Sergei Stepashin's place as head of the Accounts Chamber may soon be taken by presidential aide Tatyana Golikova, the Kommersant newspaper reported on Wednesday , citing sources in the presidential administration.

Russia will fully finance the construction of the Serbian section of the South Stream gas pipeline worth 1.7 billion euros, and then return the funds from the transit tariff, Serbian Prime Minister Ivica Dacic said on Wednesday at a press conference following negotiations with the head of the Russian government Dmitry Medvedev.

After a second examination, Roskomnadzor removed from the register of prohibited information all entries with reference to the Wikipedia article on “cannabis smoking,” the agency’s press service reported on Wednesday . This article was previously edited by Internet Encyclopedia volunteer authors.

The Ministry of Telecom and Mass Communications is considering options for organizing mobile communications on airplanes through ground-based telecommunications infrastructure, the head of the ministry, Nikolai Nikiforov, told reporters on Wednesday during a meeting of the Ministry of Transport. “Today we are working on alternative ways to deliver communication services on board an aircraft, including using ground infrastructure,” RIA Novosti quotes Nikiforov .

Multiple Olympic champion in synchronized swimming Anastasia Davydova has headed the assistance council of the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC), ROC President Alexander Zhukov told reporters on Wednesday. “Today at the executive committee meeting we considered a very important issue. We have elected a new council for the promotion of ROC, and it will be headed by Anastasia Davydova, a five-time Olympic champion in synchronized swimming,” RIA Novosti quotes Zhukov .

reported Wednesday A man was arrested in Washington for threatening police to blow up the White House, the Associated Press . The detainee was 44-year-old Pennsylvania resident Krzysztof Wasik, who had previously been convicted of threatening to commit serious crimes. A man approached an officer guarding the US president's residence on Wednesday morning and said an explosive device was about to go off in a truck parked nearby, according to D.C. police officer Araz Alali.

President of Yakutia Yegor Borisov sent an appeal to Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev with a request to “adopt a special decision” guaranteeing the transfer to the republic of income from the privatization of the federal stake in the Alrosa diamond mining company, the Izvestia newspaper wrote on Wednesday. According to preliminary estimates, we are talking about the amount of 100–360 billion rubles.

Apple is in talks with the Internet company Yahoo about cooperation in the production of iPhone and iPad mobile gadgets, The Wall Street Journal reports , citing sources familiar with the negotiations. Currently, Apple mobile devices are installed by default with the Yahoo Finance service, which allows you to monitor exchange rates, and the weather service. Also, the data provided by Yahoo is partially used in the Siri voice assistant for iOS.

Mechel has signed a loan agreement with Russian bank VTB worth 40 billion rubles (about $1.3 billion) to refinance the company's current debt, according to a statement published on the group's website on Wednesday. The press release emphasizes that raising a loan will not lead to growth in Mechel's loan portfolio. The VTB loan will be fully used to refinance Mechel’s current debt.

More than 650 non-profit organizations (NPOs) operating in Russia received about $1 billion from abroad, department official Marina Gridneva told Interfax on Wednesday. Initially, the prosecutor's office intended to selectively check the implementation of the law on “foreign agents,” which obliges NPOs receiving funding from abroad to register in 20 regions, Gridneva noted.

Sberbank demanded early repayment of a loan of $373.6 million issued in 2011 to businessman Sergei Polonsky’s company Potok (formerly Mirax Group) for the completion of the Federation Tower business complex in the international business center Moscow City, according to a press release published on the company's website on Wednesday. The loan was issued to the company in 2011 to finance the completion of the construction of the Federation Tower business complex.

The deal to sell 10.7% of Rostelecom to Arkady Rotenberg by Konstantin Malofeev’s company did not take place. Impacted by the Cyprus crisis and VTB’s purchase of the Russian business Tele2 The deal to sell the investment company Marshal Capital (Markap) of Konstantin Malofeev 10.7% of the shares of OJSC Rostelecom to the Bellared Holdings Ltd structure of Arkady Rotenberg ( No. 412 in the Forbes global ranking of billionaires, net worth: $3.3 billion ) did not take place.

Minister of Communications and Mass Communications Nikolai Nikiforov, speaking on the Ekho Moskvy radio station on Wednesday, called the work of the register of prohibited sites, which has been operating in Russia since November 1, 2012, effective. Nikiforov noted that over the five months of operation of the registry, it was possible to achieve the removal and blocking of several thousand sites with illegal information and content dangerous to children.

The Federal Property Management Agency considers it possible to privatize up to 100% of Rostelecom as early as 2013, Olga Dergunova, deputy head of the Ministry of Economic Development and head of the Federal Property Management Agency, told reporters on Wednesday. Dergunova said that there is no corresponding decree from Russian President Vladimir Putin regarding the privatization of the company, and even preparatory work is not underway.

The party of the famous blogger and oppositionist Alexei Navalny “People's Alliance” has submitted documents to the Ministry of Justice for registration, Navalny announced this on his Twitter on Wednesday . “I congratulate the People’s Alliance party on the successful creation of regional branches and submission of documents to the Ministry of Justice for registration,” he wrote.