POLITICS
Leaders of recently-registered Communists of Russia have claimed that their party would soon replace the traditional Communist party in the country’s politics. Experts believe that these claims are far-fetched as it would take a long time for the new party to gain popularity among Communist supporters. (Kommersant)
ECONOMY & BUSINESS
The World Bank has lowered its forecast for Russia’s 2012 GDP growth to 3.5 percent from the previously projected 3.8 percent, urging Moscow to change its outdated model of economic development. (Kommersant, Vedomosti)
The second phase of the giant Nord Stream pipeline was launched on Monday, increasing Gazprom's options for selling its natural gas to Europe. (Kommersant, Vedomosti)
Car sales in Russia slowed to 10 percent in September primarily due to a sharp drop in sales of popular budget models, including Hyundai Solaris. Experts predict further slowdown by yearend. (Kommersant)
German Tengelmann Group, which is already developing its network DIY – hypermarket Obi in Russia, plans to partner with Rosevrogroup with the goal to open a new chain of food discounters under Plus brand in the country. (Kommersant, Vedomosti)
The US House Intelligence Committee has urged American companies to avoid doing business with China's two leading technology firms - Huawei Technologies Ltd. and ZTE Corp - because they pose a national security threat to the United States. (Vedomosti)
DEFENSE
Russia’s Sevmash shipyard is expecting to repair faulty heat insulation on the boilers of the Vikramaditya, formerly Russian Navy's Admiral Gorshkov, aircraft carrier in about five months. The ship's handover to the Indian Navy has been put back from December 2012 to at least October 2013 after propulsion failures occurred when the Vikramaditya underwent sea trials in the White Sea last month. (Rossiiskaya Gazeta)
Russia’s first large surface ship made with the extensive use of “stealth” technologies, the Admiral Gorshkov frigate, will start sea trials in the Barents Sea by the end of November. (Izvestia)
WORLD
Despite a completely revamped lineup of the proposed Georgian government, the country is unlikely to change drastically its foreign policy, experts believe. Maia Panjikidze, nominated on Monday to be Georgia’s next foreign minister, vowed that Tbilisi would pursue its course on integration with the European Union and NATO. (Kommersant, Vedomostim, Izvestia)
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez will face a number of challenges after his Sunday re-election in the toughest presidential run in his political career. One of the key issues is whether he will be physically fit to run the oil-rich Latin American country for another six years considering his recent fight against cancer. (Kommersant)
Turkish authorities continue attempts to convince the world that the country’s territory is shelled by Syrian artillery every day. However, it is a well-known fact that practically all Syrian provinces neighboring with Turkey have been under control of Turkey’s separatist Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK). (Rossiiskaya Gazeta)
SECURITY
Moscow authorities are testing a new technology aimed at helping police apprehend suspected terrorists and criminals. A video surveillance system capable of singling out people acting nervously or behaving aggressively has been installed at one of Moscow’s metro stations. (Izvestia)
SCIENCE
Russian scientists have found compelling evidence proving the fact that a massive meteorite impact gave the start to life on Earth. (Izvestia)
For more details on all the news in Russia today, visit our website at http://en.ria.ru.
