POLITICS
The Venezuelan authorities have indefinitely postponed the inauguration of Hugo Chavez for another six-year presidential term. Venezuela’s Vice President Nicolas Maduro will become the acting head of state while Chavez is in hospital. Experts think this is the beginning of a campaign to bring Chavez’s successor to power
(Kommersant, Rossiiskaya Gazeta)
India and Pakistan, South Asia’s two nuclear superpowers, are on the verge of a new conflict after the killing of two Indian servicemen in the disputed Kashmir region. India accused the Pakistani military of the deaths and said its response will be “proportional”. Islamabad strongly denied the accusations
(Kommersant)
The Turkish government and the Kurdistan Workers' Party are preparing a historic deal to end the 30-year-long ethnic conflict
(Kommersant)
The Russian opposition was authorized to hold a “non-political” march against the ban on US adoptions on January 13
(Kommersant)
The State Duma Committee for Constitutional Legislation and Nation Building has started drafting a law enabling the lower house of the Russian parliament to consider petitions signed by more than 100,000 Russians
(Izvestia)
ECONOMY
The World Economic Forum unveiled a new report on global risks for 2013, which names the growing gap between the rich and the poor and financial crisis among most serious threats for peace in the next 10 years
(Rossiiskaya Gazeta)
Russian experts said in their long-term forecasts that the ruble will weaken in the next three years, with global oil prices ranging between $90-100 per barrel
(Rossiiskaya Gazeta)
METALS & MINING
A criminal case was launched against Officials of the Russian Federal Agency for Mineral Resources, suspected of aiding the illegal extraction of 20 metric tons of nephrite worth 600 million rubles ($20 million) in Russia’s Republic of Buryatia
(Kommersant)
TELECOMS & IT
Online sales in Russia will triple from $12 billion in 2012 to $36 billion in 2015 and will account for 4.5 percent of the country’s retail sector, Morgan Stanley forecasts
(Kommersant)
The California-based market research firm NPD DisplaySearch said tablets are likely to outsell laptops in 2013. Tablet PC shipments are expected to reach more than 240 million units worldwide in 2013, exceeding the 207 million notebook PCs. Russia is unlikely to follow the trend, though
(Kommersant)
DEFENSE
Lt. Gen. Yury Sadovenko was appointed Russian deputy defense minister
(Kommersant, Rossiiskaya Gazeta)
The Russian Air Force requested Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu to resume production of the Ilyushin Il-112 light military transport aircraft
(Izvestia)
Japan has increased its military spending for the first time in 11 years in an apparent bid to counter Beijing’s campaign to return the disputed islands in the East China Sea, known as Senkaku in Japan and Diaoyu in China.
(Izvestia)
SOCIETY
Russian President Vladimir Putin has introduced a bill to punish violators of the migration regime. It will impose harsher penalties for Russians who do not live at their registered address
(Kommersant, Rossiiskaya Gazeta)
Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev devoted the first government meeting in 2013 to environmental problems
(Kommersant, Rossiiskaya Gazeta)
Russia’s third-largest air carrier UTair is considering setting up a low-cost airline to be based in the Kaluga Region’s Yermolino Airport, some 80 km west of Moscow. The airline may begin flights as early as in 2014
(Kommersant)
SPORT
Russian President Vladimir Putin has introduced a bill to toughen penalties for match-fixing. Under the bill, organizers of a game played with a pre-determined result will be punished with up to seven years in prison.
(Kommersant, Rossiiskaya Gazeta, Izvestia)
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