Moscow - The head of Europe's election-monitoring mission to Azerbaijan said Thursday there was a "lack of robust competition" on the ballot and President Ilham Aliyev's landslide re-election feel short of democratic norms.

With the only real opposition boycotting the vote, Aliyev sailed to an easy win on Wednesday, sealing near 90 per cent of the Caspian states 4.7 million votes.

"The election did not reflect all principals of a meaningful democratic election," Boris Frlec, the head of the OSCE's election observer mission, told journalist in Baku one day after the balloting.

Moscow  - A Russian military court opened the trial Wednesday

Moscow/Ashghbat, Turkmenistan - Turkmenistan's South Yolotan-Osman gas fields have been found among the five largest reserves in the world in an audit by British Gaffney, Cline & Associates (GCA), Russian business daily Kommersant reported on Wednesday.

"The company's audit has confirmed statements made by Turkmen officials that had been initially met with skepticism," the newspaper wrote.

The Central Asian state now sells most of its gas to Russian export monopoly Gazprom, but confirmation of the huge reserves may make possible state officials ambitions to develop other export partners - west to Europe and east to China.

Moscow/Baku, Azerbaijan - President Ilham Aliyev is all but set to maintain his rule over post-Soviet Azerbaijan in Wednesday's elections as Russia and US continue to compete for his favour in the oil-rich Caspian state.

With Aliyev's only real opposition boycotting the vote, it is a forgone conclusion that the son of Azerbaijan's former strongman leader will be handed a five-year extension to 35 years of dynastic rule over the Caspian state.

Ten per cent of the country's 4.8 million voters in the principally Muslim nation neighboring Iran had cast their ballot two hours after polls opened at 8:00 am (0300 GMT), OSCE election monitors said. Polls were due to close at 7:00 pm (1400 GMT).

Moscow - Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on Tuesday named a new tsar to oversea Russia's preparations for the 2014 Winter Olympics in the Black Sea resort of Sochi.

Regional development minister Dmitry Kozak was promoted to deputy prime minister for the job.

Kozak warned last week the financial crisis pushed Russian shares to their lowest point since the national default in 1998 could force the state to fork up more cash for the constructions marathon run-up to the Games.

Moscow - Russia's MICEX index surged by over 11 per cent Tuesday following gains on world markets and boosted by higher oil prices, prompting regulators to change the threshold for automatic market closures to minimize what have become chronic interruptions in trading.

The ruble-denominated MICEX was up 11.02 per cent to 739.78 points at 2:05 pm (1005 GMT) after an hour-long -suspension in morning trading.

The rise on the MICEX, where most Russian stocks are traded, was led for a second day running by banks Sberbank and VTB Group on news of government loans to banks as well as Russian oil majors Rosneft and Lukoil, trading on a rise in global oil prices.

The dollar-denominated RTS added 6.9 per cent to 845.81 points by 2:05 pm.