http://rt.com/news/line/2011-02-24/#id4001
RT News line, February 24
09:30
On Thursday police officers in Irkutsk region of Siberia managed to seize 60 tonnes of counterfeit alcohol which were stored in an industrial warehouse. The owner of the tare was allegedly involved in alcohol supplies within the region. The liquid was stored in plastic bottles in two railway containers. The market price of the seized goods is estimated at around US$2 million. The business was supposedly managed by a 54-year-old man who effected retail turnover among small markets. No certificates of quality or licenses have been found. If convicted, the merchant could be jailed for five years.
24 February 2011, 10:02
Sexual minorities preparing pride parade in Moscow in May
http://www.interfax-religion.com/?act=news&div=8225
Moscow, February 24, Interfax - The organizers of gay pride parades in Moscow will make another attempt to gain permission from city authorities to hold such an action in May.
"We intend to file notification with Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin on holding a procession in support for tolerant attitudes toward, and observance of the rights and freedoms of, people of homosexual orientation in Russia," Nikolay Alexeyev, the parade chief organizer, told Interfax.
The gay pride parade in Moscow is planned for May 28 this year.
The parade organizers are expecting a ruling from the European Court of Human Rights on an appeal by Russian authorities against its ruling finding that forbidding three gay pride parades in Moscow in 2006-2008 was unlawful.
The European Court of Human Rights' First Section ruled on October 21, 2010 that the bans on gay pride parades in Moscow violated three articles of the European Convention on Human Rights and obliged Russia to pay the organizers nearly 30,000 euro in compensation for non-pecuniary damages and legal costs and expenses, he said.
The Moscow city authorities have denied the gay rights activists five parades and other mass events in the past five years.
Moscow Mayor said recently that he did not support the idea of gay pride parades and similar events being held in the capital.
"I have my own attitude toward this issue. I believe Moscow does not need this," he said.
Medvedev amends federal law on physical culture, sports
http://www.itar-tass.com/eng/level2.html?NewsID=15984123&PageNum=0
24.02.2011, 11.02
MOSCOW, February 24 (Itar-Tass) - Russian President Dmitry Medvedev signed the federal law on amendments in the federal law on physical culture and sports in Russia, the presidential press service reported on Thursday. The State Duma approved the law on February 11, 2011 and the Federation Council approved it on February 16, 2011.
The federal law is targeted to improve the legal position of regional sport federations.
Under the current legislation regional sport federations are juridical persons, which should be accredited by regional executive authorities and should be put on the register of all-Russian and accredited regional sport federations.
The federal law holds that a regional sport federation can be a branch of the national sport federation without granting the status of a juridical person to it.
To put a regional sport federation, which is not a juridical person, on the register the standing governing body of the national sport federation should be notified that a regional sport federation is its branch. The notification should also contain the information about the address and governing bodies of this regional sport federation.
Russian Press at a Glance, Thursday, February 24, 2011
http://en.rian.ru/papers/20110224/162736341.html
08:54 24/02/2011
A brief look at what is in the Russian papers today
POLITICS
Russian officials announced that all Russian citizens have been evacuated from the capital of violence-torn Libya, but reports emerged about people stranded elsewhere in the country
(The Moscow Times, Izvestia, Kommersant, Rossiiskaya Gazeta)
Two senior officials, both United Russia members, have clashed in Volgograd, where the city's mayor has refused to leave office after being fired by the governor and has threatened to sue
(The Moscow Times, Vedomosti)
Belarus has put on trial two Russians for taking part in street protests during the reelection of President Alexander Lukashenko in December, defying Moscow's calls for their release
(The Moscow Times)
ECONOMY
The Russian Economic Development Ministry was tasked with preparing a plan for social and economic development until 2030. Its main objective is to eliminate Russian budget debt by 2020
(Izvestia, Kommersant)
South Africa officially became the fifth member of the rapidly developing BRIC economies (Brazil, Russia, India and China). The group will be renamed BRICS
(Izvestia)
Business ethics are improving in Russia, on paper at least. More local companies are emulating Western standards and adopting ethics codes to help them operate in a corrupt environment and create the appearance of trustworthiness
(The Moscow Times)
METALS & MINING
Norilsk Nickel said it won't raise its $12.8 billion offer to buy back shares from Oleg Deripaska's United Company RusAl because it doesn't want unmanageable debts
(The Moscow Times)
OIL & GAS
Deputy Prime Minister Igor Sechin would like Rosneft to get a seat on BP's board in exchange for giving BP a slot on Rosneft's
(The Moscow Times)
POWER GENERATION
The Russian anti-monopoly service (FAS) found the electricity division of the world’s largest aluminum producer UC Rusal guilty of manipulating electricity prices. The service launched the case in June, saying there was a sharp fall in electricity prices on the wholesale market in August and September 2009 following a slump in electricity purchases as RusAl Krasnoyarsk and RusAl Sayanogorsk did not file purchase orders
(Vedomosti)
TELECOMS & IT
The Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS) has levied a 38.1-million ruble fine on Russia's top three largest mobile operators Mobile TeleSystems (MTS), MegaFon and VimpelCom for inflated roaming tariffs
(Izvestia)
BANKING & FINANCE
VTB acquired a 46.5% stake in Bank of Moscow from the City Hall and got the chance to seize control of the bank from its president Andrei Borodin. Earlier, Bank of Moscow shareholders elected VTB executives to its new board, signaling a cooling of tensions over VTB's takeover ambitions
(The Moscow Times, Izvestia, Vedomosti, Kommersant)
Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has given state development bank Vneshekonombank until May to set up a fund that would finance investment in the remote Far East region, saying that potential projects are worth $3 billion.
(The Moscow Times)
TRANSPORT
Sheremetyevo International Airport will have to cut the number of inbound and outbound flights after it begins serving government flights from April 15. Experts estimate that the move will affect 50 companies, including Russia’s flagship air carrier Aeroflot. The airline, headquartered at Sheremetyevo, is estimated to lose about $300-400 million.
(Kommersant, Vedomosti)
SOCIETY
Some of the most interesting artifacts of the Soviet Union in Russia are the holidays that continue to be celebrated, almost two decades after the fall of communism. On February 23, Russians celebrated the Defender of the Fatherland Day, a rough equivalent of Father’s Day but with a militaristic flavor. On this day, daughters, wives and girlfriends give presents to Russian men and lavish them with attention.
(The Moscow Times)
Russian law enforcement agencies carried out airstrikes and mortar bombings in a hunt for militants on the slopes of Europe's highest peak, Mt. Elbrus, but it remained unclear Wednesday whether any insurgents were killed
(The Moscow Times, Izvestia, Kommersant)
IOC looking into Vancouver-Russia secret deal
http://www.torontosun.com/sports/othersports/2011/02/23/17381531.html
By BOB MACKIN, QMI Agency
Last Updated: February 23, 2011 4:34pm
VANCOUVER - The International Olympic Committee wants to learn more about Vancouver’s secret Russian deal that may have helped bring the 2010 Winter Olympics to Canada.
VANOC CEO John Furlong revealed in his memoir, Patriot Hearts, that the Vancouver bid team staged a workshop for Moscow’s 2012 Summer Olympics bidders in exchange for votes from Russian IOC members at the July 2, 2003 host city election in Prague.
“We have asked for any more details that he may have,” IOC spokesman Mark Adams told QMI on Tuesday.
The IOC’s ethics code bans candidate cities from making “any promise or undertaking to be performed, whatever the timing of such performance, for the direct or indirect benefit of a member, a group of members, an organization or a region.”
Furlong wrote that the deal was brokered by Collingwood, Ontario’s Bob Storey, president of the international bobsled and skeleton federation, and was sealed at a meeting with Moscow Mayor Yuri Luzhkov. Storey lost re-election last September, within weeks of Luzhkov’s firing amid corruption allegations.
On Feb. 11, Furlong told QMI that the IOC rules did not apply because Luzhkov was not an IOC member.
“We agreed to assist each other and the Mayor of Moscow, in return for us giving a hand to help us organize a bid, he told us he would try to influence them helping us,” Furlong said. “Plain and simple, happens all the time.”
Furlong’s book said the Russians had “six or seven votes”. However, the Olympic Studies Centre in Lausanne, Switzerland told QMI that there were only three Russian IOC members at the time: Vitaly Smirnov, Shamil Tarphischev and Alexander Popov.
Vancouver was elected the 2010 host by three votes over PyeongChang, South Korea on the second ballot.
The Moscow 2012 bid lost on the first ballot in 2005. London was the eventual victor. In 2007, Russia’s Black Sea resort Sochi beat PyeongChang by four votes to win the 2014 Winter Games.
bob.mackin@sunmedia.ca
February 23, 2011
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