Main News of December 16

A roundup of what has happened in the past 24 hours

WORLD

* Danish and Swedish ships that will be used to ferry away Syria’s chemical weapons arsenal have docked in Cyprus on their way to the civil war-wracked Mideast nation

RUSSIA

* Russia has never threatened Ukraine with sanctions over a cooperation agreement with the European Union, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said

* Russian companies could start paying for a portion of their employees’ vacations inside Russia if a proposal by the state tourism agency to boost domestic tourism comes to fruition

BUSINESS

* Aluminum producer Rusal announced Monday that it has agreed a 15 billion ruble ($456 million) credit facility with VTB Capital, an arm of Russia’s state-controlled lender VTB

* Russia bought almost half of all wine exported by Georgia in 2013, just months after a longtime ban was lifted, Georgia’s agriculture ministry said

DEFENSE

* A batch of Su-34 fighter jets was delivered to Russia’s military Monday in the final consignment under a 2008 deal with the Defense Ministry for Sukhoi aircraft maker to deliver 32 of the two-seat bombers

* Russia confirmed Monday that it has deployed tactical ballistic missiles near its borders with NATO but said the move did not violate international agreements

SPORTS

* Russian pole vault queen Yelena Isinbaeva has been nominated for the female athlete of the year award by the International Sports Press Association (AIPS)

CRIME

* Investigators have wrapped up a criminal probe into Russia’s ex-Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov, a Russian newspaper reported