutes. The train will run daily, three times a day.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said he is “particularly alarmed” by the easy availability of materials promoting extremism on the Internet and in bookstores, RIA Novosti reported . “And it’s mostly young people who read them,” he emphasized. Putin noted that punishment for extremist activity must be inevitable and commensurate with the gravity of the act, noting that there are legal problems in the law on countering extremism.

On the evening of December 5, a TU-154, flying from Domodedovo with 22 passengers on board, made an emergency landing at the Yakut Mirny airport, RIA Novosti reports . According to the Main Directorate of the Ministry of Emergency Situations for Yakutia, during the flight one of the plane’s engines was turned off due to vibrations that began, after which the plane continued to fly on two engines.

A city called "Big Domodedovo" south of Moscow will be built with money from the United Arab Emirates. As The Times found out, the financing is provided by Limitless, a division of the Dubai World real estate corporation owned by the authorities of the emirate of Dubai. Coalco will be Limitless' partner and project developer. Both companies will invest $11 billion in the construction of the Greater Domodedovo. At the initial stage of the project, three thousand hectares will be developed.

The British newspaper The Times linked the investigation into the death of former FSB officer Alexander Litvinenko with Russia's demand to extradite businessman Boris Berezovsky and Akhmed Zakaev , who are now in the UK.

The organizers of the fight with the participation of Oleg Maskaev (Russia) and Peter Okello to the Olimpiysky sports complex (Uganda), which will take place in Moscow on December 10, invited Russian President Vladimir Putin . The administration of the head of state has not yet given an answer to the question of whether the president will be able to attend the fight.

More than thirty people were injured of varying degrees of severity as a result of an explosion in the American city of Milwaukee (Wisconsin), reports the Associated Press. The explosion occurred on the morning of December 6 in an industrial area of ​​the city. Sources in the Milwaukee fire department do not rule out that a tank filled with propane exploded, but the cause of the explosion will be determined later. The explosion started a large fire in a nearby warehouse.

Russian President Vladimir Putin proposed to the parliament of Adygea the candidacy of the rector of the Maykop Technological University, Aslan Tkhakushinov, for the post of president of the republic, RIA Novosti reports with reference to the press service of the President of the Russian Federation. If Tkhakushinov’s candidacy is approved by Adyghe parliamentarians, then he will replace the current president Khazret Sovmen as head of the republic.

CEO of Yahoo! Inc. Terry Semel made several personnel changes in the company's management, Bloomberg reports. Semel said Tuesday that chief executive Dan Rosensweig and former ABC executive Lloyd Brown, who is at Yahoo! was responsible for information sites. Semel also announced the restructuring of Yahoo! Three groups will be created in the company. The first, which will be responsible for advertising sales, will be headed by the head of the financial department, Susan Decker.