Russian gets three years in jail on spying charges.

WARSAW, December 23 (Itar-Tass) - A district court in Warsaw on
Wednesday sentenced a Russian national to three years in jail on charges
of spying for Russia. The court said the convict, whose full name is kept
secret, had worked as an agent for the Russian military intelligence
service and had handed over information to Russia's Main Intelligence
Department (GRU) through secret channels.
The court hearing was held behind the closed doors. The details are
not being disclosed. The district court's ruling is not final. It can be
litigated in an appeal court.
The Russian embassy in Warsaw hasn't commented the situation.

.Putin to make working trip to Nizhny Novgorod.

MOSCOW, December 23 (Itar-Tass) - Russian Prime Minister Vladimir
Putin will make a working trip to the city of Nizhny Novgorod where he
will hold a conference on the strategy of development of the Russian
automobile industry up to 2020. The premier will visit the GAZ automobile
plant, the government press service reports.
Leaders of the federal bodies of executive power and the heads of
Russia's leading car making enterprises will take part in the conference.
Putin will hold a video conference with the heads of "Volvo Vostok",
"Sollers- Far East", "Hyundai, "Izhavto" and a KAMAZ scientific and
technological centre and will listen to their reports.
The Russian government adopted the strategy of development of the
Russian automobile industry up to 2020 with an aim to overcome the
consequences of the economic crisis and to ensure stable development of
automobile industry in a post-crisis period. The Russian Ministry of
Commerce and Trade approved the strategy on April 23, 2010.
The strategy is to be implemented in three stages: the first stage
(2010) provides for anti-crisis measures; the second stage (2011-2014)
provides for post-crisis recovery of the industry and creation of a basis
for innovative development; the third stage (2015-2020) provides for the
development of a competitive automobile industry in conditions of market
stabilization.

.Moscow starts preparations for 2018 World Football Cup.

MOSCOW, December 23 (Itar-Tass) - Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said in
a televised interview on Wednesday that the Moscow authorities would
develop a plan of preparations for the 2018 World Football Cup in January
2011.
Earlier, Sobyanin noted that three sport grounds and three stadiums
would host the World Cup matches in 2018. The mayor said that a number of
other facilities in Moscow would undergo renovation because they would be
used as venues for cultural and entertainment events.

.Medvedev pleased with START ratification in US Senate.

MOSCOW, December 23 (Itar-Tass) - Russian President Dmitry Medvedev
was glad to learn that the U.S. Senate had ratified the new START treaty.
He hopes that the two chambers of Russian parliament, the Duma and the
Federation Council, will be ready to consider and ratify that document,"
Medvedev's press secretary Natalya Timakova said.
On Wednesday, the U.S. Senate ratified the new START treaty with
Russia by 71 votes against 26 in an obvious sign of improved relations
between Moscow and Washington.
"Straight from start, Barack Obama and Dmitry Medvedev agreed to
synchronize the ratification process," Medvedev's press secretary Natalya
Timakova said.
At the same time, she didn't rule out that the Russian Federal
Assembly would need some time to study the legal conditions of START's
ratification in the U.S. Senate before Russian lawmakers could make their
own decision.

. Russia abstains from voting on new Security Council resolution.

UNITED NATIONS, December 23 (Itar-Tass) - Russia has abstained from
voting on a new U.N Security Council resolution that establishes an
international legal mechanism to finish the unfinished cases of the
International Tribunals for the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda.
Fourteen out of fifteen members of the United Nations Security Council
voted for the resolution on former Yugoslavia on Wednesday.
The new bodies of the International Tribunals for the former
Yugoslavia and Rwanda are to start working on July 1, 2013 (for
Yugoslavia) and December 31, 2014 (for Rwanda), respectively.
Russian Ambassador to the United Nations Vitaly Churkin said the
Security Council had been forced to adopt a new resolution because the
tribunals were protracting their terms of operation.
He explained the tribunals had to meet the deadlines set by the U.N.
Security Council resolutions and had every opportunity to do that.
"However, that didn't happen," the Russian diplomat, said.
He also expressed the hope that the resolution adopted on Wednesday
would be the last one and that the tribunals would finish their work by
the end of 2014.

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