The Russian Information Agency Novosti begins Hotline coverage for Wednesday, May 12, 2004.
MOSCOW
* The State Duma, parliament's Lower House, will debate Mikhail Fradkov's candidacy. President Vladimir Putin has nominated him federal Prime Minister.
* The Federation Council, parliament's Upper House, has scheduled the following for the day:
- Alexei Kudrin, acting Finance Minister, addresses the house during its Government Hour to sum up compliance with last year's federal budget, and highlight this year's objectives;
- the house will debate bills to ratify Russia's intergovernmental agreements with Australia, Belgium, Germany and Italy, and a Russian agreement with the European Space Agency on partnership in space research and civil-oriented use of space.
* The 8th St. Petersburg international economic forum steering committee gathers in session, Federation Council Speaker Sergei Mironov chairing.
* Mme Bernadette Chirac, wife of the President of France, is in Moscow. Today, she is visiting the MGIMO, Moscow State Institute of International Relations under Russia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs. May 12 is a red-letter day for the institute. It is celebrating the 10th establishment anniversary of its magisterial course. Sergei Lavrov, Russia's Foreign Minister, will also attend.
* The Board Room of Russian Rail Co. hosts a seminar on, "Promising Aspects of Harmonising Russian-EU Transport Strategies".
* RIA Novosti is hosting the following news conferences:
- "How to Finance Housing Construction in the Provinces by Closed-ends Joint-stock Property Investment Funds?" - on the upcoming festival, Moscow Greets Friends. The festival, of May 14 into 21, will gather child prodigies from the CIS countries-Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Turkmenistan, Ukraine and Uzbekistan-and the post-Soviet Baltics.
* A roundtable is gathering on, "Import Substitution Policies to Make the Russian Economy More Competitive".
* The Moscow City Court will regard Mikhail Khodorkovsky's appeal. At the bidding of the federal Prosecutor General's officers, an April 19 verdict of the Basmanny district court prolonged the detention of the former Yukos petroleum mammoth proprietor into May 25.
* The Moscow City Court will regard a complaint by Yukos controversy suspects' lawyers, whose Swiss bank accounts are arrested on Basmanny district court verdict.
* The Maly Theatre arranges a news conference on a 5th Melikhovo Spring stage festival. Timed to Anton Chekhov's death centenary, it will be held, May 14-23, on Chekhov's Melikhovo country estate, Chekhov District, Moscow Region.
TASHKENT
* Sergei Ivanov, Russia's acting Defence Minister, is paying an official visit to Uzbekistan.
BRUSSELS
* Sergei Yastrzhembsky, President Vladimir Putin's aide and special envoy for the progress of Russia-EU relations, starts a two-day visit to Brussels. He will meet at the negotiation table with Javier Solana, European Union High Representative for the Common Foreign and Security Policy.
PARIS
* Negotiations on Russia joining the World Trade Organisation are having another round. German Gref, Russia's acting Minister of Economic Development and Trade, is taking part.
LONDON
* The EUROSAI, European organisation of supreme financial supervision agencies, and its analogue for Latin America and the Caribbean basin are jointly arranging a seminar, "Auditing in the 21st Century". Sergei Stepashin, President of the EUROSAI and Russia's Auditing Chamber, leads the Russian delegation, and addresses the opening gala.
STRASBOURG
* Vardan Oskanyan and Elmar Mamedyarov, respective Foreign Ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan, have one of their regular conferences. The Russian, French and US co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk group for Karabakh conflict settlement will attend.
BEIJING
* An ad hoc team gathers to prepare a 3rd round of six countries' negotiations to settle the North Korean nuclear issue.
LAUSANNE
* The Sport Arbitration Court has closed-door hearings on an appeal of the FAW, Football Association of Wales, against a verdict of the UEFA disciplinary control committee. It turned down, March 19, a FAW protest against the outcome of a Wales-Russia European Cup playoff.
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