POLITICS
Russia accused the European Union of dragging visa cancellation talks on for political reasons. Moscow expects that the December 21 Russia-EU summit will be decisive in persuading Brussels to reach practical deals. Sources in the EU told Kommersant that cancelling visas for Russians is unlikely to take place soon
(Kommersant)
A group of experts from Switzerland, France and Russia exhumed the remains of iconic Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat to investigate allegations that he was poisoned with polonium-210
(Kommersant, Rossiiskaya Gazeta)
The first reading of anti-tobacco law may be postponed until 2013. The final decision will be made on December 10, but the State Duma’s health care committee chairman Sergei Kalashnikov is convinced that the bill is unlikely to be passed this year
(Izvestia)
ECONOMY
The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development cut its forecast for global economic growth and said that another economic downturn is possible five years after the previous crisis. It called on the governments to avoid trimming national debt by austerity measures and make tax and monetary interventions instead
(Kommersant, Vedomosti)
Russia will assume its G20 presidency on Saturday. The first meeting of the organizing committee open for public was held on Monday in the presidential administration
(Moskovskie Novosti)
METALS & MINING
Russia’s diamond monopoly Alrosa is close to signing a three-year contract with Tiffany&Co to supply the jewelry maker with diamonds worth at least $60 million annually
(Kommersant)
VEHICLES & ENGINEERING
Swedish carmaker Scania will double production capacity of its plant in St. Petersburg
(Vedomosti)
TELECOMS & IT
According to psychologists, every third child in Russia is subject to cyberbullying - the use of internet and other modern technologies to harm and humiliate other people
(Rossiiskaya Gazeta)
DEFENSE
Russia’s recently appointed Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu held his first meeting with the panel of the ministry’s top officials to discuss combat readiness of the Russian armed forces
(Kommersant)
SOCIETY
Former combat sambo world champion Rasul Mirzaev, 26, was sentenced to two years in prison for causing death by negligence of a Moscow student. After the verdict was pronounced, Moscow police cordoned off Manezhnaya Square fearing a repetition of the 2011 riots
(Kommersant, Moskovskie Novosti, Rossiiskaya Gazeta, Izvestia)
According to a survey by independent pollster Levada Center, two-thirds of Russians think that the country should cut the number of migrants and the country’s integrity can be preserved only through strong patriotic feelings in Russians. More than 70 percent of Russians believe that the growth in the number of migrants encourages crime
(Kommersant)
CULTURE
The winners of Russia’s largest and most prestigious literary award, the Big Book, were announced in Moscow on Tuesday. The award’s prize fund is 6.1 million rubles (over $200,000)
(Rossiiskaya Gazeta)
SPORT
FIFA has changed its sponsorship strategy around the World Cup by transforming its “national supporter” category into the “continental supporter” category for the 2018 event in Russia, FIFA Secretary General Jerome Valcke said at the Soccerex conference in Rio de Janeiro. The change will allow companies from countries on the same continent as the host nation to apply for sponsorship.
(Vedomosti)
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