FIFA commission to check Kazan readiness for WSCF.

KAZAN, August 18 (Itar-Tass) - The FIFA Inspection Commission arrives
in the capital of the Republic of Tatarstan on Wednesday to evaluate the
readiness of the city for playing host to World Soccer Cup Finals (WSCF).
An official in Tatarstan's presidential press service has told
Itar-Tass, "The technical commission intends to verify data entered in the
Candidature File of the Russian Federation as a candidate country
contesting the right to host WSCF of 2018 or 2022".
Rafis Burganov, republican Minister for Youth Affairs, Sports and
Tourism, said, "The FIFA delegation intends to get acquainted with the
construction of the newest soccer stadium with a seating capacity of
45,000 in Kazan, on the bank of the River Kazanka, a tributary of the
Volga".
The stadium is being built up to international standards in
preparation for the 2013 World Student Games (WSG). The opening and
closing ceremonies of the XXVII WSG will be held here. The
multifunctional stadium is intended for the holding of national and
international soccer matches, as well as for cultural and entertainment
events.
FIFA officials will attend ceremonies marking the opening of three new
soccer stadiums built in preparation for the 2013 WSG. Those are the Olymp
Stadium, and the arenas of Kazan-based Agrarian and Technology
Universities. These may serve as training fields for WSCF participants.
Within the framework of the FIFA Commission's stay, there will be also
the presentation of a project to develop the international airport
"Kazan", which by the time WSG begin will increase its acceptance rate
five-fold, or up to five million passengers a year.

.Vladivostok begins to smarten up ahead of APEC summit.

VLADIVOSTOK, August 18 (Itar-Tass) - Vladivostok begins to smarten
itself up ahead of the 2012 summit of the Asia-Pacific Economic
Cooperation (APEC) forum. Large-scale work begins here to reconstruct tens
of facilities: apartment and public buildings, embankments, public
gardens, parks, and monuments that will determine the city's look by 2012
when tens of foreign delegations are to arrive here for an APEC summit.
A city administration press service official has told Itar-Tass that
the Seaside Facade of Vladivostok project will be implemented in three
phases. The first work is to begin in September. The first sum of 360
million roubles has been allocated from the Federal budget for the
purpose. The funds will be used for the repair of recreation zones,
sidewalks and part of roads in the center of the city.
The reconstruction of the second-phase facilities will begin in 2011.
It will concern the renovation of about eight city public gardens, the
reconstruction of the Korabelnaya (shipbuilding) Embankment, the facades
of 22 buildings that are located along the route by which the guests will
be arriving, pedestrian zones, and subterranean passageways, retaining
walls, a number of roads, and architectural highlighting of 25 apartment
and public buildings.
At the concluding phase of the programme, six multi-level parking lots
will be built in the downtown area. This will make it possible to rid the
center of the city of cars parked at the kerb, thereby partially resolving
the problem of traffic jams.
This is also one of important stages in the development of Vladivostok
as an international cooperation center in the Asia-Pacific Region. In all,
2,500 million roubles from the Federal budget are earmarked for the
accomplishment of these tasks.

.Int'l forum on family, childhood problems opens in Irkutsk.

IRKUTSK, August 18 (Itar-Tass) - A two-day international forum on the
theme of "The Family of the 21st Century: With Hope for the Future" opened
here on Wednesday. It has been organized by the government of the Irkutsk
Region, the Union of Social Pedagogues and Social Workers of Russia under
the auspices of the World Association of Social Pedagogues.
An official at the forum's organizing committee has told Itar-Tass
that the forum is held within the scope of a countrywide information
campaign for counteraction to the cruel treatment of children.
Representatives of social work services from 24 constituent entities of
the Siberian and Far Eastern Federal Districts of the Russian Federation,
as well as those of Australia, Britain, Spain, Kenya, China, and other
countries have gathered here, about 250 guests, all in all.
Apart from plenary sessions, there will be roundtable meetings on the
following subjects: "Social-Risk Families and Children", "Children's and
Family Ill-Being", and "The Role of Social Sphere Specialists in Raising
the Quality of People's Life". Provision is also made for master classes
which will contribute to raising the professional level of the workers of
social services.
"The holding of this forum is importance, for next year has been
designated the Year of Counteraction to Cruel Treatment of Children," the
forum organizing committee official pointed out.
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