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SPIEF seeks to lay foundation for future
In 2010, at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) which runs June 17-19, leading government officials, business and financial figures, experts and media heads from Russia and across the globe gather to identify and take action on measures to secure the recovery of the global economy while discussing new ideas and solutions to forge more sustainable growth.
This year's theme for the SPIEF Programme is "Laying the Foundation for the Future"
Goodwin moves from recruitment to fashion
Tony Goodwin, CEO and Chairman of Antal International, and a founder of Antal Russia (www.antalrussia.com), an executive recruitment company which was acquired by the FiveTen Group in March 2008, has purchased a minority stake in Moscow-based online fashion retailer Collection Privee (www.collection-privee.ru).
Imran Khan in action
Imran Khan in action
Founder and chairman of the Tehreek-e-Insaf (Movement for Justice) Party in Pakistan spoke at the House of Commons, London, on 3rd June 2010 about “The Politics of Pakistan: Democracy, Extremism, International Politics & Neighbours”.
Pakistan is a country of enormous importance to international security and the regional stability of South East Asia, not least with regard to its relationship with neighbouring Afghanistan and international interests there. As a nuclear armed state, suffering from internal instability and located within one of the most volatile regions in the world, Pakistan is a vital concern to its international partners and a major source of concern in the international system.
SCO Summit to focus on Afghanistan, Kyrgyzstan
SCO Summit to fucus on Afghanistan, Kyrgyzstan
The leaders of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) will gather for a summit in Tashkent on June 10-11 to discuss the situation in Afghanistan and Kyrgyzstan, a Kremlin aide said on Wednesday.
The discussion will focus on Afghan drug trafficking and restoring order in the troubled Central Asian state of Kyrgyzstan following the overthrow of President Kurmanbek Bakiyev in April.
“Special attention will be paid to the situation in Kyrgyzstan and the peace efforts in Afghanistan including through the establishment of multi-party cooperation with the Afghan government and other interested partners in the sphere of security and economic cooperation and the fight against Afghan drug trafficking,” Sergei Prikhodko said.
The agenda of the summit will also include procedures on adopting new members to the SCO, which currently consists of Russia, China, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan.
Iran, India, Mongolia and Pakistan have observer status in the organization, while Belarus and Sri Lanka were granted dialogue partner status at the group’s 2009 summit in Russia’s Yekaterinburg.
Media reports said Iran's president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is unlikely to attend the summit and the Iranian delegation will be represented by other government officials.
The Kyrgyz delegation will be led by the acting foreign minister, Ruslan Kazakbayev.
The issues of the joint fight against terrorism, extremism, organized crimes and drugs will be also high on the agenda of the forthcoming summit, Prikhodko told journalists.
On the sidelines of the summit, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev will hold meetings with Uzbekistan's President Islam Karimov and Chinese leader Hu Jintao, Prikhodko said.
“Medvedev and Hu Jintao intend to discuss cooperation on the key international issues, including Central Asia, Afghanistan, Pakistan and the Korean peninsula. Besides this, they will focus on the development of trade and economic, humanitarian cooperation,” he said.
The Russian president is also expected to meet with other countries’ leaders on Friday, Prikhodko added. He did not rule out that Medvedev could meet with the presidents of Afghanistan and Pakistan, who will also attend the summit.
(RIA Novisti)
More people killed by Afghan heroin than by Taliban
More people killed by Afghan heroin than by Taliban
Monarch to roll out Naturaliser show line
Brown Shoe Company, Inc. (www.brownshoe.com) will partner with MTB Group, Ltd. to begin offering Naturalizer, a global footwear brand known for delivering to women the right combination of comfort and style, to consumers through its affiliate, Monarch Group, and its Monarch retail stores throughout Russia and theUkraine. This announcement comes on the heels of Brown Shoe's recent expansion of Naturalizer into the United Kingdom,Germany, Korea, and Morocco, bringing the number of countries outside the U.S. where the brand is sold to 50.
Russia to cut bureaucracy by 20%
Russia to cut bureaucracy by 20%
Russian PresidentDmitry Medvedev says he has asked senior government officials to come up with ways to cut the number of federal officials by 20 percent.
Official reports put the number of federal officials within the Russian bureaucracy at 850,000 although independent estimates run as high as 1.5 million, ITAR-Tass reported Tuesday.
"I instruct you to prepare proposals on this issue and report to me," Medvedev told senior officials at a meeting to identify possible reduction targets.
"Needless to say, this is rather a tough measure, which can help deal with a number of issues.'
RIA Novosti reported the president also said "such decisions cannot be made mechanically or be based purely on financial considerations."
Medvedev has already pledged to slash numbers of police.
Soldiers stole credit cards of Polish crash victims
Soldiers stole credit cards of Polish crash victims
Four Russian conscripted servicemen were charged with stealing credit cards from the crash site of the Polish presidential airplane, spokesman for the Prosecutor General’s Office Investigation Committee (SKP) Vladimir Markin told Itar-Tass on Tuesday.
Three of four soldiers, who had stolen credit cards from deceased Polish citizens, have previous convictions for theft and money counterfeiting, Markin noted.
The investigation was caused by a request to the law enforcement agencies from the command of military unit number 06755 that reported “foreign credit cards were confiscated from several conscript servicemen.” “The detectives found out that conscript servicemen S.A. Syrov, I.V. Pustovar, Yu.S. Sankov and A.S. Pankratov had used the foresaid credit cards,” Markin noted. “Since these credit cards did not belong to the foresaid servicemen and were inside the cordoned air crash area of the Polish presidential airplane on April 10, a criminal case was instituted against the foresaid servicemen under Article 158 Part 2 of the Criminal Code (theft committed by a group of people under a preliminary conspiracy),” Markin pointed out.
About 2,000 dollars were stolen from the credit cards of Polish citizens, who died in the air crash outside Smolensk.
Sberbank seeks Ukrainian acquisition
Sberbank seeks Ukrainian acquisition
Sberbank, Russia's biggest lender, is looking into buying one of Ukraine's top 10 banks but denied it is already planning to buy the local arm of Austrian bank Raiffeisen International.
State-controlled Sberbank, which has a market value of around $50 billion, has a mid-sized unit in Ukraine but aims to become a big player there and is seeking an acquisition with a well-represented branch network.
However, Chief Executive German Gref denied on Tuesday that the bank intends to buy Raiffeisen's Bank Aval, Ukraine's fourth largest bank.
Northern borders need immigration controls
Northern borders need immigration controls
The Arctic is becoming a crossroad of different countries’ interests and an arena for international cooperation and dialogue, Deputy Director of the Russian Border Service, Vladimir Pronichev, has told a newspaper. The service is currently investing in an upgrade of the region’s border infrastructure.
-The number of individuals and organizations wanting to engage in different kind of activities in the Arctic has increased manyfold. In this connection the presence of border guards in these remote areas are needed, Pronichev underlined in an interview with government newspaper Rossiiskaya Gazeta.
