SMOOTH SAILING UNLIKELY IN FISHING TALKS.

Russian officials appeared anything but optimistic as the sixth round of Russo-Japanese negotiations on cooperation in fishing the waters off the disputed Kuril Islands began yesterday in Moscow. A Foreign Ministry official admitted that the negotiations to date have been difficult, while the deputy chairman of Russia’s State Fisheries Committee "categorically" rejected what he called Tokyo’s continued efforts to interject political statements — in the form of territorial claims — into the talks. (Itar-Tass, June 4)

Governor of St. Petersburg Sworn In.