POLITICS
* Moscow and Washington apparently found a solution for the long-running dispute over the European missile shield. The Russian and US presidents may exchange political declarations that affirm bilateral cooperation in the area of missile defense and contain obligations not to use nuclear weapons against one another. (Kommersant)
* At least three lawmakers from the upper house of the Russian parliament, the Federation Council, may soon quit their seats in the wake of the proposed legislation that will ban public officials and lawmakers from having foreign bank accounts and property abroad. (Izvestia)
* Russian lawmakers are discussing the introduction of entry visas for nationals of Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan in an attempt to curb massive illegal migration from these ex-Soviet republics. (Izvestia)
ECONOMY & BUSINESS
* Russia's seasonally adjusted GDP decreased 0.3 percent month-on-month in January, according to the Ministry of Economic Development. This is the first time Russia has experienced a decline in seasonally adjusted GDP in the last ten months. (Kommersant)
* The Russian government has backed the plans announced by state-owned Rosneft to increase oil deliveries to China by at least 9 million tons, starting next year. Rosneft intends to export up to 7 mln tons through swap deals with Kazakhstan. (Kommersant)
* Russia may register an annual capital outflow of about $50 billion in 2013 for the second time in the past two years. Experts believe that the authorities may take radical steps and impose taxation on offshore business. (Moscow News)
* The Russian authorities may set the price for Russia’s diamond-mining giant Alrosa at about $10 billion during the IPO planned for this fall. (Vedomosti)
* Mozilla is planning to compete with Apple and Google on the market of operational systems for mobile devices with its Firefox browser. (Vedomosti)
WORLD
* Cuban President Raul Castro has announced he would step down in 2018 at the end of his second five-year term. He has also named former engineering professor and long-time Communist Party insider Miguel Diaz-Canel, 52, as his first vice president and potential successor. (Kommersant)
* A Lagos court has ruled that 15 Russian sailors, charged with illegally bringing weapons into Nigeria last year, be released on bail until the next hearing on April 8. The owner of the Myre Seadiver ship is not happy with the court decision as the charges remain in force and the ship is still under arrest. (Kommersant)
DEFENSE
* The Russian Air Force has ordered a new “air defenses buster” based on Sukhoi Su-25 ground attack aircraft. The plane will complete tests in May and will be ready for series production. According to defense ministry sources, the specialized aircraft can identify all types of existing air defense systems and determine how to destroy them efficiently. (Izvestia)
SOCIETY
* President Vladimir Putin has signed a law banning smoking in public places in Russia from June, a cornerstone of the government's bid to improve public health in the nicotine-addicted country. The new legislation will drastically change the life of 44 million smokers. (Rossiiskaya Gazeta)
* The Russian authorities will strengthen monitoring of repeat offenders after their release from jails. Former convicts would have to register with police at their respective places of residence immediately upon return from jail or face arrest as runaways. (Rossiiskaya Gazeta)
* Russia experiences a sharp increase in sales of electronic devices that allow parents to monitor the whereabouts of their children. The craze comes in a wake of a recent wave of murders and kidnappings of children around the country. (Izvestia)
