27/7 Tass 69
Telephone: 8 (499) 791-00-18
Fax: 8 (499) 791-00-19.
SETTING UP AGENCY FOR STRATEGIC INITIATIVES
MOSCOW – Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin meets with the winners of the contest for the post of the director general and area directors of the Agency for Strategic Initiatives.
LIBYAN CRISIS
BEIRUT – Libyan Prime Minister Al-Baghdadi Ali al-Mahmoudi has dismissed the plan of the U.N. special envoy for setting up Libya’s Interim Governing Council.
MIDDLE EAST SITUATION
BEIRUT – At a session in Ramallah, the Palestinian leadership discusses a plan to appeal to the United Nations for recognition of their state’s independence.
PARIS – Talks between French President Nicolas Sarkozy and King of Jordan Abdullah II focus on the Middle East settlement.
JUSTICE
VELSK – The Velsk district court of the Arkhangelsk region continues hearings on a motion for parole of former MENATEP head Platon Lebedev.
DAGESTAN ECONOMIC FORUM
MAKHACHKALA – The Dagestan Economic Forum 2011 opens in Makhachkala. Taking part in the high-profile event are delegations of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) countries and countries of the West. The main topic of discussions and meetings is the search for the most effective instruments of socio-economic and socio-political development of Dagestan and the entire North Caucasus region.
IN CIS STATES
KIEV – Events devoted to the Baptism of Rus (Christianisation of Kievan Rus) begin in Kiev with the participation of Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia Kirill.
BAKU – Within the framework of his official visit to Azerbaijan, Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan is to discuss the development of bilateral and regional relations, including supplies of natural gas to Turkey, the conflict in Nagorno Karabakh and Turkish-Armenian relations.
NORTH KOREA-DATE
PYONGYANG – The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea marks a national holiday, Day of Victory in the Fatherland Liberation War of 1950-1953, with festive meetings and concerts.
CHINA-SPACE
BEIJING – China has successfully put in a geostationary orbit the ninth satellite of the Beidou global navigation system. A Chang Zheng 3A carrier rocket blasted off from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in the southwestern Sichuan Province.
CULTURE NEWS
MOSCOW – The 75th birthday anniversary of Maris Liepa will be marked with concerts in cities of Russia and foreign countries.
OTTAWA – One of the main film forums of North America – the Toronto International Film Festival, opens with a documentary film for the first time in its 36-year-long history.
SPORTS
LONDON – It is exactly one year before the London Summer Olympic Games. Festive events with participation of International Olympic Committee President Jacques Rogge will be held in the British capital in this connection.