Main News of April 4

A roundup of what has happened in the past 24 hours

WORLD

* Relations between Poland and Russia have seen some improvement, but are still burdened by some unresolved issues, Polish Deputy Foreign Minister Katarzyna Pełczynska-Nalecz said

* North Korea’s recent decision to reinforce its current nuclear weapons capability complicates the prospects of six-party talks on nuclear settlement in the region, the Russian Foreign Ministry said

RUSSIA

* Russian investigators have received from US authorities materials in the case of Russian adoptee Max Shatto, who died in Texas in January, the Russian Investigative Committee reported

* Authorities in Odessa, Texas have released a 22 minute recording of the frantic 911 emergency phone call made by Laura Shatto, who found her 3-year-old adopted Russian son Max unconscious near playground equipment at the family home in Glendale, Texas on the afternoon of Jan. 21

POLITICS

* Ukrainian lawmakers from the ruling Party of Regions voted on Thursday in favor of holding sessions in an alternative location to the parliament building, as the opposition interrupted work at the Verhovna Rada for the third day in a row

BUSINESS

* Russia’s largest bank Sberbank, its subsidiary Sberbank Leasing and US aerospace and defense corporation Boeing have reached an agreement on an order for 12 Next-Generation 737-800 aircraft, worth over $1 billion, Sberbank reported

* The Russian government approved a bill on Thursday easing foreign investment in strategic sectors of the economy

* Russia’s high-ranking officials should buy the stocks of Russian companies to support the domestic equity market, Central Bank Deputy Chairman Sergei Shvetsov said

* Russia's cash-strapped regions are failing to get loans and attract investors due to poorly prepared investment projects, a senior executive from national development lender Vnesheconombank (VEB) said

* The Venezuelan parliament has ratified a deal to set up a joint oil extraction venture of state-run Russian and Venezuelan oil companies, local media reported

DEFENSE

* The North Korean army said Wednesday that it had received approval to launch a “merciless” attack on the United States, including possible nuclear strikes