Djindjic Zoran was gearing up for a final showdown with the renegade special forces and their taskmasters.

""I was never a Don Juan, and I never cheated on my wife,"" Alexei said. ""Well, almost never...""

Gazprom Eyes Egypt MOSCOW (MT) -- Gazprom, the world's largest gas producer, is among a number of energy companies which have expressed an interest in Edison SpA's gas assets in Egypt, a financial source said Friday, Dow Jones reported. Gazprom ""is for sure,"" the source said. Among other companies eyeing a deal with Italy's largest private electricity and gas company, the source named Britain's BG Group PLC and Spain's Gas Natural SDG SA. Separately, Dow Jones reported that an industry source said Italy's Enel SpA is also looking at those assets, which an adviser to one of the bidders estimated at around $1 billion. Forex May Pass $60Bln MOSCOW (MT) -- The country's gold and foreign exchange reserves may exceed $60 billion by the end of 2003, Central Bank deputy chairman Oleg Vyugin said Friday, Interfax reported. Foreign reserves reached a record high of $54.6 billion by the end of last week, after rising $1.5 billion over the course of the week. Reserves have risen by $6.

Moscow Efes Brewery announced Friday that it plans to acquire the independent Urals-based Amstar brewery in a cash-and-share swap deal analysts said is worth at least $50 million.

A law requiring all drivers to have third-party insurance may miss its July 1 start date unless the Cabinet adopts a legal framework to define how the system will work.

The State Duma took the first step on Friday towards scrapping a large part of the strict exchange and capital controls imposed after the country's 1998 financial meltdown.

Heineken said it would start selling its locally brewed brand in Russia this month after a Dutch court ruled it had rightfully terminated a contract with its Russian distributor.

According to the Kremlin's top economic adviser, Russia's oil and gas pipeline network should be built and operated by both public and private companies and not kept as a preserve of the state.

Sibneft announced Friday it would raise dividend payments for 2002 by 18 percent, despite having said a month ago they would remain stable on the previous year.