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A roundup of what has happened in the past 24 hours 22.05.2012, Sputnik International

2012-05-22T19:59+0000

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Main News of May 22

19:59 GMT 22.05.2012

A roundup of what has happened in the past 24 hours

WORLD

* The U.S. Senate has unanimously approved a bill imposing a raft of new economic sanctions against Iran in a renewed bid to force it to halt its controversial nuclear program, the BBC reported

* UN peacekeeping observers have acknowledged the presence of terrorist groups in Syria, which are hindering the peace process between the government and the opposition, China’s Xinhua agency has reported, quoting UN peacekeeping head Herve Ladsous

* The launch vehicle Falcon 9 with the Dragon spacecraft was launched on Tuesday to the International Space Station (ISS) from Cape Canaveral Air Force Base in the United States

* A group of eleven people who are suspected of disseminating radical Islamic materials condemning the Eurovision-2012 song contest, which kicked off in Baku on Tuesday, have been detained in the Azeri city of Sumagit, APA news agency reported

* Poland has warned Moscow against interfering in NATO’s plans concerning the deployment of a missile shield in Europe as Russia is not a member of the military alliance, a high-ranking Polish official said

RUSSIA

* President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday appointed a string of former ministers as his advisers, a day after unveiling his new government made up largely of long-time loyalists

* Russia’s lower house of parliament approved in its first hearing on Tuesday a controversial draft bill that would increase fines for taking part in or organizing unsanctioned protests by as much as two hundred times.

* Russian President Vladimir Putin pledged on Tuesday to spend 2.5 percent of GDP to boost scientific research in the country, a plan which he said would see scientists contributing to the modernization of the country's military.

* Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed decree adding four key energy companies and Rosneft to the list of Russian strategic enterprises likely to remain under state control and not be privatized

* Russian tobacco magnate Ivan Savvidi has made a €1.8 million loan to Greek Superleague side PAOK Salonika, paving the way for a possible takeover, a source close to him told RIA Novosti

* The Russian Students Union is opposed to Russian Education and Science Minister Dmitry Livanov's initiative of reducing the number students receiving full scholarships in universities, the union’s press service said

* Igor Sechin has been appointed as chief executive officer of Russia's largest oil company, Rosneft, following an order from Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev on Tuesday

* Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, who in a few days will take up the leadership of Russia's ruling United Russia party, became a member

* A Russian court jailed four people for life on Tuesday over a 2009 bomb attack on a high-speed train between Moscow and St. Petersburg