17.10 Russian Press at a Glance, Thursday, October 17, 2013
POLITICS
Valentina Matviyenko, the speaker of Russias upper house of parliament, has submitted a draft bill returning the Against All option to ballot papers in regional and local but not presidential, elections. The ruling United Russia party has not yet voiced its position on the issue, despite the support of the initiative voiced by its leader, Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev.
(Kommersant, Vedomosti)
A court in Russia has granted outspoken opposition leader Alexei Navalny a reprieve by granting him a suspended sentence on embezzlement charges. The decision by Kirov Region Court marks a softening of the five-year prison term ordered in July, but will leave Navalny open to arrest should he engage in the defiant political activity that has become his trademark.
(Kommersant, Moskovskiye Komsomolets, Vedomosti)
ECONOMY & BUSINESS
Russia's Communications Ministry has submitted for public review a proposal to privatize the countrys postal monopoly Russian Post by the end of 2014, following years of criticism of its poor performance.
(Kommersant, Vedomosti)
A Swiss court has ordered Tajik Aluminum Company (Talco) to pay Rusal subsidiary Hamer Investing Ltd. $275 million plus fees over a breach of supply agreements made in 2003. Experts believe that the Tajik company will not be able to pay the arbitration award as the sum is roughly equivalent to 2.8 percent of Tajikistans GDP.
(Vedomosti)
Fears the world could run out of oil in our lifetime are completely unfounded, the World Energy Council said in a new report. The influential think tank said there are sufficient energy resources to meet global demand for oil for the next 56 years and natural gas for 55 years.
(Rossiiskaya Gazeta)
WORLD
The US Congress approved last-ditch legislation Wednesday to fund the government and avert a debt default, easing an acute political crisis and narrowly avoiding an unprecedented fiscal clash that might have seriously damaged the world economy.
(Izvestia, Kommersant, Komsomolskaya Pravda, Moskovskiye Komsomolets)
Nuclear talks between Iran and six world powers ended on an upbeat note Wednesday, with top Western and Iranian negotiators announcing a follow-up round early next month while speaking of significant progress in efforts to reduce fears that Tehran may be seeking atomic weapons. (Kommersant)
DEFENSE
INS Vikramaditya, a Russian-built aircraft carrier refitted for the Indian Navy, will be handed over to India on November 15 during an official ceremony at the Sevmash shipyard in northern Russia.
(Izvestia)
CRIME
Several members of the Kremlins Human Rights Council have spoken out against a planned mass amnesty marking the 20th anniversary of the Russian Constitution saying it could set free convicted rapists, racketeers and even terrorists.
(Vedomosti)
The Azeri suspect in a deadly stabbing that triggered an anti-migrant riot in Moscow's Biryulyovo district has confessed to the killing and requested an interpreter for his case, saying he has "forgotten Russian," investigators said. (Komsomolskaya Pravda, Moskovskiye Komsomolets, The Moscow Times, Rossiiskaya Gazeta)
SOCIETY
Russian lawmakers from the LDPR faction have proposed to ban advertisements on television during the showing of movies and TV shows.
(Izvestia)
The majority of Russians continue to regard Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu as the most capable minister in the current Cabinet, according to the latest public opinion poll carried out by state-run pollster VTsIOM.
(Izvestia)
Moscow officials have ordered the closure of a vegetable warehouse that was at the center of an ethnically-motivated riot last weekend following the murder of a young man. Inspections of similar sites across the capital will begin.
(Kommersant, Komsomolskaya Pravda, Moskovskiye Komsomolets)
SCIENCE
Divers helped to recover a massive 650 kg chunk of the Chelyabinsk meteorite from a lake near the city, that could be worth well over a million dollars.
(Komsomolskaya Pravda)
For more details on all the news in Russia today, visit our website at http://en.ria.ru.
