Main news of November 17

A roundup of what has happened in the past 24 hours

WORLD

*Moscow expects to start talks with the EU on the visa-free regime after December’s summit in Brussels, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said

*Russia hopes the new resolution on Iran, agreed by a group of international mediators, will be adopted on Friday, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said

*The Tajik president has ordered the release of a Russian pilot convicted in the Central Asian republic, Tajik Defense Minister Sherali Khairulloyev said

*Ukraine and Russia have yet to finalize an agreement offering gas price cuts for the ex-Soviet republic, Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych said

*Russia and the United States will exchange notes on facilitating the visa regime on November 19, Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said

*A group of international mediators on Iran is planning to present a draft resolution on Iran’s nuclear dossier to the International Atomic Energy Agency Board of Governors, a source said

*Russia hopes that India will soon become a full member of Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said after talks with his Indian counterpart Shri S.M. Krishna.

RUSSIA

*The lower house of Russian Parliament, the State Duma, adopted a law that prescribes couples who want to adopt Russian children to undergo special training in the basics of teaching, psychology and first aid

*Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and Prime Minister Vladimir Putin received knitted socks and mittens ahead of wintertime "on behalf of all babushkas"

*The number of chaplains in the Russian armed forces will soon triple to more than 60, the head of the Defense Ministry department for personnel development said

*Tickets for performances at Moscow's Bolshoi theater will have purchasers' passport numbers printed on them, theater head Anatoly Iksanov said at a news conference