11.   A former convict was detained on suspicion of being involved in the planned contract murder, he said.

12.   A Russian intelligence agent on Tuesday accused his bosses of ordering kidnappings, extortion and contract murders, including a plot to kill controversial business mogul Boris Berezovsky.

13.   A police official said they were not sure when Solonik entered Greece but described him as a hitman who undertook contract murders in different countries.

14.   A wealthy businessman who serves in a Siberian regional parliament has been arrested in connection with the contract murder of a rival, a news agency said Sunday.

15.   A top Russian government official vowed Thursday to find the killers of a St. Petersburg city executive slain in an apparent contract murder.

16.   An aide to a Russian parliament member was found killed in western Moscow on Thursday in an apparent contract murder, officials said.

17.   Bendukidze said he believed the killing was a contract murder, but professed surprise that Belonenko or Uralmashzavod were targeted.

18.   But contract murders occur frequently all over Russia.

19.   Contract murders are fairly common in Thailand as a means of settling business disputes.

20.   Contract murders happen nearly every day in Russia, and most go without much notice.