Since guerrillas used donkeys to outwit the high-tech defenses of the U.S. military in Iraq, the life of the beast of burden has never been so miserable.

The UN atomic watchdog agency's board adopted a resolution Wednesday censuring Iran for past nuclear coverups.

A late goal by substitute Winston Parks gave Lokomotiv Moscow a 3-2 win over Dynamo Kiev in their Champions League match Tuesday to throw Group B wide open.

Oil Exports Forecast MOSCOW (Bloomberg) -- Russia will increase oil exports by about 15 percent next year, Transneft chief executive Semyon Vainshtok said Wednesday. Exports will rise to about 240 million tons from 208 million tons in 2003, Vainshtok said at a briefing. The figures include exports to the CIS, as well transit shipments for other countries. Production should rise to about 420 million tons of oil next year, from an estimated 412 million tons in 2003, he said, basing his figure on information from oil companies. Transneft expects to report consolidated net income of 20 billion rubles ($672 million) this year, on revenue of 110 billion rubles, Vainshtok said. The figures are based on Russian accounting standards. NIKoil Bank Gloom MOSCOW (Reuters) -- The NIKoil investment bank said Wednesday a gloomy market situation has forced it to postpone a debut $100 million eurobond, a clear reference to investor concerns over the arrest of key Yukos shareholder Mikhail Khodorkovsky.

The increased volatility engendered by the Yukos affair and its fallout, coupled with the collapse of the system of oligarchic capitalism, may ultimately prove salutary for the long-term development of Russian democracy and civil society.