POLITICS
Russia's lower house of parliament, the State Duma, approved a ban on smoking in public places in a crucial second reading.
(Vedomosti)
State Duma lawmakers easily approve legislation banning "gay propoganda" in a first reading, voting 388-1.
(The Moscow Times)
The ban on the adoption of Russian children by Americans bears no relation to the US Magnitsky Act, Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said in an interview with CNN.
(Rossiiskaya Gazeta)
Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Friday that Russia has no intention of halting its space projects at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in response to Kazakhstan's demand to limit the number of launches.
(The Moscow Times)
ECONOMY & BUSINESS
The Dow Chemical Company, DowAksa Advanced Composites Holdings B.V., Rusnano, and Holding Company Composite (HCC) signed a memorandum of intent (MOI) on Friday to develop a strategy to launch production of carbon fiber intermediates, composite materials, and solutions in Russia.
(Vedomosti)
OIL & GAS
Russian gas giant Gazprom has presented Ukrainian energy company Naftogaz Ukraina with a $7 billion bill for gas it did not use in 2012.
(Vedomosti)
DEFENSE
Rosoboronexport and the Ilyushin Aviation Co. shipped the first of 10 used Il-76MD military transport planes ordered by China in 2010.
(The Moscow Times)
WORLD
A fire at the Kiss night club in Santa Maria, southern Brazil, has left at least 232 dead.
(Kommersant, Rossiiskaya Gazeta)
Former Czech Prime Minister Milos Zeman won the country's first direct presidential election in the second round.
(Vedomosti, Kommersant)
Washington has effectively ended a key working group with Moscow on human rights and democracy, arguing that the panel had become meaningless given recent restrictions on civil society in Russia.
(The Moscow Times)
The number of children adopted from abroad continued to decline in the United States last year, reaching its lowest level for years, according to a recent State Department report.
(Kommersant)
French-led forces in Mali are advancing on the key northern city of Timbuktu after seizing the Islamic rebels’ stronghold of Gao.
(Kommersant)
SOCIETY
The Russian traffic police said a total of 28,000 people were killed in 2012 across Russia in traffic accidents.
(Kommersant)
ACCIDENTS
Six people were found dead and 15 rescued from a Russian fishing vessel that capsized in the Sea of Japan on Sunday.
(Rossiiskaya Gazeta)
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