19.08 Russian Press at a Glance, Monday, August 19, 2013
A brief look at what is in the Russian papers today
POLITICS
A ban on Russian state officials holding accounts and assets abroad comes into force today. Laws adopted as part of a Kremlin-launched nationalization of elites have already made life difficult for officials and MPs as they had to give up foreign property and re-register it with other people.
(Kommersant)
Fugitive US intelligence leaker Edward Snowden contacted apopular US news website, TheHuffington Post, andsaid media have been "misled" byassociates ofhis father, Lon Snowden, andhave published "false" claims about his situation, thewebsite said.
(The Moscow Times)
ECONOMICS & BUSINESS
The Kremlin has explained the motives behind its customs war with Ukraine. Presidential aide Sergei Glazyev said customs checks had been toughened in order to prepare for possible changes in customs administration in the future should Ukraine sign an economic association agreement with the EU.
(Nezavisimaya Gazeta, Vedomosti)
President Vladimir Putin's calls fordomestic companies torepatriate their funds back home fromoffshore jurisdictions have fallen ondeaf ears, with almost half ofthe $67 billion investment byRussian residents abroad inthe first quarter ofthis year settling inthe British Virgin Islands, according tofigures released bythe Central Bank.
(The Moscow Times)
Nine illegal marketplaces have been shut down in the Moscow Region in just a week. The regional department of the Russian Interior Ministry said violations of migration and trading laws had been found at the markets.
(Moskovsky Komsomolets, Nezavisimaya Gazeta, Rossiiskaya Gazeta)
International online payment giant PayPal has overcome the legal barriers to full entry and is ready to launch into the increasingly lucrative Russian online payment market.
(The Moscow Times)
RUSSIA
A three-year cooperation agreement between Mikhail Fedotov, the head of the presidential human rights council, and acting Moscow mayor Sergei Sobyanin will be signed today, in an attempt to enhance the role of rights organizations in the Russian capital.
(Kommersant)
The Federal Air Transport Agency has ordered airlines to make contingency plans for evacuating Russian tourists from Egypt, as violent clashes between the countrys government and Islamists continue.
(The Moscow Times)
Corruption offences in Russia's national defense industry may soon be equated high treason, after a member of the Russian lower houses defense committee, Igor Zotov, submits a bill on the issue to the Duma.
(Kommersant)
Water levels continue to rise in the rivers of Russia's far east, making thousands homeless.
(Argumenty i Fakty, Izvestia)
SOCIETY
Russian residents may soon be entitled to file class action lawsuits against Russian companies. A relevant bill is being drafted and will be submitted to the State Duma in late September.
(Vedomosti)
CRIME
The captain of a Russian cruise ship that crashed on the Irtysh River in Siberia this weekend killing four passengers, with another six missing, had been drinking before the incident.
(Argumenty i Fakty, Izvestia, Moskovsky Komsomolets)
For more details on all the news in Russia today, visit our website at http://en.ria.ru.
