Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a law that obliges the use of transparent or translucent ballot boxes in elections and referendums, Interfax reports . The corresponding document is posted in the database of regulatory legal acts. According to the document, which will come into force on June 1, 2014, voting boxes must be made of transparent or translucent material. The Central Election Commission will have to purchase new boxes by December 31 next year.

A freight train derailed near the Kenyan capital Nairobi and crashed into residential buildings in a slum, the BBC reports , citing a representative of the local Red Cross. According to preliminary data, there are many people under the rubble - several dozen. Five people were evacuated and taken to a local hospital. The number of possible victims and the causes of the accident have not yet been reported.

photo by Artem Holoshchapov for Forbes At Rolf, Tatyana Lukovetskaya went through a career path from a telephone operator to the head of the company On weekends, Tatyana Lukovetskaya sometimes “walks” “Gavryusha” - a bright red “hunchbacked Cossack” that came off the Ukrainian assembly line 45 years ago. Oddly enough, the general director of the country's largest automotive trading holding, Rolf, which sells exclusively foreign cars, herself prefers domestic brands.

In southeastern Brazil, in the state of Sao Paulo, a passenger bus carrying 54 people fell into a gorge, killing at least 14 passengers, AFP reports. The circumstances and causes of the tragedy are being clarified. According to local media, a bus traveling from the city of Curitiba to the Brazilian capital of Rio de Janeiro fell into a gorge from a height of 50 meters. It is reported that 13 people died on the spot, another died in hospital. In August, a bus fell off a viaduct in Brazil.

Mikhail Khodorkovsky wished the speedy release of ex-Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, called not to boycott the Sochi Olympics and thanked the Russian authorities for their “loyal attitude towards his family” while he was in prison. He also stated that he does not plan to engage in politics and fight for the return of YUKOS assets. The businessman spoke about this at a press conference at the Berlin Wall Museum, which took place on Sunday and lasted just over half an hour.

Swiss President Weli Maurer called for the Olympics in Sochi, which will be held from February 7 to 23, 2014, not to be politicized. As he told the Swiss news resource Blick , boycotting the Olympics for political reasons is the wrong decision, and in general sports should not be politicized. Commenting on US President Barack Obama's refusal to travel to the Olympics, Maurer said that the United States can be ignored in the same way, since the death penalty is allowed there.

photo by Evgeny Dudin for Forbes The most successful Russian entrepreneur of 2013 It rarely happens that Sergei Galitsky , the billionaire founder of Russia's largest retail chain Magnit, makes a mistake. “I think we will never be able to repeat such results again,” he said in an interview with Forbes in the spring of 2013, commenting on the financial results of the past year. 9 months later we can say that he was wrong.

The city court suspended the powers of Tbilisi Mayor Gigi Ugulava, Interfax reports with reference to the press service of the former party in power, the United National Movement, one of whose leaders is the mayor. The decision was made after a preliminary hearing on the evening of December 21 to determine the preventive measure for Ugulave on the charges brought against him. The mayor is accused of embezzling public funds on an especially large scale.

The American Internet company IAC decided to fire its PR director Justine Sacco after a message appeared on her Twitter page that was regarded as a manifestation of racism, reports the New York Daily News . “I'm flying to Africa. I hope I don't get AIDS. Kidding. I’m white!” Sacco wrote on her Twitter page while flying to Cape Town.

Mikhail Khodorkovsky does not intend to finance the Russian opposition, as YUKOS did, does not intend to engage in business anymore, and does not plan any investment projects, including in the West. The ex-head of the oil company stated this at a press conference for a narrow circle in Berlin, Interfax reports . As the businessman noted, he has money to live on, but he does not buy football clubs.

Former head of Yukos Mikhail Khodorkovsky learned about his pardon from the news on TV. He spoke about this in his first television interview after his pardon on the Dozhd TV channel in the Sobchak Live program on the night of December 22. The interview was recorded in Khodorkovsky's room at the Adlon Hotel in Berlin, where he is currently staying.

Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia criticized the so-called “creative class” on Sunday after the liturgy at the Conception Monastery in Moscow, Interfax reports . He presented a number of church awards, including the Order of St. Prince Dmitry Donskoy (II degree) to Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin, who was present at the service, in connection with efforts aimed at developing church-state relations and the 50th anniversary.

photo Kommersant The instinct of self-preservation in power is stronger than the fear of new stagnation I agree with the decision of the Ministry of Economic Development to worsen the forecast for economic development until 2030. It is expected that in the coming decades the average growth rate will be no more than 2.5%, and not 4%, as previously expected. My forecast is even lower - 2%.

RIA Novosti The former head of YUKOS said at a press conference in Berlin that he is not going to fight for power and return to business The former head of YUKOS, Mikhail Khodorkovsky, who left for Berlin after his release, on Sunday, two hours before the “big” press conference at the Berlin Wall Museum, held a closed meeting with employees of several media outlets.

Mikhail Khodorkovsky is ready to return to Russia if he is confident in the possibility of subsequent travel abroad. The former head of YUKOS stated this in an interview with the editor-in-chief of New Times magazine Evgenia Albats. Khodorkovsky, who immediately after being pardoned by President Putin flew to Germany on a private plane, said that this condition is the main thing for him.