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A roundup of what has happened in the past 24 hours 19.04.2012, Sputnik International

2012-04-19T19:59+0000

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Main News of April 19

19:59 GMT 19.04.2012

A roundup of what has happened in the past 24 hours

WORLD

* India tested on Thursday its first long-range intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) able to carry a nuclear warhead deep into China or Europe, bringing Delhi into a small club of nations with intercontinental nuclear capability

* Syria and the United Nations have signed a preliminary deal on the deployment of observers to monitor a ceasefire between government and opposition forces

* A German national who claimed she was mass killer Anders Breivik’s lover was deported from Norway

RUSSIA

* Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov expressed concerns over U.S. plans to keep its military contingent in Afghanistan after the pullout of international troops in 2014

* More than 140 political parties in Russia have lined up for registration following new legislation that simplifies the registration process, chairman of the State Duma Committee for Constitutional Legislation Vladimir Pligin said.

* Communist Party supporters gathered opposite the U.S. embassy in Moscow to protest the creation of a NATO transit hub in the Volga city of Ulyanovsk – birthplace of Vladimir Lenin

* A Moscow court ruled that three members of the all-female punk group Pussy Riot must remain in custody until at least June 24 for their part in an anti-Putin protest at Moscow’s largest cathedral

* Russia ranked last on global approval of its leadership among five of the world’s most powerful countries in a new Gallup poll.

BUSINESS

* Russia will launch the second leg of the Nord Stream pipeline, intended to deliver Russian natural gas to Europe bypassing existing transit countries, in October 2012, Russian gas giant Gazprom CEO Alexei Miller said

* Russia's largest steelmaker Severstal saw fourth quarter 2011 IFRS net profit increase 7.9 percent quarter-on-quarter to $463 million, the firm said in a statement

* Russia's largest grocery chain X5 Retail Group saw fourth quarter 2011 net profit jump 52.4 percent year-on-year to $134 million to IFRS, the company said

* Russian mining magnate Alisher Usmanov has become Russia’s wealthiest businessman according to the 2012 Rich List published by the Russian edition of Forbes magazine

DEFENSE

* Russia will reduce defense spending for 2012 by 25 billion rubles ($833 million), Deputy Defense Minister Anatoly Sukhorukov said

* Russia and Malaysia have signed a $35-million contract on the delivery of RVV-AE air-to-air missiles for the Malaysian air force, state-run arms exporter Rosoboronexport said

* The Russian Defense Ministry has signed contracts on the development and construction of satellites capable of detecting launches of ballistic missiles, First Deputy Defense Minister Alexander Sukhorukov said

SPORTS

* Valeri Vasiliev, a member of the 1972 and 1976 Olympic champion Soviet hockey team, has died after a long illness, according to a website statement from his team Dynamo Moscow. He was 62

* Andrei Arshavin's future at Zenit St. Petersburg depends on his performances on the pitch, coach Luciano Spalletti said

* CSKA Moscow forward Andrei Kirilenko has been voted the Euroleague's top defensive player of the season, the club said