27.05 Russian Press at a Glance, Monday, May 27, 2013
POLITICS
The Presidents of Russia and Serbia, Vladimir Putin and Tomislav Nikolic, met in the Black Sea resort city of Sochi to discuss the South Stream gas pipeline, bilateral investment and Kosovo's independence.
(Rossiiskaya Gazeta)
Presidential elections will be held in Iran on June 14. The incumbent leader, Mahmud Ahmadinejad, is barred by the constitution from running for a third consecutive term. The United States has already said that the polls are not in line with democratic standards, citing the denial to register several presidential candidates.
(Kommersant, Moskovskie Novosti)
The head of Lebanons Hezbollah group, Hassan Nasrallah, pledged that his supporters would fight in Syria as long as the friendly regime of President Bashar Assad is under threat. He said the Sunni extremist groups, who fight alongside Syrian opposition forces, constitute a major threat for the whole region.
(Kommersant)
Georgias main state holiday - Independence Day - was marked by another round of confrontation between Prime Minister Bidzina Ivanishvili and outgoing President Mikheil Saakashvili. The premier cancelled a traditional military parade that was to be greeted by the countrys president.
(Kommersant)
Cars were torched and police attacked last week in Stockholms poorest suburbs, populated mainly by immigrants. The rioting later spread to other cities. Some analysts predict that the authorities will toughen the countrys liberal migration policy, while the popularity of ultra-right parties and movements will grow.
(Kommersant, Rossiiskaya Gazeta, Izvestia)
ECONOMY
Russias Finance Ministry hired biggest US lender JPMorgan to promote the countrys sovereign credit rating.
(Vedomosti)
OIL & GAS
Russias Sintez group withdrew its bid to acquire Greek gas monopoly DEP.
(Vedomosti)
TELECOMS & IT
Russian mobile operators have requested the communications ministry and regulating agency Roskomnadzor introduce licenses for voice-over-IP (VoIP) telephony services, such as Skype. (Vedomosti)
BANKING & FINANCE
Herbert Stepic, the chief executive of one of Austria's biggest banks, Raiffeisen Bank International (RBI), tendered his resignation last week, for personal reasons.
(Vedomosti)
CONSUMER
Alan Lafley will take over as president, chairman and chief executive of Procter & Gamble (P&G) after the companys embattled boss Bob McDonald stands down on June 30.
(Vedomosti)
DEFENSE
The Defense Ministry has prepared a contract to build a special highly protected transport vehicle to evacuate the defense minister and his deputies from a zone of nuclear and chemical contamination.
(Izvestia)
SOCIETY
Russian security services have informed their German colleagues about preparations for a possible attack on public viewing areas during the all-German Champions League final, German media reported.
(Kommersant, Rossiiskaya Gazeta)
The presidential anti-corruption council will gather in early June to discuss whether officials should be obliged to undergo regular lie-detector tests.
(Izvestia)
Russia's school leavers will start taking the nationwide unified state exams on Monday. An estimated 860,000 people are expected to take the first test, which checks their knowledge of the Russian language.
(Kommersant, Rossiiskaya Gazeta)
Authorities in the Turkish city of Istanbul have authorized the demolition of the Hagia Elia church, one the citys three Russian Orthodox Churches.
(Izvestia)
CULTURE
Russian President Vladimir Putin met with film directors and culture officials on Friday to discuss the Russian film industry.
(Rossiiskaya Gazeta, Izvestia)
SPORT
Akhmed Bilalov, a former vice-president of Russias Olympic Committee and a former chairman ofthe board of the state-run Northern Caucasus Resorts company that manages the ambitious project of creating holiday resorts in the turbulent region, has moved to the United Kingdom.
(Izvestia)
For more details on all the news in Russia today, visit our website at www.en.rian.ru
