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Main News of April 15

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A roundup of what has happened in the past 24 hours 15.04.2013, Sputnik International

2013-04-15T20:22+0000

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Main News of April 15

20:22 GMT 15.04.2013

A roundup of what has happened in the past 24 hours

WORLD

* World military expenditures totaled $1.75 trillion in 2012, registering a decline of 0.5 percent in real terms year-on-year for the first time since 1998, according to data released on Monday by a Sweden-based security think-tank.

* High opiate prices may lead to a surge in poppy cultivation in Afghanistan this year, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) said in a report.

* The late Hugo Chavez’s protégé, socialist candidate Nicolas Maduro, has narrowly won Sunday’s presidential election in Venezuela, the country’s electoral authority said.

* Several people were injured in explosions in Boston that occurred near the finish line as the famous Boston Marathon was in progress, US media reported.

* An employee of a Belarusian music TV channel has been detained for allegedly airing pornographic footage on the channel during the daytime after quarreling with his girlfriend, Belarusian investigators said.

RUSSIA

* President Vladimir Putin’s foreign policy aide Yury Ushakov accused the US administration of demonstrating “conflicting behavior,” but said Moscow was ready to develop and deepen its ties with the US.

* The Russian Interior Ministry has announced a tender worth up to 39.4 million rubles ($1.3 mln) on the development of a security system designed to thwart potential cyber attacks on its computer networks.

* A Moscow court sanctioned the arrest of a nationalist movement leader and two of its members for allegedly assaulting and robbing a fellow right-wing activist, the Interior Ministry reported.

* Moscow police have shut down an illegal casino operating on the premises of a state university, the Interior Ministry reported.

SPACE

* A Russian cargo spacecraft undocked from the International Space Station (ISS) to perform a series of scientific experiments in space before splashing in the Pacific on April 21, the Russian space agency Roscosmos said.

* Russia’s Proton-M carrier rocket carrying a Canadian telecommunications satellite Anik-G1 blasted off on Monday from the Baikonur space center in Kazakhstan, the Russian Federal Space Agency Roscosmos reported.

BUSINESS

* Russian metals giant Norilsk Nickel's 2012 IFRS net profit fell 41 percent on the previous year to $2.143 billion, the company said, citing unfavorable market conditions.

* Russian steel and coking coal producer Mechel posted a $1.114 billion US GAAP net loss for October-December 2012, down from a $54.911 million net profit in the third quarter of last year, the company said.