Russia 110513 Basic Political Developments

Small blast hits Moscow cafe, no casualties

http://en.rian.ru/russia/20110513/164001462.html
08:43 13/05/2011

Visitors to a Moscow cafe escaped injury in the early hours of Friday when a small improvised explosive device detonated, a police source told RIA Novosti.

The blast - equivalent to 200 grams of TNT - hit the summer terrace of a café in the north-west of the Russian capital, he said. The cafe was slightly damaged.

Police are carrying out an investigation. No group has claimed responsibility.

Violence is often used to settle business disputes in Russia, while both Islamist terrorists and nationalist groups have used explosives in past attacks.

MOSCOW, May 13 (RIA Novosti)

May 13, 2011 10:27

Forest fire area increases by one third in Siberia in 24 hours

http://www.interfax.com/newsinf.asp?id=243250

NOVOSIBIRSK. May 13 (Interfax) - Thirty-two forest fires were raging in the Siberian Federal District as of Friday morning over an area of 204.6 hectares, of which 14 have been localized on an area of 92.4 hectares.

The number of fires has increased by 12 over the past 24 hours and the territory enveloped in flames has grown by 30% or 47.54 hectares, the Siberian regional emergency situations center has reported.

"No major fires are burning. Most of the fires are man-made," it said.

Overall, 1,137 personnel and 296 pieces of equipment have been involved in tackling fires over the past 24 hours. Two hundred and fifty-three fire inspections of forests have been carried out and 53 protocols of administrative offences have been drawn up, the center said.

As many as 1,318 posts, including 208 mobile, have been deployed to limit access to forests and to monitor the situation.

Fire hazard is ranked at five points in two regions and three districts of Russia for the coming 24 hours, and 4 points in 12 regions and 72 districts.

Sd

(Our editorial staff can be reached at [e-mail])

08:00 13/05/2011Russia

Twelve more forest fire outbreaks reported in Siberia past day http://www.itar-tass.com/en/c34/141410.html

KRASNOYARSK, May 13 (Itar-Tass) —— Twelve new forest fire outbreaks were reported in Siberia over the past day.

There were 32 fires on 204.6 hectares by Friday morning. The burning area has enlarged by 47.54 hectares. Firefighters localised 14 outbreaks on 92.4 hectares.

According to the Emergencies Ministry's regional centre, no large conflagrations have been reported. A total of 1,137 people fought the blaze. They used 296 vehicles in the work.

Air Forest Guard planes and helicopters carried out 11 flights to patrol the taiga. On the ground, forestry inspectors conducted 253 raids during the day to detect violations of the fire prevention regulations. A total of 1,318 mobile and stationary posts have been placed to bar access to forests and monitor the situation.

Launch of Russian observatory to study universe could be postponed

Today at 09:13 | Interfax-Ukraine

Moscow, May 13 (Interfax-AVN) - The placement of Russia's Spektr-R astrophysical observatory into orbit, initially set for July, could be postponed because its Zenit rocket is needed to launch the U.S. Intelsat 18 telecommunications satellite.

"Roscosmos [the Russian Federal Space Agency] is currently debating how to use the Zenit launch vehicle available to it - either for the launch of the Spektr-R observatory or for the launch of the Intelsat 18 satellite," a space rocket source told Interfax-AVN on Friday.

Recently a shortage of Zenit launch vehicles has created "a real competition" for them, the source said.

Zenit rockets serve to launch satellites as part of Russia's federal space exploration program, from a platform in the Pacific Ocean as part of the Sea Launch program, as well as from the Baikonur Cosmodrome, which Russia leases from Kazakhstan, as part of the Land Launch program.

The source, however, said that a date for launching the observatory was not crucial.

"Its launch can take place either in July, September or October," he said.

But the launch of the Intelsat 18 telecommunications satellite within the timeframe set by the contract is vital for the Intelsat international satellite operator, he said.

"If the Zenit launch vehicle is transferred to the Intelsat 18 program, the satellite could be launched in August or September," the source said.

The satellite's timely launch is also important for the Sea Launch consortium, which is 95% controlled by the Energia Overseas Limited company, which is a subsidiary of Russia's Energia corporation, he said.

Intelsat is a strategic customer of the consortium, which conducts satellite launches for the company from a platform in the Pacific Ocean, the source said.

"As far as I know, the Sea Launch consortium announced willingness to carry out the launch of the Intelsat 18 and asked for permission to use a Baikonur launch pad,' he said.

"The thing is that the Intelsat company is kind of blackmailing Sea Launch, saying that if the question over the launch of the Intelsat 18 satellite from Baikonur is not resolved, the company will decide against launching the Intelsat 19 and subsequent satellites from the platform in the Pacific Ocean," the source said.

Read more: http://www.kyivpost.com/news/russia/detail/104298/#ixzz1MDGcIIPb

PRESS DIGEST - Russia - May 13

http://in.reuters.com/article/2011/05/13/press-digest-russia-may-idINLDE74C02J20110513
12:41pm IST

MOSCOW, May 13 (Reuters) - The following are some of the leading stories in Russia's newspapers on Friday. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.

KOMMERSANT

www.kommersant.ru

- A shareholder of BP's (BP.L: Quote, Profile, Research) Russian joint venture TNK-BP (TNBP.MM: Quote, Profile, Research) Andrei Prokhorov is planning to file a lawsuit seeking up to $10 billion in damages from the British oil company over its plans to set up a strategic alliance with state-run Rosneft.

- Russia's government will be able to freeze railway tariffs if a new contract is signed regulating relations between the monopoly Russian Railways and the state, the daily says.

- Russia's Sberbank (SBER03.MM: Quote, Profile, Research) is in talks with French BNP Paribas on buying the retail network of the European banking group in Russia, the daily reports citing its sources.

VEDOMOSTI

www.vedomosti.ru

- Gazprom (GAZP.MM: Quote, Profile, Research) is expecting to spend up to 1 trillion roubles ($35.74 billion) on launching a gas pipeline from Yamal Peninsula fields, making it one of the most expensive projects of the state monopoly, the daily says.

- Sberbank Chief Executive German Gref has increased his stake in the lender by 1.5 times to a holding of 0.0014 percent.

Gref's total stake in the Russia's leading lender could be worth 29.1 million roubles, the daily says.

ROSSIISKAYA GAZETA

www.rg.ru

- Russia will monitor the condition of its oil and gas fields in the Far East over the next three to four months to check for effects from the March earthquake in Japan.

- The head of Russia's chief narcotics watch-dog agency Viktor Ivanov is urging the government to toughen legislation on fighting drugs traffic and consumption.

- Nearly half of 57,000 human rights complaints registered with the presidential human rights representative Vladimir Lukin were caused by violations of rights and freedoms, according to Lukin's official annual report published by the daily.

IZVESTIA

www.izvestia.ru

- Russia's military has chosen a rocket manufacturing centre in Chelaybinsk region to design and produce by 2018 a fifth- generation heavy ballistic missile to replace an existing Voevoda missile system (Satan under NATO qualification), according to Russia's nuclear missile chief Viktor Yesin.

- Sergei Mavrodi, once convicted by Russia for carrying out a financial pyramid scheme which destroyed the savings of nearly five million investors, is offering to save Belarus' ailing econo