Russian opposition activists complained Tuesday of a smear campaign after a pro-Kremlin website published recordings of their phone calls ahead of a mass protest rally planned in Moscow this week.

Syria finally gave its agreement Monday to an Arab observer mission to monitor a deal to end nine months of bloodshed, ending weeks of prevarication that had prompted the Arab League to adopt sanctions.

Syrian Deputy Foreign Minister Faisal al-Maqdad and Arab League Assistant Secretary General Ahmed Ben Helli inked the document at League headquarters in Cairo, an Agence France Presse correspondent reported.

Hope was running out Monday for scores of oil workers missing for more than a day in remote, freezing waters off Russia's east coast after their floating platform capsized and sank during a severe storm.

Maria Dubrovskya, spokeswoman for the Emergencies Ministry in Russia's Far East, said rescue workers have pulled out seven bodies from the Sea of Okhotsk. Russian news agencies are reporting that more bodies have been seen in the water, but the rescue team has not been able to retrieve them.

At least four people died and 49 were missing in freezing water after an oil rig in Russia's Far Eastern Okhotsk Sea overturned Sunday in the country's second major water accident since July.

The Kolskoye oil rig platform with 67 on board was 200 kilometers (120 miles) from the shore when the accident occurred at 0145 GMT amid high winds and temperatures of minus 17 degrees Celsius (1.4 Fahrenheit).

Russia's ruling party Saturday designated Sergei Naryshkin, a confidant of Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and a former KGB official like him, to head the new lower house of parliament.

Putin's United Russia party won legislative elections held on December 4 with 49.3 percent, losing its constitutional majority and sparking public anger culminating in a series of mass protests across the country.

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said Saturday he had told his U.S. counterpart Barack Obama that Moscow attached "no importance" to Washington's criticism of this month's elections in Russia.

"Of course, I had to say one thing to him: 'You can think of our elections what you want, it is our affair. To speak frankly, we attach no importance to it'," Medvedev said of a telephone call with Obama on Friday.

Qatar branded as "regrettable" on Saturday an airport attack on Russia's ambassador last month, saying ties with Moscow were solid although Russia downgraded relations with the Gulf state.

"Our relations with Russia are solid, strong and important and this regrettable incident will not affect them," Prime Minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassem al-Thani told reporters on the sidelines of an Arab League meeting on the Syria crisis.

The Arab League on Saturday threatened to take Syria to the U.N. over its deadly crackdown on dissent but an Iraqi mediator said he had "positive" talks in Syria aimed at defusing the nine-month crisis.

The Qatari prime minister warned that the Arab League would take Syria to the U.N. Security Council if it persisted in refusing to allow observers into the country to monitor the protection of civilians.

France on Friday attacked Russia's proposed U.N. Security Council resolution on the Syrian crisis as "totally unbalanced" and no immediate talks were called on the measure.

Russia, having blocked U.N. action on Syria for months, surprised other members of the 15-nation council on Thursday by putting forward a draft resolution which condemns the violence by all sides in Syria.

Russia secured the final approval Friday to join the World Trade Organization after a record 18 years of trying.

The WTO's 153-members gave their second and final approval for Russia's membership bid, ushering in the last major economy outside the trade club.