medvedev gave up visiting the islands this week during his trip to the kamchatka peninsula. he said the local weather was not good for flying. however he promised to visit the islands in the near future and called them a very important region in russia. speaking to reporters on thursday, japan's ambassador to russia, masaharu kono asked him to cancel his visit. however, russian foreign ministry spokesperson andrei nesterenko said russia cannot accept the japanese request. the spokesperson said the islands are russian territory as a legal reality, resulting from world war ii. >>> chinese premier wen jiabao says china will not seek hegemony. domination. >>> a series of landslides caused by heavy rain have killed at least 23 people in southern mexico. the latest occurred in a mountainous village killing an el elderly couple. on tuesday a landslide buried houses in another part of the state. landslides on tuesday left three people dead and six people are missing. the government is calling on agencies to take all possible rescue and relief measures in affected areas. >>> cigarett