A brief look at the stories making headlines in the Russian-language press

Iraqi authorities detained 50 suspects in connection with an explosion in the Shiite holy city of Najaf that killed at least 54 people and wounded 142, and thousands of mourners attended funerals for the victims on Monday.

The continuing debate among Republicans over whether Donald Rumsfeld should remain as U.S. defense secretary grew more fractious in recent days, as two prominent senators argued that removing Rumsfeld would disrupt the coming Iraqi elections, while a third, Senator Chuck Hagel of Nebraska, said he had ""no confidence in Rumsfeld's leadership.""

Two weeks after his inauguration, Afghan President Hamid Karzai is encountering difficulties in forming a new Cabinet.

Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon was nearing agreement with his traditional parliamentary rivals from Labor for a joint government with a single goal: carrying out next year's withdrawal from the Gaza Strip and part of the West Bank.

Turkey can expect to be put through a test of fire when it launches negotiations to join the European Union, and the process -- which will last more than a decade -- could transform the political and social landscape of both Turkey and the 25-nation bloc.

General Augusto Pinochet was conscious and mobile but remained hospitalized after suffering a stroke, the Army Hospital said, while the former dictator's family insisted that he is too ill to be tried on human rights charges.

Sony said Monday it may quit the plasma television business and focus its efforts in the flat-screen television market on liquid crystal display and rear-projection models, areas where it has a technological edge.