Disagreements between the United States and Russia over Russia’s entry into the World Trade Organization (WTO) will be settled within the next month or month and a half, Russian Economy Minister German Gref said. Negotiations are not simple but “we will make progress and reach an agreement within 1-1.5 months,” …

The amount of mortgages issued under housing programs in Russia would rise to between RUR 108 billion and RUR 110 billion by the end of this year, Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said at a conference on the involvement of Russian credit organizations in the implementation of national project.

Brushing aside Western threats to refer Tehran to the UN Security Council over its nuclear activities, the Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad vowed that his country would soon master nuclear technology in the new Iranian year, which starts on Monday AFP reported Sunday.