Main News of February 7

A roundup of what has happened in the past 24 hours.

WORLD

* Japan’s observation of Northern Territories Day on Tuesday is not the best way to strengthen relations with Russia, the Russian Foreign Ministry said

* The Yantar shipyard in Russia's Baltic exclave of Kaliningrad has completed the final tests of a missile frigate for the Indian navy, the company’s spokesman Sergei Mikhailov said

* Iran’s parliament summoned President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to answer questions about his alleged mismanagement of the country’s economy

* Syrian President Bashar al-Assad will declare a date in the near future for a referendum on a new constitution for his country, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said following talks with the Syrian leader in Damascus

* Prime Minister Vladimir Putin defended the country’s immigration policy, saying the introduction of visas for the former Soviet republics will finally push them away out of Russia’s sphere of influence

* Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told President al-Assad of Syria he had to do what it takes to ensure peace in the country, during talks in Damascus

* Italy has introduced emergency measures to conserve gas supplies as freezing weather continues to grip the country and much of Europe

RUSSIA

* Lawmakers from the ruling United Russia party adopted a statement rejecting any change of power in Russia through a revolution

* A bill toughening penalties for pedophiles, including life sentences and chemical castration, passed the third and final reading in the State Duma

* Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said former leader Boris Yeltsin made many mistakes but gave Russia freedom

* A Russian dry cargo ship that collided with another ship sunk off the coast of Japan, the Russian Transportation Ministry said

* Russian counterintelligence exposed 199 foreign spies in 2011, proving that “activity of [foreign] intelligence services is not decreasing,” outgoing President Dmitry Medvedev said

* Extra measures are needed to protect Russian interests and reinforce its borders in the Arctic, President Dmitry Medvedev told the Federal Security Service (FSB)

* At least 200 school teachers and postal workers in Moscow have alleged they were forced to attend a rally in support of Prime Minister Vladimir Putin’s presidential election campaign