The FINANCIAL -- MINSK, Belarus should not wait for "presents or preferences" from Russia or the West, President Alexander Lukashenko said on November 2.

The FINANCIAL -- Turkey's Health Ministry says three children have died of swine flu, bringing the country's death toll to seven, according to Today's Zaman.

The FINANCIAL -- JAKARTA, At least 16 people have died and several more have gone missing in the Philippines when Typhoon Mirinae hit the country over the weekend, according to local media reports.

The FINANCIAL -- According to RIA Novosti, at least 25 people were killed on November 2 in a massive explosion in a city of Rawalpindi, near the capital of Islamabad, the CNN TV news channel reported from Pakistan.

The FINANCIAL -- According to RIA Novosti, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon arrived in Afghanistan on November 2 for meetings with President Hamid Karzai and leading opposition figure Abdullah Abdullah, the UN assistance mission in Afghanistan said.