Main News of January 16

A roundup of what has happened in the past 24 hours

WORLD

* Moscow has no secret plans with Iran and Syria for the upcoming Geneva-2 peace talks in Switzerland next week, Russia's foreign minister said

* Ukraine's parliament rushed through wide-ranging powers to suppress opposition protests and label non-governmental organizations as "foreign agents" if they receive money from abroad

* Russia is set to continue talks with Iran on a possible oil-for-goods swap that would make Moscow a major importer of Iranian oil despite concerns by the United States, the Kommersant business daily said, citing a Russian diplomatic source

* Iran affirmed its intentions to cooperate with an international deal aimed at scaling back its nuclear program at a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow

* The Ukrainian parliament passed the country’s 2014 budget despite attempts to disrupt the process by opposition deputies

RUSSIA

* Sweeping anti-terrorism legislation presented to Russia’s parliament this week is expected to undergo a first reading in February, but a government-linked rights watchdog called for a comprehensive review to ensure it does not violate any constitutional principles

* Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Kozak has rejected claims that preparations for the Sochi 2014 Olympics have been blighted by massive misspending

* A Russian fishing vessel detained by Norwegian coast guards earlier this week was released after its owner paid a fine, officials said

* Russia’s Kalashnikov gun maker has signed a contract to sell up to 200,000 firearms annually to customers in the United States and Canada, the company said

* A maneuver to raise the orbit of the International Space Station has been delayed by two days until January 18 over the threat of collision with space debris, a source in the space sector has said

SPORTS

* With three weeks to go until the start of the Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia's President Vladimir Putin vowed the Games would be held “without any discrimination” against athletes and visitors