Main news of December 25

A roundup of what happened in the past 24 hours.

 

WORLD

* Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych suggested that Russia should give up its South Stream project and take part in modernizing Ukraine's gas transportation system instead

* At least 42 people have been killed and 72 injured when a suicide bomber attacked a crowd of people waiting for food aid in Pakistan's northwest tribal area

 

RUSSIA

* The head of the Russian Orthodox Church congratulated Pope Benedict XVI and Western believers on Christmas

* Russia added a record 750 million tons (5.5 billion barrels) of oil to its prospected crude reserves in 2010, Natural Resources Minister Yuri Trutnev has said, citing preliminary geological prospecting data

* The construction of Russia's Skolkovo research hub could cost up to 120 billion rubles ($3.9 billion), the city manager of the Skolkovo fund said on Saturday

* Russian President Dmitry Medvedev expressed regret that his visit to the disputed Kuril Islands in Russia's Far East in November led to the recall of the Japanese ambassador

* Russia has opted for France's Mistral-class helicopter carriers for its Navy after announcing that the winner of the Russian Defense Ministry's tender for amphibious assault ships was a consortium comprised of French DCNS and Russia's United Shipbuilding Corporation (USC)

* Air passenger conveyance by Russian airlines is expected to hit 55 million people in 2010, a record figure for air passenger transportation in modern Russia, Transport Minister Igor Levitin has said

* The Kremlin press office has confirmed that Russian President Dmitry Medvedev had congratulated his Belarusian colleague Alexander Lukashenko with reelection