Russia:
* The captain of a Russian ship who faces criminal charges for failing to come to the aid of the sinking riverboat Bulgaria said technical reasons
* Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin ordered on Tuesday to complete promptly the remaining 30% of contracts under the 2011 state arms procurement program
* Russia and the United States will hold joint nuclear security drills under the auspices of the bilateral military cooperation committee, the U.S. Department of State saidcombined with bad weather did not allow him to approach the stricken ship quickly, Russian daily Komsomolskaya Pravda said
* The editor-in-chief of opposition Russian newspaper Novaya Gazeta offered a job with his paper to Platon Lebedev, the jailed former business partner of Yukos CEO Mikhail Khodorkovsky, at a court parole hearing
World:
* A lawyer for Anders Behring Breivik, suspected of killing scores of people in twin attacks in Norway last Friday, said his client confessed to him of having two accomplices in Norway and several more abroad, Sky News reported
* At least 100,000 Norwegians attended Oslo’s “Rose March,” an anti-violence rally held in front of City Hall, on Monday evening in response to the terrorist attacks that killed at least 76 people last weekend
* The European Commission will speed up the introduction of new regulations on chemicals sales after a Norwegian extremist who killed 76 people in last week’s bombing and shooting spree admitted he used fertilizers to make explosives, EC spokesman Michele Cercone said
* The situation in Leposavic, northern Kosovo, remains tense but peaceful after local Serbs blocked the road on Monday, the Tanjug news agency reported
* The European Commission is building a security system to issue early warnings on threats of extremism, xenophobia and other forms of radicalism, EC spokesman Michele Cercone said
* Late British singer Amy Winehouse was cremated after a memorial service was held in North London, world media reported
Business:
* Russia’s second largest lender VTB may acquire up to a 10 percent stake in Home Credit BV, which owns banks in Russia, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Kazakhstan and Belarus, Vedomosti business daily reported
* Russian oil pipeline monopoly Transneft’s net profits for the first quarter of 2011 skyrocketed 150 percent to 84.858 billion rubles ($3.03 billion) to IFRS, the firm said