Main News of November 16

A roundup of what has happened in the past 24 hours

WORLD

* Russia is playing a “zero-sum game” by pressuring Ukraine and other former Soviet republics seeking closer integration with the European Union (EU) by taking swipes at its neighbors’ economies, a US lawmaker has said

* The international watchdog overseeing the destruction of Syria’s chemical weapons announced Friday that it has adopted a program to eliminate the stockpile in the first half of next year, though the plan was dealt a setback earlier in the day when Albania refused a US request to host the destruction

* Syria’s main opposition group said Saturday it sees no preconditions for the success of the international peace talks in Geneva aimed at ending Syria’s conflict

* US television channel FX is developing a series based on the life of the infamous Russian mystic, healer and royal advisor Grigori Rasputin, an entertainment website has reported

* Emomali Rakhmon was sworn in for a fourth term as Tajikistan’s president Saturday after winning a landslide victory in the last week's election, which has been criticized by international observers

* Some 1.6 million people have been forced to live under the open sky as refugee camps became quickly overcrowded after Typhoon Haiyan struck the Philippines, NHK news channel said

RUSSIA

* Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told Russian television Saturday that the world powers and Iran have no fundamental disagreements now and there is a “very good chance” of clinching a long-sought deal on Tehran’s nuclear program

* Russian security forces have shot dead a militant in the turbulent North Caucasus on Saturday after he claimed responsibility for last month's suicide bombing on a bus

* Russia’s President Vladimir Putin has ordered the health ministry to send medical aid to Syria to deal with the country’s “difficult health situation,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said

* Moscow suggests that New Delhi should consider a possibility of setting up a joint venture to assemble Russia’s Kamov helicopters in India, Russia’s deputy prime minister said

* Russia’s Skolkovo innovation hub at the center of embezzlement scandal has been cleared of all allegations, Russian prosecutors said

* US pop star Madonna and Oscar-winning French actress Marion Cotillard have called for the release of Greenpeace activists and journalists jailed in Russia after an abortive protest against oil drilling in the Arctic Sea

* A popular Russian crooner blacklisted by the United States last month for alleged ties to organized crime confirmed Friday that he was acquainted with a person identified as a key member of an international underworld syndicate

* A museum dedicated to the inventor of the world’s most popular firearm, the AK-47, officially opened on Friday in his home town in southern Siberia

* Russia handed over to India its aircraft carrier renamed INS Vikramaditya on Saturday after a much-delayed refit and cost escalations that led to disagreements between Moscow and New Delhi

* Russia’s President Vladimir Putin held a phone conversation with his acting Egyptian counterpart Adly Mansour to discuss war-torn Syria and this week’s visit of Russian ministers to Cairo

* Head of Russia’s North Caucasus republic of Chechnya and a member of Bahrain’s ruling royal family have reached an agreement to establish a joint international airline

* A shepherd in central Russia has fatally stabbed his guest in the heart, apparently in a jealous rage, local investigators said

SPORT

* Having reached Russia's most eastern extremities with the considerable help of air travel, the Sochi 2014 Olympic flame will tentatively zigzag back across the vast northern nation by train

* Authorities in the 2014 Olympic host city of Sochi have begun casting girls to present the prizes during the medal ceremonies

* Russia played out a 1-1 friendly draw with Serbia on Friday as manager Fabio Capello experimented with his lineup ahead of next year’s football World Cup

* Plans to merge the Russian and Ukrainian football championships took a huge blow on Friday as UEFA president Michel Platini said he told Russian President Vladimir Putin that the idea went against the principles of European football's governing body

* The head of Russia's Olympic Committee said Saturday that St. Petersburg would be a "serious contender" to host the 2014 Summer Games

* An mobile exhibition devoted to the Russian Olympic team and designed to stir interest in the Sochi 2014 Winter Games opened in Moscow

* New Zealand heavyweight contender David Tua reportedly retired from boxing on Saturday after his hopes of a final title shot at the Klitschko brothers were dashed with a comprehensive defeat at the hands of fellow veteran Alexander Ustinov

* Vancouver Olympic silver medalists Qing Pang and Jian Tong skated to gold at the Trophee Eric Bompard Grand Prix in Paris on Saturday, beating some potential medal contenders for next year’s Winter Games in Sochi